Reconstruction after the War Putting the Country Back Together

I. Rebuilding the Nation After the war the South was in ruins and the freed slaves need help finding food, shelter, and jobs. Lincoln wanted to make it easy for the south to rejoin the Union. He created the 10% Plan, which allowed states to enter the Union when 10% of their voters swore to be loyal to the United States government.

Southern states would also have to declare an end to Slavery. Congress created the Wade-Davis Bill that required 50% of voters to sign a loyalty oath and ex-soldiers could not vote. This bill was not passed.

The Freedmen’s Bureau was created to help freed slaves start new lives as American citizens. Schools were set up to teach ex-slaves how to read and write. The bureau also helped freedmen find jobs and fair treatment in court cases.

Lincoln did not get to oversee Reconstruction because he was assassinated on April 14, 1865. A confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth shot him in the head while he was watching a play at Ford’s Theatre. John Wilkes Booth was killed two weeks later when he was trapped in a barn and it was set on fire. Vice President Andrew Johnson took over as President.

II. Battle over Reconstruction The 13th Amendment Approved by Congress in January of 1865. This amendment abolished slavery and forced labor.

The 14th Amendment Congress had to battle to get this amendment passed. All people born or naturalized in the United States were citizens.

15th Amendment Banned states from denying African American males the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” It did not prevent the use of poll taxes or literacy tests.

III. The End of Reconstruction Support for Reconstruction declined as time went on. Troops began to leave the South so that the state governments could rule themselves.

Election of 1876 A shady deal was made in this election between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden. Neither man won the majority of electoral votes, so the House of Representatives chose the new President. Hayes was chosen and he removed all troops from the South, ending Reconstruction officially.