Transcript Rebuilding the Nation Guided Reading Activity - pams-byrd

Rebuilding the Nation
Guided Reading Activity
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE AMERICAN
SOUTH, 1865 - 1877
VIRGINIA
Since the capital of
Virginia, Richmond,
was also the capital of
the Confederacy – and
because most of the
fighting in the Civil War
took place in Virginia –
rebuilding and
reconstruction of the
state was a major
priority of the Union
following the Civil War.
TENNESSEE
Because President
Andrew Johnson was
originally from
Tennessee, he
prevented the state
from experiencing the
humiliation and
indignity of being
occupied militarily by
the Union Army. Many
considered this action
unjust and
inappropriate.
Eight (8)States had
discriminatory laws.
•VIRGINIA
•NORTH CAROLINA
•SOUTH CAROLINA
•GEORGIA
•ALABAMA
•MISSISSIPPI
•LOUISIANA
•OKLAHOMA
ABRAHAM
LINCOLN
Lincoln’s Ten Percent
Plan is generally
considered to be the
most lenient plan the
South could have had.
Lincoln was
extraordinarily
compassionate, and
sought the quickest
reunification possible
with the Southern
Confederate states.
When he was
murdered, his plan died
with him.
LINCOLN’S TEN
PERCENT PLAN:
•
* Ten Percent of the
voters of a state must
swear loyalty to the
United States.
•
*The new
government of the
state must outlaw
slavery.
•
*Amnesty, or a
group pardon for
crimes, for most
Confederate soldiers.
•
*No Confederate
government leaders
or military leaders
could hold office.
Abraham Lincoln’s Ten Percent
Plan - 1865
THE WADE-DAVIS BILL
•* Fifty (50%) Percent of
former Confederate
states would have to sign
a loyalty oath to the
United States.
•*Anyone who
voluntarily fought for
the Confederacy would
not be allowed to vote
for delegates to a state
government convention.
•* Slavery must be
outlawed in the new
state government.
The Wade-Davis Bill – This bill
never became law; Lincoln refused
to sign the bill into law.
THE FREEDMEN’S
BUREAU
The first duty of the
Freedman’s Bureau was
to provide emergency
relief to the people
displaced by the Civil
War – including both
recently liberated slaves
and Southern whites.
Later, the Freedman’s
Bureau would set up
schools, and help to
resolve disputes between
whites and AfricanAmericans in Southern
states by establishing its
own court system.
The Freedmen’s Bureau
FREEDMAN’S BUREAU
SCHOOLS
Most Southern towns
did not have public
schools prior to the Civil
War, and what
education was available
to children took place at
home. Following the
Civil War, AfricanAmericans who had
gained independence
sought what they had
always been denied –
literacy, scholarship, job
training, and college
educations.
Freedman’s Bureau Schoolhouses
JOHN WILKES BOOTH,
an actor, murdered the
President while he and
his wife watched the play
Our American Cousin, a
comedy being performed
at Ford’s Theatre. When
Lincoln died, Andrew
Johnson – a Southerner
and a Democrat –
became President of the
United States. The rise
of Johnson would lead to
a bitter struggle between
the President and the
Radical Republican
Congress for control of
the Reconstruction
process – a bitter
struggle the Radical
Republicans would win.
The Murder of Abraham Lincoln at
Ford’s Theatre – on Good Friday,
April 14, 1865
Difficulties Facing the South During
Reconstruction
 PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION – the South was
devastated during the Civil War, particularly industry
and transportation systems.
 WOUNDED SOLDIERS – many families
breadwinners had died during the war, but those who
were maimed, amputees, the blind, or crippled had a
difficult time working as they had before the war.
 FREEDMEN – most were without property or job
prospect, free though they may be.
 FINANCIAL RUIN – devastated, unproductive
farmland and industry meant widespread poverty in the
South.