Reconstruction 1863 - 1877. QQ What are some of the problems faced by the United States after the...

Reconstruction

1863 - 1877

QQ

• What are some of the problems faced by the United States after the Civil War?

• How would you solve some of these problems?

Lincoln’s Reconstruction PlanPlan formed in 1863; leniency to the South

and quick re-entry into the Union

1. General pardon to most rebels; leaders exempt from amnesty

2. Loyalty oath by 10% of the rebels

Lee’s Loyalty Oath

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan

3. Passage of 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery

** Lincoln initially doesn’t address the issue of civil rights for freedman

13th Amendment13th 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.

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan

Opposed by “Radical Republicans”; mostly Northern ex-abolitionists

Led in House by Thaddeus Stevens (R – PA)

Led in Senate by Charles Sumner

Goal: to punish and reconstruct the South politically and socially

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)Wade-Davis Bill (1864) “State Suicide” Theory [MA Senator

Charles Sumner]

Majority must take oath of loyalty

“Iron-Clad” Oath for officeholders

PresidentPresidentLincolnLincoln

PresidentPresidentLincolnLincoln

Wade-DavisWade-DavisBillBill

Wade-DavisWade-DavisBillBill

PocketVeto

PocketVeto

Lincoln’s AssassinationApril 15th, 1865: Lincoln assassinated at

Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth

Impact upon the South and Reconstruction

Lincoln’s Assassination

Death of Lincoln allows Andrew Johnson to assume presidency

Hanging of the four conspirators

Death of John Wilkes Booth

Andrew JohnsonBackground:

raised in poverty

became a tailor; learned to read at age 17

Senator from Tennessee; only one not to secede

added as VP on Union Party (former War Democrat)

racist; hated blacks and rich Southern whites

Growing Northern Alarm!

Growing Northern Alarm! Many Southern state

constitutions fell short of minimum requirements.

Johnson granted 13,500 special pardons.

Revival of southern defiance.

New Southern State Governments

Re-election of ex-Confederates; i.e. Alexander Stephens, former VP of the Confederacy

Ex-Confederate officers chosen as governors and Congressmen

Passes the “Black Codes”; designed to maintain Southern society as before

The Black CodesReturn of the freedmen to a

near slave status;

Forced labor

Unemployment illegal

No voting/jury duty/testifying in court against whites

Segregation of the races

The Black CodesSupported by Johnson; Radicals outraged

vow to overturn Codes

Condition of the FreedmenExtreme poverty; beginning of sharecropping

Persecution by white supremacy groups

Nathan Bedford Forrest

SharecroppingSharecropping

Slavery is Dead?Slavery is Dead?

The Freedmen’s Bureau

Designed to assist newly freed slaves; resented in the South as “meddling” with race relations

Provided:

food

shelter

education

employment

Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)

Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.

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

Called “carpetbaggers” by white southern Democrats.

Freedmen’s Bureau SchoolFreedmen’s Bureau School

Congress Breaks with the President

Congress Breaks with the President

Congress bars SouthernCongressional delegates.

February, 1866 Presidentvetoed the FreedmenBureau bill.

March, 1866 Johnsonvetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act.

Congress passed both bills over Johnson’s vetoes 1st in U. S. history!!

The 1866 Bi-ElectionThe 1866 Bi-Election

Johnson’s “Swing around the Circle”

A referendum on Radical Reconstruction.

Johnson made an ill-conceived propaganda tour around the country to push his plan.

Republicanswon a 3-1majority in both houses and gained control of every northern state.

The Military Reconstruction Act of 1867

South divided into five military districts, under martial law

passage of 14th & 15th Amendments required; guarantee of freedmen’s rights

Philip Sheridan

Reconstruction Acts of 1867Reconstruction 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 radicalmembers of Lincoln’s government.

A question of the constitutionality of this law. Edwin Stanton

14th Amendment14th Amendment Ratified in July, 1868.

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Southern states would be punished for denying the right to vote to black citizens!

15th Amendment15th 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!

Black & White Political Participation

Black & White Political Participation

Blacks in Southern PoliticsBlacks in Southern Politics Core voters were black veterans.

Blacks were politically unprepared.

Blacks could register and vote in states since 1867.

The 15th Amendment guaranteedfederal voting.

Black Senate & House Delegates

Black Senate & House Delegates

Colored Rule

in the South?

Colored Rule

in the South?

President Johnson’s 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 TrialThe Senate Trial

11 week trial.

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

The End of ReconstructionAcceptance of the South

of provisions of Act

Creation of “Redeemer Governments”

Waning enthusiasm in the North for Reconstruction, more interested in economic growth, corruption in politics, and western expansion

Political corruption in the Grant Administration

1876 Presidential Tickets1876 Presidential Tickets

1876 Presidential Election

1876 Presidential Election

Crisis Over the 1876 ElectionRepublicans dispute the returns of three Southern States: Louisiana, S. Carolina, and Florida

The Political Crisis of 1877The Political Crisis of 1877

“Corrupt Bargain”Part II?

Compromise of 1877Negotiated between two parties three

days before the inauguration:

Republicans receive electoral votes of disputed States; Hayes wins!

Promise to remove remaining federal troops from the South

No interference in Southern Black Codes; blacks abandoned

A Political Crisis: The “Compromise” of 1877A Political Crisis: The “Compromise” of 1877

Impact of ReconstructionRenewed racial hostility:

passages of new Black Codes, the “Jim Crow” laws; strict segregation of the races

Democratic dominance in the South

Few reforms in Southern governments