Chapter 10 Section 1 The Debate Over Reconstruction

Reconstruction The Civil War officially ended with the surrender of Lee to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, VA on April 9, 1865 With the war over Lincoln described his plan to restore the southern states back into the Union. He made a speech that included having African Americans in southern government. In the audience was a man who sneered and stated “that was the last speech he would ever make.”

Reconstruction Lincoln was warned that with the war over he was more hated than ever among a large amount of the population and not to go out alone or unguarded. Lincoln attends a play with his wife on April 14, 1865 (five days after the surrender) in Washington and during the play the man sneaks into the room where Lincoln is unguarded. John Wilkes Booth, a southern sympathizer, shoots the President in the back of the head and he dies a very short time later. Lincoln's assassination

Reconstruction Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction (Presidential Reconstruction) would have made it fairly easy for the South to come back into the Union. He wanted the nation to heal and was interested in reconciling with the South not punishing it. Before his death, Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau to help feed and cloth war refugees in the South. It provided them with food, work and courts to assure their fair treatment with the planters. Most whites refused the aid which went primarily to the recently freed slaves. Reconstruction (how are Pres. And Radical different)

Reconstruction Thanks to Republican reforms, Northern charities, the Freedmen’s Bureau schools were started in the Southern states to educate the former slaves and to train teachers. Morehouse College was founded in 1867 to train teachers and to provide a higher education to freed slaves. Howard University was established in 1867 in D.C. It was named for the head of the Freedmen’s Bureau and served as the nations first law school for African Americans

Reconstruction After Lincoln’s assassination, Vice-President Andrew Johnson became the new President. The reconstruction of the South was in the hands of the President like it was with Lincoln and their requirements for the South to be reunited with the North was referred to as Presidential Reconstruction. The requirements were moderate seeking first and foremost to reunite the country and not merely to punish the South. Johnson required the following of the South: A-all soldiers would be pardoned from treason charges B-Return of property with a swearing of oath to the U.S. C-The officers and planter elites (who he believed started the war) had to apply for individual pardons. D-they had to ratify the 13th amendment (prohibiting slavery), forgive war debts, & revoke their secession ordinances

Reconstruction The southerners not happy about the large number of recently freed slaves due to the 13th amendment instituted harsh codes for the freedmen known as black codes that severely restricted their freedoms. The northerners, unhappy with this, started supporting the Radical Republicans in Congress who wanted to make readmission into the union very difficult on the south as a means of punishing them. In an effort to override the Black Codes, congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and then to assure protection introduced the 14th amendment The 14th amendment granted citizenship to the recently freed slaves and said that no states could deny their equal protection under the law. Increased violence in the south convinced many in congress to support the amendment.

Reconstruction In the coming election Andrew Johnson, who had fought against the Radical Republicans in Congress, saw the Republicans gain many seats in Congress to were they had control and could set their own agenda for reconstruction. The Republicans would now be controlled by the Radical Republican Reconstruction agenda of making the life for the southerners very difficult and the rules harsh for re-admittance which wasn’t a choice. They passed the Military Reconstruction Act requiring the military go into each Southern state and forced them to change their constitutions to allow all male citizens the right to vote regardless of color, to ratify the 14th amendment, and to hold elections to be supervised by the military. Once this was done then they could be admitted back into the Union.

Reconstruction The Radical Republicans knew that Johnson could refuse to enforce their new laws and that he needed to be controlled. They trusted the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton to enforce the laws and knew that General Ulysses Grant would support them too. Johnson fired Stanton but the recently passed Tenure of Office Act was there to prevent him from being able to do so by needing the Senates approval (they were controlled by the Republicans). Because of this the House voted to impeach Johnson on the grounds he had broken the law by firing Stanton. Needing a 2/3rd vote. They failed by one vote in the Senate.

Chapter 10 Section 2 Republican Rule Reconstruction Chapter 10 Section 2 Republican Rule

Reconstruction The forced changes upon the south were met with stiff resistance. Carpetbaggers and Scalawags took advantage of the condition of the South. Carpetbagger from the North and Scalawags who were Southerners who worked with the northern Republican. The 15th amendment allowed freedmen the right to vote and educated northern African Americans came down into the South and won elections. It wasn’t long before hundreds of former slaves were able to become part of the political process. This did not set well with a number of white people who referred to this as having a “Black Republican government” that did not represent them.

Reconstruction Many southern whites saw this “Black Republican government” as being forced upon them by vindictive Northerners. Unable to strike back openly, they established secret societies. The largest of these secret societies was the Ku Klux Klan which was started by Southern military officers in Pulaski, TN The Klan grew very rapidly in the south and its goal was to drive out the carpetbaggers and intimidate the African Americans voters to regain control of the South under the Democratic Party.

Reconstruction The Klan’s activities became so bad and widespread in the South that the government passed the Ku Klux Klan Act outlawing all Klan activity. Those arrested however were seldom charged or spent any time in jail in the South. Though the North was trying to push for racial equality, the Southerners were very resistant to it and could be violent when it was forced upon them. Nightly raids, beating and even killings were used to enforce the status quo and fight the changes taking place.

Chapter 10 Section 3 Reconstruction Collapses

Reconstruction The Republican Party began to be dominated by many who were in office for personal gain and were corrupt. Part of the Republican Party broke away because of the corruption and graft under the Grant administration and tried to nominate their own candidate to run against Grant in the next Presidential election. Grant still won easily. During Grant’s second term more corruption and scandals broke out. The corruption spread all the way up to some of Grants cabinet members and personal secretary. By the next Congressional election Democrats started regaining control of Congress.

Reconstruction By the 1870s the Democratic Party had largely regained control over the southern governments and through fraud and Klan intimidation being unchecked, ran republicans out of the Southern states. The Republican Party did not nominate Grant again due to his damaged reputation caused by corruption. They instead nominated Rutherford B. Hayes as their candidate for President in 1876. In the election there was so much voting fraud that it was unsure who had won. To decide the winner a commission was created and with the help of Southern Democrats, the election was given to Hayes. Many people believed a deal had been struck to allow Hayes the election and it became known as the Compromise of 1877.

Reconstruction Hayes came into office and during his inaugural speech expressed his desire to move on beyond the quarrelsome years of reconstruction. He moved all the troops out of the South in April of 1877 and without support of the troops, the last of the Republican governments in the South collapsed. Reconstruction was over!

Reconstruction Work on chapter 10 E.Q. sheet and study guide The End