RECONSTRUCTION AND THE SOUTH

RECONSTRUCTION AND THE SOUTH 1865-1877
Chapter 16 The process of readmission began in 1862, when Lincoln reappointed provisional governors for those parts of the South that had been occupied by federal troops. On December 8, 1863, he issued a proclamation setting forth a general policy. Alfred R. Waud. "The First Vote." From Harper's Weekly, November 16, Copyprint. Prints and Photographs Division. Reproduction Number: LC-USZ (5-21) The American Nation, 12e, Mark C. Carnes & John A. Garraty

Re construction The period of time after the Civil War when the South was rebuilt. The federal program to rebuild the South and readmit the Confederate States

Above: Charleston, South Carolina
Right: Atlanta, Georgia

Crippled Locomotive, Richmond & Petersburg Railroad Depot - Richmond, VA, 1865

Guns and Ruined Buildings Near the Tredegar Iron Works - Richmond, VA, April 1865

Ruins in Front of the Capitol – Richmond, VA, 1865

Grounds of the Ruined Arsenal with Scattered Shot and Shell - Richmond, VA, April 1865

· Newly freed slaves, freedmen, had no land, jobs, or education.
Left and right: post-Civil War Ohio Atlanta, GA

RECONSTRUCTION Two main issues:
Reconstruction failed to alter the South’s social structure or its distribution of wealth and power Reconstruction left significant legacies, including 14th and 15th Amendment

Three types of Reconstruction
Executive A. Lincoln’s 10 percent plan B. Johnson’s Plan Legislative A. Congressional Plan B. Amendments Radical vs. Moderate Republicans Judicial A. Supreme Court Decisions

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
December 8, 1863: Lincoln issued 10% Plan With exception of high Confederate officials and a few other special groups, all Southerners could reinstate themselves by taking a simple loyalty oath 2. When, in any state, a number equal to 10% of those voting in 1860 election had taken this oath, they could set up state government 3. Government had to be republican in form, must recognize freedom of slaves, must provide for black education Lincoln before his death made it clear he favored a lenient Reconstruction policy. Lincoln believed that secession was constitutionally impossible and therefore the Confederate states had never left the Union. He said it was individual, not the states who had rebelled and that the Constitution gave the President the power to pardon individuals. -Lincoln wished to make the South return to the Union as quick and easy as possible. -In Dec Lincoln announced his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, also known as the 10 Percent Plan. -Under this plan, the govt pardons all Confederates except high ranking Confederate officers and those accused of crimes against prisoners of war who would swear allegiance to the Union. --After 10% of a states population on the 1860 voting lists swore allegiance, a Confederate state could form a new state govt and gain representation in Congress. -Under Lincoln’s terms, 4 states Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia moved toward readmission to the Union. -However, Lincoln’s moderate reconstruction plan angered a minority group in Congress known as the Radical Republicans. After major Union victories at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln began preparing his plan for Reconstruction to reunify the North and South after the war's end. Because Lincoln believed that the South had never legally seceded from the Union, his plan for Reconstruction was based on forgiveness. He thus issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in 1863 to announce his intention to reunite the once-united states. Lincoln hoped that the proclamation would rally northern support for the war and persuade weary Confederate soldiers to surrender. The Ten-Percent Plan Lincoln's blueprint for Reconstruction included the Ten-Percent Plan, which specified that a southern state could be readmitted into the Union once 10 percent of its voters (from the voter rolls for the election of 1860) swore an oath of allegiance to the Union. Voters could then elect delegates to draft revised state constitutions and establish new state governments. All southerners except for high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials would be granted a full pardon. Lincoln guaranteed southerners that he would protect their private property, though not their slaves. Most moderate Republicans in Congress supported the president's proposal for Reconstruction because they wanted to bring a quick end to the war. In many ways, the Ten-Percent Plan was more of a political maneuver than a plan for Reconstruction. Lincoln wanted to end the war quickly. He feared that a protracted war would lose public support and that the North and South would never be reunited if the fighting did not stop quickly. His fears were justified: by late 1863, a large number of Democrats were clamoring for a truce and peaceful resolution. Lincoln's Ten-Percent Plan was thus lenient—an attempt to entice the South to surrender. Lincoln's Vision for Reconstruction President Lincoln seemed to favor self-Reconstruction by the states with little assistance from Washington. To appeal to poorer whites, he offered to pardon all Confederates; to appeal to former plantation owners and southern aristocrats, he pledged to protect private property. Unlike Radical Republicans in Congress, Lincoln did not want to punish southerners or reorganize southern society. His actions indicate that he wanted Reconstruction to be a short process in which secessionist states could draft new constitutions as swiftly as possible so that the United States could exist as it had before. But historians can only speculate that Lincoln desired a swift reunification, for his assassination in 1865 cut his plans for Reconstruction short. Such governments had to be republican in form, must recognize the “permanent freedom” of the slaves, and must provide for black education. The plan, however, did not require that blacks be given the right to vote.

Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan:
Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan: Once 10% of the state’s voters swore loyalty to the U.S… II. …Southern states could rejoin the national government after they abolished slavery.

Radicals in Congress disliked 10% Plan because too moderate and because it let Lincoln determine policy toward recaptured regions July 1864: Congress proposes the Wade-Davis Bill Provided for constitutional conventions only after a majority of the others in a southern state had taken a loyalty oath Confederate officials and anyone who had “voluntarily borne arms against the United States” were barred from voting in the election or serving in the convention Besides prohibiting slavery, new state constitutions would have to repudiate Confederate debts Lincoln pocket vetoed the bill -The radical republicans were a group of Republicans who favored a much tougher stance with the former Confederate states. They were led by Senator Charles Sumner of Mass and Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Penn. -The Radicals wanted to destroy the political power of former slaveholders. Most of all, the wanted AA given full citizenship and the right to vote In 1865 the idea of AA having full voting rights was very radical; no other country that had abolished slavery had given former slaves the vote. -In July 1864, the Radicals passed the Wade Davis Bill: proposed that Congress, not the President be responsible for Reconstruction. It declared for a state govt to be formed, a majority—not just ten percent—of those eligible to vote in 1860 would have to take a oath to support the Constitution. -Lincoln used a pocket Veto to kill the Wade Davis Bill after Congress adjourned. (Checks and Balances). According to the constitution, a president has 10 days to either sign or veto a bill passed by Congress. If the President does neither, the bill becomes a law. If the Congress passes a bill less than 10 days before the send of a session of Congress then the president can “pocket” the bill, or ignore it to prevent it from becoming law. _The Radicals called Lincoln’s pocket veto an outrage and asserted Congress had supreme authority over Reconstruction. The stage was set for a powerful presidential-Congressional showdown. (Lincoln died in April 1865) The Radical Republicans Many leading Republicans in Congress feared that Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction was not harsh enough, believing that the South needed to be punished for causing the war. These Radical Republicans hoped to control the Reconstruction process, transform southern society, disband the planter aristocracy, redistribute land, develop industry, and guarantee civil liberties for former slaves. Although the Radical Republicans were the minority party in Congress, they managed to sway many moderates in the postwar years and came to dominate Congress in later sessions. The Wade-Davis Bill In the summer of 1864, the Radical Republicans passed the Wade-Davis Bill to counter Lincoln's Ten-Percent Plan. The bill stated that a southern state could rejoin the Union only if 50 percent of its registered voters swore an “ironclad oath” of allegiance to the United States. The bill also established safeguards for black civil liberties but did not give blacks the right to vote. President Lincoln feared that asking 50 percent of voters to take a loyalty oath would ruin any chance of ending the war swiftly. Moreover, 1864 was an election year, and he could not afford to have northern voters see him as an uncompromising radical. Because the Wade-Davis Bill was passed near the end of Congress's session, Lincoln was able to pocket-veto it, effectively blocking the bill by refusing to sign it before Congress went into recess. Lincoln disposed of the Wade-Davis bill with a pocket veto and there matters stood when Andrew Johnson became president following the assassination.Lincoln had picked Johnson for a running mate in 1864 because he was a border-state Unionist Democrat and something of a hero as a result of his courageous service as military governor of Tennessee. His political strength came from the poor whites and yeomen farmers of eastern Tennessee, and he was fond of extolling the common man and attacking “stuck-up aristocrats.”

Congress’ Wade-Davis Bill:
I. It required that a majority of Southern white men swear loyalty to the U.S…. II. …and denied former Confederate soldiers the right to vote or hold political office. Required 50% of the number of 1860 voters to take an “iron clad” oath of allegiance (swearing they had never voluntarily aided the rebellion ). Required a state constitutional convention before the election of state officials. Enacted specific safeguards of freedmen’s liberties Congressman Henry W. Davis (R-MD) Senator Benjamin Wade (R-OH)

Presidential Reconstruction
Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President after assassination and continues with Lincoln’s 10% plan Few minor changes Lincoln disposed of the Wade-Davis bill with a pocket veto and there matters stood when Andrew Johnson became president following the assassination.Lincoln had picked Johnson for a running mate in 1864 because he was a border-state Unionist Democrat and something of a hero as a result of his courageous service as military governor of Tennessee. His political strength came from the poor whites and yeomen farmers of eastern Tennessee, and he was fond of extolling the common man and attacking “stuck-up aristocrats.” Radical Republicans listened to Johnson’s dia- tribes against secessionists and the great planters and assumed that he was anti-southern. Nothing could have been further from the truth. He had great re- spect for states’ rights and he shared most of his poor white Tennessee constituents’ contempt of blacks. “Damn the negroes, I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters,” he told a friend during the war. “I wish to God,” he said on another occasion, “every head of a family in the United States had one slave to take the drudgery and menial service off his family.” The new president did not want to injure or hu- miliate all white Southerners. He issued an amnesty proclamation only slightly more rigorous than Lin- coln’s. It assumed, correctly enough, that with the war over most southern voters would freely take the loyalty oath; thus it contained no 10 percent clause. More classes of Confederates, including those who owned taxable property in excess of $20,000, were excluded from the general pardon. By the time Con- gress convened in December 1865, all the southern states had organized governments, ratified the Thir- teenth Amendment abolishing slavery, and elected senators and representatives. Johnson promptly rec- ommended these new governments to the attention of Congress. Lincoln's assassination seemingly gave Radical Republicans in Congress the clear path they needed to implement their plan for Reconstruction. The new president, Andrew Johnson, had seemed supportive of punitive measures against the South in the past: he disliked the southern planter elite and believed they had been a major cause of the Civil War. But Johnson surprised Radical Republicans by consistently blocking their attempts to pass punitive legislation. Johnson, a Democrat, preferred a stronger state government (in relation to the federal government) and believed in the doctrine of laissez- faire, which stated that the federal government should stay out of the economic and social affairs of its people. Even after the Civil War, Johnson believed that states' rights took precedence over central authority, and he disapproved of legislation that affected the American economy. He rejected all Radical Republican attempts to dissolve the plantation system, reorganize the southern economy, and protect the civil rights of blacks. Although Johnson disliked the southern planter elite, his actions suggest otherwise: he pardoned more people than any president before him, and most of those pardoned were wealthy southern landowners. Johnson also shared southern aristocrats' racist point of view that former slaves should not receive the same rights as whites in the Union. Johnson opposed the Freedmen's Bureau because he felt that targeting former slaves for special assistance would be detrimental to the South. He also believed the bureau was an example of the federal government assuming political power reserved to the states, which went against his pro–states' rights ideology.

Johnson’s Reconstruction vision Assumed that with war over most southerners would take loyalty oath More classes of Confederates, including those with property in excess of $20,000 were excluded from the general pardon By the time Congress convened in December 1865, all the southern states had organized governments, ratified the Thirteenth amendment abolishing slavery and elected senators and representatives Radical Republicans listened to Johnson’s dia- tribes against secessionists and the great planters and assumed that he was anti-southern. Nothing could have been further from the truth. He had great re- spect for states’ rights and he shared most of his poor white Tennessee constituents’ contempt of blacks. “Damn the negroes, I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters,” he told a friend during the war. “I wish to God,” he said on another occasion, “every head of a family in the United States had one slave to take the drudgery and menial service off his family.” The new president did not want to injure or hu- miliate all white Southerners. He issued an amnesty proclamation only slightly more rigorous than Lin- coln’s. It assumed, correctly enough, that with the war over most southern voters would freely take the loyalty oath; thus it contained no 10 percent clause. More classes of Confederates, including those who owned taxable property in excess of $20,000, were excluded from the general pardon. By the time Con- gress convened in December 1865, all the southern states had organized governments, ratified the Thir- teenth Amendment abolishing slavery, and elected senators and representatives. Johnson promptly rec- ommended these new governments to the attention of Congress. Presidential Reconstruction Like Lincoln, Johnson wanted to restore the Union in as little time as possible. While Congress was in recess, the president began implementing his plans, which became known as Presidential Reconstruction. He returned confiscated property to white southerners, issued hundreds of pardons to former Confederate officers and government officials, and undermined the Freedmen's Bureau by ordering it to return all confiscated lands to white landowners. Johnson also appointed governors to supervise the drafting of new state constitutions and agreed to readmit each state provided it ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery. Hoping that Reconstruction would be complete by the time Congress reconvened a few months later, he declared Reconstruction over at the end of 1865.

Johnson’s Plan: Presidential Reconstruction
Johnson Continues Lincoln’s Policies states must swear allegiance, annul war debts, ratify 13th Amendment 1 major difference from Lincoln’s plan: Confederate leaders and rich southern landowners can’t vote -When Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, VP Andrew Johnson must decide on Reconstruction. He had expressed his intent to deal with the Confederate leaders harshly so the South was very nervous. The Radical in Congress believed he was one of them. They were both wrong… In May 1865, Johnson announced his own plan for presidential reconstruction. -He followed Lincoln’s plan pretty much to the dismay of the radicals in Congress. He allowed the remaining Confederate states (AL, MI, FL, GA, SC, NS, TX) to be admitted to the union if swore oath of loyalty, annul Confederate war debts, ratify the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery. -One major difference from Lincoln’s plan—Johnson wished to prevent the high ranking Confederate leaders and wealthy Southern landowners from voting -Radicals upset with Johnson’s plan—it doesn’t deal with AA voting rights, land rights, their protection under the law. Johnson actually didn’t believe in allowing AA to vote. He pardoned 13,000 former Confederates--he said “white men alone must mange the South.” -Most Southerners were a little relieved b/c Johnson was a supporter of state’s rights rather than central govt control. -The remaining states quickly started moving toward meeting the requirements—writing state constitutions, ratifying the 13th amendment, forming state govts to elect reps in Congress. However some southern states didn’t do all of the terms—for ex, Mississippi did not ratify the 13 Amendment -Despite this, in Dec 1865, the newly elected Southern legislators arrived in Washington to take their seats. 64 of the southern congressmen had served in the Confederacy and 4 had fought against the Union as Confederate generals does not address former slaves’ voting rights, land, protection laws

President Andrew Johnson
Jacksonian Democrat. Anti-Aristocrat. White Supremacist. Agreed with Lincoln that states had never legally left the Union. the negroes! I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters!

REPUBLICAN RADICALS Ultra radicals in Congress (led by Sumner) demanded immediate and absolute civil and political equality for blacks—should be given the vote, a plot of land, and access to decent education Radicals (led by Thaddeus Stevens in House and Ben Wade in Senate) agreed with ultras’ objectives but were willing to forgo actual social equality Moderate Republicans wanted to protect former slaves from exploitation and guarantee their basic rights but were not willing to push for full political equality The Joint Committee on Reconstruction Radical and moderate Republicans in Congress were furious that Johnson had organized his own Reconstruction efforts in the South without their consent. Johnson did not offer any security for former slaves, and his pardons allowed many of the same wealthy southern landowners who had held power before the war to regain control of the state governments. To challenge Presidential Reconstruction, Congress established the Joint Committee on Reconstruction in late 1865, and the committee began to devise stricter requirements for readmitting southern states.

Radical Republicans

REPUBLICAN RADICALS Johnson’s plan had no chance in Congress
Politically would be difficult for Republicans because threatened to return power to Democrats Ex-Confederates not overflowing with good will Southern voters provoked Congress by their choice of congressmen Black codes, aimed at keeping blacks in as near a state of bondage as possible” alarmed Northerners

Black Codes Black Codes
Most permitted blacks to sue and testify in court, at least against others of their own race Could own certain types of property and other rights were guaranteed Could not bear arms Could not be employed in an occupation other than farming or domestic service Could not leave their jobs without forfeiting back pay Mississippi code required them to sign year long labor contracts Drunkards and “vagrants” could be hired out to persons who would pay fine Finally, the so-called Black Codes enacted by southern governments to control former slaves alarmed the North. These varied in severity from state to state, but all, as one planter admitted, set out to keep the blacks “as near to a state of bondage as possible.”When seen in historical perspective, even the strictest codes represented some improvement over slavery. Most permitted blacks to sue and to testify in court, at least in cases involving members of their own race. Blacks were allowed to own certain kinds of property; other rights were guaranteed. However, blacks could not bear arms, be employed in occupa- tions other than farming and domestic service, or leave their jobs without forfeiting back pay. The Mis- sissippi code required them to sign labor contracts for the year in January, and, in addition, drunkards, vagrants, beggars, “common night-walkers,” and even “mischief makers” and persons who “misspend what they earn” and who could not pay the stiff fines as- sessed for such misbehavior were to be “hired out at public outcry” to the white persons who would take them for the shortest period in return for paying the fines. Such laws, apparently designed to get around the Thirteenth Amendment, outraged Northerners. The Black Codes Despite the efforts of Radical Republicans in Congress, the white elite in the South did everything it could to prevent blacks from gaining civic power. In reaction to the Civil Rights Act of 1866, every southern legislature passed laws to restrict opportunities for blacks. These black codes, which ranged widely in severity, outlawed everything from interracial marriage to loitering in public areas. One code outlawed unemployment, which allowed white landowners to threaten their tenant farmers with eviction if they decided to give up their land. The black codes in Mississippi were arguably the worst: they stripped blacks of their right to serve on juries and testify against whites, and also outlawed free speech. Other codes forced black children into unpaid apprenticeships that usually led to fieldwork. Southern whites passed these laws because they feared black political influence, especially in states like South Carolina where blacks outnumbered whites. Many racist white southerners also worried that freed slaves would seek revenge on their masters, rape white women, and ruin the economy. Wealthy southern landowners, for their part, supported the black codes because the codes ensured that they would have a stable and reliable black workforce. Some of the black codes forced former slaves to sign contracts, requiring them to work for meager wages, while some even required them to work on chain gangs in the fields. Once the Republican Party took control of Reconstruction, they forced southern state legislatures to repeal many of the black codes. Nonetheless, many wealthy white southerners continued to enforce the codes unlawfully for years, even decades, after Reconstruction.

CONGRESS REJECTS JOHNSONIAN RECONSTRUCTION
Congress responded by passing a Civil Rights Act (1866) Declared specifically that blacks were citizens Denied states the power to restrict their rights (outlawed black codes) to testify in court, to make contracts for their labor and to hold property April 9, 1866, Congress overrode presidential veto of Civil Rights Act and obtained upper hand in Reconstruction The Civil Rights Act of 1866 A few months after the battle over the Freedmen's Bureau charter, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of The act guaranteed citizenship to all Americans regardless of race (except, in an unfortunate irony, Native Americans) and secured former slaves the right to own property, sue, testify in court, and sign legal contracts. President Johnson vetoed this bill as well, but Radical Republicans managed to secure enough votes to override it.

Congress Breaks with the President
February, 1866  President vetoed the Freedmen’s Bureau bill. March, 1866  Johnson vetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act. Congress passed both bills over Johnson’s vetoes  1st in U. S. history!!

Freedmen’s Bureau 1865-Congress enlarges Freedmen’s Bureau—helps former slaves, poor whites gives social services, medical care, education Distributes additional land to former slaves/poor whites (40 acres and a mule from Sherman’s Special Field Order # 15) In Feb 1865 moderate Republicans pushed for new laws that correct weaknesses they saw in Johnson’s plan. -One was to continue and enlarge the Freedman’s Bureau. This was est by Congress in the last month of the war. It assisted former slaves and poor whites in the South by distributing clothing, and food. In addition, it set up more than 40 hospitals, 4,000 schools, 61 industrial institutes, and 74 teacher training enters. -Morehouse College is est. The Freedmen's Bureau The president and Congress disagreed not only about the best way to readmit southern states to the Union but also about the best way to redistribute southern land. Lincoln, for his part, authorized several of his wartime generals to resettle former slaves on confiscated lands. General William Tecumseh Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15 set aside land in South Carolina and islands off the coast of Georgia for roughly 40,000 former slaves. Congress, meanwhile, created the Freedmen's Bureau in early 1865 to distribute food and supplies, establish schools, and redistribute additional confiscated land to former slaves and poor whites. Anyone who pledged loyalty to the Union could lease forty acres of land from the bureau and then have the option to purchase them several years later. Effectiveness of the Freedmen's Bureau The Freedmen's Bureau was only slightly more successful than the pocket-vetoed Wade-Davis Bill. Most southerners regarded the bureau as a nuisance and a threat to their way of life during the postwar depression. The southern aristocracy saw the bureau as a northern attempt to redistribute their lands to former slaves and resisted the Freedmen's Bureau from its inception. Plantation owners threatened their former slaves into selling their forty acres of land, and many bureau agents accepted bribes, turning a blind eye to abuses by former slave owners. Despite these failings, however, the Freedman's Bureau did succeed in setting up schools in the South for nearly 250,000 free blacks. The End of the Freedmen's Bureau Early in 1866, Congress voted to renew the charter that had created the Freedmen's Bureau, in retaliation for the fact that Johnson had stripped the bureau of its power. Congress also revised the charter to include special legal courts that would override southern courts. Johnson, however, vetoed the renewed Freedmen's Bureau, once again using the states' rights argument that the federal government should not deprive the states of their judicial powers. Johnson also claimed that it was not the federal government's responsibility to provide special protection for blacks. Although Congress's first attempt to override the veto failed, a second attempt succeeded in preserving the bureau. The bureau was weakened, however, and Congress finally terminated it in 1872. ▲ The Freedmen’s Bureau built 4329 schools, attended by some 250,000 former slaves, in the postwar South. Many of the teachers in these schools were abolitionists or missionaries from New England. The schools drew African Americans of all ages, from children to grandparents, who were eager for the advantages offered by education. -In Jan 1865 during the Civil War, General Sherman had promised the freed slaves who followed his army 40 acres per family and the use of army mules. 10,000 freed persons settled on 400,000 abandoned or forfeited acres in coastal GA and SC. -The freed AA farmed their plots until August 1865, when President Johnson ordered the original landowners be allowed to reclaim their land and evict the former slaves. -Many AA said they deserved part of the lands—after all they had worked them. Many Republicans like Thaddeus Stevens agreed—they reject seizing property; but other people in Congress reject to taking the land away from the original owners and therefore the Congress passes weak land-reform laws-gave AA land that was unsuitable for farming, too swampy, etc. The 1866 Southern Homestead Act set aside 44 million acres of land in the South for blacks and loyal whites, but it was swampy and not good for farming. Also, few of these guys had the tools needed

Freedmen’s Bureau · The Freedmen’s Bureau provided food, clothing, jobs, medical care, and education for millions of former slaves and poor whites. A teacher and elementary school students posing on the steps of the Hill School, ca. late 19th Century. The school was a part of the Christiansburg Institute, which was first opened by the U. S. Freedmen's Bureau in (Montgomery County, VA)

Freedmen’s Bureau School

Freed black families needed food, clothing, and opportunities to live again after the War…the Freedmen’s Bureau provided such assistance

Who taught in the Freedmen's schools?
One of the many Freedmen’s schools in the postwar South. These schools drew African Americans of all ages, who eagerly sought the advantages offered by education. (Library of Congress) ▲ The Freedmen’s Bureau built 4329 schools, attended by some 250,000 former slaves, in the postwar South. Many of the teachers in these schools were abolitionists or missionaries from New England. The schools drew African Americans of all ages, from children to grandparents, who were eager for the advantages offered by education. Effectiveness of the Freedmen's Bureau The Freedmen's Bureau was only slightly more successful than the pocket-vetoed Wade-Davis Bill. Most southerners regarded the bureau as a nuisance and a threat to their way of life during the postwar depression. The southern aristocracy saw the bureau as a northern attempt to redistribute their lands to former slaves and resisted the Freedmen's Bureau from its inception. Plantation owners threatened their former slaves into selling their forty acres of land, and many bureau agents accepted bribes, turning a blind eye to abuses by former slave owners. Despite these failings, however, the Freedman's Bureau did succeed in setting up schools in the South for nearly 250,000 free blacks. The End of the Freedmen's Bureau Early in 1866, Congress voted to renew the charter that had created the Freedmen's Bureau, in retaliation for the fact that Johnson had stripped the bureau of its power. Congress also revised the charter to include special legal courts that would override southern courts. Johnson, however, vetoed the renewed Freedmen's Bureau, once again using the states' rights argument that the federal government should not deprive the states of their judicial powers. Johnson also claimed that it was not the federal government's responsibility to provide special protection for blacks. Although Congress's first attempt to override the veto failed, a second attempt succeeded in preserving the bureau. The bureau was weakened, however, and Congress finally terminated it in 1872. Thought Questions Why did African Americans thirst for education after their emancipation? Who taught in the Freedmen's schools? How successful were these schools?

Johnson believed Congress could not legislate for South without Southern representatives but did not understand effect of southern intransigence on northern public opinion

Yet Radicals faced problems Few Northerners believed in black equality Between 1866 and 1868, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Connecticut, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania rejected bills granting blacks the vote Radicals were demanding not merely equal rights for freedmen but extra rights; not merely the vote but special protection for it, which flew in face of conventional American belief in equality before the law and individual self-reliance

THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT
June 1866: 14th Amendment submitted to states Supplied broad definition of citizenship Former federal officials who had served under the Confederacy were barred from state or federal office unless specifically pardoned by two-thirds vote of Congress Repudiated Confederate debt -Moderates and Radicals join forces and override veto on Freeman Bureau and Civil Rights Act—Checks and balances again! -Pass the 14th Amendment stated no person, regardless of race, would be deprived of life, liberty, or property w/o due process of the law. It granted national and state citizenship to African Americans. The Fourteenth Amendment Shortly after passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Congress drafted the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure that the 1866 act would have its intended power. Although the amendment did not give former slaves the right to vote, it guaranteed citizenship to all males born in the United States, regardless of race. Republicans in Congress specified that southern states had to ratify the amendment before they could reenter the Union. In 1868, enough states ratified, and the Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution. Protections for Former Slaves The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment were milestones in the fight to give former slaves equal rights. The Civil Rights Act was the first piece of congressional legislation to override state laws and protect civil liberties. More important, it reversed the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sanford ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which stated that blacks were not citizens, effectively legalizing slavery. In giving former slaves citizenship, the Civil Rights Act also gave them—at least in theory—equal protection under the law. The ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed that from that point onward, no one in the United States—even a Supreme Court justice or president—could deny a black person citizenship rights on the basis of racial inequality. Constitutional law stood in the way. Of course, true equality did not happen in a day; the first real steps would not be taken for another hundred years. But the Fourteenth Amendment was a significant start.

THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT
Johnson made his disagreement with 14th Amendment the focus of 1866 Congressional elections Republicans won more than two-thirds of seats in both houses and control of all northern state governments Johnson's “Swing Around the Circle” Many southern whites were angered by the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment. Angry mobs took to the streets in communities throughout the South, and riots erupted in Memphis and New Orleans, leaving many innocent blacks dead. The violence shocked many northerners, who accused President Johnson of turning a blind eye. The president, in turn, placed the blame on Radical Republicans in Congress during his infamous “Swing Around the Circle,” in which he traveled throughout the country giving speeches that lambasted Republicans, pro-war Democrats, and blacks. Rather than drum up support, however, Johnson's coarse rhetoric hurt the Democratic Party's credibility and persuaded many northerners to vote Republican in the congressional elections of 1866. The Northern Response Ironically, the southern race riots and Johnson's “Swing Around the Circle” tour convinced northerners that Congress was not being harsh enough toward the postwar South. Many northerners were troubled by the presidential pardons Johnson had handed out to Confederates, his decision to strip the Freedmen's Bureau of its power, and the fact that blacks were essentially slaves again on white plantations. Moreover, many in the North believed that a president sympathetic to southern racists and secessionists could not properly reconstruct the South. As a result, Radical Republicans overwhelmingly beat their Democratic opponents in the elections of 1866, ending Presidential Reconstruction and ushering in the era of Radical Reconstruction. Reconstruction (1865–1877

THE RECONSTRUCTION ACTS
March 2, 1867: First Reconstruction Act Divided former Confederacy (except Tennessee) into five military districts, each controlled by a major general Gave these officers almost dictatorial power to protect the civil rights of all persons, maintain order, and supervise the administration of justice To rejoin union, states had to adopt new state constitutions guaranteeing blacks the right to vote and disenfranchising broad classes of ex-Confederates If new constitutions satisfactory and if new governments ratified 14th amendment, would be admitted to Congress and military rule ended Overrode Johnson’s veto The First and Second Reconstruction Acts Congress began the task of Reconstruction by passing the First Reconstruction Act in March Also known as the Military Reconstruction Act or simply the Reconstruction Act, the bill reduced the secessionist states to little more than conquered territory, dividing them into five military districts, each governed by a Union general. Congress declared martial law in the territories, dispatching troops to keep the peace and protect former slaves. Congress also declared that southern states needed to redraft their constitutions, ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, and provide suffrage to blacks in order to seek readmission into the Union. To further safeguard voting rights for former slaves, Republicans passed the Second Reconstruction Act, placing Union troops in charge of voter registration. Congress overrode two presidential vetoes from Johnson to pass the bills. Reestablishing Order in the South The murderous Memphis and New Orleans race riots of 1866 proved that Reconstruction needed to be declared and enforced, and the Military Reconstruction Act jump-started this process. Congress chose to send the military, creating “radical regimes” throughout the secessionist states. Radical Republicans hoped that by declaring martial law in the South and passing the Second Reconstruction Act, they would be able to create a Republican political base in the seceded states to facilitate their plans for Radical Reconstruction. Though most southern whites hated the “regimes” that Congress established, they proved successful in speeding up Reconstruction. Indeed, by 1870 all of the southern states had been readmitted to the Union. Radical Reconstruction's Effect on Blacks Though Radical Reconstruction was an improvement on President Johnson's laissez-faire Reconstructionism, it had its ups and downs. The daily lives of blacks and poor whites changed little. While Radicals in Congress successfully passed rights legislation, southerners all but ignored these laws. The newly formed southern governments established public schools, but they were still segregated and did not receive enough funding. Black literacy rates did improve, but marginally at best.

Reconstruction Act of 1867: Military Rule of South
Restart Reconstruction in the 10 Southern states that refused to ratify the 14th Amendment. Divide the 10 “unreconstructed states” into 5 military districts.

The Radical Republicans Plan
The Republicans, unlike Johnson, wanted to be very hard on the rebellious southern states. They organize the south up into 5 military districts each controlled by a former Civil War General.

IMPEACHMENT OF JOHNSON
Tenure of Office Act of 1867: prohibited the President from removing officials who had been appointed with the consent of the Senate without first obtaining Senate approval February 1868: Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton without Senate approval The House impeached Johnson Johnson’s lawyers argued Stanton had been removed to prove Tenure of Office Act was unconstitutional May 16, 1868: Senate failed by single vote to convict Radical leaders of Congress felt Johnson was not carrying out his constitutional duties to enforce the Reconstruction Act. For ex, he removed military officers who attempted to enforce the act. They start to look for a way to remove him from office. -In March of 1867, Congress had passed the Tenure of Office Act which states the president could not remove cabinet officers during the term of the President in which they have been appointed w/o the consent of the Senate. -One purpose of this act was to protect Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (the Radical’s ally) -Johnson, along with many others, was certain the Act was unconstitutional. To force a court test of the Act, Johnson fired Secretary of War Stanton. -He gave the Radicals the opportunity they needed…the House brought 11 charges of impeachment against Johnson, 9 of which were based on his violation of the Tenure of Office Act/ Johnson’s lawyers said this act did not apply to Johnson since it was President Lincoln, not Johnson that had appointed Stanton. -Johnson trial took place in the Senate from March to May The vote was 35 to 19, one vote short of the 2/3 majority needed to remove Johnson from office. The Tenure of Office Act In addition to the Reconstruction Acts, Congress also passed a series of bills in 1867 to limit President Johnson's power, one of which was the Tenure of Office Act. The bill sought to protect prominent Republicans in the Johnson administration by forbidding their removal without congressional consent. Although the act applied to all officeholders whose appointment required congressional approval, Republicans were specifically aiming to keep Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in office, because Stanton was the Republicans' conduit for controlling the U.S. military. Defiantly, Johnson ignored the act, fired Stanton in the summer of 1867 (while Congress was in recess), and replaced him with Union general Ulysses S. Grant. Afraid that Johnson would end Military Reconstruction in the South, Congress ordered him to reinstate Stanton when it reconvened in Johnson refused, but Grant resigned, and Congress put Edwin M. Stanton back in office over the president's objections. Johnson's Impeachment House Republicans, tired of presidential vetoes that blocked Military Reconstruction, impeached Johnson by a vote of 126–47 for violating the Tenure of Office Act. The Senate then tried Johnson in May 1868 in front of a gallery of spectators. However, the prosecutors, two Radical Republicans from the House, were unable to convince a majority of senators to convict the president. Seven Republican senators sided with Senate Democrats, and the Republicans fell one vote shy of convicting Johnson. The Politics of Johnson's Impeachment Although Johnson did technically violate the Tenure of Office Act, the bill was passed primarily as a means to provoke Johnson and give Radical Republicans in Congress an excuse to get rid of him. Indeed, Johnson's trial in Congress exposed the real reason that House Republicans impeached the president: he had ignored them in the process of crafting Reconstruction policies, and they wanted retaliation. The Senate, however, acquitted Johnson, aware that a frivolous impeachment would have set a dangerous precedent. If Congress had removed a president from office simply on the basis of a power struggle between the president and Congress, they might have endangered the system of separation of powers—an integral part of U.S. government. Although Johnson had stubbornly opposed Congress, he had not violated the Constitution and was not guilty of committing “high crimes and misdemeanors.” In addition, another factor was the fact that, because Johnson had no vice president, the president pro tempore of the Senate was next in line for the presidency should Johnson be impeached. This man was a rather liberal Republican named Benjamin Wade, whose politics did not sit well with certain other senate Republicans. Some of these Republicans deemed the prospect of a Wade presidency just as unpalatable as the dangerous precedent of impeachment and thus voted with the Democrats to acquit Johnson. Edwin Stanton

The Senate Trial 11 week trial.
Johnson acquitted 35 to 19 (one short of required 2/3s vote).

THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT
Election of 1868 Republicans nominated Ulysses S. Grant Grant won with 214 electoral votes to 80 and 3 million popular votes to 2.7 million Margin of victory provided by southern blacks Importance of black vote made Republicans decide that amendment needed to guarantee black votes in all states, not just in the South Republican Grant ran against Dem Horatio Seymour-governor of NY. -Grant elected with the help of 450,000 African American southern votes, thus showing how important the AA vote was to the Republican Party. Although he would probably have carried the Electoral College in any case, Grant’s margin in the popular vote was supplied by southern blacks enfranchised under the Re- construction acts, about 450,000 of whom supported him. The Fifteenth Amendment The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments had abolished slavery and granted blacks citizenship, but blacks still did not have the right to vote. Radical Republicans feared that black suffrage might be revoked in the future, so they decided to amend the Constitution to solidify this right. They also believed that giving blacks the right to vote would weaken southern elites, who had regained political power in the South. In 1869, therefore, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment, granting all American males the right to vote. Congress also required secessionist states that had not yet reentered the Union to ratify the amendment in order to rejoin. By 1870, three-quarters of the Union had ratified the amendment, and it became law.

THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT
15th Amendment sent to states in February 1869 Forbade all states to deny the vote to anyone “on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude” Passed because of unfairness of double standard of voting, contribution of black soldiers during the war and the hope of ending the strife of Reconstruction The Fifteenth Amendment The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments had abolished slavery and granted blacks citizenship, but blacks still did not have the right to vote. Radical Republicans feared that black suffrage might be revoked in the future, so they decided to amend the Constitution to solidify this right. They also believed that giving blacks the right to vote would weaken southern elites, who had regained political power in the South. In 1869, therefore, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment, granting all American males the right to vote. Congress also required secessionist states that had not yet reentered the Union to ratify the amendment in order to rejoin. By 1870, three-quarters of the Union had ratified the amendment, and it became law. Black Voters After the amendment's ratification, southern blacks flocked to the polls. By the beginning of 1868, more than 700,000 blacks (and nearly the same number of poor landless whites) had registered to vote. Not surprisingly, virtually all of them declared themselves Republicans, associating the Democratic Party with secession and slavery. Black civic societies and grassroots political organizations began to sprout up across the South, most led by prominent blacks who had been freedmen since before the Civil War. Soon, black voters gained majorities in South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Mississippi and were able to facilitate Republican plans for Reconstruction. These voters elected many black politicians in the majority states and throughout the South: fourteen black politicians were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and two to the Mississippi State Senate. These new state governments funded the creation of roads, hospitals, prisons, and free public schools. During Reconstruction, 14 blacks won election to the House of Representatives and two, Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce, served in the Senate. Revels, at far left, won the Mississippi Senate seat that Jefferson Davis had once held. He later became president of Alcorn University. Congressman R. Brown Elliot, at far right, had been educated at Eton in England.

15th Amendment 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. The Fifteenth Amendment in Perspective Prior to 1866, most Republicans had opposed black suffrage. Even the “Great Emancipator” himself, Abraham Lincoln, considered giving the right to vote only to blacks who were freedmen before the Civil War and those who had served in the Union Army. Most moderate Republicans saw freedmen suffrage as unnecessary until they realized that the Republican Party would never gain influence in the South unless blacks had the right to vote. Blacks would support the Republican Party en masse, so ratifying the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed Republicans this support. Ironically, the Fifteenth Amendment also forced reluctant northern states to give blacks the right to vote. Even though most of the new postwar state constitutions in the South gave blacks the right to vote, many northern states refused to follow suit, because they considered universal manhood suffrage a solution unique to the South that was unnecessary in the North. The amendment also granted voting rights to poor whites, especially in the South. Prior to the Civil War, landowners were the only social group who had the privilege to vote, excluding the majority of poor, landless whites from active political participation. The Fifteenth Amendment thus brought sweeping changes for blacks, poor whites, and politics in general in the United States.

Former slaves in the South voted and held office
“BLACK REPUBLICAN” RECONSTRUCTION: Scalawags and Carpetbaggers— Name calling: YOU called me a what??? Former slaves in the South voted and held office Real rulers of “black Republican” governments were white Scalawags: southerners willing to cooperate with the Republicans because they accepted the results of the war and wished to advance their own interests Carpetbaggers: Northerners who went South as idealist to help the freed slaves, as employees of the federal government, or more commonly as settlers hoping to improve themselves The South After the War While politicians in Washington, D.C., were busy passing Reconstruction legislation in the late 1860s, the South remained in upheaval, as the ruined economy tried to accommodate newly emancipated blacks and political power struggles ensued. As freed slaves tried to establish livelihoods for themselves and take advantage of their new rights under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, politicians and vigilantes used insidious legislation and intimidation to try to maintain the prewar status quo. Carpetbaggers and Scalawags Meanwhile, some northerners jumped at the opportunity to move to the South in the wake of the Confederacy's defeat. Commonly known as carpetbaggers because of their tendency to carry their possessions in large carpetbags, some moved from the North to promote education, others to modernize the South, and others to seek their fortune. White southern Unionists, or scalawags, attempted to achieve similar aims. Carpetbaggers and scalawags served in state legislatures in every southern state during Reconstruction.

Carpetbaggers - Northerners that moved to the South during Reconstruction looking for wealth, land, or to help the freedmen. A cartoon from the 1870s makes fun of a Northern politician. It shows him as a carpetbagger, or a Northerner who moved to the South with only what he could carry in a small bag. (At the time, traveling bags were commonly made of carpet.)

“BLACK REPUBLICAN” RECONSTRUCTION: Scalawags and Carpetbaggers
More numerous A few were prewar politicians or well-to-do planters Most were people who had supported the Whigs Carpetbaggers were extremely varied with differing motives Many northern blacks: former Union soldiers, missionaries from northern black churches, teachers, lawyers, other members of small northern professional class The scalawags were by far the more numerous. A few were prewar politicians or well-to-do planters, men such as the Mississippi planter John L. Alcorn and Joseph E. Brown, the Confederate governor of Georgia. General James Longstreet, one of Lee’s most important lieutenants, was another prominent Southerner who cooperated with the Republicans. But most were people who had supported the Whig party before the secession crisis and who saw the Re- publicans as the logical successors of the Whigs. Many northern blacks became carpetbaggers: former Union soldiers, missionaries from northern blackchurches, and also teachers, lawyers, and other members of the small northern black professional class. Many of these became officeholders, but like southern black politicians their influence was limited.That blacks should fail to dominate southern governments is certainly understandable. They lacked experience in politics and were mostly poor and uned- u c a t e d .T h e yw e r en e a r l ye v e r y w h e r eam i n o r i t y. Those blacks who held office during Reconstruction tended to be better educated and more prosperous than most southern blacks. A disproportionate number had been free before the war. Of those freed by the Thirteenth Amendment, a large percentage had been house servants or artisans, not field hands. Mu- latto politicians were also disproportionately numerous and (as a group) more conservative and economi- cally better off than other black leaders.

“BLACK REPUBLICAN” RECONSTRUCTION: Scalawags and Carpetbaggers
Republican southern governments accomplished a great deal Taxes went up but money financed repair and expansion of South’s railroads, rebuilt levees, and expanded social services Money came in part from Freedman’s Bureau and from Northern religious and philanthropic organizations But state governments established and supported hospitals, asylums, and systems of free public education Money also spent on land reclamation, repairing and expanding war-ravaged railroads, and maintaining levees During Reconstruction, 14 blacks won election to the House of Representatives and two, Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce, served in the Senate. Revels, at far left, won the Mississippi Senate seat that Jefferson Davis had once held. He later became president of Alcorn University. Congressman R. Brown Elliot, at far right, had been educated at Eton in England. But the real rulers of the “black Republi- can” governments were white: the “scalawags”— Southerners willing to cooperate with the Republicans because they accepted the results of the war and wished to advance their own interests—and the “carpetbaggers”—Northerners who went to the South as idealists to help the freed slaves, as employees of the federal government, or more commonly as settlers hoping to improve themselves. In fact, the Radical southern governments accomplished a great deal. They spent money freely but not entirely wastefully. Tax rates zoomed, but the money financed the repair and expansion of the South’s dilapidated railroad network, rebuilt crum- bling levees, and expanded social services. Before the Civil War, southern planters possessed a dispropor-tionate share of political as well as economic power, and they spent relatively little public money on education and public services of all kinds. During Reconstruction an enormous gap had to be filled, and it took money to fill it. The Freedmen’s Bureau made a major contribution. Northern religious and philanthropic organizations also did important work. Eventually, however, the state governments established and supported hospitals, asylums, and systems of free public education that, while segregated, greatly benefited everyone, whites as well as blacks. Much state money was also spent on economic development: land reclamation, repairing and expanding the war-ravaged railroads, maintaining levees. The former slaves grasped eagerly at the opportunities to learn. Schools and other institutions were supported chiefly by property taxes, and these, of course, hit well-to-do planters hard. Hence much of the com- plaining about the “extravagance” of Reconstruction governments concealed traditional selfish objections to paying for public projects. Eventually the benefits of expanded government services to the entire population became clear, and when white supremacy was reestablished, most of the new services remained in force, and the corruption and inefficiency inherited from the carpetbagger governments continued.

THE RAVAGED LAND South desperately poor
Blacks sought land of their own and Thaddeus Stevens supported the goal, recommending redistributing land from planters Problem: would still need seed, tools and other necessities Congress did open 46 million acres of poor quality federal land under Homestead Act but few settled on it

SHARE CROPPING AND THE CROP-LIEN SYSTEM
Originally plantation owners tried to farm land with gang labor No cash for wages because little capital and high interest rates Blacks did not like working for wages or in gangs because reminded them of slave labor They wanted to manage their own lives Result was new labor system: sharecropping Sharecropping Despite efforts by white landowners to force blacks back into wage labor on large plantations, emancipation enabled southern blacks to rent their own plots of land, farm them, and provide for their families. A system of sharecropping emerged in which many former plantation owners divided their lands and rented out each plot, or share, to a black family. The family farmed their own crops and rented their plot of land in exchange for a percentage of their crop's yield. Some poor, landless whites also became sharecroppers, farming lands owned by wealthy planter elites. By 1880, the vast majority of farmers in the South were sharecroppers. Unfortunately, the economic prospects for blacks under the sharecropping system were usually poor. Many former slaves ended up sharecropping on land owned by their former masters, and the system kept blacks tied to their shares—their rented plots of land—and thereby indebted to white landowners. Moreover, because cotton prices dropped steadily from about fifty cents per pound in 1864 to a little over ten cents per pound by the end of Reconstruction, sharecroppers' incomes were meager. Most black farmers were able to purchase items only on credit at local shops—almost always owned by their landlords—and thus went deep into debt.

Planters broke up their estates into small units and established a black family on each Planter provided housing, agricultural implements, draft animals, seed and other supplies and family provided labor Crop was divided between them (usually basis) If landlord supplied only land and housing, laborer got a larger share—share tenancy Sharecropping Despite efforts by white landowners to force blacks back into wage labor on large plantations, emancipation enabled southern blacks to rent their own plots of land, farm them, and provide for their families. A system of sharecropping emerged in which many former plantation owners divided their lands and rented out each plot, or share, to a black family. The family farmed their own crops and rented their plot of land in exchange for a percentage of their crop's yield. Some poor, landless whites also became sharecroppers, farming lands owned by wealthy planter elites. By 1880, the vast majority of farmers in the South were sharecroppers. Unfortunately, the economic prospects for blacks under the sharecropping system were usually poor. Many former slaves ended up sharecropping on land owned by their former masters, and the system kept blacks tied to their shares—their rented plots of land—and thereby indebted to white landowners. Moreover, because cotton prices dropped steadily from about fifty cents per pound in 1864 to a little over ten cents per pound by the end of Reconstruction, sharecroppers' incomes were meager. Most black farmers were able to purchase items only on credit at local shops—almost always owned by their landlords—and thus went deep into debt.

Sharecropping

Cotton production revived in 1870s and once again ruled the South

Why did sharecropping evolve?
Despite the abolition of slavery, African Americans continued to labor in the cotton fields as sharecropping emerged as a new labor system in the South. Why did sharecropping evolve? What impact did it have on the southern economy? How did the system affect poor southerners, both white and black?

Manufacturing grew Tobacco industry expanded rapidly Exploitation of coal and iron products in northeastern Alabama in the early 1870s Productive capacity for the manufacture of cotton cloth doubled between 1865 and 1880 Mills of Massachusetts alone still had 8 times the capacity of the entire South in 1880 Southern % of national manufacturing output declined However, the decline in productivity was not caused by the inability of free blacks to work indepen- dently. They simply chose no longer to work like slaves. They let their children play instead of forcing them into the fields. Mothers devoted more time to childcare and housework, less to farm labor. Elderly blacks worked less.

THE WHITE BACKLASH Northerners were losing interest in the South though reminders of Democratic role in Civil War could still stir voters But no longer willing to support army In 1869, occupying force reduced to 11,000 Once Northerners were assured blacks would not be re-enslaved, lost interest With rise of industrial enterprises in 1870s, Northerners also more sympathetic to Southern insistence on a disciplined labor force Powerless to check the League by open methods, dissident Southerners established a number of secret terrorist societies, bearing such names as the Ku Klux Klan, the Knights of the White Camelia, and the Pale Faces. The most notorious of these organizations was the Klan, which originated in Tennessee in At first it was purely a social club, but by 1868 it had been taken over by vigilante types dedicated to driving blacks out of politics, and it was spreading rapidly across the South. Sheet-clad nightriders roamed the countryside, frightening the impressionable and chastising the defiant. Klansmen, using a weird mumbo jumbo and claiming to be the ghosts of Con- federate soldiers, spread horrendous rumors and pub- lished broadsides designed to persuade the freedmen that it was unhealthy for them to participate in politics: Despite the progress blacks made in the South after the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, racism still existed, and angry whites sometimes resorted to violence to intimidate blacks. The most notorious of these initiatives was the Ku Klux Klan, a secret society of white supremacists formed in Tennessee in 1866 to terrorize blacks. Klansmen, who wore white hoods to conceal their identities, harassed and beat blacks, carpetbaggers, and scalawags, and sometimes even conducted lynchings—mob killings of blacks, usually by hanging. The Klan often used these tactics to scare blacks away from the polls during elections and to punish those who did not obey their demands. In one extreme case, Klansmen murdered several hundred black voters in Louisiana in Congress, realizing the need to protect blacks, passed the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to try to curb the tide of violence and intimidation. Congress struck at the Klan with three Force Acts (1870–1871), which placed elections under federal jurisdiction and imposed fines and prison sentences on persons convicted of interfering with any citizen’s exercise of the franchise. Troops were dispatched to areas where the Klan was strong, and by 1872 the federal authorities had arrested enough Klansmen to break up the organization. Gradually it became respectable to intimidate black voters. Beginning in Mississippi in 1874, terror- ism spread through the South. Instead of hiding be- hind masks and operating in the dark, these terrorists donned red shirts, organized into military companies, and paraded openly. Mississippi redshirts seized mili- tant blacks and whipped them publicly. Killings were frequent. When blacks dared to fight back, heavily armed whites put them to rout. In other states similar results followed. Before long the blacks learned to stay home on election day. One by one, “Conservative” parties— Democratic in national affairs—took over southern state governments. Intimidation was only a partial ex- planation of this development. The increasing soli- darity of whites, northern and southern, was equally significant Northern voters could still be stirred by refer- ences to the sacrifices Republicans had made to save the Union and by reminders that the Democratic party was the organization of rebels, Copperheads, and the Ku Klux Klan. “If the Devil himself were at the helm of the ship of state,” wrote the novelist Ly- dia Maria Child in 1872, “my conscience would not allow me to aid in removing him to make room for the Democratic party.” Yet emotional appeals could not convince Northerners that it was still necessary to maintain a large army in the South. In 1869 the occupying forces were down to 11,000 men. After Klan disruption and intimidation had made a farce of the 1874 elections in Mississippi, Governor Ames ap- pealed to Washington for help. President Grant’s at- torney general, Edwards Pierrepont, refused to act. “The whole public are tired out with these autumnal outbreaks in the South,” he told Ames. “Preserve the peace by the forces of your own state.”

Ku Klux Klan - secret group set up in the South after the Civil War
Ku Klux Klan - secret group set up in the South after the Civil War. Members terrorized primarily African-Americans, but they targeted Catholics and Jews as well. A graphic warning by the Alabama Klan “of the fate in store for” scalawags and carpetbaggers, “those great pests of Southern society,” from the Tuscaloosa Independent Monitor, September 1, 1868. 1868–1871 Ku Klux Klan-secret organization, members dress in white robes, use violence, threats to intimidate Blacks & Whites who help Blacks kill thousands, burn schools, churches, homes Southern Democrats use violence to intimidate black voters White Democratic candidates win state elections in 1875, 1876 -The most notorious group to use violence against blacks in the South was the KKK. ·Ku Klux Klan (KKK)—Confederate veterans group that turns terrorist ·Grows rapidly; aims to restore white supremacy -other groups join klan to kill 1,000 -Most victims are AA, but whites that try to help Blacks also are targeted—renting them land, buying their crops. Want to keep blacks from gaining economic or political power, keep from voting. -Congress passed a series of Enforcement Acts to stop Klan violence in 1870 and but President Grant did not enforce the acts and supreme court ruled it unconstitutional (1871 Act to give the President power to use federal troops where the Klan was active.)

Worse than Slavery - Nast Cartoon
As shown in this Thomas Nast cartoon, Worse than Slavery, white groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the White League used every form of terror, violence, and intimidation to restore a “white man’s government” and redeem the noble “lost cause.” (Harper’s Weekly, October 24, 1874) Thought Questions What was the only entity that could have effectively dealt with the Klan and brought true freedom to southern blacks? 2. Why was the Klan not effectively dealt with?

GRANT AS PRESIDENT-Gilded Age
10 years of economic depression starting 1873 Grant failed to live up to expectations as president Major corruption problems Whiskey Ring Affair Indian Ring The Start of the Gilded Age Grant's presidency ( ) marked the beginning of the Gilded Age—the name that novelist Mark Twain gave to the postwar, post-Reconstruction era of big business, graft, and scandal that lasted until about The Gilded Age was enabled partly because most presidents during this era, including Grant, were weak in relation to Congress. The U.S. government's economic policy became lax during these years, allowing Americans to take advantage of the laissez-faire economics via increased speculation, investment, and corruption. GRANT AS PRESIDENT Other matters occupied the attention of northern voters. The expansion of industry and the rapid development of the West, stimulated by a new wave of railroad building, loomed more important to many than the fortunes of the former slaves. Beginning in 1873, when a stock market panic struck at public confi- dence, economic difficulties plagued the country for nearly a decade. Heated controversies arose over tariff policy, with western agricultural interests seeking to force reductions from the high levels established during the war, and over the handling of the wartime greenback paper money, with debtor groups and many manufacturers favoring further expansion of the supply of dollars and conservative merchants and bankers arguing for retiring the greenbacks in order to return to a “sound” currency. The Fisk-Gould Gold Scheme Indeed, Grant had not even completed his first year in office before scandal hit. In 1869, financial tycoons Jim Fisk and Jay Gould bribed officials in Grant's cabinet, including Grant's own brother-in-law, to turn a blind eye while the two wealthy businessmen attempted to corner the gold market. Fisk and Gould even conned Grant himself into not releasing any more of the precious metal into the economy. Fisk and Gould's attempt to corner the gold market led to the panic of September 24, 1869, “Black Friday.” Congress was able to restore gold prices only after releasing more gold into the economy, despite Grant's promise that more gold would not be released. Though Grant was unknowingly part of the scandal, no formal charges were filed against him. The Tweed Ring Historians also associate the Grant presidency with corrupt political bosses and “machines,” the most notorious of which was the Tammany Hall machine in New York City, led by William “Boss” Tweed. Tweed, more than anyone else, was the symbol of corruption during the Gilded Age: he controlled nearly every aspect of political life in New York City; used bribery, extortion, and fraud to get what he wanted; and even sponsored phony elections to put his associates in office. Historians estimate that he may have fleeced as much as $200 million from New Yorkers. Though it could be argued that Tweed preyed on recent immigrants, he also provided valuable services for them: Tammany Hall often gave newly arrived immigrants housing, jobs, and security in exchange for votes. The law finally caught up with Tweed in 1871, when New York prosecutor Samuel J. Tilden helped expose the Democratic politician's corrupt dealings and sent him to jail. Tweed ultimately died in prison. Tilden, for his part, capitalized on his sudden fame and entered politics; within five years, he ran for president of the United States. The Crédit Mobilier Scandal This booming railroad industry quickly attracted corporate corruption. In the 1860s, corrupt Union Pacific Railroad executives had created a dummy railroad construction company called Crédit Mobilier. The executives contracted themselves out as tracklayers for the phony company and earned huge profits, bribing several Congressmen and even Grant's vice president, Schuyler Colfax, to keep quiet about Crédit Mobilier's unlawful profiteering. In 1872, the scandal was exposed, and Colfax resigned. Again, though Grant had not been knowingly involved in the scandal, he suffered a major blow to his political reputation. The Whiskey Ring Scandal Two years later, in 1874, Grant was hit by yet another scandal when several federal employees whom he had appointed embezzled millions of dollars of excise tax revenue. The president vowed to hunt down and punish all those involved in the Whiskey Ring but was forced to eat his words when he discovered that his own personal secretary was involved in the ring. Although Grant ended up pardoning his secretary, the Whiskey Ring left yet another stain on his presidency. Indian Ring--and the corruption of Secretary of War William W. Belknap in the manage- ment of Indian affairs The Liberal Republican Party Fed up with scandals in the Grant administration, a significant number of Republicans broke ranks with the radicals and moderates in Congress before the 1872 presidential elections, forming a breakaway party called the Liberal Republican Party. These congressmen wanted to put an end to governmental corruption, restore the Union, and downsize the federal government. The Liberal Republicans were largely businessmen, professionals, reformers, and intellectuals who disliked big government and preferred a laissez-faire economic policy. Some historians argue that the Liberal Republicans opposed democracy; indeed, they did not support universal manhood suffrage or the enfranchisement of blacks. They also believed that the widespread corruption and graft in American big business and politics were the result of too much democracy and governmental interference The Election of 1872 The Liberal Republicans nominated New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley as their candidate for president. The Democratic Party also nominated Greeley as their candidate, because he opposed the army's presence in the South and wanted to end Reconstruction. Radical and moderate Republicans once again nominated Ulysses S. Grant, despite all the scandals during his term. Grant won the election, 286 electoral votes to Greeley's 66, and took the popular vote by a margin of more than 700,000. The Depression of 1873 Grant's second term was as difficult as his first, this time due to economic problems rather than scandals. During the economic boom of his first term, Americans had taken out too many bad loans and overspeculated in the railroad and business industries. This activity led to the Depression of 1873, the first major economic collapse in U.S. history. The depression lasted for roughly five years, and millions of Americans lost their jobs.

Grant Administration Scandals
Grant presided over an era of unprecedented growth and corruption. Credit Mobilier Scandal. Whiskey Ring. The “Indian Ring.”

▲ This cartoon—“A Strong Man at the Head of Government”—pokes fun at Grant, whose presidency was weighed down with scandal. Grant did not cause the corruption, nor did he participate in the remotest way in the rush to “fatten at the public trough,” as the reformers of the day might have put it. But he did nothing to prevent the scandals that disgraced his administration. Out of a misplaced belief in the sanctity of friendship, he protected some of the worst culprits and allowed calculating tricksters to use his good name and the prestige of his office to advance their own interests at the country’s expense. “Mistakes have been made, as all can see and I admit,” Grant conceded in his final report to Congress.

THE DISPUTED ELECTION OF 1876
Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, Governor of Ohio Democrats nominated Samuel J. Tilden, Governor of New York, who had helped break up Tweed Ring Results Early returns suggested Tilden carried New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Indiana and all southern states including South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida Would give Tilden 203 electoral votes to Hayes’s 165 and popular plurality of 250,000 out of 8 million votes cast Republican regimes in three southern states under their control staged recounts that determined Hayes was the winner Waning Interest in Reconstruction As the Depression of 1873 wore on into the mid-1870s, northern voters became decreasingly interested in southern Reconstruction. With unemployment high and hard currency scarce, northerners were more concerned with their own financial well-being than in securing rights for freedmen, punishing the Ku Klux Klan, or readmitting secessionist states. After Democrats capitalized on these depression conditions and took control of the House of Representatives in 1874, Reconstruction efforts stalled. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 The Radical Republicans' last successful piece of legislation in Congress was the Civil Rights Act of The bill aimed to eliminate social discrimination and forbade discrimination in all public places, such as theaters, hotels, and restaurants. The bill stated that blacks should be treated as equals under the law and that they could sue violators of the law in federal court. Unfortunately, the act proved ineffective, as Democrats in the House made sure the bill was unenforceable. The act stated that blacks had to file claims to defend their own rights; the federal government could not do it for them. Many blacks were still poor and worked hard to make a living, and House Democrats knew that lawsuits would require money and considerable effort. Democrats Take the South Meanwhile, Democrats were steadily regaining control of the South, as the already-weak Republican presence in region only became weaker as northerners lost interest in Reconstruction. The Depression of 1873, along with continued pressure from the Ku Klux Klan, drove most white Unionists, carpetbaggers, and scalawags out of the South by the mid-1870s, leaving blacks alone to fight for radical legislation. Democrats regained their seats in state legislatures, beginning with majorities in Virginia and Tennessee in 1869 and moving steadily onward to other states. Many Democrats used violence to secure power, and several Republicans were murdered in Mississippi in the 1875 elections. Blacks continued to be terrorized and intimidated into not voting. By 1877, Democrats had majorities in every southern state. The Election of 1876 In 1876, the Democratic Party, having already secured a majority in the South, made a concerted effort to win the White House as well. The party nominated the famous Grant-era prosecutor Samuel J. Tilden as their presidential hopeful. After briefly thinking about re-nominating Ulysses S. Grant for an unprecedented third term, Republicans instead nominated Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes. Even though Hayes was a relative unknown, Republicans thought of him as the perfect candidate: he had been a Union general in the Civil War, had no controversial opinions, and came from a politically important state. In the election, Tilden received 184 electoral votes of the 185 needed to become president. Hayes only received 165 votes and lost the popular vote by approximately 250,000 votes. However, the election results were disputed because of confusing ballots in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. Under normal procedure, disputed votes would be recounted in front of Congress by the president of the Senate. However, the president of the Senate was a Republican and the Speaker of the House was a Democrat, so neither man could be trusted to count the votes fairly.

1876 Presidential Tickets

Alas, the Woes of Childhood…
Sammy Tilden—Boo-Hoo! Ruthy Hayes’s got my Presidency, and he won’t give it to me!

THE DISPUTED ELECTION OF 1876
An electoral commission was established to determine the results What was determined was vast corruption by everyone involved Commission gave all disputed electoral votes to Hayes Democrats were furious The Compromise of 1877 Congress therefore passed the Electoral Count Act in 1877 to establish a special committee to recount the votes in a fair and balanced way. The committee consisted of fifteen men from the House, Senate, and Supreme Court. The committee concluded by a margin of one vote that the Republican Hayes had won the disputed states and therefore was the new president. Democrats were outraged at first but quickly realized that the situation gave them the perfect opportunity to strike a bargain with the opposition to achieve their political goals. The result was the Compromise of 1877, in which Democrats agreed to let Hayes become president in exchange for a complete withdrawal of federal troops from the South. Republicans agreed, and shortly after Hayes was sworn in as president, he ordered the remaining federal troops to vacate South Carolina and Louisiana.

THE COMPROMISE OF 1877 Positions
Northern Democrats vowed to fight the results Southern Democrats were willing to settle if Hayes would remove remaining troops and allow South to manage its own affairs

THE COMPROMISE OF 1877 Hayes was declared winner on March 2, 1877, 185 electoral votes to 184 He recalled the last troops from South Carolina and Louisiana in April South remained solidly Democrat Reconstruction was over Reasons for the End of Reconstruction Ultimately, Reconstruction ended because of several factors. Northerners were tired of a decade of Reconstruction efforts and had become less interested in the South with the rise of speculation and profit-making in the Gilded Age and then the hardships of the Depression of In addition, the conservative Supreme Court repeatedly struck down Radical Republican legislation, issuing rulings that had a devastating effect on blacks' civil liberties. Meanwhile, the persistent scare tactics of the Ku Klux Klan and other southern white groups drove many Republicans out of office, giving Democrats a majority in every southern state by Finally, the Compromise of 1877 and removal of the remaining federal troops from the South signaled the end of the Reconstruction era. The Successes of Reconstruction Reconstruction was a success in the sense that America, after 1877, could once again be called the United States. All of the southern states had drafted new constitutions; ratified the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments; and pledged loyalty to the Union. Together, the Civil War and Reconstruction also settled the states' fights vs. federalism debate that had been going on since the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of the 1790s and the Nullification Crisis of the 1830s. As one historian noted, the United States before the Civil War were a country, but the United States after the war was a nation. The Failures of Reconstruction However, although Reconstruction was a success in a broad sense, it was a failure in several specific ways. The swift changes in political power in the South rendered useless most of the legislation that Radical Republicans had passed through Congress. Rutherford B. Hayes's removal of federal troops from the South in 1877 allowed many former Confederates and slave owners to regain power, and this return of power to whites also meant a return to the policy of the old South. Southern politicians passed the black codes and voter qualifications and allowed the sharecropping system to thrive—all with the support of a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, whose key court rulings in the 1870s and 1880s effectively repealed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. As a result, by 1877, northerners were tired of Reconstruction; weary of battling southern elites, scandal, and radicalism; and had largely lost interest in supporting black civil rights. Theoretically, North and South reached a compromise: black civil liberties and racial equality would be set aside in order to put the Union back together. As it turned out, blacks would not regain the support of the federal government until the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

WEBSITES The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes Images of African Americans from the Nineteenth Century Freedman and Southern Society Project (University of Maryland, College Park)

RECONSTRUCTION AND THE SOUTH

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