Rebuilding a Nation

Impact of Reconstruction• Southern voters choose delegates to draft

new state Constitutions; all delegates were Republican.•New State Constitution = Readmitted into U.S.•Most of South was Democratic.

• Southern delegates chosen to write Constitutions emerge from 3 groups:•Poor, white farmers•Carpetbaggers•African-Americans

Impact of Reconstruction• Group #1: Poor, white Southern farmers•Were labeled by Southern elite as “scalawags” (scoundrels).

• Reason for Confederate Hostility:•Angry @ Southern Democrats for starting “Rich Man’s War”.•Agreed to Radical Reconstruction = turning back on Confederacy.

Impact of Reconstruction• Group #2: Carpetbaggers

• Reason for Confederate Hostility:•Northerners who rushed to Southern states to be elected.•Accused of looking for quick wealth.•Accused of seeking easy political power.

Impact of Reconstruction• Group #3: African-Americans

• Reason for Confederate Hostility:•Racist views held against them.•Half of these delegates were free prior to war.•Most were teachers or skilled workers.

Impact of Reconstruction• By 1870, all southern states have newly

ratified Constitutions and are admitted back in U.S.

• During Reconstruction:•700 African-Americans serve in southern state gov’t.•14 African-Americans serve as U.S. Representatives.•2 African-Americans serve as U.S. Senators.

Impact of Reconstruction• President Johnson had many conflicts with

Radical Republican over Reconstruction (14th Amend., Civil Rights, etc.)

• Congress passes Tenure of Office Act (1867) = President can’t fire gov’t employee with Senate approval.

• President Johnson fires Secretary of War in 1868; impeached* for ‘improper conduct while in office”.• Impeach – to accuse of wrongdoing.

Impact of Reconstruction• President Johnson’s impeachment goes

before Senate for vote.• Johnson avoids being removed from office by 1 vote.

Homework #1 – 1/21/151. What section of the country was mostly

Democratic?2. What is a “scalawag”?3. Which group of delegates labeled the Civil

War a “Rich Man’s War?4. What were two accusations made against

carpetbaggers?5. During the Reconstruction era, how many

African-Americans were elected to the Senate?

6. What was the reason for President Johnson being impeached?

7. How many votes did Johnson miss being impeached by?

Starting from scratch• With newfound freedom, former slaves need

to find the following:• Family• Job• House• Education

• For first time, former slaves can:• Reunite with family members•Work for pay/not owner•Marry legally• Have children without fear of them being sold• Travel across country

Starting from scratch• Freedmen’s school are created to help educate

former slaves how to read/write.• Adults attended classes; those who couldn’t were taught by children who did.

• By 1869, 20% of Southern African-Americans could read/write.• 150,000 formers slaves were attending school.

Starting from scratch• White southerners who opposed educating

former slaves would:• Attack/kill Freedmen’s school teachers• Burn class rooms/buildings where classes were taught

• Besides education, former slaves needed land to start a new life.• Economic freedom just as important as actual freedom

• Gen. Sherman suggested splitting Southern farmland into 40 acre plots (40 acres & a mule).• Assign a plot of land to former slaves as a settlement for slavery.

Starting from scratch• Sherman’s idea spreads as rumor, but isn’t

passed by Congress because:• Felt that civil rights & voting rights were enough.• Believed that plantation owners had a right to keep own land.

• Because workers are still needed for farm fields, a new system is created for former slaves: contract system.

• Former slaves could work for pay by choosing which contract/owner they liked best.• Owners still abused system – paid former slaves very little for work.

Starting from scratch• With contracts taking advantage of former

slaves, farmers (and workers) turn to new system: sharecropping.

• Sharecropping system required:•Workers (sharecroppers) “rent” land from farmers.• Farmers provide land, tools, & seed for sharecroppers to use.• Sharecroppers harvested crops and “shared” a portion of profits with land owner as payment.

Starting from scratch• Sharecropping had its share of negatives:• Sharecroppers wanted to grow food to feed family; owners wanted cash crops planted (cotton).• Sharecroppers had to buy following on credit (@ inflated prices):• Food• Clothing• Other goods

• Because they lacked money, most sharecroppers were stuck in debt and couldn’t recover – stuck in poverty indefinitely.

Homework #2 – 1/23/151. Give 2 examples of freedoms that slaves had

for the first time after the Civil War had ended.

2. What was created to help teach former slaves how to read & write?

3. What happened to Freedmen teachers?4. Why did Congress refuse to give former

slaves 40 acres of land (2 reasons)?5. How did owners abuse the contract system?6. Explain how the sharecropping system

worked and what some negative effects were (4-5 sentences).

End of Reconstruction• Following the end of the Civil War, the rise of

racist feelings spawned a terrorist club in 1866: Ku Klux Klan

• The Klan was created to:• Prevent the progress of rights for African-Americans.• Restore Democratic control to the Southern states.

• By 1868, every southern state had a various groups of Klan members.

End of Reconstruction• The Klan used various scare tactics to terrorize

their targets (African-Americans, white Republicans):• Beat/tortured victims• Burning crosses in yards• Burned churches, schools, homes, & crosses• Lynching's

• Targets of the Klan had little protection in the South.• Southern military governors ignored Klan violence.

• Republicans shy away from polls (KKK violence) allowing Democrats power to increase in South.

End of Reconstruction• Presidential election of 1868 brought a change

to the U.S. leadership: Ulysses S. Grant.

• Grant wins the election with the help of the freedmen vote• 500,000 votes cast for Grant by former slaves• Freedmen voted despite threats/violence from Klan

• Congress scrambles to protect votes of freedmen.• Feared that southern Democrats would try to limit future freedmen votes.

End of Reconstruction• Following Civil War, southern states passed

series of laws aimed at stopping blacks from voting.

• They included:• Literacy tests• Poll Taxes•Grandfather Clause• 3/5 Clause

End of Reconstruction• Radical Republicans propose a constitutional

amendment protecting voting rights for freedmen.

• The 15th Amendment is ratified in 1870.• States: Citizens can’t be denied to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”.

• The new amendment did NOT include:• Native Americans•Women (White, African-American, etc.)

End of Reconstruction• After the ratification of the 15th Amendment,

Pres. Grant went after the KKK.

• The anti-Klan bill was passed allowing federal marshals to arrest thousands of Klansmen.• Klan attacks on African-American voters declined.

• 1872 Presidential election was peaceful with Grant winning a 2nd term.

End of Reconstruction• Early in Grant’s 2nd term, the Supreme Court begins

to undo progress made for civil rights for African-Americans.

• 2 separate cases create more violence towards African-Americans in the South:• U.S. v. Cruikshank• U.S. v. Reese

• In U.S. v. Cruikshank, Supreme Court rules following:• Federal gov’t can’t punish people who violate civil rights of African-Americans; only states can punish offenders.• As a result of ruling, violence against African-Americans increased.

End of Reconstruction• In U.S. v. Reese, the Supreme Court ruled the

following:• Southerners COULD restrict voting rights of African-Americans• Stated that 15th Amend. did not grant everyone the right to vote; only listed reasons why states could NOT prevent people from voting.• As a result, southern states continue to impose literacy tests and poll taxes.

• Reconstruction essentially ends with 1876 Presidential election: Samuel Tilden (D) vs. Rutherford Hayes (R)

End of Reconstruction• The election results came down to votes from

3 southern states: SC, LA, FL.

• Vote was so close, that both Rep. & Dem. claimed victories; both parties agree to compromise to end argument.

• Compromise of 1877 states:• Hayes (R) would become President• Hayes would appoint a Democrat to his cabinet• U.S. gov’t would remove all troops from southern states• U.S. gov’t would promote railroad expansion from South to West Coast through land grants/loans• Democrats would respect African-American civil rights.

End of Reconstruction• Reconstruction had a lasting impact of differing

results:• Positives:• A nation brought back together. (+)• 3 new amendments to Constitution outlining

freedoms for African-Americans. (+)• African-American men granted right to vote (+)

• Negatives:• Voting rights given, but not enforced consistently (-)• Some civil rights agreed on, but reversed by

Supreme Court (-)• Violence against former slaves spreads due to

continued racist attitudes and terrorist groups (-)

Homework #3 – 1/28/151. Why was the KKK created (2 reasons)?2. Name the two groups of people that were

targeted by the KKK.3. What freedom did the 15th Amendment grant?

Who was NOT granted that freedom (2 groups)?

4. Why did violence against African-Americans increase in the south following the U.S. v. Cruikshank ruling?

5. Why were literacy tests and poll taxes allowed to continue in Southern states following the U.S. v. Reese ruling?

6. List a positive and a negative from the Reconstruction era.