Reconstruction

After the Civil War, the north and western economies were booming! But the southern economy was in ruins. Thanks to worthless confederate money, the end of slavery and the destruction of southern cities the south was in the middle of an economic collapse. The period after the Civil War is known as reconstruction and it refers to the economic and psychological rebuilding of the south.

I. Reconstruction PlansA. Lincoln’s Plan

1. Pardon confederates

2. states could reenter Union when 10% of population took oath of allegiance

3. New State Constitutions had to endorse 13th Amendment

Lincoln had no desire to punish the South. However, Lincoln’s plan never went into effect because he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth:

B. Andrew Johnson’s PlanAt first, this plan went into effect. Johnson said each state should call for a state convention and adopt new state constitutions which stated:

1. void secession

2. abolish slavery (13th Amendment)

3. only then could state and federal election be held.

Unfortunately, Southerners used intimidation tactics and violence to control the newly freed slaves: Upset by this

Southern Response to Johnson’s Plan, Radical Republicans forced their plan into action!

C. Radical Republican Plan

1. States had to ratify the Civil Rights Act and 14th Amendment- made free slaves citizens and protected their rights (thanks to the equal protection clause)!

2. New state Constitutions also had to ratify the 15th Amendment: gave newly freed male slaves (21 & older) the right to vote

3. Military Reconstruction Act: Divided the South into military districts: federal troops stayed to enforce new laws!

II. The Freemen’s Bureau was established:

• Schools: (Hampton Institute) as well as primary and secondary schools

• Gave food and shelter to those newly freed slaves in need.

• They made them understand their rights

• They helped reunite families• They helped freed slaves find

jobs

Life changes for slaves: The 13th amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States!

• Newly freed slaves formed churches• They started their own schools (why)• They could own property!

III. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

The former Union General Ulysses S. Grant was President after Andrew Johnson. He served two terms and was more agreeable to the demands of the radical republicans than Johnson had been. He didn’t have much power, because Congress could override his vetoes.

IV. The New South: reconstruction brought many changes to the South

A. Carpetbaggers- northerners who came south to take over and create new businesses in the South.

B. Scalawags- Southerners who helped the radical republican cause (like working in the Freemen’s bureau) Most scalawags were poor southerners looking to get rich or powerful.

C. Free slaves: many refused to work for their former masters. They were allowed to work for wages and vote.

Freed slaves voted with the republicans and became associated with the republican party. Some ran for

political office and won! With the Republicans in control of Congress and

the federal troops in the South, free slaves gained more power than they

ever thought imaginable.

Do you think most Southerners were happy?

V. Old Southerners respond:A. Sharecropping –

white land owners wouldn’t sell their land, but they would rent out land. Former slaves would pay rent by giving land owners one third of their crops. Can’t make a profit.

B. KKK – A way for whites to negate the rights of former slaves and those who support them (carpetbaggers and scalawags). Whites gained back their election seats in local, state and federal elections (Congress did pass the KKK Acts in 1871, but it was too late).

VI. Compromise of 1877

The election of 1876 was a very sad chapter in our country’s history! The contest was between Rutherford B. Hayes ( R ) and Samuel Tilden ( D ). It was similar to the 2000 election (the votes of three states were being questioned by both democrats and republicans). A special commission of equal numbers of democrats and republicans was created. Democrats agreed to make Hayes President, but only if he ended reconstruction (pulled out federal troops) and assured democrats he would do everything he could to bring technology and manufacturing to the South.

Did reconstruction save the South and the newly freed

slaves?The South made some progress in becoming more modern, but still even after reconstruction, the South was mainly agricultural. The culture of southerners didn’t really change either. When reconstruction ended, all of the gains made by African Americans vanished. Black Codes and the KKK made sure the newly freed slaves would never really enjoy there freedom.

Civil War Leader After the War

Ulysses S. Grant:

•Urged Radical Republicans not to be harsh with former Confederates • Elected President and served during most of Reconstruction • Advocated rights for the freedman • Opposed retribution directed to the defeated South

Frederick Douglass

• Supported full equality for African Americans

• Advocated for the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments • Encouraged federal government actions to protect the rights of the freedmen in the South

• Served as ambassador to Haiti and in the civil service

Robert E. Lee

• Urged Southerners to reconcile and rejoin the United States • Served as President of Washington College (Washington & Lee University today) • Emphasized the importance of education to the nation’s future

The Jim Crow EraHomer Plessy was seven – eighths white. On a Louisiana railway car, he was asked to move to the colored section. Plessy said that was violation of his 14th amendment rights (equal protection clause). He sued and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court (Plessy v. Ferguson). The court ruled that that he may have been treated separate, but he was in an equal facility. Thus the “separate, but equal” or Jim Crow era began.

Disenfranchisement: losing the right to vote

A. Poll taxes: in order to vote you had to pay a tax.

B. Literacy test: In order to vote you had to pass a literacy test.

C. Grandfather clause: if your grandfather had ever voted you did not have to take a literacy test or pay a poll tax.

Those who spoke out

Booker T. Washington.

A native of Virginia and a graduate of Hampton University. Hebelieved the way to equality was through vocational education and economic success; he accepted social separation. He was a founder of Tuskegee University.

W. E. B. DuBois

He believed that education was meaningless without equality. To gain that equality he urged African Americans to obtain professional degrees. He supported political equality for African Americans by helping to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Ida Wells: Anti-lynching crusader