American Reconstruction

Reconstruction of the Union

Before the end of the Civil War Lincoln outlined a plan for reuniting the union. A main goal was to win back the South’s loyalty. The announced plan was called The Ten Percent Plan.

According to the plans, most former Confederates, including high ranking military officers, could receive amnesty for their war actions, by taking an oath of loyalty to the Union.

Those taking the oath had to pledge support to the U.S. Constitution and obey laws passed by congress. They also had to accept the end of slavery. Once 10% of a Confederate state’s voters who had voted in the 1860 election swore loyalty to the Union, they could elect a new state government.

10% Plan

10% Plan

Only after the new state government endorsed the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, could the state reenter the Union. The Union would return any property with the exception of former slaves, to voters who took the oath.

Radical Reconstruction

Not all Republics supported Lincoln. Those that supported Lincoln’s plan were called Moderates. Those that believed that the plan did not go far enough were called Radicals. They wanted to take drastic steps to change Southern society and help the former slaves acquire civil rights. They also wanted to severely punish the South.

Wade-Davis Bill

The Radicals had their own plan called the Wade-Davis Bill. To bring the South back into the Union the bill required that over 50% of the voters take an ironclad oath to support the federal Constitution. Only then could a southern state form a new government.

Wade-Davis Bill

Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill in mid 1864. Lincoln vetoed it and went ahead with his own plan. During late 1864, early 1865, Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tenn. met the terms of Lincoln’s plan. They were restored to the Union.

Reconstruction Time Line

1865 — President Lincoln is assassinated.

1865 — The 13th Amendment is ratified.

1866 — Over President Johnson’s veto, the Civil Rights Act is passed.

1867 are passed. — The Reconstruction Acts

1868 — President Johnson’s impeachment trial begins; he is narrowly acquitted.

1868 — The 14th Amendment is ratified.

1868 — Former Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant is elected president.

1870 — The 15th Amendment is ratified. (voting rights)

Vocabulary Reconstruction — A set of policies

designed to rebuild the South and to bring the southern states back into the Union under terms and conditions set by Congress.

The Civil War — A major war in the United States between 1861 and 1865in which northern states battled southern states that were attempting to leave the Union.

13th Amendment — The first of the Reconstruction Amendments, abolishing slavery.

Black Codes — Laws passed by southern legislatures right after the war to keep ex-slaves under strict white control.

14th Amendment — The second of the Reconstruction Amendments, granting equal rights of citizenship and legal equality to all.

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 — A series of measures that Congress established as conditions for southern states to follow in order to be readmitted to the Union.

impeachment — An action by Congress to try a president accused of high crimes and misdemeanors.

15th Amendment — The third of the Reconstruction Amendments giving the right to vote to formerly enslaved people.

Freedmen’s Bureau — An agency set up by Congress to help formerlyenslaved Africans during Reconstruction, especially in terms of education.

Ku Klux Klan — An organization set up to restore white control in the South through the use of terror and violence.

The Force Acts — Along with the Ku Klux Klan Act, laws passed byCongress in 1870 and 1871 to protect African Americans from the Klan andensure their right to vote.

segregation — Separation of a group from others. In many places inAmerica, certain laws kept blacks segregated from whites.

sharecropping — A system of tenant farming in the South afterReconstruction that kept ex-slaves working the land and tied to the land,under impoverished conditions.

Jim Crow laws — In U.S. race relations, laws enacted in the South to make segregation a fact, named after a minstrel show character.

Plessy vs. Ferguson — An 1896 case in which the Supreme Court upheld the notion of “separate but equal.”

President Johnson

Based on Johnson’s beliefs about wealthy plantation owners and his support for the Union, Rep. Radicals thought that Johnson would be firm with the south.

They hoped that he would ban former Confederate leaders from holding political positions.

They also hoped that he would require Confederate states to uphold the 13th Amendment, banning slavery.

President Johnson

However Johnson, surprised the Republicans when he adopted a plan that was similar to Lincoln’s. He pardoned many Confederates, restoring both their political and property rights.

Impeachment

When Johnson took office, Congress was not in session and so could not interfere with his plans for reconstruction.

Radical Rep. reacted by removing Johnson from power.

Black Codes

Mean while in the South...Although the South accepted the 13th,14th, and 15th

amendments, they continued to preserve inequality.Black codes varied from state to state. They did allow for

some freedoms (marriage and property ownership), but Permit needed to travel Prohibited renting Pay a work tax Had to sign work contract or face arrest for not being employed. Could not own a gunMost codes were passed to keep former slaves tied to

the land and plantations.

Resistance to ReconstructionBlack CodesViolence Against Freemen

Reconstruction

The End of Reconstruction

By the mid 1870s interest in Reconstruction was declining. Thaddeus Stevens (Rad Rep) had died and the Supreme Court was weakening provisions with new decisions.

Slaughterhouse Cases 1873Civil rights/freedoms were the states concern and

therefore not protected under the 14th Amend (granting equal rights of citizenship and legal equality to all.)

United States v. Reese 1876Determined that the 15th Amend did not protect

voting rights if they were denied for some other reason than race.