Transcript Reconstruction Era - Public Schools of Robeson County

RECONSTRUCTION ERA
WAR’S END AND IMPACT
• On April 14th, 1865 President Lincoln was
assassinated at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth.
• Andrew Johnson became president.
• Effects of the war:
• U.S. is a global economic power
• Increased migration of African Americans to North and
West
• Reaffirming of federal power
PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION
• Reconstruction refers to the era (1865-1877) in which the
government sought to address the issue of returning states to
the Union, addressing the South’s economy, and what to do
about former slaves’ rights.
• Three distinct plans emerged to answer these questions, by
three very distinct groups.
• Lincoln’s Plan– 10% Plan
• Johnson’s Plan
• Radical Republicans’ Plan– Wade Davis Bill
PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION
• Lincoln’s Plan
• Designed as early as December, 1863
• “Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction”
• Sympathetic towards Southerners easy to rejoin after the
war.
1) Full pardons given to those who took a loyalty oath and
accepted 13th amendment.
2) 10% of voters had to take loyalty oath for state gov. could be
re-established.
***Congressional Republicans did NOT like this plan!***
PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION
• Radical Republicans’ Plan
• Also known as the Wade-Davis Bill
• Saw secession and slavery as crimes that require punishment
• Promote African American equality
1) 50% of a state’s population had to take a loyalty oath
2) Only non-Confederates can vote for new Constitution
3) State constitution must abolish slavery
• Lincoln vetoed this plan
PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION
• Johnson’s Plan
1) Pardons granted to those who took a loyalty oath.
• No pardons would be available to high Confederate officials
or those owning property $20,000+; loss of right to vote/ability
to hold office
• Unless personally asking Johnson
2) State needed to abolish slavery
3) Repeal secession ordinance
SAME OLD, SAME OLD
• Many southern states quickly met Johnson’s
requirements to rejoin the Union.
• Since Johnson did not support African American equality,
most Southerners wanted to pass laws to restrict their
freedoms after the Civil War.
• Black codes laws that sought to limit rights of African
Americans and keep them landless workers.
• However, the Radical Republicans were dominant in
Congress, bringing about many changes to the South.
CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION
• Congress passed measures to increase support
for African Americans during Reconstruction.
• Freedman’s Bureau goal was to provide food,
clothing, healthcare and education for both black
and white refugees in the South.
• Civil Rights Act of 1866 response to the black
codes; federal guarantees of civil rights,
superseding state laws.
RECONSTRUCTION LEGISLATIONAMENDMENTS
• Reconstruction amendments:
• 13th abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude
• 14th guarantees African Americans citizenship;
prohibits states from passing laws to take away
citizens’ rights.
• 15th no citizen can be denied the right to vote
because of “race, color, or previous servitude.”
RECONSTRUCTION LEGISLATION- OTHER LAWS
• Additional legislation:
• Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the Southern
states not yet readmitted to the Union into 5 military
districts.
• Each was governed by a Union general.
• States had to write a new Constitution that granted
suffrage to African Americans and ratify the 14th
amendment.
• Enforcement Act made voter intimidation a crime.
ATTEMPT TO IMPEACH JOHNSON
• Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans
shared very different views on Reconstruction.
• Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act to
limit the President’s power.
• When Johnson attempted to fire Edwin Stanton, Secretary
of War, Congress voted to impeach (accuse of
wrongdoing) Johnson.
AFRICAN AMERICANS GAIN POWER
• During Reconstruction, there was a growth of the Republican
Party in the South. Why?
• African Americans joined the party that freed them–
Republican.
• African Americans were able to hold offices, and Hiram
Revels became the first African American senator in 1870.
• Many white southerners had not yet taken the loyalty oath,
so often times African Americans represented the
majority of voters in a state.
OTHER GROUPS GAIN RECOGNITION
• African Americans were not the only group to welcome the Republican
Party.
• Scalawags (poor white southerners who had not been involved in
politics before the Civil War) found representation with the
Republican Party.
• Groups of white and black northerners moved to the South for two
reasons:
• Look for better economic/political opportunities
• Help rebuild the South
• These individuals were known as carpetbaggers because of the
carpet-cloth suitcases they carried with them.
A NEW TYPE OF ECONOMY
• Three new methods of farming developed during Reconstruction to combat the loss
of capital and land. There were pros and cons to each method.
Pros
Sharecropping
Share-tenancy
Tenant-farming
Cons
- Did not need cash to start
- Did not pay for supplies
- Tricked by landowners
- Perpetually in debt
- Live where told
- Could choose the crop planted
variety
- Did not need cash to start
- Purchase own supplies
- Had to pay back portion of sales to
landowner
- Live where told
- Choose crop
- Managed by the farmer
- Choice of where to live
- Needed good moneymanagement skills
- High financial risk
VIOLENCE COMES TO THE SOUTH
• Struggle to make a living in the South caused a lot of
competition and tension.
• White southerners were angry that Republicans were
dominating local politics and due to the federal occupation
by Union troops.
• They were united over their dislike for African Americans to have
citizenship.
• The Ku Klux Klan started in Tennessee in 1866.
• They used scare tactics to intimidate African Americans. (Hence the
need for the Enforcement Acts)
OTHER ISSUES
• Outside of the South, other problems drew focus from the crises in the
South
• Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency was marred by scandal he gave highranking positions to untrustworthy acquaintances.
• Grant was seen as unable to target corruption in his own party, and
pubic distrust grew.
• The public lost confidence in the government due to the following:
• Failing economy
• Corruption and greed in government
• These problems caused the public to lose focus on the South’s
problems.
END OF RECONSTRUCTION
• Supreme Court started chipping away at the rights of African
Americans gained in the 1870s.
• Southern whites gained power, by using violence and legal
interpretations.
• They adopted a strategy of discrediting black politicians
while promoting racial segregation.
• The common goal of both white southern Democrats and
Republicans was to regain political standing in Congress.
• These individuals were known as Redeemers because they wanted
to ‘redeem’ the South in the eyes of Congress.
END OF RECONSTRUCTION
• The election of 1876 pitted Rutherford B. Hayes against
Samuel Tilden.
• Tilden won 51% of the popular vote, and carried all the southern
states.
• There was dispute over votes in three of the southern states.
• The dispute between Republicans and southern Democrats
facilitated a need for a compromise.
• Compromise of 1877 Hayes elected president in exchange
for withdrawal of federal troops from the South.
• Reconstruction ended with this compromise.
EFFECTS OF RECONSTRUCTION
• Reconstruction had many positive effects:
• South begins using tax money to pay for schools
• South’s economy expands
• African Americans make political, economic and social
gains more freedoms.
• Negative effects
• Women were not granted the right to vote
• Did not heal sectional tensions between North and South