The Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

Reconstruction 1) The rebuilding of the South after being destroyed by the North 2) Bringing the South back into the Union But there were 3 plans on how to do this

1) Lincoln’s Plan Wanted a lenient plan Felt that the Confederates never left “Proclamation of Amnesty & Reconstruction” or the “10% Plan”

10% of the population of the state to swear allegiance to the Union then they could form a state government & get back into Congress This plan upset the ‘Radical Republicans’ Led by Thaddeus Stevens

Assassination of Lincoln (April 14, 1865) 5 days after the South surrendered Lincoln, his wife, and 2 friends attended a play at Ford’s Theatre in D.C. John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor, openly walked into Lincoln’s balcony Shot Lincoln in the back of the head

Booth leaps from the balcony onto the stage Breaks his leg & leaves the theatre He rides to the South where he thought he would be treated as a hero It launches the biggest man-hunt in American history

Booth was running for 12 days He & a co-conspirator were cornered in a farmhouse in Virginia by Union troops The troops set fire to the farmhouse Booth was shot by a soldier & died 2 months later, 4 of his co-conspirators were convicted & executed

1st American President to be assassinated “Now he belongs to the ages” This was the end of Lincoln’s lenient plan for Reconstruction Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton is reported to have uttered his famous remark, "Now he belongs to the ages."

2) Andrew Johnson’s Plan (Lincoln’s replacement) From Tennessee, favors the South He believed that “white men alone must manage the South” He would let the Confederate states return to the Union if they did 3 things…

1) 10% of population swear allegiance to the Union 2) Each state withdraw secession 3) Ratify the 13th Amendment Abolish slavery Then he would forgive the South’s war debts AND let them have their own state governments The South loved this plan

3) Congress Plan (Radical Republicans) Extreme Republicans that want to punish the South They hated Johnson’s Plan & made a plan of their own 1) Enlarged the “Freedmen’s Bureau” agency to assist newly freed slaves & poor whites in the South 2) Passed Civil Rights Act of 1866 forbade states from passing discriminatory ‘Black Codes’

Johnson vetoed both => Republicans over-rode the vetoes and passed them anyway also created the 14th Amendment Makes the former slaves citizens with equal protection of the law Congress is gaining a lot of power

Congress passes The ‘Reconstruction Act’ 1) Divided the South into 5 military districts 2) States are required to accept the 13th and 14th Amendments Impeachment of Johnson Formal CHARGING of misconduct Radical Republicans thought Johnson was not doing his job Fell short of conviction by 1 vote Impeached for attempting to fire Sec of War Edwin M. Stanton

End of Reconstruction 1) ‘Amnesty Act’ The Radical Republicans eventually had to return the South’s right to vote Returned the right to vote to former Confederate states They will surely vote Democratic => Republicans lose power

2) Election of 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) vs. Samuel Tilden (Democrat) Vote was too close to call, so they made a deal (Compromise of 1877) Hayes would win the Presidency if he did 3 things…

1) Withdraw troops from the South 2) South gets Federal $ to build RR, harbors, bridges 3) Appoint a Southerner as Hayes’s advisor Republicans say OK Shows that the North has lost the will to keep up Reconstruction => segregated South