Transcript Reconstruction - Historiasiglo20.org

Reconstruction
1863-1877
What is the Reconstruction?
-Two definitions:
1. The period of time after the Civil War, from 1863-1877.
2. The transformation of the Southern United States after
the Civil War.
-- the federal government “reconstructed” the Southern
states and Southern society --
Purposes of the
Reconstruction
-To decide how the Southern States
will participate in national politics
-To decide what to do with former
leaders and supporters of the
Confederacy
-To determine the legal status of
freed slaves
“Reconstruction must revolutionize
Southern institutions, habits, and manners
... The foundations of their institutions …
must be broken up and relaid, or all our
blood and treasure have been spent in
vain.”
-Thaddeus Stevens, member of Congress,
1865
1.Southern States and
Politics
Constitutional
Amendments
-13th Amendment abolished
slavery
-14th Amendment declared that all
people born in the United States
were US citizens, regardless of skin
color
-15th Amendment said that the
right to vote cannot be denied
based on race or skin color
Problems with Politics
Who should be in charge of the state governments?
-Former politicians in the South were also Confederate
leaders; they couldn’t keep their political power or they would
secede again and continue to rebel
Solution:
-The Southern States were controlled by the Union military
until the national government decided what to do.
-Former Confederate supporters lost the right to vote.
More Problems with Politics
Can freed slaves vote?
-Black people voting in the South would increase the South’s
power in the national government, which could be bad. But if
black people are not allowed to vote, then nobody will
represent them in Congress.
Solution:
-Black men were allowed to vote, but not for long...
2. The South and Economy
Economic Issues
-11 major Southern cities were
destroyed during the war (Atlanta,
Richmond, Charleston, etc)
-Up to 40% of farms were destroyed,
and the farms that were left had
nobody to work on them
-A quarter of the Southern white
workforce died in the war
-The railroad system was destroyed
entirely, so transportation was nearly
impossible
-The Confederate dollar was
worthless, so people had to barter for
goods
3. The South and Society
Societal Changes
-No more slavery, so no more
plantations
-Plantations were divided into
smaller farms, run by tenant
farmers
-Many freed slaves moved to cities
to look for work. These moves
caused a lot of sickness and death.
New Members of
Society
-Freedmen: Former slaves who were
now able to vote, work, and own land
-Scalawags: Southerners who
supported the Union
-Carpetbaggers: Northerners who
moved to the South during the
Reconstruction to work as
missionaries, teachers, and politicians
-Ku Klux Klan (KKK): Secret terrorist
organization dedicated to white
supremacy and overthrowing the new
government
4. Freedmen in the South
Problems
Continued...
-No more slavery, but many had to
continue working on farms, and
most lived in poverty
-70% of black people were illiterate
-Violence against black people was
high, and black women were
especially vulnerable
Jim Crow Laws
-Enacted by Southern Democrats after
they regained control of their states
-Began with “Black Codes”: laws meant
to control black people
-enforced racial segregation: “separate
but equal”
-institutionalized social, economic,
educational, and political
disadvantages for black people
-Began to be overturned in 1954
Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
-Example of institutionalized racism
that still exists today
-Voting districts are divided unevenly
to give one side an advantage
-Gerrymandering can effectively
“cancel out” the black vote
5. End of the
Reconstruction
End of the
Reconstruction
-U.S. President Hayes removed the
federal troops from the South,
allowing Southern Democrats to
regain political control of their states
-Democrats began to pass laws to
“restore the South”: This meant
discriminating against black people
Was Reconstruction a Success?
-No!
-Most historians consider the Reconstruction to be a failure
-Why?:
Even though the United States became one nation again,
the South became impoverished, and white Southerners
began to oppress black Southerners through violence and
discrimination.
The End!