Ch.

17 - Reconstruction
SECTION 1: REBUILDING THE SOUTH SECTION 2: THE FIGHT OVER RECONSTRUCTION SECTION 3: RECONSTRUCTION IN THE SOUTH

Reconstruction
U.S. government faced problem of dealing with

defeated southern states Process of readmitting the former Confederate states to the Union.

Lasted 12 years

South Cities/towns ruined Crop failures High food prices

Lincolns Plan
Wanted to reunite the nation as quickly and

painlessly as possible. Ten Percent Plan

Offered southerners amnesty, or official pardon, for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion. Once 10% of voters in a state made these pledges, can be readmitted. To receive amnesty, southerners needed to:
Swear an oath of loyalty to the US Agree that slavery was illegal

Louisiana first state admitted back

Wade-Davis Bill
Believed that Congress, not the President, should

control southern states return to Union Alternate to Ten Percent Plan 2 conditions to be readmitted:

Ban slavery Majority of adult males in the state had to take the loyalty oath.

Only southerners who swore that they had never

supported the Confederacy could vote or hold office

Much stricter. (Much slower process)

Freedom for African Americans

Thirteenth Amendment (1/31/1865) Made slavery illegal throughout the United States Changes Marriages that werent allowed Searched for relatives that had been sold Newspaper ads looking for children Women worked at home

Freedmens Bureau
Agency providing relief for freed people and certain

poor people in the South Played an important rule in establishing schools in the South Kids were eager to learn since educating slaves was illegal

President Johnsons Reconstruction Plan

April 14, 1865 (Fords Theater, Washington DC)

John Wilkes Booth Opposed Lincolns policies Snuck into President Lincolns theater box and shot him
VP Andrew Johnson sworn in quickly Plan for reconstruction similar to Lincolns Wealthy southerners and former Confederate officials would need a President pardon

New State Government

President Johnson Democrat

Was put on the ticket to appeal to the border states

Setup a mild program for southern states to start new governments

Congress disagreed Led to more division

Opposition to President Johnson

Black Codes Laws that greatly limited the freedom of African Americans Required African Americans to sign work contracts

Working conditions similar to those under slavery

Radical Republicans
Wanted the federal government to force change in

the South Thought the black codes were cruel and unjust Thaddeus Stevens & Charles Sumner

Leaders of the Radical Republicans Harsh critic of President Johnson (Stevens) Strong advocates for equality for African Americans and poor white southerners

Bills
Civil Rights Act of 1866 Provided African Americans with the same legal rights as white Americans Vetoed by President Johnson Fourteenth Amendment Defined citizens and guaranteed citizens equal protection Could not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

1866 Elections
President Johnson and most Democrats opposed

Fourteenth Amendment Civil rights key issue Republicans gained control of House and Senate

Reconstruction Acts
Laws that divided the South into five districts

Military commander controlled each district until

southern states rejoined the army

VA(1), NC, SC(2), GA, FLA, AL(3), MS, AR(4), LA, TX(5)

To be readmitted: State had to write a new constitution supporting the Fourteenth Amendment State had to give African American men the right to vote

President on Trial
Congress passed a law that limited Presidents power

Law prevented the President from removing cabinet

officials without Senate approval

Quickly broke the law by firing Edwin Stanton

Secretary of War

Republicans responded by voting to impeach

President Johnson

Process used by legislative body to bring charges of a wrongdoing against a public official People didnt trust president pro tempore of senate, Benjamin Wade. President Johnson found not guilty by 1 vote

Election of 1868
President Johnson did not run for reelection

Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) won

Fifteenth Amendment
Gave African American men the right to vote

Angered women

Reconstruction Governments
African Americans largest group of southern

Republican voters Hiram Revels

First African American in US Senate

Governments Establish first state-funded public school systems in the South Built new hospitals, prisons, and orphanages Passed laws prohibiting discrimination against African Americans

Ku Klux Klan
As more African Americans took office, resistance

from white southerners rose Group of white southerners in TN created Ku Klux Klan

Secret society opposed civil rights, particularly suffrage, for African Americans Used violence and terror Wore robes and disguises Attacked and murdered African Americans, white Republican voters, and public officials (night) After a few years, the Klan was no longer an organized threat.

Reconstruction Ends
Panic of 1873 Severe economic downturn Jay Cooke & Company
Major investor in railroads and largest financier of Unions Civil War effort Declared bankruptcy

Election of 1876 Hayes (Republican) v. Tilden (Democrat) Tilden initially won, but challenged by Republicans Compromise of 1877 Democrats agreed to accept Hayes victory in return for the removal of federal troops from the South

Redeemers
Democrats slowly regain control of state

governments Redeemers

Democrats who brought their party back to power in the South Wanted to reduce the size of state government and limit the rights of African Americans Lowered state budgets Cut property tax and public funding for schools Succeeded in limiting African Americans civil rights

African Americans Rights

Poll Tax Special tax people had to pay before they could vote Redeemers used this to deny voting rights to African Americans Literacy Test Cant pass, cant vote Segregation Forced separation of whites and African Americans in public places

Jim Crow laws Enforced segregation

Plessy vs Ferguson
Homer Plessy (African American) Refused to leave white-only Louisiana train car Arrested and accused of breaking law of requiring separate cars for blacks and whites Supreme Court ruling

Segregation is allowed if separate-but-equal facilities were provided