Reconstruction Thursday, May 4, 2017

13th Amendment “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a hollow document, it really didn’t free anyone. So he knew he would need a constitutional document that would guarantee the abolition of slavery.

14th Amendment “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The amendment was created to give former slaves protection against laws created by the southern states to keep former slaves from experiencing full citizenship.

15th Amendment “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be dented or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This amendment guaranteed voting rights to former slaves.

Lincoln’s 10% Plan Required voters in each Southern state to take an oath of loyalty When 10% of the voters in each state had taken the oath, the state could form a new state government. State also would be required to adopt a new constitution that banned slavery. Lincoln did not want to punish the South after the war. He believed punishment would not help.

Lincoln’s Assassination Lincoln was assassinated on April 15, 1865 just weeks after the surrender at Appomattox court house. Lincoln was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth. Booth thought Lincoln was a tyrant Lincoln died the next day.

Military Occupation of the South First Reconstruction Act- Because the South would not pass the 14th amendment, the law required the states to create new governments The 10 southern states were divided into 5 military districts and each was governed by an army general until new state governments were formed.

The KKK After Reconstruction the Ku Klux Klan, a secret fraternal organization, was founded in 1866 by ex- Confederate soldiers They used acts of terrorism including murder, lynching, arson, rape and bombing to oppose the granting of civil rights to African Americans

Black Codes Southern States passed “Black Codes” based on older “Slave Codes” in order to regulate the lives of the freedmen. The aim of these codes was to preserve traditional Southern Society despite the abolition of slavery. EX: Black codes made it illegal for freedmen to hold public office, to travel freely or to serve on juries. Any Freedmen without a job could be fined and jailed.

Carpetbaggers Northern Whites interested in helping in the south moved south after the war These people were referred to as Carpetbaggers. The term came from the cheap suitcases made of carpet fabric that these northerners carried Most of these Northerners had good intentions but some were dishonest

Scalawags Some Southern Whites supported the Republican Party. Most were pro-Union business leaders and farmers who had not owned enslaved people. These people were called Scalawags. A term meaning a scoundrel or worthless rascal.

Freedmen’s Bureau Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau to help with the former slaves Former slaves could get food, clothing, and medical care. The Bureau also searched for lost family members, made slave marriages legal, opened schools to teach reading and writing, organized to demand their civil rights.

Sharecropping A system developed by plantation owners and freedmen Replaced slavery for workers that were needed on plantations Plantation owners provided livestock, tools and land to former slaves in exchange for a share of their crop. New form of oppression; larger plantations even printed their own money to pay the sharecroppers and they could spend it at the plantation store which was more expensive

Ulysses S. Grant elected President Shortly after an attempt to remove Johnson from office Grant is elected President Grant served two terms 1869-1877 His administration was characterized by weak Presidential leadership and widespread corruption at the national and local levels

The Compromise of 1877 Unwritten compromise that settled the presidential election of 1876 Conditions Government would pull the last troops out of the South Republican Rutherford B Hayes was awarded the White House