Key Questions

1. How do we bring the South back into the Union?

4. What branch of government should control the process of Reconstruction?

2. How do we rebuild the South after its destruction during the war?

3. How do we integrate and protect newly emancipated black freedmen?

Constitution Before and After

• Analyze documents provided.

What Would You Do?

Imagine you are a parent, and your teenage daughter doesn’t like the rules you have in place at home (such as a curfew, behavior expectations, chores, homework expectations, etc.), even though you make the rules in her best interests. As a parent, you love your child and don’t want to see her hurt in anyway. You also want to make sure she is the best she can be at all times and grows up to be a successful adult. Your daughter gets incredibly upset over your rules and standards, and you spend several months in very ugly fights. There is a lot of screaming and yelling back and forth, and the tension becomes unbearable. You try various strategies to compromise with her and to make her understand your position, but ultimately, she refuses to obey. Finally, she becomes so angry she storms out of the house and runs away. By the next week, she has moved out of your house entirely, completely against your orders. You tried to keep her from removing her things from her room, since you bought everything and it is under your roof, but she pushes past you with her items and gets away. You feel that as your child, this is illegal and she has no right to be on her own. It is too dangerous for her, and it’s ripping your family apart. You feel that divided, your family is much weaker. Your entire family spends the next months worried sick, stressed out, and tense because of her leaving. Then, one day, she shows up on your doorstep because she is flat broke and hungry with no place to live. Hesitantly, she asks if she can move back in the house. What would your decision be?

Turn and Talk

• Would you let her move back in? Why or why not?

• If you choose to let her move back in, consider whether or not there would be conditions she would need to meet.

• Why might you have particular conditions and standards, and what would they be?

Charleston, S.C

.

Richmond, VA

Richmond, VA

President Lincoln’s Plan



10% Plan

* * * * Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (December 8, 1863) When 10% of the voters of a state took an oath of loyalty to the Union, the state could form a new government And adopt a new constitution that banned slavery Lincoln believed that punishing the South would serve no purpose and would only delay healing the torn nation * Supported the 13 th Freedmen’s Bureau Amendment and

President Lincoln’s Plan

 1864  “Lincoln Governments” formed in LA, TN, AR * * “loyal assemblies” They were weak and dependent on the Northern army for their survival.

13

th

Amendment

 Ratified in December, 1865.



Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.



Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)

 Many former northern abolitionists risked their lives to help southern freedmen.

Carpetbaggers – Northerners moving to South in search of better opportunities Scalawags/ Scallywag – Southerners who supported the Northern Republicans.

      Called

“carpetbaggers”

Democrats.

by white southern March 1865- Lincoln and Congress set up the Freedmen’s Bureau The bureau helped African Americans adjust to freedom It provided food, clothing, and medical services Also helped freed people acquire land or find work for fair wages Also set up schools and gave aid to new African American institutions of higher learning  Including Atlanta University, Howard University, and Fisk University

Freedmen’s Bureau Seen Through Southern Eyes

Plenty to eat and nothing to do.

Freedmen’s Bureau School

President Johnson’s Plan (10%+)

Wanted to be strict with the States That had rebelled, but ended up making It relatively easy for them, consequently allowing for segregation of the races.

 Offered amnesty upon simple oath to all except Confederate civil and military officers and those with property over $20,000 (they could apply directly to Johnson)  Formerly Confederate states must ratify the 13 th Amendment.

 Former Confederate officials may hold office and vote.

Senator Benjamin Wade (R-OH)

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

 Required 50% of the number of 1860 voters to take an “iron clad” oath of allegiance (swearing they had never voluntarily aided the rebellion).

 New state constitutions had to abolish slavery  The bill would also ban former Confederates from holding public office  Enacted specific safeguards of freedmen’s liberties.

Congressman Henry W. Davis (R-MD)

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

 “Iron-Clad” Oath.

 “State Suicide” Theory [MA Senator Charles Sumner]  “Conquered Provinces” Position [PA Congressman Thaddeus Stevens]

President Lincoln Pocket Veto Wade-Davis Bill

Radical Republican Plan

Radical republicans, often abolitionists, represented a large part of Congress. These Congressmen wanted to be strict with the States that had rebelled.      Military districts would govern southern states.

Formerly Confederate states must disband their state governments.

Formerly Confederate states must write new state constitutions. Formerly Confederate states must ratify the 14 th Amendment Formerly Confederate states must allow African Americans to vote.

14

th

Amendment

 Ratified in July, 1868.

* Provide a constitutional guarantee of the rights and security of freed people.



Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Military Reconstruction Act

* * * Civil authorities in the territories were subject to military supervision under the rule of a military governor. Restart Reconstruction in 10 Southern states which must ratify the 14 th Amendment.

Divide the 10 “unreconstructed states” into 5 military districts.

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

 

Command of the Army Act

* The President must issue all Reconstruction orders through the commander of the military.

Tenure of Office Act

* The President could not remove any officials [esp. Cabinet members] without the Senate’s consent, if the position originally required Senate approval.

 Designed to protect radical members of Lincoln’s government.

 A question of the constitutionality of this law.

Edwin Stanton

Matching Activity

• Match the items to the proper columns

Jeff Davis Under Arrest

10% Plan

President Lincoln (1863)

Wade-Davis Bill

Republicans in Congress (1864)

Johnson Plan

President Johnson (1865)

Reconstruction Act

Radical Republicans (1867) 10% of voters must swear an oath of loyalty to Union Majority (at least 50%) of white men must swear iron clad oath of loyalty.

State governments must abolish slavery Must write new Constitutions State governments must abolish slavery

Pocket Veto

Former Confederates cannot vote or hold office State governments must ratify the 13 Amendment th

Laws that limited the freedoms of African Americans. Can’t own guns, can’t vote (grandfather clause), can’t own rent/own land, etc.

Must disband state governments (military govts.) Former Confederates may vote and hold office Must write new constitutions Must ratify 14 th Amendment Must ratify 15 th Amendments – African Americans may vote.

Carpetbaggers Scalawags Ku Klux Klan

Slavery is Dead?

Growing Northern Alarm!

  Many Southern state constitutions fell short of minimum requirements. Johnson granted 13,500 special pardons.  Revival of southern defiance.

BLACK CODES



Black Codes

Purpose: laws that restricted the freedoms of African Americans.

  Guarantee stable labor supply now that blacks were emancipated.

Restore pre-emancipation system of race relations.

    Forced many blacks to become

sharecroppers

farmers].

[tenant Landowners provided land, tools, supplies, while sharecroppers provided labor.

At harvest, most of crop went to landowner while sharecroppers got very little of what was left to sell.

Sharecroppers hoped to make enough from their portion of the crop to one day own their own farms, however, many lived in a cycle of poverty (debt). They would buy essentials (food, clothing, etc.) on credit and by the time they sold their crop they would only have enough to pay back what they borrowed…MAYBE. Especially, if there was a bad harvest or if prices for crop fell (surplus).

Congress Breaks with the



President

Congress bars Southern Congressional delegates.

 Joint Committee on Reconstruction created.

 February, 1866 vetoed the Freedmen’s Bureau bill.

 President  March, 1866  Johnson vetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act.

 Congress passed both bills over Johnson’s vetoes 

1 st in U. S. history!!

Johnson the Martyr / Samson

If my blood is to be shed because I vindicate the Union and the preservation of this government in its original purity and character, let it be shed; let an altar to the Union be erected, and then, if it is necessary, take me and lay me upon it, and the blood that now warms and animates my existence shall be poured out as a fit libation to the Union.

(February 1866)

The 1866 Bi-Election

    Johnson went on a "Swing around the circle" tour, giving speeches in Midwest cities to rally public support for his lenient policy towards the South the Republicans remind voters of the Union's sacrifices during the Civil War It becomes a vote for control of Reconstruction: President or Congress?

The Radical Republicans win a 3 to 1 majority in both houses and gain control of all Northern states They now have a "bulletproof" Congress and will be able to override all vetoes if Southern states had ratified the 14th Amendment, they would have been welcomed with open arms; however, they didn't, so Congress began military Reconstruction.

Johnson’s “Swing around the Circle”

 

Congress vs. Johnson

Command of the Army Act • the Constitution says that the President must enforce the law, but he might not do so with great vigor • • says that the President must issue all Reconstruction orders through the commander of the military Johnson is displeased, and his feud with Congress intensifies • • • Tenure of Office Act • President can't remove officials without Senate approval if the position originally required Senate approval Johnson decides to test Congress, and removes Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Johnson says that the law doesn't apply because he hadn't appointed Stanton - Lincoln had He also argued that the Act was unconstitutional

Johnson receives a summons for impeachment

President Johnson’s



Impeachment

Johnson removed Stanton in February, 1868.

 Johnson replaced generals in the field who were more sympathetic to Radical Reconstruction.

 The House impeached him on February 24 before even drawing up the charges by a vote of 126 – 47!

The Senate Trial

    11 week trial.

Johnson acquitted 35 to 19 (one short of required 2/3s vote).

Some Republicans thought Johnson was getting treated unfairly, even though he was unpopular.

Some did not trust Benjamin Wade, who would assume the duties of the Presidency if Johnson were convicted. Conservative and moderate Republicans did not support his radical views.

Election of 1868

“Let Us Have Peace”

• This was the slogan of Grant during his campaign for Presidency.

• He supported the Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction Acts.

• As a war hero, he appealed to many Northern voters.

• Shortly after Grant was nominated, Congress readmitted 7 southern states to the Union – Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisana, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

• These 7 states approved the 14 th Amendment and allowed African-American men to vote.

1868 Presidential Election

“The Party of Lincoln”

• Grant wins • Violence was used to deter blacks from casting their votes at the polls.

• Despite this, Grant gets a great amount of votes from the black population.

• After Grant’s victory, Congress passes the 15 th Amendment (1869) to restrict both Northerners and Southerners from preventing blacks to vote in future elections.

15

th

Amendment

    Ratified in 1870.

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Women’s rights groups were furious that they were not granted the vote!

Strong Republican Presence

• After Grant’s victory, the Republican presence in Congress was stronger than ever, especially because they had the black vote.

• As a result, they controlled Southern governments.

• Carpetbaggers (political agenda) and Scalawags (traitors)

African-American Leaders

• 600 African Americans elected to state legislatures • 16 elected to Congress

Hiram Revels – was son of formers slaves, but born free (NC). He went to college in Illinois and became a Methodist minister and chaplain in the Union army. He is the 1 st black man to serve in the U.S. Senate. He took the seat of held by Confederate President Jefferson Davis (MS).

Blanche Bruce – escaped from slavery and began a school for African Americans before the Civil War. Bruce was the first African American elected to a full 6-year term to the U.S. Senate.

Southern Resistance to Reconstruction

• Disliked blacks in political offices • Claimed that Reconstruction governments were corrupt, illegal, and unjust.

• Disliked having federal troops stationed in their states.

• Rise of the Ku Klux Klan (1866) and violence erupts in South targeting blacks and white Reconstruction supporters.

Amnesty Act of 1872

• Many northerners and supporters of the union felt very aggressively towards the ex confederate states up to this point. However, the north was willing to put the past behind them when promoting the Amnesty Act. It removed the last of the restrictions on ex confederates, besides top leaders. • This was later viewed as a political mistake by Republicans a few years later because Democrats started to retake control of the state government.

Election of 1872

Republicans Lose Power

• • The

Black Friday Scandal

, also known as the

Gold Panic

and the Fisk/Gould scandal, was an attempt by two aggressive Wall Street speculators, Jay Gould and his partner James Fisk, to corner the gold market on the New York Gold Exchange. Due to the manipulations of Fisk and Gould price of gold plummeted on the New York Gold Exchange on September 24, 1869. Many people were financially ruined and the infamous day was referred to as Black Friday.

The

Whiskey Ring Scandal

in 1875 erupted soon after the beginning of Grant's second presidential term in office. It concerned a conspiracy of distillers to bribe government officials and to defraud the government of the excise taxes on liquor. The Whiskey Ring conspiracy was public knowledge but it was considered impenetrable because of the strong political connections of the men involved. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow resolved to break the conspiracy and in May, 1875 he succeeded in his goal and charges were brought against the conspirators. Allegations and rumors spread that the illegally held liquor tax money was to be used in the Republican Party’s campaign for the re-election of President Grant. Grant was not implicated in the scandal but his reputation was damaged.

Election of 1876

COMPROMISE OF 1877 (Great Betrayal)

• Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) was elected the 19 th president in 1876 after a dispute over electoral votes • Compromise = Democrats agreed to accept Hayes’s victory if all federal troops were removed from the south

Compromise of 1877

• Hayes wins • Military out of South • End of Reconstruction • Hayes will appoint 1 Democratic candidate • Land grants to South • Federal funds to South • Democrats will respect African American rights • Democrats elect a Supreme Court seat.

REDEEMERS

• They were Democrats who regained control of state governments in the South • They established laws that successfully discriminated against African-Americans

JIM CROW LAWS

• •

Segregation

= forced separation of whites and blacks in public places • • Jim Crow laws enforced segregation

Poll tax

= a special tax that people had to pay so they could vote and many blacks could not afford it

Grandfather clause

= men whose fathers and grandfathers who could vote before 1867 did not have to pay the tax or take a literacy test – every white man could escape voting restrictions

SHARECROPPING SYSTEM

• Limited opportunities for blacks to own farms and property • Most sharecroppers lived in a cycle of debt = buy goods on credit and then fail to make much money selling their crops

PLESSY V. FERGUSON

• 1896 – major Supreme Court case • Supreme Court ruled that segregation was allowed (constitutional) if “separate-but-equal” facilities were provided for blacks • Segregation became widespread across the country in schools, libraries, parks, restaurants, etc. • Black facilities were blatantly inferior and unequal