Chapter 12 Reconstruction

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Chapter 12 Reconstruction
Section Notes
Video
Reconstruction
Plans for Reconstruction Congressional
Reconstruction Republicans in Charge Reconstructio
n Collapses
Maps
History Close-up
Military Districts, 1867 The Election of 1876
African Americans and Reconstruction
Images
Quick Facts
Human Costs of the Civil War Freedmens
Village Political Cartoon Reconstruction In the
Shadow of Slavery
Hopes Raised and Denied Visual Summary
Reconstruction
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Plans for Reconstruction

• The Main Idea
• Northern leaders had different ideas for dealing
  with the many issues and challenges of restoring
  the southern states to the Union.
• Reading Focus
• What challenges faced the South after the Civil
  War?
• What actions did Union leaders take during
  wartime to reconstruct the nation after the wars
  end?
• How did Lincolns assassination affect the
  nation?
• Why did President Johnson and Congress differ
  over Reconstruction?

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The South after the War

• Property losses
• The value of farms and plantations declined
  steeply and suffered from neglect and loss of
  workers.
• The Souths transportation network was in very
  poor shape.
• Challenges for African Americans
• Had gained freedom, but had no money and little
  if any education. The poor economy made job
  prospects bleak.
• They wanted educational and economic
  opportunities.
• How to treat the South
• Many legal and political questions regarding the
  South needed to be answered.

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Wartime Reconstruction
The Freedmens Bureau was created in March 1865
to help southern refugees and freed slaves.
Northerners disagreed over how to treat the
South, but as he stated in his inaugural address,
Lincoln hoped to treat the South with malice
toward none and charity toward all.
New roles for African Americans were tested. In
territories under Union control, freed slaves
were hired to work on plantations for pay, or
were allowed to rent and farm the land. 40-acre
plots in South Carolina and Georgia coastal lands
were given away. In Louisiana, freedmen signed
contracts to work for a year for wages. Some
planters deducted basic items from the wages, and
little money was left over.
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Reconstruction Plans

• Lincolns Plan
• The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction,
  December 1863, gave forgiveness to those who
  pledged Union loyalty and support for
  emancipation.
• When 10 percent of voters had taken the oath, a
  new state government could be organized. The new
  government was required to ban slavery.
• This plan for readmission was known as the Ten
  Percent Plan.

• Opposition
• Lincolns plan sparked debate in Congress.
• Some thought only power to re-admit belonged to
  Congress others thought the South never
  officially left the Union.
• Thaddeus Stevens felt majority rule was being
  discarded.
• Congress refused to allow members from the states
  readmitted under Lincolns plan to be seated.

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Congress Makes a Plan

• Wade-Davis Bill
• In 1864, Congress passed its own plan for
  Reconstruction.
• A majority of white male citizens would be
  required to take a loyalty oath before elections
  could be held.
• Lincoln killed the bill using a pocket veto,
  ignoring it since it passed in the last 10 days
  of the legislative session.

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Lincolns Assassination

• The president did not live long enough to test
  his wartime popularity against Congress for
  control of Reconstruction plans.

Popular president

• Lincoln was shot at Fords Theater on April 14,
  1865, and died the next morning.
• John Wilkes Booth was part of a conspiracy, and
  others were supposed to kill Vice President
  Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William
  Seward.

John Wilkes Booth

• A grief stricken nation mourned Lincolns death.
• White southerners were concerned. Lincolns death
  meant a change in Reconstruction plans and a new
  president. Some disliked Andrew Johnson and felt
  he was a traitor.

Concern and grief
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Johnson and Congress Differ over Reconstruction
Republican leaders thought they could work with
Johnson, but they did not understand his views.
Born into poverty, Johnson despised the wealthy
planter class, but he held no ill will toward
southerners. He supported states rights and
limits on government power.
Johnsons plan added to Lincolns list of
exceptions. Wealthy southerners would have to
apply for pardons, but there was no set
percentage of loyal voters. It required a
convention to be called to repeal secession, an
amended constitution banning slavery, and a
refusal to pay Confederate debts.
Johnson pushed forward with his plan, and all but
one state was restored when Congress met in
December. Congress was not happy, and the battle
for control would begin.
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Congressional Reconstruction

• The Main Idea
• Congress took control of Reconstruction, as a
  new, radical branch of the Republican Party began
  emerging.
• Reading Focus
• How did the South respond to Reconstruction under
  President Johnson?
• Why did Congress take control of Reconstruction,
  and what changes did it make?
• How did Radical Reconstruction differ from
  earlier Reconstruction plans, and what were its
  effects?

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Reconstruction under President Johnson

• Johnsons attitude
• Deep-rooted prejudice continued. African
  Americans had rights, but those rights did not
  include a role in government. Johnson declared,
  White men alone must manage the South.
• Johnson pardoned nearly everyone who applied, and
  prewar leaders were restored to power. Congress
  refused to seat these former Confederates.
• The Black Codes
• Designed to keep freedmen in slavelike
  conditions, Black Codes gave planters a cheap
  labor supply. The laws varied by state, but they
  allowed freedmen certain rights, such as the
  right to marry and to own property. The series of
  laws kept freedmen dependent on the plantation
  for their existence.
• Keeping a way of life
• Local sheriffs and Civil War veterans supported
  and enforced these laws. White citizens formed
  private groups, supposedly to keep order in the
  South. The Ku Klux Klan formed in 1866 and soon
  began terrorizing African Americans and whites
  who were loyal to the Union. Violence against
  blacks was rarely prosecuted.

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Congress Takes Control of Reconstruction
Northerners felt if southern states were allowed
to abuse freedmen, the Norths victory would be
diminished. A New Jersey paper warned, The
reptile spirit of secession is still alive.
Northern concerns
Radical Republicans wanted to reshape southern
society and favored a more thorough program of
Reconstruction. They wanted freed slaves to have
economic opportunities and political equality.
But moderate Republicans still controlled
Congress.
Congress fights back
Moderates did not want a social revolution, but
wanted to help and protect freedmen. They passed
two bills, including a Civil Rights Act.
Johnsons vetoes pushed the moderates to help the
Radical Republicans to take control of
Reconstruction.
Johnson versus Congress
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Radical Reconstruction
Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment, writing
the Civil Rights Act into the constitution and
granting citizenship to all persons born or
naturalized in the United States.
Republicans took control in the election of 1866
after riots in the South discredited Johnsons
views. Radicals now had the votes needed to pass
the Reconstruction Acts.
These laws put the southern states under U.S.
military control and required them to draft new
constitutions. Congress also passed the Tenure of
Office Act in March 1867 to keep Johnson from
using his power as commander in chief to
interfere with Reconstruction.
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Radical Reconstruction

• Johnsons impeachment
• Edward Stanton, Lincolns secretary of war, had
  stayed on in Johnsons cabinet.
• Stanton supported congressional Republicans and
  prevented Johnson from undermining Congresss
  program. In response, Johnson fired him.
• The House of Representatives voted to impeach
  Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act.
• The Senate failed to convict by one vote, and
  Johnson remained in office.
• Although no longer in control of Reconstruction,
  Johnson continued to issue pardons, and by the
  end of 1868 the rights of almost all Confederate
  leaders had been restored.

• The Fifteenth Amendment
• During the impeachment trial, Republicans
  nominated General Grant as their presidential
  candidate.
• The 1868 election was close, but the African
  American vote in the South gave Grant an
  electoral college victory.
• Republicans pushed through the Fifteenth
  Amendment, which extended suffrage to all African
  American males nationwide.
• This brought millions of potential new voters to
  the Republican Party and aimed to protect
  freedmen from pardoned former Confederates.
  However, it did not ban denial of suffrage for
  reasons other than race.

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Republicans in Charge

• The Main Idea
• Republican Reconstruction had significant impact
  on life in the South.
• Reading Focus
• What changes did Republican government bring to
  the South?
• What was life after slavery like for African
  Americans?
• How did Reconstruction affect patterns of land
  ownership and land use in the South?

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Republican Government Brings Change to the South

• Scalawags
• Scalawag was the name given to southerners who
  supported the shift in power to Congress and the
  army.
• Many were farmers who had never owned slaves.
• Some joined the Republicans to prevent the
  planter class from returning to power others
  were southerners ruined by the war still others
  wanted to end the dependence on plantation
  agriculture.

• Carpetbaggers
• The scalawags allied with carpetbaggers,
  northerners who came south to take part in the
  regions political and economic rebirth.
• Scorned as low-class persons who could carry
  their belongings in a carpetbag, many were
  educated and came from a variety of backgrounds.
• Many bought abandoned land cheaply or formed
  partnerships with planters.

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Republican Government Brings Change to the South

• African Americans in government
• Forming the largest group of Republican voters in
  the South, nearly 700 African Americans served in
  southern state legislatures during
  Reconstruction. They included Hiram Revels, who
  took the Senate seat held by Jefferson Davis
  before the war.
• New state governments
• Brought many changes, including the regions
  first public school systems. The infrastructure
  was repaired, facilities built, and railroads
  added. Facilities were open to all southerners,
  but were usually segregated by race. The Black
  Codes were repealed in every state. The changes
  angered those formerly in control, and some
  freedmen felt more needed to be done to help them
  obtain land.

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Life after Slavery for African Americans
Freedom meant a variety of things, including
reuniting with family and the search for
employment. Some moved west or north, but most
stayed in the South.
Most eagerly sought education and began to
establish their own institutions, including
churches and schools. The churches became centers
of community life.
A wide variety of other organizations were
created, including debate clubs, drama societies,
trade associations, fire companies, and mutual
aid societies. Freedmen were taking the lead to
improve themselves and gain control of their
lives.
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Reconstruction and Land Ownership
Giving away planters land to former slaves was
considered too extreme. Instead, Congress passed
a law setting aside 45 million acres of
government-owned land to provide free farms.
Southern Homestead Act
Under the new sharecropping system the employer
provided the land, tools, seedbasically
everything but the labor. If able, some switched
to tenant farming, renting the land they farmed
from the landowner. Independence was difficult.
New labor system
Southern cities grew rapidly. Atlanta and other
cities became business centers, with textile
mills and other manufacturing ventures being
built. Workers still earned lower wages in the
South, and many were locked in a cycle of debt.
Industrial growth
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Reconstruction Collapses

• The Main Idea
• A variety of events and forces led to the end of
  Reconstruction, which left a mixed legacy for the
  nation.
• Reading Focus
• What problems caused support for Reconstruction
  to decline?
• What events brought Reconstruction to an end?
• What was Reconstructions legacy for the South
  and for the rest of the nation?

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Problems with Reconstruction

• Terrorist Groups
• Reconstruction brought violent opposition
  throughout the South.
• The KKK and similar organizations wanted to
  restore the old political order.
• Their methods included threats, house burnings,
  and killings against not only blacks but whites
  as well.
• State governments were unable to control violence.

• Enforcement Acts
• Three Enforcement Acts were passed, setting
  heavy penalties for anyone attempting to prevent
  a qualified person from voting.
• They banned the use of disguises and gave the
  army and federal courts power to capture and
  punish KKK members.
• While the KKK was soon brought under control,
  other groups continued to operate.

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Problems with Reconstruction

• Support declines
• White southerners felt the Acts threatened
  individual freedoms.
• Northerners were dismayed that the army was still
  needed to keep the peace in the South.
• State governments were seen as ineffective.
• There was widespread poverty and lack of land
  reform for African Americans.

• Lost faith
• Costly building programs raised taxes and put
  state governments in debt.
• Liberal Republicans helped the Democrats regain
  control of the House of Representatives.
• Economic factors came into play, with the
  depression that began in 1873 taking more
  attention.

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The End of Reconstruction
Three Supreme Court decisions seriously weakened
the goals and operations of Reconstruction. The
Slaughterhouse Cases, United States v.
Cruikshank, and United States v. Reese served to
limit the impact of the 14th and 15th Amendments.

Supreme Court decisions
Violence increased, and southern Democrats grew
stronger and bolder. Grant refused assistance
since the northern public was tired out by
Souths continuing problems. By 1876 Redeemers
had won back almost all of the states.
Redeeming the South
The presidential election was disputed with
charges of massive voting fraud. With the
Compromise of 1877 Republicans agreed to withdraw
federal troops in the South, and in return,
Rutherford B. Hayes became president.
The election of 1876
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Reconstructions Legacy
The 14th and 15th Amendments began permanent
changes across the United States. Former slaves
were now citizens with voting rights.
The New South was becoming industrial, but in
many ways it remained the same. White southerners
deeply resented that the federal government
controlled their states.
For a century after Reconstruction ended, the
South was know as the Solid South, always voting
Democratic. It was not until the 1970s that the
Republican Party was able to gain ground in the
South.
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