RECONSTRUCTION“Post Civil War”

1865 -1877

What is it??• Reconstruction – The

reorganization and rebuilding of the former Confederate States after the Civil War.

What were the 4 key issues1) What to do with secessionists–Punish or welcome back

2) How to re-build the south–Plantations and farms destroyed . Towns

and homes were burned to the ground– http://www2.vcdh.virginia.edu/civilwar/index.php?section=Resources&page=econ

3) How to work together and act as one country

More Key Issues4) How to help the newly freed slaves

They needed: Education, land, money, laws to protect their freedom

• ** All of these problems needed solutions during Reconstruction!!

Key People/Ideologies• His Reconstruction plan was

reconciliation (**which means to agree and come together**)

• He was willing to grant amnesty, “Saving the union was more important than punishing the South”

Farewell to Lincoln• April 14, 1865, Lincoln was

assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford’s theater

• Booth escaped and was later surrounded while hiding in a barn in Front Royal, VA

• He refused to surrender and was shot and killed

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qAeFjCscRY• http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/elmiraprison/

Key People/ Ideologies• Also wanted to reconcile with

the North. “We must reunite as Americans” – even though many still wanted to fight

• Became president of Washington College, which is now known as Washington and Lee University

Key People/Ideologies• Fought for the adoption of

Constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights for African Americans

• Was a powerful voice for human rights and civil liberties

3 Key Amendments

• 13th Amendment (1865) – banned slavery in the United States and all of it’s territories

• 14th Amendment (1866) – grants citizenship to all persons born in the United States and guarantees them equal protection under the law

3 Key

• 15th Amendment (1869) – ensures all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

3 Key Amendments

Amendment Summary

*** These three amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) guarantee

equal protection under the law for all citizens ***

***15th does NOT include women***

Reconstruction policies/Problems

• Established Freedman’s Bureau in March 1865 • A government agency created to help the former

slaves– Distributed food, clothing and medical services– Established schools and provided teachers– Aided the construction of African American

Universities– Distributed land for farming and sharecropping– Provided help with employment, transportation and

fair wages

Reconstruction policies/Problems

• Black Codes (1865-1866)– Laws passed by the Southern states to limit the

economic and physical freedom of the former slaves– “trampled the rights of African Americans”• Could be arrested and imprisoned for being

unemployed• Banned from owning/renting farms• Had to work for free to pay off fines• Was slavery in disguise

Reconstruction Policies/Problems

• Civil Rights Act of 1866-Granted equal rights and full citizenship to African Americans-Authorized the use of federal troops to enforce equal rights

** Made the Black Codes illegal**http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=D1DA065A-0AB1-4202-B2A8-E5620C161A64&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US

Reconstruction Policies/Problems

• African Americans could hold public office for the first time

• Former southern military leaders could not hold office

• Northern soldiers supervised the south• Southerners resented Northern

Carpetbaggers who took advantage of the south after the civil war

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/145440/Carl-Schurz-depicted-as-a-carpetbagger-political-cartoon-in-Harpers

Reconstruction DeclinesThe election of 1876 was so corrupt, that neither

side knew for sure who won.

Hayes(north) Vs. Tilden (South)The election results were decided in the

Compromise of 1877.

*** Reconstruction ended in 1877 as a result of the Compromise to decide the outcome of the

election of 1876***

Compromise of 1877was a result of the disputed 1876

Presidential election results

North promised to:

1. give more aid ($) to the South

2. withdraw all of the remaining federal troops

3. Let Southerners handle the Race issue

South promised to:

1. Maintain all African American Rights

2. recognize Hayes as the next President of the United States

Jim Crow Laws• Made segregation in the South legal• Was upheld in infamous court case– Plessy Vs. Ferguson (1896) –ruled that separate

but equal was ok.– Included restaurants, bathrooms, schools,

churches, and even public transportation– Increased violence against African Americans

and many rights gained during Reconstruction were lost

Jim Crow segregationhttp://www.amistadresource.org/plantation_to_ghetto/jim_crow.html

• Discrimination – treating someone unfairly because of their race, gender, religion, place of birth, age, etc.

Voting Restrictions• A fee you had to pay

before you could votePoll Tax

• Had to read difficult paragraphs or documentsLiteracy Tests

Grandfather Clause- allowed individuals who did not pass the literacy test to vote if their fathers or grandfathers had voted before Reconstruction

African American Response to Jim Crow(2 opposing views)

• Booker T. Washington1. Was born a slave, who

had taught himself to read

2. Wanted to achieve equality patiently, by gaining economic power.

3. Believed gaining skills and education was the key to equality

• W.E.B. Dubois1. First African American

to receive a PhD from Harvard

2. Demanded for the right to vote as a way to end segregation.

3. Believed protest was the key to equality

http://www.schooltube.com/video/2c216eff5cdc4116bb26/CompareContrast-WEB-DuBois-and-Booker-T-Washington