Unit 4 Reconstruction: The Nation Reunited

Reconstruction After the Civil War, the South was economically and physically in ruins The North’s program to help rebuild the South was called Reconstruction

Amending the Constitution Amendments are changes to the Constitution. To amend the Constitution the change: -Must be proposed by two-thirds of the House and Senate -Must be ratified, or accepted, by three- fourths of the states The writers made it difficult to amend the Constitution on purpose so that the change must be wanted by many people

Civil War/Reconstruction Amendments (Changes to the Constitution) 13 th Amendment: Made slavery in the U.S. illegal, freed the slaves

14 th Amendment Declared that states could not limit the rights of citizens: gave citizenship to former slaves. Southern states had to ratify the 14 th Amendment to rejoin the Union Stated that states can not deny the right to “due process”, meaning that a person can not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without proper legal procedures Due process is protected under the 5 th and 14 th Amendments

15 th Amendment Granted suffrage, or the right to vote, to males, including former slaves This allowed African Americans the opportunity to become involved in politics

Voting Rights Voting Rights were further protected by the Constitution by other amendments: 19 th : Granted suffrage to women 23 rd : Gave the District of Columbia the right to vote in Presidential elections 24 th : Outlawed the use of poll taxes 26 th : Set the national voting age at 18

Freedman’s Bureau During Reconstruction, Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau The Freedman’s Bureau provided : - food and clothing - medical care - schools to poor black and white people in the South

Problems with Reconstruction Sharecropping: -Landowners let former slaves use their land to grow crops in return for a share of the crops (as payment) -Landowners loaned sharecroppers tools and seeds, and sold them food and clothing at very high prices to keep the sharecropper in debt -Sharecropping replaced slavery in the South

Sharecroppers rarely made enough money to pay off their debts and were forced to work year after year trying to repay the debt to the landowner

Jim Crow Laws Southern States began to pass laws that segregated African Americans. These laws were called “Jim Crow” laws Schools, hospitals, playgrounds, stadiums, and most public places, were segregated using Jim Crow laws

The Economics of Reconstruction During Reconstruction, sharecroppers sold their labor to the landowners. The system however made it almost impossible for the sharecropper to pay off his debts Sharecroppers also grew a certain amount of crops for their own personal use

The Economics of Reconstruction Most of the railroads and factories in the South were destroyed during the Civil War. Southerners had to purchase many goods that they used to make prior to the war, including food Southern farms also faced a labor shortage due to many young men being killed during the war

Questions???? What was Reconstruction and why was it needed? What were the three Civil War/Reconstruction Amendments and what did they do? Who created the Freedman’s Bureau and what was it’s purpose during Reconstruction? What was sharecropping and why was it similar to slavery? What is segregation? What was the purpose of Jim Crow laws in the South?