2. Think About It…
Why did the implementation of truly radical measures during Reconstruction fail to truly help southern Blacks while thoroughly angering and alienating southern whites?
So…
Was Reconstruction a success or was Reconstruction a failure??

3. Presidential Reconstruction Section 1
Reconstruction was the federal government’s attempt to repair the damage to the South after the Civil War
Occurred from 1865 to 1877
Controversial
Had mixed results

4. Results of the Civil War
The entire country was impacted by the war
The North
Lost 364k Federal soldiers including 38k African Americans
The South
Lost 260k Confederate soldiers
1/5 of all white men in region

5. Southerners’ Hardships
Black Southerners
4 million freed slaves with little or no skills or education
Homeless and jobless
Plantation owners
Lost slave labor that amounted to $3 billion
Lost seized plantation land- $100 million
Poor white southerners
Could not find new jobs
Moved North if possible

6. Federal Government’s Dilemma What to do About the South??
Lincoln's Plan
Pardon any Southerner who pledged allegiance to the United States
But denied pardons to officials who had killed African American war prisoners
Permitted states to hold a new constitutional convention AFTER 10% of voters had sworn allegiance to the US
After state constitutions were accepted, voting rights would be reestablished

7. The Radical Republicans
Most northerners in Congress were Republicans and opposed to slavery
They now wanted to punish the South
Saw Lincoln’s plan as too forgiving
Congress’ Plan was to totally reconstruct southern society and guarantee southern blacks equality
Passed own plan- The Wade- Davis Act
Lincoln used pocket-veto to kill bill

8. The Death of a President
Did not live to see the peace he helped to create
Conspirators and southern sympathizers plotted against the president
Died in office on April 14, 1865

10. Lincoln - Kennedy Coincidences
9) The first name of Lincoln's private secretary was John, the last
     name of Kennedy's private secretary was Lincoln.
10) John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839 [according to some sources] Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939, one hundred years later.
11) Both assassins were Southerners who held extremist views.
12) Both assassins were murdered before they could be brought to trial.
13) Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse. Oswald
       shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theater.
14) Lincoln and KENNEDY each has 7 letters.
15) ANDREW JOHNSON and LYNDON JOHNSON each has 13 letters.
16) JOHN Wilkes BOOTH and LEE HARVEY OSWALD each has 15 letters.
17) A Lincoln staffer Miss Kennedy told him not to go to the Theater.  A Kennedy
      staffer Miss Lincoln, told him not to go to Dallas.
1) Lincoln was elected in 1860, Kennedy in 1960, 100 years apart
2) Both men were deeply involved in civil rights for African Americans.
3) Both men were assassinated on a Friday, in the presence of
    their wives.
4) Each wife had lost a child while living at the White House.
5) Both men were killed by a bullet that entered the head from behind.
6) Lincoln was killed in Ford's Theater. Kennedy met his death while
     riding in a Lincoln convertible made by the Ford Motor Company.
7) Both men were succeeded by vice-presidents named Johnson who were
     southern Democrats and former senators.
8) Andrew Johnson was born in Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908,
     exactly one hundred years later.

11. Strange….But True???

12. President Andrew Johnson
Not well liked by either side
Only Southern senator to remain in Congress after Secession
Created own plan for Reconstructing the South
Political Cartoon, “Johnson Antagonizes Washington”

13. Johnson’s Plan Pardon all Southerner’s who swore allegiance to US
Permitted each southern state to hold a constitutional convention without Lincoln’s 10% requirement
Former Confederate states had to void secession, abolish slavery, and ratify 13th Amendment
Then elections could be held and statehood resumed

14. Like Adding Fuel to the Fire
Johnson’s Plan vs. Lincoln's Plan
Johnson’s was more generous to the South
Created anger and resentment in Congress
Congress decided to make own plan
The Radical Republicans were born

15. Thank God Almighty I’m Free At Last!
Southern blacks celebrated their freedom as the politicians decided how to proceed with punishing the South
Freedom of Movement
Freedom to Own Land
Freedom to Worship
Freedom to Learn

16. The Freedman’s Bureau
Created in March 1865 as a relief agency for newly freed slaves or “Freedmen”
Was intended to offer assistance in housing, education, and citizenship
Was not completely successfully in any of these areas (due to corruption and mismanagement)
Did issue twenty million rations of food, established 50 hospitals, set up 4,330 schools and helped establish the first Black colleges.

18. Congressional Reconstruction

19. Congress’ Plan Put the South under military rule
Order southern states to hold new elections for constitutional delegates
Required all states to allow African- Americans the right to vote
Temporarily barred former Confederates from voting
Required southern states to guarantee equal rights for all citizens
Required all states ratify the 14th Amendment

20. Black Codes
After Southern states met Johnson’s requirements they one-by-one rolled back civil rights laws
Many southern states instituted Black Codes as a way of getting around requirements
Set curfews, created vagrancy laws, set year-long contract minimums, limited black women’s right to work, restricted renting to cities…

22. The 14th and 15th Amendments
Congress was concerned about these abuses and decided to add civil rights to the US Constitution
14th Amendment- Granted citizenship and “equal protection” to all African Americans
15th Amendment- Gave the right to vote to all African American males over the age of 21
Both amendments have had far reaching effects in the 19th-20th and 21st centuries

23. A Showdown Between Two Branches of Government!
A constitutional crisis occurred when the Congress’ plan was pitted against the President’s plan
Two powerful Senators led the charge against President Johnson
Charles Sumner- MA senator and abolitionist
Thaddeus Stevens- PA senator and power player

24. Executive versus Legislative
President Johnson tried to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton
The Radical Republicans tried to block the firing using the new Tenure of Office Act
Provisions of the Act:
Took power away from the President
The hiring and firing of Cabinet secretaries had to approved by Congress
The title of Commander-in-Chief was also removed!

25. Andrew Johnson Cartoons

26. Johnson as Caesar: “Treason is a crime and must be punished"

27. The 1st Presidential Impeachment
The House of Representatives filed charges of impeachment against Johnson
The House voted ‘yes’
The Senate held a trial and Johnson was found ‘not guilty’ by one vote
Was not convicted
Kept his office
Established the precedent that “high crimes and misdemeanors” were needed to remove a president

28. The Republican South Not everyone in the South was a Democrat
Northerners who moved South to take advantage of the situation for profit were called “carpetbaggers”
Even more hated were the “Scalawags
Southerners who joined the Republican party or who were former Whigs

29. “The Old South carries the Burden of Reconstruction”
Political Cartoon-
“The Old South carries the Burden of Reconstruction”
Notice ‘AJ’ on top of the Carpetbag!

30. Birth of the New South

31. The Life of a Freedman The South was desperate for workers
Most former slaves who could leave did
Most who stayed in South became sharecroppers or tenant farmers
Worked another person’s land
Had free or reduced rent in exchange for tending crops
Received part of profit- if any was made

32. Economic Effects on South
The labor force changed
Cotton harvest changed from 90% slave labor to 40% white tenant farmers
Emphasis now on cash crops
Cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane rather than food
The South became dependent upon imports of food
Cycle of debt was established
Poverty in all classes and races
Rise of merchant class in South
New stores sold goods on credit

33. Birth of Industrial South
Growth of southern cities
Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, Montgomery, Little Rock
Some areas became industrial
Birmingham AL- steel production
However, the majority of Southerners remained dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood

34. The End of Reconstruction

35. Terror Groups
White Southerners unhappy with their new way of life created “political clubs” to complain about politics
These soon evolved into terrorist groups
KKK, The Knights of the White Camilla…
Used tactics such as intimidation, threats, and violence against freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags
Effective at stopping progression in South

37. Stopping the Klan
President Grant requested that Congress pass a series of laws outlawing hate groups and their tactics
The Enforcement Act of 1870
Used federal troops to stop the violence, but once the troops withdrew the terror started again

38. President Ulysses S. Grant

39. The End of Reconstruction
Most Americans had become tired of Reconstruction by the mid-1870’s- Why?
The country had gone into debt
Reconstruction programs became known for greed and corruption
Southerners had gained back control in most Southern states (it took longer in GA!)
Southern states began to block legislation in Congress again
Many Northern voters’ did not support the Radical Republican’s idea of full equality for blacks
An economic recession turned public opinion away from the movement for equal rights

40. The Solid South is Born
When the Southern states all were readmitted they began to vote in a Democratic block
White Southern Democrats were elected who blocked new legislation

41. The Election of 1876
Republican Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote to Democrat Samuel Tilden
Congress was forced to settle the election
The vote went to Hayes when he promised to end Reconstruction
The Compromise of 1877
Gave the South control of own states

43. “Compromise, Indeed!”- (Tilden or blood)

44. Successes of Reconstruction
Union was rebuilt and South was rebuilt
Economic growth was established in the South
The 14th and 15th Amendments granted rights to freedmen
The Freedman’s Bureau helped many newly freed slaves with a fresh start
Mandatory education was started in South

45. Failures of Reconstruction
Most blacks remained poor and uneducated
Terror groups were formed
Racist attitudes continued in both the North and South
Southern infrastructure and economies lagged far behind the North
Many problems remained unaddressed
Women, labor unions, and farmers fearful of the coming of the railroads

46. Think About It…Again!
Why did the implementation of truly radical measures during Reconstruction fail to truly help southern Blacks while thoroughly angering and alienating southern whites?
So…
Was Reconstruction a success or was Reconstruction a failure??