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Chapter 15
What were the end results of the Civil War?
What had to be done in order to repair the nation?
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/us20.cfm
South was financially, emotionally, and physically in ruins
Charleston, SC
258K CSA soldiers died 20% of white adult males The “Lost Cause” Lee, Jackson, Davis—Almost religious
figures 4 million slaves freed—But now what? Future of uncertainty
“If I cannot do like a white man, I am not free.”
“The property which they hold was nearly all earned by the sweat of our brows.”
Economic redistribution, legal equality, independence from white control
• Section 1.--Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
• Section 2.--Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
• Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865.
Union troops remained in South Freedmen’s Bureau
• Distributed food• Established schools• Helped African Americans & poor whites settle• Not big enough to take on huge undertaking
How should the southern states be re-admitted?
Should southern states be punished? Radicals vs. Conservatives
• Radicals led by Thaddeus Stevens & Charles Sumner
Lincoln announced his Reconstruction plan in 1863
10% Plan• Once 10% of a state’s voters swore loyalty then
that state would be re-admitted• Some African Americans would get the right to
vote• LA, AR, TN followed this plan
Wade-Davis Bill• President would appoint provisional governor• Majority (not 10%) of voters needed to swear
loyalty• New state constitutions would abolish slavery &
disenfranchise Confederate leaders Passed by Congress, vetoed by Lincoln
• Angered Radicals
Ford’s Theater, Our American Cousin, on April 14, 1865
Shot in back of head by John Wilkes Booth
Rushed to house across the street; died there the next morning
Booth escaped on horseback Captured on April 26, 1865 and shot to
death
Had not been VP for long From TN, former slaveholder, Democrat Against equal rights Offered amnesty to southerners that took
an oath Required a majority in order for state to
be re-admitted States had to abolish slavery, ratify 13th
Am.
By end of 1865 all southern states had formed new gov’ts
Radical Republicans in Congress worked to stall re-admission• Loyalty oath seemed to easy• CSA VP, Alexander Stephens, had been elected
to Senate by Georgia
South’s state legislatures passed black codes (1865-1866)
Congress responded with Civil Rights Act of 1866• Declared African Americans as citizens of U.S.• Gave fed. gov’t power to intervene & protect
rights of citizens Johnson vetoed, Congress overrode
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.
Adopted on July 9, 1868
Swept by Republicans Senate=42 Republicans vs. 11 Democrats House=143 Republicans vs. 49
Democrats Congress could act w/o Pres. Johnson
Reconstruction Acts (1867-1868):• Congress split South into 5 military districts; each
governed by a military commander• Qualified voters were registered• State conventions would be held to write new state
constitutions• Congress had to approve the new state constitutions• State legislatures had to approve the 14th Amendment• Then re-admitted
By 1868, 7 of 10 Confederate states had followed plan & been re-admitted
Tenure Office Act (1867)—Forbade president to remove civil officials w/o permission of Senate
Command of the Army Act (1867)—President prohibited from issuing military orders w/o commanding general of the army (Grant)
Section 1--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.
Section 2--The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Ratified on February 3, 1870
Violated Tenure Office Act by firing Sec. of War Stanton
Radicals impeached him Senate trial, March-May of 1868 Acquitted by only one vote, 35-19
• Edmund Ross of Kansas• Destroyed Johnson’s political career
Scalawags—Southern white Republicans
Carpetbaggers—Northern Republicans that moved to South during Reconstruction• Looked at South as “new
frontier” Freedmen
• No previous political experience
20 African Americans in House of Reps from 1869 to 1901
First two=Blanche K. Bruce & Hiram Revels, both of Mississippi• Both became Senators,
only 6 AA Senators all-time
• Revels took Jeff Davis’ seat
No African Americans elected as governor
Number of black officeholders stayed relatively low
Push for educational reform• For both freedmen & poor whites
4K new schools created by reformers by 1870• Opposed by wealthy whites
State gov’ts led concerted effort to increase public education
Segregation, by choice & law Black colleges
• Fisk (1866), Howard (1867), Morehouse (1867), Hampton (1868),
Freedmen’s Bureau managed to settle 10,000 black families on their own land
Led some freedmen to dream of “40 acres & a mule”
Plantation owners returned & reclaimed land• Most land was returned
White land ownership fell from 80% to 67% during Reconstruction
African American land ownership rose from nearly 0% to 20%
Majority of southerners did not own their own land
Per capita income of blacks rose 46% between 1857 & 1879, whites per capita income declined 35%
Total profits of southern agriculture declined
Most local stores had no competition Lien (claim) on crops in return for a loan
• High interest rates• Poor harvest=cycle of debt• Dependency on cash crops; esp. cotton
Effort to reunite families Ads in newspapers by people searching
for relatives Females left fields and took on domestic
roles However, over 50% of black women had
to work for wages
Johnson was unable to secure Democratic nomination• Chose former NY governor Horatio Seymour
instead Popular vote was close Grant was aided by African American
voters• Had no political experience
Relied too much on spoils system
Inadequate cabinet Supported Radical
Reconstruction Liberal
Republicans opposed “Grantism”
Grant fairs well with 56% of popular vote & landslide in Electoral College
*Grant’s main opponent Horace Greeley died before the Electoral College cast its ballots
Credit Mobilier Scandal—Union Pacific avoided investigation into corrupt practices by giving stock to Republican officeholders
“Whiskey Ring”—Republican officials avoided millions in taxes on liquor through bribery
Growing opposition to “Grantism”
Worse than previous economic depressions
Investing company failures Debate over currency flared Greenbacks were replaced by
certificates that were back by the price of gold (1879)
Secretary of State Seward bought Alaska for $7.2 million in 1867
“Seward’s Folly,” “Seward’s Icebox”
Annexation of Hawaii & Midway Islands (1867)
Nearly all southern whites had re-gained vote by 1872
Whites used intimidation, violence, & economic power to stop blacks from voting & earning rights
KKK, Red Shirts, White League
Founded in 1866 by former CSA soldiers; Nathan Bedford Forrest
Congress responded with KKK Acts in 1870-1871• Used rarely, did limit Klan’s power
After passage of the 15th Amendment northern support for Southern blacks dwindled• Ability to vote was supposed to allow blacks to
help themselves During Panic of 1873 poverty was
associated w/ new idea of “Social Darwinism”• Those who failed, did so because they were
“unfit”
Democrats took control of the House in 1874
Republican-controlled governments in the South were falling
Grant considered a 3rd term Party chose Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio
instead Democrats chose former governor of NY
Samuel Tilden Tilden won popular vote by 300K Disputes over votes in LA, SC, FL, & OR
The disputed states were settled by a special election commission
Hayes received all disputed votes & the election
In return all federal troops would be removed from the South
Hayes’ career was ruined by the election• “His Fraudulency”
The withdrawal of troops marked the end of the Reconstruction era
Much left undone Political power of African Americans
decreased 14th & 15th Amendments were largely
ignored by white southerners Racial violence & discrimination
increased
White Democrats regained control of politics in the South
Cut taxes, reduced spending, & cut services of state governments