The Agony of Reconstruction The human costs of the Civil War Union soldiers dead360,000 Confederate soldiers dead258,000 Thousands more disabled Unemployed returning soldiers 800,000 Problems in the North Problems in the South Unemployment since factories shut down Short economic recession Destruction of factories, railroads, plantations, small farms Burned cities Miles of railroad track destroyed Businesses and factories destroyed or dismantled Unemployment Evaporation of investment capital and labor pool (slaves) Competing Ideas About How to Implement Reconstruction Minimalists hoped for quick restoration of rebel states without protection for freed Blacks beyond the outlawing of slavery Lincolns Hope for Gradual Reconstruction 15A** Restore friendly relations as soon as possible Pardon to Confederates (excepting certain classes of leaders) if they swore an oath of loyalty to the Union Lincolns Proclamation of Amnesty and ReconstructionThe 10% Plan, December It placed emphasis on forgiveness A state could be readmitted to the Union after 10% of its voters Abolished slavery Subscribed to an oath of loyalty to the Union Formed a government loyal to the U.S. Lincolns inauguration speech of 1865 With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nations wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphanto do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. CongressWade-Davis Reconstruction Bill passed July B** Radicals wanted to make readmission to the Union dependent on loyalists who would replace the former Confederate elite and the extension of basic American rights and citizenship to Blacks. Vote extended only to those who swore they never willingly supported the Confederacy Radicals wanted to make readmission to the Union dependent on loyalists who would replace the former Confederate elite and the extension of basic American rights and citizenship to Blacks. Wade-Davis Provisions Continued Refusal to honor Confederate war debts States had to cancel acts of secession States had to abolish slavery Federal courts empowered to enforce emancipation The resulting struggle between Congress and the chief executive was the most serious clash between two branches of government in the nations history. President Andrew Johnsons Reconstruction Plan** Restoration of the prewar federal system as soon as possible Provisional governors in former Confederate states selected from prominent Southern politicians who had opposed succession Those governors to convene constitutional conventions at which three things had to be achieved: Declare ordinances of succession illegal Repudiate Confederate debt Flaws perceived in Johnsons plan 15A** Resulting state constitutions limited suffrage to whites Institution of various Black Codes that subjected former slaves to special regulations and restrictions on their freedom Collectively, all this appeared to be the old institution of slavery just dressed up in new clothesa new and creative system to keep Blacks in subjugation. Congress Takes Charge In early 1866, Johnsons vetoed to two bills passed by Congress precipitating an irreconcilable break: Bill to extend life of Freedmens Bureau (established March 1865) Civil rights bill to nullify Black Codes It sought to guarantee full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by all white citizens Johnsons vetoes shocked moderate Republicans who heretofore had hope to work with the White House. The president thereby alienated those who might have worked with him.** Congressional response: 14th and 15th amendments 15B 1 & 4** Congress feared Johnson would not enforce civil rights legislation Congress passed 14th and 15th amendments To the left, Reconstruction How it Works, Thomas Nast cartoon in Harpers Weekly. Using Shakespearian imagery that would have been familiar to mid-19th century American readers, Nast casts Johnson as Iago from Othello. A wounded Black Union veteran represents Othello. On the wall, Johnsons slogans"Treason is a crime and must be made odious" and "I am your Moses"appear. At center left one sees a flurry of presidential pardons issued by Johnson to Confederate offenders; at center right, presidential vetoes abound. Columbia (left, representing the U.S.) pardons Robert E. Lee while right, the Black Freedman is no so easily accommodated The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments** S Thirteenth AmendmentCongressional passage January 1865; ratification December 1865 Prohibited slavery in the U.S. C Fourteenth AmendmentCongressional passage June 1866; ratification July B 1 Gave right of citizenship to freedmen V Fifteenth AmendmentCongressional passage February 1869; ratification March B 4 Prohibited denial of franchise because of race, color, or past servitude Congressional PlanRadical Reconstruction, B During these two years, Congress passed a series of acts nullifying Johnsons program and reorganizing the South on its own terms. It was a Republican compromise The two leading Radical Republican politicians of the day: Charles Sumner ( , above left) and Thaddeus Stevens ( , above right) The By-election of 1866** Johnson aggressively campaigned nation-wide for candidates who supported his program for Reconstruction He slandered his opponents in crude language He engaged in undignified exchanges with hecklers His behavior alienated Northern voters and Radical Republicans Reconstruction Act of March 1867** Adopt state constitution barring former Confederates from office Grant African-American men the vote Ratify the 14th amendment Military occupation for states until they were readmitted (all Southern states readmitted by 1871) 15B 2 Readmission to the Union** The South was reorganized into five military districts Quick readmission to the Union could be achieved for any state that framed and ratified a constitution providing for Black suffrage Tenure of Office Act** Required approval of Senate for removal of Cabinet members or other officials whose appointment had required Congressional consent On February 21, 1868, Johnson dismissed the only Radical Republican Cabinet member, Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton (righta Lincoln appointee) The Upshot Johnson ordered General U.S. Grant to replace Stanton Grant (eying the presidential nomination of 1868) did not comply Johnson appointed General Lorenzo Thomas to the post The House voted overwhelmingly on February 24, 1868, to put Johnson on trialimpeachmentfor what representatives considered a violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The TrialMarch 25-May 26, 1868 Senator Ross (left) from Kansas denied the Radicals the 36th vote that was necessary for conviction Not Guilty** The Central Issue** Should the President be impeached for political reasons? Richard M. Nixon, , 37th president President Bill Clinton ( ), 42nd president If so, he/she is in fear of being removed for making an unpopular political decision Such action threatened the constitutional balance of powers It opened the way to legislative supremacy over the executive The Freedman The Old Order changed foreverfreedmen were neither slaves nor completely free. Their dream of forty acres and a mule was largely disappointed.** The New Players** The Carpetbaggers** Some have described carpetbaggers as men of bad character who moved from the North to the South to manipulate and exploit the Black vote, political office, and economic privilege, all to aggrandize themselves. Scalawags** The collaborators white Southerners who supported Reconstruction The Freedmen** The First Vote by A. R. Ward (Part of the Historic New Orleans Collection) Freedmenonly in South Carolina did African-Americans win a majority in one House of legislature Ascension of the Democratic Party in the South** Because of deep resentment against Radical Republican Reconstruction politicsand its association with loss of the Civil Warled most Southerners of means embraced the Democratic Party for the next hundred years Southerners justifiably resented the dishonesty, embezzlement, graft, bribery, and wasteall common occurrences among ruling cliquesof Radical Republican Reconstruction Republican achievements during Reconstruction** Republican achievements during Reconstruction Democratization of state and local government Appropriation of funds for huge expansion of public services and responsibilities Fostering economic development and prosperity through railroad construction and other internal improvements Improvement of prison conditions Establishment of centers for care of mentally and physically handicapped Election of 1868 and the Grant Administration Grant (right) would be the only president elected for back-to- back terms of office between the administrations of Andrew Jackson ( , left) and Woodrow Wilson ( , far right) The Evolution Of a President Ku Klux Klan and Resistance to Reconstruction Main threat to Republican administrati ons in South from ** The Klan adopted two revered cultural symbolsthe cross (see vestment, above) and the American flag (right). The Ultimate Failure of Radical Reconstruction** Without the protection afforded by Reconstruction, white supremacists gradually stripped away the civil and political rights of African-Americans Southern capitalists and large landowners ignored the interests of the lower-class whites The New South remained vulnerable to exploitation by Northern business interests The Historiographical Debate over Reconstruction** Early-20 th centuryan orgy of misrule sefforts to enforce equal rights was grave mistake 1920s-1930sminority view that racism overcame momentum of 13 th -15 th amendments 1950s-1960spraise of idealism of Radical Reconstructionists 1970s-1980scarpetbaggers and scalawags cast as selfish opportunists Reasons Grants Administration failed** Grant allowed corruption within the administration Grant was inconsistent and hesitant with use of presidential power Grants Southern Policy failedRepublican regimes in the South were corrupt and tottering Grants highest priority was to be loyal to old friends and the politicians who supported him Grant lacked a clear sense of duty Sins of Omission vs. Sins of Commission There is no evidence that Grant profited personally from any of these misdeeds of his subordinates. Yet... he failed to take firm action against the malefactors, and even after their guilt had been clearly established, he sometimes tried to shield them from justice. Election of 1876 Samuel J. Tilden, Rutherford B. Hayes, Hayes Wins But How? The Compromise of 1877** Federal aid to build new Southern railroads Federal aid to build flood controls along the Mississippi River Removal of last federal troops from the South (April 1877) Promise from Southerners to treat African-Americans fairly, protect their rights In fact, Hayes abandoned Southern Blacks to their fate.... [Moreover,] the entire South was firmly under the control of white Democrats. The trauma of the war and Reconstruction had destroyed the chances for a renewal of two- party competition among white Southerners For all intents and purposes, Hayes extended Home Rule to the South** The New South Rule of the Redeemerslate-1870s- 1880s involving: The restoration of the planter class of the Old South Those of middle class origin and outlook who favored commercial interests and industrial development over agrarian groups The rise of professional politicians Joseph E. Brown ( , left) was a dramatic representation of the professional politician who emerged in the aftermath of the Civil War and Reconstruction. These men blew with the prevailing political winds. In his long career, Brown was a secessionist, the governor of Georgia during the war, a scalawag Republican, and finally a Redeemer from the Democratic Party. Abuse of African-American suffrage and civil rights** The white ruling class intimidated Republican Black voters Threatening loss of jobs Eviction from tenant farms Physical abuse (e.g., whippings, beatings, lynchings) Control of the electoral machinery through which the whites could stuff ballot boxes, discard unwanted votes, or report fraudulent totals Establishment of complicated and discriminatory voting requirements (e.g., literacy tests, poll taxes) Abuse of African-American suffrage and civil rights continued** Jim Crow Laws Jim Crow laws barred African-American from certain jobs or access to various public facilities like restaurants or hotels Jim Crow may have been the creation of a minstrel show performerone Thomas Daddy Riceof the 1830s. Rice used charcoal paste or burned cork to blacken his face and danced a jig while singing to the song, Jump Jim Crow. Rices skit represents one 19th century stereotypical image of Black inferiority. Abuse of African-American suffrage and civil rights continued** Supreme Court Decisions Affecting Black Civil Rights Hall v. DeCuir, 1878** Struck down Louisiana law prohibiting racial discrimination by common carriers (e.g., railroads, steamboats, buses). Abuse of African-American suffrage and civil rights continued** Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896** Upheld Louisiana statute requiring separate but equal accommodations on railroads; declared segregation was not necessarily discrimination Unfinished Business By the late 1880s there existed a spirit of sectional reconciliation. Both Northerners and Southerners moved toward celebrating their common Americanism. Reunion was becoming a cultural as well as political reality.** Whites could come back together only because Northerners had tacitly agreed to give Southerners a free hand in their efforts to reduce Blacks to a new form of servitude. Conclusion of the Matter** True (de facto) Equality vs. Legislated (de jure) Equality The 14th and 15th amendments set a standard, a goaltrue equality. Over and against the laws that these amendments established, there still existed the reality of a centuries-long patterns of racism. Equality among the races, as well as respect between them, is a matter of the heart. Racism and discrimination cannot be legislated away overnight.