Rebuilding after the Civil War Reconstruction Rebuilding after the Civil War

The Civil War is over… Now What?! Remember when General William Sherman and his troops marched through the heart of the south practicing total war (destroying everything) all the way to the Atlantic Ocean? Remember when southern states succeeded (broke away) from the Union and formed their own Confederate States? Remember when President Lincoln emancipated (set free) slaves in the Confederate states?

Where do we start? Reconstruction: the period of reuniting and rebuilding the South following the end of the Civil War

Piecing it back together

Ten Percent Plan President Lincoln proposed that southerners be offered amnesty (an official pardon). All southerners had to do was: swear an oath of loyalty to the United States accept a ban on slavery When 10 percent of the voters (men) in any state took the oath, that state would be accepted back into the Union.

10% Plan vs. Wade-Davis Bill Also called for southerners to ban slavery Most of the people of a state would have to take the pledge before the state could rejoin the Union Only southerners who swore they did not support the Confederacy could run for office

13th Amendment 1865: officially outlawed slavery in the nation. Former slaves responded to freedom in many ways: They legalized their marriages, searched for relatives who had been sold away, took last names, and moved to new places

Freedmen’s Bureau passed by Congress in 1865 to help the freedmen and south’s poor people Provided supplies and medical services Helped African American war veterans Supervised contracts between freedpeople and employers Took care of lands abandoned or captured during the war Build more schools (some freed-people also established their own schools) although some southerners violently resisted the idea of education African Americans, freed-people of all ages attended classes.

“I never before saw children so eager to learn…it is wonderful how they can have so great a desire for knowledge and such a capacity for attaining it.” – teacher of a freedmen’s school

President Andrew Johnson April 14, 1865 President Lincoln was shot and died the next morning. Vice President Andrew Johnson became the next president of the United States

Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan A way to restructure southern state governments. States that followed the steps were readmitted to the Union: Appointed a temporary governor for each state All the states had to revise their constitutions Voters elected state and federal representatives The new state had to declare that secession was illegal Had to ratify (officially approve) the 13th amendment Many Republicans complained that many new representatives had been leaders of the Confederacy. Congress therefore refused to readmit the southern states into the Union.

14th Amendment Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 guaranteeing African Americans the same rights as whites. Johnson vetoed this Act claiming it gave the Federal Government too much power Congress overrode Johnson’s veto 14th Amendment: All people born in the US are citizens Guaranteed citizens equal protection of laws People could not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process Former Confed. officials could not hold office Congress could pass any laws needed to enforce it

Reconstruction Acts 1866 Congressional elections gave the Republican party a 2/3 majority in both houses Divided the South into five districts U.S. military commander to control each district New state constitutions needed to support the 14th Amendment Had to give African American men the right to vote

Presidential Impeachment Johnson was battling with Senator Thaddeus Stevens & Radical Republicans Congress tried to take power away from the President Johnson did what he wanted! House of Reps voted to impeach Johnson After a Senate trial, he was acquitted by one vote However, the trial broke his power as President

Election of 1868 Republicans chose Ulysses S. Grant to run for President Supported the congressional Reconstruction plan “Let Us Have Peace” Congress readmitted 7 southern states Approved the 15th Amendment/gave African American men the right to vote Whites tried to use violence to keep them from voting

15th Amendment Guaranteed African American men the right to vote. This went into effect in 1870

Opposition to Reconstruction

Ku Klux Klan Many southerners opposed Reconstruction. In 1866 a group of them created the secret and violent Ku Klux Klan. Its targets were African Americans, Republicans, and public officials. The Klan spread throughout the South until the federal government stepped in and passes laws that made Klan activities illegal. This however, did not stop the violence.

Fighting Against Inequality

“The New South”