Chapter 12Reconstruction
1864 Presidential ElectionLincoln v. McClellan
• Johnson balances Lincoln’s ticket– Northern Democrat, southerner, former slave owner
• Absentee ballots from Union soldiers• Last minute Union victories
Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address
• Union Victory was certain• Themes of address– Preservation of the union “indivisible nation”– Sorrow over the war-diplomacy had failed– War was necessary to end slavery– Urged peaceful reunion and reconstruction “with
malice toward none; with charity for all”
Lincoln’s Assassination
• John Wilkes Booth-confederate sympathizer• Fords Theater• Johnson becomes President
Reconstruction 1865-1877
1. Physically rebuild the South2. Readmit the southern states to the Union
Johnson’s Reconstruction PlanExecutive Plan
1. Pardon southerners who swore allegiance to the Union2. Hold constitutional conventions to form new state
governments3. Withdraw their secession4. Ratify the 13th Amendment5. Hold elections and be part of the Union
Criticisms of Johnson’s Plan
• Many CSA politicians retained positions of power• CSA politicians were able to pass Black Codes– Curfews– Could be whipped or sold into slavery if convicted of
vagrancy– Had to work for whites at least a year ETC…
Radical Republicans v. Johnson“Congress should be in charge of
Reconstruction!”
• Thaddeus Stevens• Punish states for secession• Destroy political power of former slave holders• Full citizenship and suffrage for African
Americans• Land distribution
13th Amendment
• Abolishes slavery
Civil Rights Act 1866
• Gave African Americans citizenship• Forbade Black Codes• Johnson vetoes, congress overrides
14th Amendment
• Provided a Constitutional Basis for the Civil Rights Act
• No person, regardless of race, can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law
15th Amendment
• 15-suffrage– cannot deny the right to vote based on race, color,
or previous condition of servitude
Reconstruction Act of 1867
• Kicked readmitted states out and set new readmission requirements (Johnson vetoed, congress overrode)– 5 military zones– Write new state constitutions that have to include African
American suffrage– Southerners who supported the CSA were denied suffrage– Have to ratify the 14th amendment giving former slaves state
citizenship
Johnson’s Impeachment
• High crimes and misdemeanors• Radicals passed laws to keep Johnson weak• Johnson ignored those laws: Tenure of Office Act• 3 month trial Not guilty by 1 vote
Impeachment Process
CongressHouse impeach SenateVotes to impeach Senate becomes jurors
Chief Justice Presides over trial
Recommend to impeach or not
Judiciary 2/3 to convictCommitteeReviews evidence guilty-out of office
not guilty-stays in
12:2 Reconstructing Society
Share Cropping
• Kept former slaves tied and in debt to land owners
• Owner provided land, tools, housing• Had to give up a share of the crop
Tenant Farming
• Paid rent to land owner• Owned the crops to sell• Cycle of debt kept (391) kept tied to and in
debt to land owners
40 Acres and a Mule
• Promised by Sherman to slaves who left the plantation and followed the Union Army during the war
• Johnson gave it back to original landowners
Freedmen’s Bureau 1865-1869
• 1st federal relief agency in U.S. history• Provided clothes, medical attention, food,
education and land• Helped transition to freedom
African American Churches
• One of the few institutions truly owned and controlled by the black population
• Center for social and political issues• Ministers were spiritual, social, and political
leaders
Education during Reconstruction
• Freedmen’s Bureau, churches• Teachers-often black soldiers who had acquired
some education in the service• Kids and adults• Morehouse College “Black Harvard” provides
advanced education
Political Power during Reconstruction
• 90% voted-mostly Republican• Hiram Revels-1st African American U.S. Senator• Several House Members• 100s of state office holders
Scalawags
• White southerners who joined the Republican party– Redistribute wealth– Redistribute political power– Bring industry to the South
Carpetbaggers
• Northerners who moved South after the War– Freedmen’s Bureau– Buy cheap land– Business men/entrepreneurs took advantage of
the devastated economy of the South
12:3The End of Reconstruction
Ku Klux Klan
• Secret society• Used murder, arson, violence as
means of controlling freed Africans Americans
• Founded by Confederate Army veterans
• Fought against Congressional Reconstruction plans
• Federal troops occupied the south to curtail KKK violence
Enforcement Acts 1870, 1871
• Provided federal supervision of elections• Provided federal troops in active KKK areas
Freedmen’s Bureau Expires
• Congress does not renew funding
Amnesty Act 1872
• Returned the right to vote and hold office to 160,000 former Confederates
• Republicans lose political power
Panic of 1873
• Businesses had expanded during the Civil War
• Post-war production exceeded demand
• Banks closed• Stock market crashed• 5 year depression
Redemption
• Democrats regain power– Amnesty Act– Scandal in Grant Administration– Supreme Court Decisions weaken the power of the 14th and 15th
Amendments– Depression
1876 Election
• (R)Rutherford B. Hays v. (D) Sam Tilden• Hays wins electoral vote, Tilden wins popular vote• Contested election-House decides
Compromise of 1877
House will accept Hayes as President IF• Federal Troops removed from the south• Democrats get $$ for southern public
works programs• Hayes puts southern conservatives in his cabinet
Home Rule
• Ability to run state government without interference of the federal government
• Took 80 years for the Civil Rights movement to begin gaining equality for African Americans