9.1 Early Reconstruction A. Effects of the Civil War 1. Despite their victory, northerners faced a number of economic problems. a) 800,000 ex-soldiers needed jobs. b) Factories had to switch from war production to other things. 2. The North lost more soldiers than the South. a) Few battles took place on northern soil. b) Many northern and southern soldiers were returning home with painful injuries. 3. The North faced political problems a) There was disagreement in how the South would be brought back into the Union.

9.1 Early Reconstruction b) Newly freed African Americans. c) Many wanted to punish vs. many with a more moderate approach. 4. Economic conditions in the South were far worse than in the North. a) Southern soldiers came home to see much of their towns destroyed. b) 2/3s of the southern railroad was destroyed. c) Columbia, SC; Atlanta, GA; and Richmond, VA were all leveled. 5. The war wrecked the South’s financial system. a) Confederate money was worthless. b) People who loaned money to the Confederate government were never repaid.

9.1 Early Reconstruction 6. The war changed southern society forever. a) There was a new class of people known as freedmen, men and women who had been enslaved. 7. It was unclear how the southern states would run their governments. a) There weren’t any legal systems setup to protect African Americans. b) Many ex-Confederates were forbidden in politics. 8. The economic differences between the North and South increased after the war. a) Many southerners resented northerners trying to “fix” southern problems.

9.1 Early Reconstruction B. The Causes and the Effects of Reconstruction 1. The era following the Civil War was known as Reconstruction. a) Lincoln wanted it to be fairly easy for the southern states to rejoin the Union. 2. As early as 1863, Lincoln outlined his 10% Plan, which meant a southern state could form a new government after 10% of its voters swore an oath of loyalty to the United States. a) The new government had to abolish slavery. b) Voters could then elect members to Congress. 3. Lincoln’s plan also offered amnesty, or a government pardon, to Confederates who swore loyalty to the Union. a) This would not apply to the leaders of the Confederacy.

9.1 Early Reconstruction 4. Many in Congress thought that the 10% Plan was too generous towards the South. a) In 1864, they passed the Wade-Davis Bill, a rival plan for Reconstruction. b) It required a majority of white men to swear allegiance to the United States. c) It denied the right to vote or hold office to anyone who fought for the Confederacy. d) Lincoln refused to sign it. 5. There were many effects of the Reconstruction era. a) Congress passed a bill creating the Freedmen’s Bureau, a government agency to help former slaves. b) The bureau gave food and clothing to former slaves. c) It also helped former slaves find jobs and it helped poor whites as well.

9.1 Early Reconstruction C. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 6. One of the bureau’s most important tasks was to set up schools for freedmen. a) Volunteer female teachers from the North. b) Grandparents and grandchildren sat side by side in these schools. 7. The Freedmen’s Bureau laid the groundwork for the South’s public school system. C. The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 1. President Lincoln hoped to persuade Congress to except his Reconstruction plan. a) He never got the chance. 2. On April 14, 1865, just 5 days after Lee surrendered, Lincoln was attending a play at Ford’s theatre in Washington D.C.

9.1 Early Reconstruction 3. The nation was plunged into grief. a) A popular actor who supported the Confederate cause, John Wilkes Booth, crept into the President’s box and shot Lincoln in the head. b) Lincoln died the next day. c) Booth was captured and killed outside the city. 3. The nation was plunged into grief. a) First American President assassinated. b) Buried in Springfield, Illinois. 4. Booth was part of a group of ten conspirators who had long been plotting to kill Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward.

9.1 Early Reconstruction D. President Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan a) None of the other attacks were successful. b) Four of Booth’s co-conspirators were hanged, including Mary Surratt, the first woman executed by the United States. D. President Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan 1. Republicans in Congress believed that Johnson would support a strict Reconstruction plan. a) His plan was much milder than expected. b) Majority of voters in each southern state to pledge loyalty to the United States. c) Each state had to pass the 13th Amendment, which banned slavery throughout the nation. 2. The 13th amendment had a significant impact on life in the U.S.

9.1 Early Reconstruction a) The South developed new social and economic systems. b) African Americans were hired onto plantations. c) Other freed slaves moved north. 3. Politically, the amendment overturned previous state laws and Supreme Court decisions upholding slavery. 4. The southern states quickly met Johnson’s conditions. a) The President then approved their new state governments in late 1865. b) Many former Confederates were then elected to Congress. c) Former Confederate Vice President was elected Senator from GA. 5. Republicans in Congress were outraged. a) No southern state had allowed African Americans to vote.

9.1 Early Reconstruction 6. When the new Congress met, Republicans refused to let southern representatives take their seats. a) Republicans set up a Joint Committee on Reconstruction to form a new plan for the South. b) The stage was set for a showdown between Congress and the President.