Transcript Reconstruction and the Changing South, 1863–1896

Bell Work
04/13/15
The Puritans founded the
Massachusetts Bay Colony to
escape persecution.
Roger Williams was
banished from the
Massachusetts
Bay Colony and formed
a new colony that did
not have a state
church.
Anne Hutchinson
was expelled from the
Massachusetts
Bay Colony for
dissenting against
church doctrine
This diagram describes events in colonial America that are related to —
F. the eventual adoption of the U.S. Constitution
G. the formation of a government controlled by religious officials
H. the creation of a national system of checks and balances
J. the establishment of the principle of religious freedom
Reconstruction and
the Changing South,
1863–1896
18-1: Early Steps to Reunion
• After the Civil War, the country had to
repair the damage done by the
fighting and find a way to rebuild.
Postwar problems were more severe
in the South than in the North.
• The North
• The South
• Employment
– for returning soldiers
• Widespread
Destruction
• Economic ruin
• A changed society
First Efforts at Reconstruction
First efforts at Reconstruction
Ten Percent Plan (1863)
Wade-Davis Bill
How did the assassination of Lincoln and the
inauguration of a new President lead to
conflict?
The Ten Percent Plan
• 1863- Lincoln Proposes Ten Percent Plan
• Used as Confederate areas fell to the Union
during the Civil War.
• A southern state could form a new government
after 10 percent of its voters swore an oath of
loyalty to the United States.
• The new government had to abolish slavery.
Voters could then elect members of Congress.
• The plan offered amnesty to Confederates who
swore loyalty to the Union. But no amnesty for
Former Confederate leaders.
Wade-Davis Bill
• 1864- Republicans pass less generous
Wade-Davis Bill
• a rival Republican plan - which Lincoln
refused to sign.
• A majority of white men in each southern
state had to swear loyalty to the Union.
• Anyone who had volunteered to fight for
the Confederacy would be denied the right
to vote or hold office.
The Freedmen’s Bureau
Before the war was over, Congress and the President
passed the bill to create this agency to help former slaves
and poor whites.
– food and clothing to former slaves.
– Tried to find jobs for freedmen.
– medical care.
– Set up schools. Most of the teachers were volunteers
from the North.
– The Bureau created colleges for African Americans,
including Howard, Morehouse, and Fisk.
Lincoln’s Assassination
• Lincoln was assassinated on April 14,
1865, 5 days after Lee’s surrender.
• Ford’s Theatre
• John Wilkes Booth
Johnson’s Inauguration Leads to Conflict
• Andrew Johnson became President.
He proposed a mild Republican
Reconstruction plan:
– A majority of voters in each
southern state had to pledge
loyalty to the Union.
– Each state had to ratify the
Thirteenth Amendment, which
banned slavery throughout the
nation.
• The southern states quickly met
Johnson’s conditions. The President
approved their new state
governments in late 1865.
• Southern voters elected
representatives to the Senate and
House.
Johnson’s Inauguration Leads to Conflict
• Republicans in Congress were outraged that
many of former Confederate officials were
elected
• No southern state allowed African Americans
to vote.
• Congress refused to let southern
representatives take their seats in Congress.
• Instead, Republicans set up a Joint
Committee on Reconstruction to form a new
Reconstruction plan for the South
Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
• Johnson was seen as too soft and forgiving
to former Confederate officials.
• He did not support rights for freedmen – he
believed in states’ right to decide.
• Many Republicans in Congress took steps
to make changes. Since their majority was
large, they were able to over-ride
Presidential vetoes.
Black Codes
Passed by southern state legislatures
–Black codes granted some rights - to
marry and to own some property.
–Black codes prevented freedmen from
gaining political and economic power.
They could not vote, own guns, or serve
on juries.
–In some states, they limited the work that
a freedman could do.
Black Codes
How did Congress react to black codes?
–angered by them & Republicans blamed
Johnson’s lenient Reconstruction plan.
–Republicans were also angered by
southern white violence against
freedmen.
–To combat the black codes, the Civil Rights Act
was passed in April 1866. It gave citizenship to
African Americans.
Congress Reacts to Black Codes
• The Joint Committee on Reconstruction
accused the South of trying to “preserve
slavery . . . as long as possible.”
• When President Johnson ignored the
report of the Joint Committee, members of
Congress who were called Radical
Republicans vowed to take control of
Reconstruction.
Radical Republicans Gain Power
• Radical Republicans had two main goals.
– Break the power of wealthy planters who had
long ruled the South.
– Ensure that freedmen received the right to
vote.
• Radical Republicans needed the support of
moderate Republicans.
• Republicans controlled both houses after many
southern Democrats were barred/refused to
vote.
Fourteenth Amendment
• Republicans proposed the Fourteenth
Amendment, which granted
citizenship to all persons born in the
United States.
• It guaranteed citizens “equal
protection of the laws” and said that
no state could “deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property without due
process of law.”
Radical Republicans Gain Power
• President Johnson opposed the Fourteenth
Amendment.
• Southern violence convinced northerners
that strong measures were needed, so they
backed the Republicans.
• Republicans won majorities in both houses
of Congress.
Radical Reconstruction
• The period that followed the 1866 election is often called
Radical Reconstruction.
• Congress passed the first Reconstruction Act in March
1867.
• It threw out state governments that had refused to ratify
the Fourteenth Amendment.
• It imposed military rule in the South – divided the region
into 5 districts and gave the Army power to enforce
Reconstruction.
Reconstruction Plans
Plan
Ten Percent Plan
Wade-Davis Bill
Johnson Plan
Reconstruction
Act
Proposed by
President
Abraham Lincoln
(1863)
Republicans in
Congress (1864)
President Andrew
Johnson (1865)
Radical
Republicans
(1867)
Conditions for
Former
Confederate
States to Rejoin
Union
• 10 percent of
voters must
swear loyalty to
Union
• Must abolish
slavery
• Majority of
white men
must swear
loyalty
• Former
Confederate
volunteers
cannot vote or
hold office
• Majority of
white men
must swear
loyalty
• Must ratify
Thirteenth
Amendment
• Former
Confederate
officials may
vote and hold
office
• Must disband
state
governments
• Must write new
constitutions
• Must ratify
Fourteenth
Amendment
• African
American men
must be
allowed to vote
Andrew Johnson Impeached
• Because Johnson tried to limit the effect of Radical
Reconstruction, Congress tried to remove him from
office.
• Feb 1868 the House of Representatives voted to
impeach, or bring formal charges against, Johnson.
• If two thirds of the Senate found him guilty of “high
crimes and misdemeanors.” – the President could be
removed from office
• In the end, the Senate vote was 35 to 19 against
Johnson—just one vote shy of the two thirds needed to
convict him.
• political differences – not high crimes
The Civil War Amendments
Thirteenth Amendment
• Bans slavery throughout the United States.
Fourteenth Amendment
• Grants citizenship to all persons born in the
United States.
• Guarantees citizens equal protection of the
laws. No state can deprive any person of life,
liberty, or property with due process of law.
Fifteenth Amendment
• Forbids any state to deny any citizens the
right to vote because of race.