Transcript Chapter 22: “The Ordeal of Reconstruction”

Chapter 22: “The Ordeal
of Reconstruction”
1865-1877
The Problems of Peace


No leader to start the Reconstruction
Life in the South was damaged
1.
2.
3.


Farms, and crops were destroyed
Slaves are now free
Many cities were bombed out
Slave owners $2 billion dollar investment
disappeared with emancipation
The “Old South” had gone with the wind
Freedmen Define Freedom



Church becomes the focus of black
community
With freedom came education, but severe
discrimination would face those who pursued
it
Freed blacks still enslaved by planters
1.
2.
Claimed that emancipation wasn’t legal until declared
by local or state courts
Slaves retaliated by pillaging master’s things
The Freedman’s Bureau






Established March 3, 1865
Headed by Union General Oliver O. Howard
The first type of welfare program in the U.S.
It was to provide food, clothing, medical care, and
education to both freedmen and to white refugees.
However, slaves would eventually be contracted
again by slave owners
Pres. Andrew Johnson, who shared Southern
Supremacist feelings, ended it in 1872
Union General Oliver O. Howard
The Freedman’s Bureau
Freedmen’s Bureau Seen
Through
Southern
Eyes
Plenty to
eat and
nothing to
do.
Freedmen’s Bureau School
Johnson: “The Tailor President”





Came from poverty and humble beginnings
Moved to Tennessee, elected to Congress
Gained great attention when he didn’t secede
along with his state of Tennessee
Became Vice-Pres. because Congress sought a
Southern Democrat they could compromise
with
Did not fit well with seat of presidency
President Johnson’s Plan (10%+)
 Offered amnesty upon simple oath to all except
Confederate civil and military officers and those with
property over $20,000 (they could apply directly to
Johnson)
 In new constitutions, they must accept minimum
conditions repudiating slavery, secession and state debts.
 Named provisional governors in Confederate states and
called them to oversee elections for constitutional
conventions.
1. Disenfranchised certain leading Confederates.
EFFECTS?
2. Pardoned planter aristocrats brought them back
to political power to control state organizations.
3. Republicans were outraged that planter elite
were back in power in the South!
Presidential Reconstruction


Established two types of Republicans;
Moderates (agree w/ Lincoln) and Radicals
(those who believe the South should be
punished
When Johnson came to power, Radicals
thought they would control him, but he agreed
with Lincoln and even came up with his own
plan for reconstruction using Lincoln’s ideas
The Baleful Black Codes




Started in 1865
Established to keep
blacks in submission
Blacks who attacked
labor contractors would
face penalties and fines
Blacks could be
punished for idleness;
would be subjected to
work in a chain gang
Congressional Reconstruction



December, 1865- reintegration occurred, many
Confederates and Democrats of the South
showed up to the dismay of many Republicans
Republicans didn’t want to lose the legislations
they passed
South is stronger politically because blacks
now count for one person instead of 3/5
Congressional Reconstruction


Feared that the North and South Democrats
would join and institute their Black Codes
throughout the nation
December 6, 1865- Johnson claims the South
has satisfied all conditions and pronounces the
Union restored
Johnson Clashes with Congress



Johnson repeatedly vetoed Republican-passed
bills, like a bill to extend the Freedmen’s
Bureau and the Civil Rights Bill
As Republicans gain control of Congress, they
began to override his vetoes by a 2/3 majority
Blacks still not given the right to vote, but
Radical Republicans agreed that all states had
to ratify the amendment to remain in the
Union.
Republican Principles and Programs



Radicals want to keep the South out of the
Union as long as possible and change its
economy
Moderates wanted quicker reconstruction
Compromise would become between the two
Reconstruction by Sword




The Reconstruction Act, March 2, 1867, divided the
South into five military zones
Laid down guidelines for the readmission of states
The 15th Amendment gave the blacks the right to vote
in 1869
Ex Parte Milligan- a case in which the Supreme Court
ruled that military tribunals could not try civilians if
there were no civil courts
Charles Sumner & Thaddeus Stevens
Senate
House
5 Military Districts
The Civil War Amendments



13th Amendment- Slavery, or work done
involuntarily, except when punished, is
prohibited in the U.S. or any part controlled by
it
14th Amendment- All people born in the U.S.
are citizens at the place of their birth
15th Amendment- A citizen’s right to vote will
not be denied or taken away due to race, color,
or previous slave status
No Women Voters



13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments did not give
women suffrage
Women advocates like Elizabeth Cady Stanton
and Susan B. Anthony campaigned against the
14th and 15th Amendments
Women didn’t get what they wanted
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan
B. Anthony
The Realities of Radical
Reconstruction in the South





Blacks began to organize politically- created
the Union League
Black men began serving in Congress
Southerners hated seeing their former slaves
hold higher positions than they
Showed malice towards “scalawags” and
“carpetbaggers”
There was contempt for both groups in the
South
Scalawags and Carpetbaggers
Black Reconstruction
The Ku Klux Klan



Started in Tennessee in 1866
Also known as the “Invisible Empire of the
South”
Dedicated to scaring blacks into not voting or
seeking employment
The Ku Klux Klan
Johnson Walks the
Impeachment Plank





Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act in
1867
Claims the President must be allowed by the
Senate to remove his appointees if they have
been approved by the Senate
They did this to keep Edwin M. Stanton, who
was a Republican spy, in office
Johnson released Stanton of duty in 1868
Republicans impeached him after he let him go
Edwin M. Stanton
A Non-Guilty Verdict for Johnson




Johnson advised not to testify by his lawyers
They claimed the Tenure of Office was
unconstitutional
May 16, 1868, Johnson was acquitted of
charges by one vote (7 out of 6 votes)
Radicals were enraged by the acquittal, but
other politicians feared setting the precedent of
removing the president of office by
impeachment
The Purchase of Alaska




Secretary William H. Seward bought Alaska
from Russia in 1867
Bought it for $7.2 million
Most people laughed at him and called it
“Seward’s Folly”
Not until later when gold and oil were
discovered was the purchase of Alaska
considered to be a bargain
The Purchase of Alaska
The Heritage of Reconstruction




Many Southerners regarded reconstruction as
worse than the Civil War
It destroyed their system of society
The Republicans failed to improve the
conditions of the South
Conditions for blacks would remain difficult
for at least another century until the Civil
Rights Movement in the 1950’s & 60’s