Transcript The End of the Civil War and Reconstruction

The End of the Civil War
and
Reconstruction
- Final Battles
- Surrender
- Re-election,
Assassination
- Reconstruction
Re-Cap: Civil War
• Fugitive Slave Act - 1850
- Stated that all escaped slaves must be returned to slavery in the South.
Led to many free people being enslaved as well.
- Made many Northern people support the Abolitionist movement.
• Abolitionist Movement & Underground Railroad
– Harriet Tubman
- Escaped slave (aka Moses) who made many trips into the south, and
helped free hundreds of people from slavery.
– Dred Scott v. Sandford
- Supreme court decision in favor of slavery. Scott sued for freedom; the
court decided that Scott was not a citizen, and could not legally sue anyone.
• Abraham Lincoln as President - 1860
- Anti-slavery, supported popular sovereignty. Republican.
Re-Cap: Civil War
• Crisis of Union
- Southern states secede (leave the Union). They feel oppressed by
Northern states, and feel the federal government is too strong. They want a
loose “Confederacy” of states.
• Confederacy of the United States
- Jefferson Davis is elected President of the Confederacy. Robert E. Lee
becomes general of Confederate army. South has good leaders, but a small
population (mostly farmers). Most of Southern economy is agriculture.
• Major Battles
-Confederacy wins many major battles.
- Fort Sumter - First shots of the war. Confeds believe Union is prepping to
battle, and fire.
- Lee invades North. Confed victories at Bull Run.
- Union victories at Antietam forces Lee to stop advancing North.
Re-Cap: Civil War
• Emancipation Proclamation
- After victory at Antietam Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
- Frees all slaves in the South. Does not free Northern/Border State slaves.
- South at this point has declared independence. South does not believe
Emancipation Proclamation is valid.
• Turning Point: Battle of Gettysburg
- Battle of Gettysburg is bloodiest battle of the war. Approx 50,000 people
lost. Turning point of the war. Union begins to win.
- Lincoln issues now-famous Gettysburg address: “A government of the
people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from this earth!”
• Final Battles of the War
Civil War - Final Battles
• By Spring, 1864 the Union army was controlled by
General Ulysses S. Grant
• Grant had a mediocre career before the Civil War.
– He was a mediocre student, a
failed businessman, and an
undistinguished officer.
– However, it was his strategic
decisions that won the war for
the Union.
• Grant insisted on “unconditional
surrender” after winning an
early battle.
– He gained a reputation for never
compromising with the enemy.
Civil War - Final Battles
• Lincoln placed Grant in command of all the Union
troops.
• Grant won battle after battle
• He pushed the Union army relentlessly - chasing Robert
E. Lee’s Confederate army out of Union territory and
back South.
• However, Grant’s tactics also meant that some called
him a “butcher” - accusing him of continuing to fight
despite mounting casualties.
• Grant captured Vicksburg, giving the Union control of
the Mississippi River. A victory at Chattanooga allowed
the Union army to invade Georgia.
• Lincoln gave Grant the title of Lieutenant General
Civil War - Final Battles
• The Wilderness Campaign - Who can summarize?
- Grant and Lee’s armies faced off in the forests of Virginia.
- Battle lasted two days - even in the choking smoke of the burning
forest.
- Grant didn’t allow his troops to rest, forcing them to march until
they reached Spotsylvania.
• Cold Harbor - Who can summarize?
- Grant couldn’t defeat the Confederates at Spotsylvania, and moved
on to Cold Harbor instead.
- Grant lost 7,000 troops.
- Lee’s army lost 1,500.
- Grant: “I regret this assault more than any one I have ever ordered.”
Civil War - Final Battles
• The Siege of Petersburg - Who can summarize?
- Grant realized that fighting through the lines at Petersburg
would cost a lot of lives.
- He decided to put the city under siege.
- What is a siege?
A siege is when an army surrounds a stronghold held
by their enemy. They prevent supplies from getting
into the stronghold, and wait the enemy out.
- After 9 months, Lee couldn’t hold out any longer.
- Lee and his army tried to escape Petersburg, but were met by
Grant’s troops.
Civil War - Final Battles
• Mobile, Alabama
– David Farragut took
the Union fleet
(ships) into Mobile
Bay. Farragut closed
off the bay - meaning
the South could not
get any supplies
shipped in.
• Atlanta, Georgia
– General William T.
Sherman has his army
cut supply routes and
ruin railroad tracks.
– What is a Sherman
necktie?
Civil War - Final Battles
• Sherman’s March to the Sea
– Sherman’s next step was to divide the Confederacy
– If he marched his army to the sea, he would greatly
weaken the Confederate states.
– Sherman’s army marched through Atlanta and
destroyed everything in their path. Sherman’s army
burned down more than 1/3rd of the city.
– From Georgia, the army moved through South Carolina.
– There, Sherman’s army wreaked havoc on the state burning, pillaging, and taking supplies.
Why did the Union Army focus much of its anger at South Carolina?
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. Many
blamed it for starting the war.
Civil War - Reelection
• Lincoln was reelected in 1864.
• He worried that the unpopular war would make him
lose the election, but Union victories helped gain
support for Lincoln.
• As the first act of his second term, Lincoln passed
the Thirteenth Amendment.
The Thirteenth Amendment
- Outlawed slavery in the United States
- Freed all slaves
HOWEVER: African Americans were still not officially citizens,
and could not vote.
Civil War - Surrender
• Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on
April 9, 1865.
• Grant - famous for only allowing unconditional
surrender in battle - gave generous terms
• What were the terms of surrender?
Terms of Surrender
- The United States would not prosecute Confederate soldiers for
treason
- Confederate soldiers could return home with their horses to “put
in a crop”
- All “arms and supplies” would be given to the Union army
Why were these terms so generous?
Civil War - Assassination
• Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865 - only five
days after the end of the Civil War.
• John Wilkes Booth - an actor and confederate
sympathizer - put together a plot to assassinate
Lincoln, Grant, and several other important
politicians.
• Only Booth was successful - he shot Lincoln in the
head, and Lincoln died several hours later.
• Lincoln’s Vice President, Andrew Johnson, became
President
Writing
What problems do you think Johnson faced when he became
President? Why?
Reconstruction
• Lincoln’s Vice President, Andrew Johnson, became
President after Lincoln’s death.
• The major issue of Johnson’s presidency was
reconstruction.
Writing - Do Now
What problems do you think Johnson faced when he
became President? Why?
Reconstruction Issues
-Johnson and his cabinet had to decide under what terms/how
would the Southern states re-join the Union.
- The Southern economy was in pieces and had to be repaired
- There were now thousands of free African Americans living in the
South - the whole Southern social structure had to be re-done
Reconstruction - South
• Because of the Civil War, and specific destructive campaigns
such as Sherman’s march, much of the Southern
infrastructure was destroyed.
– Roads were blocked, towns were burned, and train tracks
were bent.
• The Southern economy had also collapsed.
– Confederate money was now worthless - everyone in the
South was suddenly penniless.
– 2/3rds of the transportation system was in ruins bridges were torn down and railroad tracks were twisted
• The emancipation of thousands of slaves had thrown the
agricultural system into chaos.
– No one knew how to replace the slave labor
– The South depended on its agriculture for its economy now it had no way to make money.
Reconstruction - Lincoln’s Plan
• Lincoln’s Plan: Before he died, Lincoln developed a plan to
re-unify the South with the rest of the United States.
During the end of the Civil War, as the Union army took Southern cities,
Lincoln appointed military governors for the re-conquered land.
Lincoln began developing a plan for restoring a regular government in
the Southern states.
Lincoln wanted a moderate policy that would reconcile the
South - not punish it.
Lincoln wanted general amnesty (pardon) for all Southerners who
took an oath of loyalty to the United States. Once 10% of citizens in the
state had taken the oath, they could organize a new state government.
What problems might people have had with Lincoln’s plan?
Reconstruction - Radical Republicans
• Not everyone was happy with Lincoln’s plan for
Reconstruction.
• The more Radical Republicans in Congress had a
different plan for Reconstruction.
• Led by Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical Republicans had
three main goals.
1. Prevent the leaders of the Confederacy
from returning to power.
2. To ensure that the Republican Party
became a powerful institution in the South.
3. The federal government would help
African Americans by guaranteeing them
the right to vote.
Reconstruction - Wade-Davis Bill
• One suggested solution to the issue of the South was the
Wade-Davis Bill
• Moderate Republicans thought that the Radical Republicans
were too extreme, but that Lincoln was too lenient.
• The Moderates wrote the Wade-Davis Bill.
– The bill required the majority of the adult white males in a
former Confederate state to take an oath of allegiance to
the Union
– The state could then hold a constitutional convention to
create a new state government
– Each state would then have to abolish slavery, and not
allow any former Confederate government officials to vote
or hold office.
• The bill passed, but Lincoln allowed it to expire, and it was
never made into law.
• Lincoln wanted “no persecution” of the former Confederates.
Reconstruction - Freedmen’s Bureau
• While the Union government was trying to figure out
what to do with the Southern government, there were
also other issues.
• There were hundreds of thousands of people left
unemployed, homeless and hungry when the Union
army destroyed their homes.
• At the same time, there were thousands of freed African
Americans who needed food, and a place to live.
– These people had either been freed by Union troops,
or at the end of the war, and they looked to the Union
army to compensate them.
• This crisis of refugees prompted Congress to create the
Freedmen’s Bureau.
Reconstruction - Freedmen’s Bureau
-> The Freedmen’s Bureau was given the task of feeding and
clothing war refugees - both newly freed African Americans
and now-homeless Confederate citizens
-> The Bureau used surplus army supplies to feed and clothe
these refugees.
• Starting in September, 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau issued
nearly 30,000 rations a day for the next year. Without it,
there would have been mass starvation.
-> The Bureau also helped former slaves find work negotiating fair labor contracts with planters.
– These contracts ensured that workers would be paid a
fair wage, and would limit work hours
Reconstruction - Freedmen’s Bureau
• Many people thought the Freedmen’s Bureau was doing an
excellent job.
-> However, many also argued that former slaves should be
given more than “forty acres and a mule”. To support
themselves.
• These people also believed that the federal government
should seize (take) Confederate land and give it to the
freedmen.
• However, others argued that this went against individual
property rights.
-> Although some had issues with the Bureau, it did many good
things, including…
– Created schools to educate former slaves, including colleges
– Provided housing
– Fed and clothed thousands of refugees
Johnson’s Plan
• By 1865, Johnson began to put his
restoration program in action.
– This plan was very close to Lincoln’s
original plan.
-> Amnesty: Johnson offered amnesty to
all former citizens of the Confederacy
who took an oath of loyalty to the Union.
-> HOWEVER: Johnson excluded… former Confederate officers
and officials, and all former Confederates who owned
$20,000 worth of property.
– Johnson believed it was these people - the rich landowners - who caused
the Civil War - and that they did not deserve a pardon.
– These people had to apply individually.
-> Johnson also required that each state hold a meeting and
revoke its ordinance of secession and ratify the Thirteenth
Amendment.
Black Codes
• Once the former Confederate states established their own state
governments again, different issues started to arise.
• There were now former Confederates in the US Congress
-> In many southern states, new laws were passed about the nowfree African Americans in the South.
-> These laws were called Black Codes
• The Black Codes varied from state to state but all had similar
themes:
-> All were intended to keep African Americans in a state similar
to slavery
-> African Americans were required to enter into annual labor
contracts
-> Black children had to accept apprenticeships to learn jobs (and
if they misbehaved, they could be whipped or beaten)
-> Several states set requirements on the time African Americans
were required to work, and forced African Americans to get
special licenses to work non-agricultural jobs.
Black Codes - Reaction
• Black Codes made many Northerners furious.
• One Northern official, Gideon Welles the secretary of the
navy said:
• “The entire South seem to be stupid and vindictive;
[they] know not their friends, and are pursuing just the
course which their opponents, the Radicals, desire.”
• Welles was saying that not only were the Black Codes unfair,
it made the South look bad to everyone.
• It also meant that the Radical Republicans (who wanted
stricter treatment of the South in the first place) could claim
that they had been right all along, and that the Southerners
couldn’t be trusted.
Radical Republicans Take Control
• The establishment of the Black Codes meant that many more
moderate people instead joined the Radical Republicans.
-> In late 1865, the Republicans in the House and the Senate
created the Joint Committee on Reconstruction.
-> Their goal was to develop their own program for
rebuilding the Union.
• One of these first steps toward reconstruction was the
Civil Rights Act of 1866.
– It granted citizenship to all people born in the United
States except Native Americans.
– It allowed African Americans to own property, and said
they would be treated equally in court.
– This further led to the Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment
• Republicans worried that the Civil Rights Act would be
overturned, so the Fourteenth Amendment was proposed
as well.
-> This granted citizenship to all people born in the United
States, and declared that no state could deprive people of
“life, liberty, or property” without “due process of law”.
• Violence in the South convinced more and more people to
support the Fourteenth Amendment.
– In Memphis, Tennessee, White mobs killed 46 African
Americans, and burned hundreds of black homes,
churches and schools.
• The Act was passed in June 1866.
– The hope was that the Fourteenth Amendment would
help stop violence toward African Americans.
Writing: Do Now
• How do you think people
reacted to the Civil Rights Act
and the Fourteenth
Amendment? Why?
• At least 3 sentences!
Military Reconstruction
• Johnson’s reconstruction was not popular
– Southern governments had made the Black Codes
which angered many people in the country
– Passing the 14th amendment hadn’t stopped violence
against African Americans
– Johnson faced a huge amount of criticism
-> Johnson’s plan for reconstruction fell through.
-> Instead, Congressional Republicans passed the Military
Reconstruction Act in 1867.
-> The act divided the former Confederacy (except
Tennessee) into 5 military districts
-> A Union general was placed in charge of each
district.
Military Reconstruction
• Johnson’s reconstruction was not popular
– Southern governments had made the Black Codes
which angered many people in the country
– Passing the 14th amendment hadn’t stopped violence
against African Americans
– Johnson faced a huge amount of criticism
-> Johnson’s plan for reconstruction fell through.
-> Instead, Congressional Republicans passed the Military
Reconstruction Act in 1867.
-> The act divided the former Confederacy (except
Tennessee) into 5 military districts
-> A Union general was placed in charge of each
district.
Military Reconstruction
• In the meantime, each former Confederate state
had to hold a new Constitutional convention
-> The new constitutions had to give ALL males
the right to vote - regardless of race
-> The states also had to ratify the fourteenth
amendment before being re-admitted to the
union.
• By 1868, 6 of the 10 “district” states had met the
requirements and were allowed to re-join the
Union.
Impeachment
-> President Johnson was technically a
Republican, but tended to vote with
Democrats.
• The Republicans in Congress knew
they had the votes to override any
veto, but that Johnson might get in the
way.
• The Republicans preferred General
Grant and Edwin Stanton (Secretary
of War)
-> The Republicans passed the Tenure
of Office Act. This required all orders
from the President to go through
Grant and Stanton.
Impeachment
• Johnson tried to fire Stanton.
• Stanton responded by locking himself into his office,
and refusing to leave
-> The House of Representatives responded by voting to
impeach Johnson
-> The charge was:
“high crimes and
misdemeanors” specifically that
Johnson had
broken the law by
refusing to follow
the Tenure of Office
Act.
-> The Senate put the President on trial.
Impeachment
• The Senate debated for two months
about what to do with the President.
• On May 16, 1868, the Senate voted on
the President’s fate.
• If two-thirds of the senate voted that
Johnson was guilty, he would be forced
to leave office.
-> The vote came down to 35 to 19 - just
ONE vote short of the two thirds.
-> Many people believed it would set a bad example to impeach
the President simply because he didn’t always agree with
Congress.
• However, Johnson did not run for President in 1868 - he was
embarrassed and felt defeated.
-> Instead, popular General Grant (Republican) won the
Presidency.
Changes in the South
• Things in the South were changing, both socially and
politically.
-> For the first time, African-Americans could take an
active part in politics.
-> The first African-American political leaders came from
those who had been educated before the war.
• These people often lived in the North and many had
been in the Union army.
• Within a few years, many African-Americans had
become legislators and administrators.
-> Dozens of African- Americans served in state
government
-> 14 were elected to the House of Representatives, and 2
to the Senate - all representing Southern states.
Changes in the South
• Things in the South were changing, both socially and
politically.
• For the first time, African-Americans could take an active
part in politics.
• The first African-American political leaders came from those
who had been educated before the war.
• These people often lived in the North and many had been in the
Union army.
• Within a few years, many African-Americans had become
legislators and administrators.
• Dozens of African- Americans served in state government
• 14 were elected to the House of Representatives, and 2 to
the Senate - all representing Southern states.
Pictured here are Senator Hiram R. Revels and Representatives Benjamin S.
Turner, Josiah T. Walls, Joseph H. Rainey, Robert Brown Elliot, Robert D. De
Large, and Jefferson H. Long. (1872)
Reaction to African Americans in Politics
• Many Southerners had issues with AfricanAmericans taking a role in politics.
-> Some Southerners claimed “Black
Republicanism” ruled the South.
• This was exaggerated, however. There was not
enough of a majority for “Black Republicans” to
be the only force of change in the South.
-> Many poor white farmers in the South also
voted Republican.
-> This allowed a strong Republican majority in
the South.
Republican Reforms
-> The Republicans in the South started making changes
-> They repealed the Black Codes
-> They made many state offices elective - so that
people would need to be voted in to office
-> They established state hospitals, orphanages, and
homes for the mentally ill
-> They rebuilt roads, bridges, and railways
-> They built a system of public schools
• There were problems, however
• State governments had to borrow money, and
increase taxes to pay for these programs and repairs
• Some officials were also corrupt, and would take
state money for their own use.
Reaction to African Americans in Politics
• Many Southerners had issues with AfricanAmericans taking a role in politics.
-> Some Southerners claimed “Black
Republicanism” ruled the South.
• This was exaggerated, however. There was not
enough of a majority for “Black Republicans” to
be the only force of change in the South.
-> Many poor white farmers in the South also
voted Republican.
-> This allowed a strong Republican majority in
the South.