America from Ashes

Priyanka Shrijay, Kayla Dutton, Nate Westneat, Caleb Whitaker

Reconstruction

The Reconstruction Era was from 1865 to 1877.

The Reconstruction Era was called this because it was the period in which the Union was reconstructing the South. The South was reconstructed economically, structurally, and socially. It also embodied the goal to give rights to freed slaves.

The Ten Percent Plan

● This plan was issued by Lincoln to readmit Confederate states to the Union.

● It stated that once ten percent of a Confederate state’s pre-war voters took an oath to the constitution, the state would be readmitted to the Union.

● The readmitted states were to accept abolition of slavery.

● In 1864, Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill. This stated that not ten percent, but fifty percent of pre-war voters had to take the oath for a state to be readmitted.

Lincoln’s Assassination

● Lincoln was assassinated on April 14th, 1865.

● The assassin was John Wilkes Booth.

● Lincoln was assassinated at the Ford’s theatre.

● He was shot at 10:00pm. ● Lincoln stayed alive for nine hours, then died at 7:22am in the morning.

● At 11:00am Vice President Andrew Johnson took the oath of office.

John Wilkes Booth

Lewis Payne

George A. Atzerodt

Mary Surratt

David Herold

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson (1808-1875)

● Born in South Carolina and moved to Tennessee ● When secession began to occur Johnson stayed loyal to the union ● Elected as vice president ● Had trouble with the Radical Republicans

Radical Republicans

Thaddeus Stevens

Radical Republicanism

● The Radical Republicans wanted equal rights for freed African Americans immediately after their emancipation.

● The Radical Republicans controlled Congress between 1854 and 1877 ● Abraham Lincoln was more moderate and disagreed with the motives of Radicals.

● Even though the goals of the Radical Republicans were out of reach for the time period, they had honorable goals that were reached later in history.

Goals of the Radical Republicans

● Giving freed slaves the right to vote ● Punishment to members of the Confederacy after the war ● Making the government help the slaves transition from slavery ● Keeping the radical republican party in power after the war

Lincoln’s Goals for Reconstruction

● A spread of Republicanism.

● Establishing governments in Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana that were loyal to the Union.

● The Ten-Percent Plan.

● The Thirteenth Amendment being passed.

Johnson’s Goals for Reconstruction

● He had biases against Confederates. These caused him to support trials of Confederates concerning Confiscation Act. He later gave up on this act.

● Achieve reconstruction within seven months. ● He cared more about his political power than America, this led to his refusal to acknowledge the original goals of reconstruction.

● Southern government with caste systems. Black people were treated almost like slaves.

● His goals had ultimately failed.

13th Amendment

● Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865.

● The 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in all parts of the United States. Unless Punishment For Crime

14th Amendment

● 14th Amendment passed in 1866, ratified in 1868 ● Citizenship and Protection to All Born in the United States. (Not Including Women) ● Individual States may not shorten or cut down the privileges and immunities of the citizens.

● People aren’t allowed to take a role in the government, and later on rebel, or help an enemy of the government.

15th Amendment

● Passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870.

● Gave African Americans the right to vote (not including women).

● Newly freed African-American men were expected to do just as well as white Americans even though they were still being segregated against.

Enforcement of the Amendments

● Black Codes ● 13th Amendment- involuntary servitude, cheap labor, and sharecropping.

● Many rights of African-Americans were not fully protected. There was much harm that came to them as well as the fact that they were taken advantage of. Privileges were abridged. ● Many white people had disdain for the fact that African American men could vote. This caused anger and eventually, more discrimination.

● Discrimination made it harder for African-American men to do as well as the white ones.

Freedmen’s Bureau

● Protected the rights of freed slaves.

● Provided about 20 million rations, three-fourths of which were for newly freed slaves.

● Clothing ● Fuel ● Forty Acres and a Mule

Southern Desolation

● Devastation caused by the Union to suppress Confederate resistance.

o o Union army burned cities.

They Uprooted train tracks.

o They destroyed plantations and cotton gins. ● At least four million newly emancipated slaves needed food and shelter (and were provided for once Freedmen’s Bureau was issued in 1865). They worked alongside resentful white people.

● Black codes

Southern Reconstruction

● Ten Percent Plan and Wade-Davis Bill.

● Scalawags and Carpetbaggers. ● Reconstruction government composition in the South.

o African-Americans o o Northern Whites Southern Whites

Congressional Reconstruction

● Started in March 1867.

● They were passing the Reconstruction Acts which divided the ten unreconstructed states (excepting Tennessee because it accepted the fourteenth amendment) into five military districts.

● Confederate states were readmitted to the Union and considered for reconstruction under strict circumstances.

● Impeachment against Johnson.

Confederate Readmission

Effect of Reconstruction

● Free public schools.

● Abolition of debt imprisonment.

● Reduction of capital punishment.

● Drafting of a state constitution that integrated the notion of equal protection.

Effect of Reconstruction

● Political gains of emancipated blacks.

o Politicians.

o o Judges/law enforcement positions.

Most forms of elected office.

o In South Carolina, blacks held a majority of seats in the state house of representatives.

● Unfortunately, this new black political freedom was something that blacks would not have again for around one-hundred years.

White Violent Opposition

● Aggression was focused mainly on black people. ● There were lynchings, beatings, arson, vandalism, and many other acts of violence. These were primarily to keep blacks away from the polls.

● Terror was conducted by secret organizations throughout the South such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camellia.

● Some areas had so little federal presence that these acts of violence were even carried out in public with the support of ‘rifle clubs’. These campaigns to end reconstruction were ultimately successful.

The End of Reconstruction

● Formally ended in 1877 with the election of president Hayes.

o o o Federal troops removed from the South.

Embargo of armed forces to monitor elections.

“Home Rule”; Hayes’s assurance for state rights to Southern Democrats.

● Compromise of 1877. Hayes and Tilden.

In conclusion:

The most significant parts about the end of the Civil War were: ● Lincoln’s Assassination ● Radical Republicans and their effect on America from 1865-1877.

● The Reconstruction Amendments. Made a huge impact on America and changed it forever. ● The Reconstruction Era as a whole and its events that caused a shift in American history.