Reconstruction&

Jim Crow LawsBy Nancy Garcia

WHAT WAS RECONSTRUCTION?

Reconstruction was a time period between 1865-1877 in which the Federal Government helped repair the damage caused to the South due to the Civil War and to restore southern states to the Union.

Richmond, Virginia

Presidential Reconstruction

Reconstruction Plans

Both Lincoln and Johnson introduced two different plans to help the nation. Lincoln introduced his Ten Percent Plan in December of 1863. Johnson introduced his Presidential Reconstruction Plan after Lincoln's death.

Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan1. It offered pardon to any Confederate

who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union.

2. It denied pardon to any officials who took part of the murdering of African American war prisoners.

3.Permitted each state to hold a constitutional convention only after 10% of voters had sworn allegiance to Union.

4.States could then hold elections and resume full participation in Union

Johnson's Presidential Reconstruction Plan

1. It pardoned southerners who swore allegiance to the Union.

2.Permitted each state to hold a constitutional convention.

3.States were required to void secession, abolish slavery and ratify the 13th Amendment.

4.States could then hold elections and resume participation in the Union.

CONGRESSIONAL

Reconstructio

n

Turning PointIn 1866 Congress passed a Civil Law Act

which outlawed black codes. Worried that courts might reject the law

Congress decided to build equal right in the Constitution. It was therfore important to add the 14th & 15th Amendment.

14th & 15th Amendment

In February 1869, Congress passed the 15th Amendment to the Constitution.

It stated no citizen may be denied the right to vote by race, color or previous condition of servitude.

In June 1866, Congress passed the 14th Amendment, it stated all persons born in the U.S were citizens and were to be given full and equal benefit of the law.

Freedmen's BureauCongress created

Freedmen's Bureau in March 1865 to help black southerners adjust to freedom. It was the first major federal relief agency in the U.S history. The Bureau gave out clothing,

medical supplies, and millions of meals. It also provided education and land to farmers.

Birth of the "New South"

Effects on the SouthChanges in farming during Reconstruction

affected the South's economy in several important ways:

• Changes in Labor Force.• Emphasis on cash crops.• Cycle of Debt.• Rise of merchants.

Cause & Effect• Slavery is abolished, small farmers lack

capital to buy land, planters need a stable work force

• Sharecropping and Tenant Farming being Introduced

• Farmers being caught in cycle debt, planters and merchants prosper, agriculture focus shifts from food crops to cash crops

which leads to

which leads to

Cities & IndustryOne of the greatest successes was the

rebuilding and extension of southern railroads.

The railroads turned southern villages into towns, and towns into cities.

But most of the South's postwar industrial growth came from cotton mills.

The value of cotton rose from $713 thousand in 1860 to $3 million by 1880.

End of Reconstruction

Reaction of white southerners to hear the removal of troops

A Dying Issue• Reconstruction legislatures taxed and

spent heavily putting southern states into debt.

• Reconstruction came to symbolize corruption, greed, and poor government.

• As troops were retrieved more freedmen were prevented from their liberties.

• White's went back into power and dominated southern states.

The Compromise of 1877

The Democrats agreed to give Hayes the victory in the Presidential election in return, the new President agreed to remove the remaining federal troops for the south.

The steps toward Democracy and Republicans were dismissed when Hayes allowed troops to leave the South because now the amendments put into place to protect the rights of the people were no longer being enforced.

Successes of Reconstruction

• Achieved two main goals, to rebuild the Union and help repair South.

• Stimulated economic growth in South.• 14th and 15th Amendment guaranteed

African Americans the rights they deserved.

• The Freedmen's Bureau and other organizations helped many black families.

• Southern states adopted system of tax-supported and mandatory education.

Failures of Reconstruction• Most black southerners remained in a

cycle of poverty.• KKK denied African Americans the right

to vote after removal of Northern troops.

• Racist attitudes toward African Americans continued.

• Did not address other concerns such as women suffrage, working conditions etc.

Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow is a system of laws that segregated public services by race beginning in the 1890's but these laws began to appear in the South a few years after the end of Reconstruction.

Restrictions

• Poll Tax- voters were required to own property and pay a fee at time of voting.

• Literacy Test- black were often given harder test than whites so it could be difficult to pass.

• Grandfather Clause- if they themselves had voted, or had ancestors who voted, prior to black suffrage it exempted them from laws.

Plessy v. Ferguson

SITUATION: In this case Plessy argued that his right of equal protection of the laws was being violated. Separate seating for whites and blacks was being required in places in Louisiana.

OUTCOME: Court held segregation as being legal as long as separate facilities provided both equality for blacks and whites. The 14th Amendment was not intended to give Negroes social equality but only political and civil equality.

QUICK QUIZ

Poll taxes and grandfather clause were devices used to

1.deny African Americans the right to vote

2. raise money for political campaigns

3.prevent immigrants from becoming citizens

In plans for Reconstruction both Lincoln and Johnson sought to

1.punish the south for the civil war

2.allow the Southern States to reenter the nation as quickly as possible

3. force the southern states to pay reparations to the Federal Government

The Jim Crow legal system which expanded in the South after the Plessy v. Ferguson was based on the Supreme Court's interpretation of the

1. state's right provision of the 10th Amendment

2.equal protection clause in the 14th Amendment

3.voting right provision in the 15th Amendment

How were many African Americans in the South affected after Reconstruction ended in 1877?

1.A constitutional amendment guaranteed their social advancement

2. The Freedmen's Bureau helped them become farmers

3.Jim Crow laws placed major restrictions on their rights

Following Reconstruction, the term New South was often used to describe

1.new attitudes in race relations

2.changes in Southern economy

3. the growth of Republican Party in the South