Reconstruction1865-1876

The aftermath of the Civil War

Lincoln’s View

• US as “one indivisible nation” had prevailed• Plan to quickly restore state

governments loyal to the Union• Lincoln’s plan was jeopardized by

his assassination• John Wilkes Booth• Ford’s Theater• April 14, 1865

Why “Reconstruction?”

South is in RUINS

Why Reconstruction?

•Roads, bridges, buildings, and machinery were destroyed.•Once-rich farm fields were barren or weed choked•Confederate money was worthless• Farmers and planters had no money or credit to buy

seeds and tools so they could start growing crops again• The vast labor pool of slaves had dried up.

Radical Republicans want:

• To punish states that seceded (ANGRY with South)• To ensure equal voting rights for

African Americans

• They clash with Lincoln’s successor: Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson

• Impeached by Radical Republicans 1868• Not removed from office• Senate voted to acquit President

Andrew Johnson by a margin of 35 guilty to 19 not guilty - one vote short of the two-thirds needed to convict.

Text Book Assignment: Complete Sentences (except definitions)• Define vocabulary listed in sidebar on pages: 402, 410, 419• Check Point Questions: 403, 405, 406, 409, 412, 415, 416, 418, 421,

424, & 427

• Explain what the following people contributed to Reconstruction:• Ulysses S. Grant• Frederick Douglass• Robert E. Lee

The Civil War Amendments

• 13th Amendment:• Abolish slavery permanently in the US

• 14th Amendment:• States prohibited from denying equal

rights under the law to any American• Some Southern states immediately

implement “Black Codes”• These limit rights for African Americans

• 15th Amendment:• Voting rights were guaranteed

regardless of “race, color, or previous degree of servitude.”

Black Codes differed by state

laws designed to regulate the lives of the former slaves:• Employment was required of all freedmen;

violators faced vagrancy charges• Freedmen could not assemble without the

presence of a white person• Freedmen were assumed to be agricultural

workers and their duties and hours were tightly regulated

• Freedmen were not to be taught to read or write

• Public facilities were segregated• Violators of these laws were subject to being

whipped or branded.

End of Reconstruction

• Election of 1876:• Rutherford B. Hayes, Republican• Samuel Tilden, Democrat• Hayes won by 1 electoral vote,

Tilden won the popular vote by 250,000 votes.

• Compromise of 1877• Democrats agreed to election

results if Republicans agreed to compromise.

Compromise of 1877opens the door to the “Jim Crow Era” and began a long period in the

South where African Americans were denied full rights of American citizenship.

• To withdraw federal soldiers from their remaining positions in the South• To enact federal legislation that

would spur industrialization in the South• To appoint Democrats to

patronage positions in the South• To appoint a Democrat to the

president’s cabinet.

Economic Impact of War and ReconstructionNorth and Midwest

• Strong, growing industrial economies• Will cause the US to emerge as a

global economic power

South

• Devastated by war, infrastructure destroyed• Labor force gone because of end

of slavery and casualties of war• Remained agriculturally based

economy and poorest part of country

Transcontinental Railroad:• Increases Westward movement

towards the Pacific• Completed soon after war ends

Social Impact of War and Reconstruction• African Americans:• Emancipation Proclamation allows

them to serve in Union Army• Civil War Amendments end slavery• Black Codes restrict rights in South

• Women:• Managed homes and families with

little resources• Faced poverty and hunger• Found new roles in agriculture,

nursing, and war industries

Social Impact of War and Reconstruction• Common Soldier:• Warfare = gruesome hand to hand

combat• Diaries and letters home record this• Left psychological scars

• Returned home to find homes gone• Left with permanent disabilities

Robert E. Lee• Urged Southerners to reconcile

and rejoin U.S.• President of Washington and Lee

University• Emphasized the importance of

education in nation’s future

Frederick Douglass• Supported full equality for

African Americans• Urged passage of 14th and 15th

Amendments• Encouraged government actions

to protect rights of freedmen• Served as ambassador to Haiti

Ulysses S. Grant

• Urged Radical Republicans not to be harsh with former Confederates• Elected president 1869-1877• Advocated rights for freedmen• Opposed revenge on the South

New Vocab:

• Scalawags--southern whites who supported republican policy throughout reconstruction

•Carpetbaggers--northern whites who moved to the south and served as republican leaders during reconstruction or took advantage of vulnerable economy

• Sharecropping--system in which landowners rented a few acres of land to farmworkers in return for a portion of their crops

Reconstruction Poster

• Title• Dates• Johnson’s View• Radical Republican View• What reforms were actually passed?• Explain the three Civil War Amendments• Explain the Compromise of 1877 and End of Reconstruction• Include Douglass’, Lee’s, and Grant’s view• Pictures and color to accent important information