Essential Question: What did the following amendments do: 13th 14th 15th

Reconstruction (1865-1877) During the era of Reconstruction after the Civil War, the federal government attempted to: Bring the Southern states back into the Union Offer protections & rights to newly emancipated slaves Rebuild the nation & improve the economy after 4 years of fighting

The Successes of Reconstruction Based upon the image below, what was the major success of Reconstruction?

Successes of Reconstruction Through Reconstruction, the national gov’t achieved Lincoln’s original goal: “Preserve the Union” By 1870, all 11 Confederate states had been re-admitted into the United States The states’ rights & nullification arguments came to an end

America at the Start of the Civil War (1861) America at the End of Reconstruction (1877) America at the Start of the Civil War (1861)

Successes of Reconstruction Reconstruction led to the end of slavery & protections for all citizens, including African-Americans: 13th Amendment ended slavery 14th Amendment guaranteed all citizens, regardless of race, equal protection under the law 15th Amendment gave voting rights to African-American men

Successes of Reconstruction Reconstruction was the “golden age” of voting for African-Americans: With the right to vote, military districts, & federal troops in the South to protect voters, African-Americans were empowered The first black politicians were elected to state & national offices Republicans took control of state governments in the South

The First African-American Congressmen

Successes of Reconstruction Reconstruction stressed education: Before the Civil War, it was illegal to teach slaves to read & write The Freedman’s Bureau created schools for African-Americans The end of slavery allowed black families to be reunited, marriages to be legally recognized, & black workers to make their own money

Successes of Reconstruction Reconstruction brought economic changes to the South: The federal gov’t built railroads, roads, hospitals to repair the South The Civil War lowered the demand for cotton which led to a more diverse Southern economy Many textile mills were created in the South using paid workers

The Failures of Reconstruction Based upon the image below, what were the major failures of Reconstruction? “Of course he wants to vote for the Democratic ticket”

Failures of Reconstruction The Civil War ended slavery, but African-Americans had little job training or money for farm land The federal gov’t proposed seizing plantations, dividing land, & offering slave families “40 acres & a mule” But the gov’t never enacted this plan (can’t take citizens’ property) With few options, most ex-slaves returned to the plantation to work

Failures of Reconstruction After the Civil War, slavery was replaced by sharecropping: White land owners would “rent” parcels of their fields to blacks in exchange for ½ to ¼ of the cotton that they produced But, former slaves had no money for tools or seeds so they gained loans from the land owner in exchange for more of their cotton (crop lien system) Sharecropping is also known as “tenant farming”

Sharecropping By the end of 1865, most freedmen had returned to work on the same plantations on which they were previously enslaved

Sharecropping family in 1937 Sharecropping remained in place from the 1860s to the 1940s when the Great Depression & World War 2 brought an end to the system Sharecropping family in 1937

Failures of Reconstruction Southern whites resisted attempts at reconstruction by: Passing discriminatory laws called black codes Using violence & intimidation to keep blacks inferior to whites The inability of the federal gov’t to sustain Reconstruction Supporting the return of the Democratic Party to state gov’ts

Failures of Reconstruction In some cases, black men would be forced into slavery as punishment for a crime or for not paying back debts …Passing discriminatory laws called black codes: These laws restricted African-Americans from serving on juries, testifying against whites in court, marrying whites, or owning land Black codes kept blacks from being able to have true freedom

Failures of Reconstruction …Using violence & intimidation to keep blacks inferior to whites: Groups like the Ku Klux Klan attacked blacks who tried to vote or spoke out against black codes; carpetbaggers, & scalawags (whites who voted Republican) Lynching became common

The “Invisible Empire” of the South

The Failure of Federal Enforcement

Failures of Reconstruction Credit Mobilier, Whiskey Ring, & Indian Ring scandals …The inability of the federal gov’t to sustain Reconstruction Corruption scandals during Grant’s presidency & economic recession in 1873 distracted northerners from Reconstruction The Supreme Court ruled against civil rights laws designed to protect African-Americans

Failures of Reconstruction …Supporting the return of the Democratic Party to state gov’ts: The KKK & black codes became successful in limiting black voting Federal troops & military districts had difficulty protecting blacks One-by-one, Southern state gov’ts shifted from Republican control to the Democratic Party These “Redeemer Democrats” hoped to restore the “Old South”

The Rise of “Redeemer Democrats” in the South By 1876, only SC, FL, & LA were controlled by Republicans

In 1877, Reconstruction ended: The Democratic Party returned to power in all 11 Southern states The only thing protecting blacks were federal troops; but by 1875, Grant had stopped sending reinforcements

The “Compromise of 1877”: In the 1876 election, neither Democrat Tilden nor Republican Hayes won a majority of electoral vote Democrats in Congress agreed to vote for Hayes if the remaining federal troops were withdrawn from the South

1876 Presidential Election President Hayes removed federal troops & ended military zones Reconstruction officially ended in 1877

Jim Crow Era (1877 to 1954) With Reconstruction over, the Jim Crow era began (1877-1954) Jim Crow laws, such as literacy tests (reading requirements) & poll taxes (fees to vote) kept African-Americans from voting Grandfather clauses allowed poor whites to avoid these laws & vote In Plessy v Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court said segregation was OK (“separate but equal”)

“Jim Crow” South from 1877 to 1954

Advertising the Amendments Poster Create a poster advertising the 13th, 14th, or 15th amendment Include A summary of the amendment Who it affects A slogan 2 image relating to the amendment