Reconstruction EraReconstruction Era(1863-1877)(1863-1877)
Reconstruction EraReconstruction Era(1863-1877)(1863-1877)
President Lincoln’s 10% Plan
* “Loyal Rule”
* Didn’t ask Congress for approval.
* Pardon citizens
* 10% vote
* Plan to re-admit states back into Union
President Lincoln’s Plan
1864 “Lincoln Governments” formed in LA, TN, AR
* “loyal assemblies”
* Weak; dependent onUnion Army for survival
* Military Force
* Minority Rule
Lincoln is Dead!Lincoln is assassinated by
John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theater
* “Sic Semper Tyrannus!”
* Shot in the back of the head
* Dies within the day
* Andrew Johnson becomesPresident; must continueReconstruction
13th 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.
Ended slavery, DID NOT grant citizenship
Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands.
Northern Abolitionists
Help slaves; gain political power
“Carpetbaggers”
Johnson & Reconstruction
Jacksonian Democrat
From Tennessee
White Supremacist
Agreed with Lincolnthat states had neverlegally left the Union
“Damn the negroes! I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters!”
Johnson becomes President after Lincoln's assassination.
Pres. Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan:
I. The majority of voters in each Southern state must pledge their loyalty to the U.S….
II. …and each state must ratify (approve) the Thirteenth Amendment.
• The Thirteenth Amendment, which banned slavery, was ratified on Dec.6, 1865
Johnson's Reconstruction Plan
Amnesty for loyalty oath EXCEPT:
- Civil War Officers- Former Plantation Owners- Individuals w/ property over $20,000
New State Constitutions
Forbid slavery; secession
Pay back war debt to Feds.
Johnson chose (did not elect) new governors
Growing Northern Alarm!
Many Southern state constitutions fell short of minimum requirements.
Johnson granted 13,500 “special pardons”
Plantation owners resume political power
Revival of southern defiance; racism
BLACK CODES
Black Codes Purpose:
* Guarantee stable labor supply
* Restore pre-emancipationrace relations
* Assures whites will earn more $$ than blacks
Forced many blacks to become sharecroppers [tenant farmers].
Black Codes - laws that severely limited the rights of freedmen.
African-Americans were forbidden from…
…voting.
…owning guns.
…serving on juries.
…running for political office.
Section 6. All contracts for labor made with freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes for a longer period than one month shall be in writing…and if the laborer shall quit the service of the employer before the expiration of his term of service, without good cause, he shall forfeit his wages for that year up to the time of quitting.
Section 3. …it shall not be lawful for any freedman, free negro or mulatto to intermarry with any white person; nor for any person to intermarry with any freedman, free negro or mulatto; and any person who shall so intermarry shall be deemed guilty of felony, and on conviction thereof shall be confined in the State penitentiary for life.Section 5. Every freedman, free negro and mulatto shall…have a lawful home or employment, and shall have written evidence thereof…if living in any incorporated city, town, or village, a license from that mayor thereof; and if living outside of an incorporated city, town, or village, from the member of the board of police of his beat, …which license may be revoked for cause at any time by the authority granting the same.
Congress Breaks with the President
Congress bars S.Congressional delegates.
Joint Committee on Reconstruction created.
February, 1866
Presidentvetoed the Freedmen’sBureau bill.
March, 1866
Johnsonvetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act.
Congress passed both bills over Johnson’s vetoes 1st time in U. S. history!!!!
14th AmendmentRatified in July, 1868.
* Natural-Born Citizens.
* Citizens Rights
* Pay back for war debt
Southern states would be punished for denying the right to vote to black citizens!
Radical Plan for Readmission
Military supervision (Martial Law)
States must:
Ratify 13th, 14th Amendments
Black Suffrage
In March, 1867, Congress passed act to have military enroll black voters!
Reconstruction Acts of 1867
Military Reconstruction Act* 10 S. states refuse to ratify 14th Amend.
* Divide 10 “unreconstructed states” into 5 military districts.
Reconstruction Acts of 1867
Command of the Army Act
* All Reconstruction acts must go through Army Commander
Tenure of Office Act
* President can not remove cabinetmember’s w/o Congress consent
Is this law constitutional???
Edwin Edwin StantonStanton
Sec. of WarSec. of War
President Johnson’s Impeachment
Johnson removes Stanton Feb. 1868.
Johnson puts pro-S. Generals in charge
House impeaches Feb. 24th by vote of 126-47.
African-Americans & Govt.African-Americans & Govt.
• Free blacks able to vote/participate in Free blacks able to vote/participate in govt.govt.
• White hysteria White hysteria • Fear of “black oppression”Fear of “black oppression”• Southern states feel need to Southern states feel need to
“re-establish” white rule“re-establish” white rule
ExamplesExamples::- Poll Taxes- Poll Taxes - Ku Klux Klan- Ku Klux Klan- Black Codes- Black Codes - Lynchings- Lynchings
• Free blacks able to vote/participate in Free blacks able to vote/participate in govt.govt.
• White hysteria White hysteria • Fear of “black oppression”Fear of “black oppression”• Southern states feel need to Southern states feel need to
“re-establish” white rule“re-establish” white rule
ExamplesExamples::- Poll Taxes- Poll Taxes - Ku Klux Klan- Ku Klux Klan- Black Codes- Black Codes - Lynchings- Lynchings
The Balance of Power in Congress
State White Citizens Freedmen
SC 291,000 411,000
MS 353,000 436,000
LA 357,000 350,000
GA 591,000 465,000
AL 596,000 437,000
VA 719,000 533,000
NC 631,000 331,000
Blacks in Southern Politics Core voters were black veterans from Civil War
Some held political office
However, blacks were politically unprepared.
The 15th Amendment guaranteedfederal voting.
15th Amendment
Ratified in 1870.Ratified in 1870.
Amendment 15: “The right of citizens of the United Amendment 15: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” of servitude.”
IMPACTS:IMPACTS:
- Forbid denying the right to vote based - Forbid denying the right to vote based on race on race
The Failure of Federal Enforcement
Enforcement Acts of 1870 & 1871 [also known as the KKK Act].
“The Lost Cause.”
Little to no enforcement, abuse of blacks remains in South