Chapter 18

Reconstruction
(1865-1877)

Reconstruction
Begins
Reconstruction was the process the U.S.
government used to readmit the
Confederates states to the Union after the
Civil War.
Reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877.
After the assassination of President Lincoln,
Andrew Johnson became the 17th President
of the U.S.
Andrew Johnson was a Democrat

President Lincoln and most of Congress

(House of Rep. and Senate) were
Republicans.

WATCH North v South

Reconstruction
After the Civil War, Radical
Republicans were congressman who
favored using federal powers to give
African Americans full citizenship
(14th Amendment) and the right to
vote (15th Amendment).
During Reconstruction, the
Freedmens Bureau was set up to
help formers slaves after the Civil War.
The Freedmens Bureau set up schools
and hospitals for African Americans
and distributed clothes, food, and fuel
throughout the South.

Rebuilding Brings
Conflict
President Johnson offered amnesty, or
official pardon, and promised to return
property to the Southerners.
In return, Southerners had to pledge
loyalty to the United States.
Some of the new state governments in the
South refused to ratify the Thirteenth
Amendment.
Governments in the South passed laws
known as black codes, which limited the
freedom of former slaves.
WATCH President Johnsons Reconstruction
Plan

Radical
Reconstruction
If a state did not allow African
Americans to vote, the state would
lose representatives in Congress.
President Johnson and every former
Confederate state except Tennessee
refused to support the Fourteenth
Amendment.
Republicans in Congress passed the
Reconstruction Act of 1867, which
started a period known as Radical
Reconstruction.
Radical Reconstruction was led by
the Republicans in Congress.

The Civil Rights

Act
The Radical Republicans passed the Civil
Rights Act of 1866, which declared all
persons born in the U.S. (except Native
Americans) were citizens, but it was
vetoed by President Johnson.
Congress voted to override President
Johnsons veto with a two-thirds (2/3) vote
in Congress (both the Senate and House of
Rep.), and the Civil Rights Act of 1866
became law.
Later in 1866, Congress passed the
Fourteenth Amendment stating that all
people born in the U.S. were citizens and
all citizens were granted equal protection
of the laws.
WATCH Just A Bill

The New Southern

Governments
Southern states could reenter the
Union after they:
1) Approve new state constitutions
that gave the vote to all adult
men.
2) Ratify the 14th Amendment.
) In 1867, three-fourths of delegates
selected to draft new state
constitutions were Republicans.
) Scalawags (scoundrels) were
Southerners who supported Radical
Reconstruction.
) Carpetbaggers were Northerners
who moved to the South.

Johnson Is
Impeached
Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the
South into five military districts, each run
by an Army commander.
President Johnson assigned exConfederates as military commanders in
the South.
In 1867, Congress passed the Tenure of
Office Act, which prohibited the president
from firing government officials without
approval from the Senate.
In February 1868, President Johnson fired
Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, over
disagreements about Reconstruction.

Johnson Is
Impeached
3 days after President Johnson fired one
of the cabinet members, the House of
Rep. voted to impeach the President.
Impeach means to formally accuse the
President of improper conduct while in
office.
The trial was in the Senate, and after
several weeks of testimony the Senate
voted.
President Johnson was acquitted by a
single vote.
WATCH and DISCUSS Bill Clintons
Impeachment

Reconstruction and
Daily Life

After the Civil War, African Americans no

longer needed passes to travel.
1) Some former slaves returned to where
they were born,
2) Others looked for economic opportunities
in the North and West,
3) With help from the Freedmens Bureau
African Americans also traveled in search
of family members separated during
slavery.
) Freedom allowed African American to
strengthen family ties:
1) Former slaves could legally marry,
2) Could raise families without fear that the
children would be sold into slavery,
3) Many families adopted the orphaned
children of relatives and friends.

Starting Schools

After the Civil War, the Freedmens Bureau,

Northern missionary groups, and AfricanAmerican organizations built freedmens
schools to educate newly freedman slaves.
Between 1865 and 1870, $5 million was spent
on freedmens schools.
By 1869, 150,000 African-Americans were
attending 3,000 schools, and about 10
percent learned to read.
Some racists in the South killed teachers and
burned freedmens schools.
DISCUSS Bureau of Labor Statistics of Earnings
and Unemployment Rates by educational
Attainment
WATCH Key & Peele Teaching Center

The Election of Grant

Ulysses S. Grant won the Election of 1868
to become the 18th President of the United
States of America.
Grant won 214 electoral votes and his
opponent (Horatio Seymour) received only
80.
States that did not allow African Americans
lost House of Reps. and electoral votes.
The popular vote was much closer, Grant
had a majority of only 306,000.
500,000 African Americans voted in the
South, and most cast their ballots for
Grant.

The Ku Klux Klan

A racist organization called the Ku Klux
Klan tried to restore Democratic control of
the South and keep former slaves
powerless.

The Klan increased the power of the

Democrats by keeping Republicans away
from the polls.

In 1871, Congress passed the Anti-Klan

Bill, and federal marshals arrested
thousands of Klansmen.

Klan attacks on African-Americans voters

declined, and in the Election of 1872
Grant was re-elected for a second term.

WATCH Part 2/3 (3:30-5:00) U.S. Grant

The Fifteenth
Amendment
The Radical Republicans proposed
the Fifteenth Amendment, which
stated that citizens could not be
stopped from voting on account
of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude.
The 15th Amendments did not
apply to Native Americans on tribal
lands.
The 15th Amendment did not apply
to women.
WATCH Magic Candle Video

Scandal Weaken
Republicans
President Grant appointed his
former army friends and his
wifes relatives in government
positions although many were
unqualified.
Grants administration were
accused of taking bribes.
In 1872, some Republicans
broke away and formed the
new Liberal Republican party.

Panic Weaken
Republicans
During
the Panic of 1873,
several banks ran out of money
because of bad loans.

Within a year, 89 of the

countrys 364 railroads went
bankrupt, and many farmers
also went bankrupt because
they could not move their
crops.
By 1875, 18,000 companies
went bankrupt, and many
people lost their jobs.
WATCH 3/3 (5:00-9:00) U.S. Grant

Reconstruction Ends
In the Presidential Election of 1876 the
Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden and the
Republicans nominated Rutherford Hayes.
The votes were so close both the Democrats
and Republicans claimed victory.
8 Republicans and 7 Democrats made a deal
known as the Compromise of 1877:
1) The government would remove federal
troops from the South.
2) The government would provide land grants
and loans for the construction of railroads.
3) South would receive federal funds for
construction and improvement projects.
4) Hayes would appoint a Democrat to his
cabinet.
5) The Democrats promised to respect African
Americans civil and political rights.