The Ordeal of Reconstruction 1865-1877 Chapter 22 The Ordeal of Reconstruction 1865-1877

The Problems of Peace Most of the Confederate leaders were pardoned after 1865. The South was devastated after the war. After the Civil War, many white Southerners still believed that their view of succession was correct.

Freedmen Define Freedom For Blacks, emancipation meant all of the following: 1. The ability to search for lost family. The right to get married. The opportunity for education. * In 1865, many Southern Blacks began traveling to test their freedom and search for family members and jobs.

Freedmen Define Freedom Continued Exodusters – Blacks who moved from Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi to Kansas. From 1878 – 1880 some 25,000 Blacks made the trip to Kansas. The westward movement was faltered when steamboat captains refused to transport them across the Mississippi River.

Freedmen’s Bureau Set up by Congress in March 1865 in order to provide for the immediate needs of refugees and freedmen. This bureau established schools and hospitals and provided courts to settle legal disputes involving freed blacks and white planters. It also operated as an employment agency for the former slaves. It provide food, clothing, etc.

Freedmen’s Bureau Continued The bureau confiscated land and took abandoned lands that could be rented or sold to freedmen. “forty acres and a mule” –rumor The greatest achievements of the Freedmen’s Bureau were in education! The white South view the bureau as a meddlesome agency that threatened to upset white racial dominance. President Andrew Johnson believed that the agency should be killed or done away with.

Johnson: The Tailor President As Vice President, Johnson advocated states’ rights. As a politician, Johnson developed a reputation as a champion of the poor whites.

Presidential Reconstruction Lincoln’s 10% Plan Offered amnesty to most Southerner’s who would accept the new laws. (help regain their political & property rights) A former Confederate state would be allowed to rejoin the Union if 10% of the voters in the 1860 election took an oath of loyalty to the United States Lincoln promised rapid readmission of Southern states into the Union.

Presidential Reconstruction Continued Congressional Republicans held the view that the Southern states were “conquered provinces” and therefore at the mercy of Congress for the readmission to the Union. Johnson’s Plan Pardoned most rebels Required states to abolish slavery (13th Amendment) States must nullify acts of succession Took away the right to vote from Confederate leaders and wealthy planters.

The Baleful Black Codes The main purpose was to ensure a stable labor supply. Provide for all of the following: A ban on jury service by blacks. Punishment of blacks for idleness. A bar on blacks from renting land. To many Northerners, the codes seemed to indicate that possibly the North had not really won the Civil War.

Congressional Reconstruction Confederate states had to abolish slavery Required all white males to take a loyalty oath (Wade-Davis Bill) The Radical Republicans in Congress, most notably Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner, did not support the same lenient approach preferred by Lincoln and Johnson, but rather wanted to punish the South for the war.

Congressional Reconstruction Continued At the same time, though, they wanted to protect the rights of the former slaves, now known as freedmen. For congressional Republicans, one of the most troubling aspects of the Southern states’ restoration to the Union was that the South would be stronger than ever in national politics.

Johnson Clashes with Congress The incident that caused the clash between Congress and the president to explode into the open was Johnson’s veto of the bill to extend the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Republicans joined forces and overrode his veto. They then passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. He vetoed the bill and they overrode his veto.

Fourteenth Amendment It did all of the following: 1. Declared all persons “born or naturalized in the United States” to be citizens. Required “Equal Protection of the Laws” Protected citizens from the denial of life, liberty, or property without due process of law Reduced the representation in Congress of states that did not grant Black suffrage

Fourteenth Amendment Continued Banned Confederate officials from taking office Forbade the repayment of Confederate war debt * While its primary goal was essentially to declare the former slaves full citizens, it also served to punish the South, despite the approach preferred by Lincoln and Johnson.

Swinging ‘ Round the Circle with Johnson The basis of the battle between Congress and Andrew Johnson was Johnson’s “10 percent” governments that had passed Black Codes. Johnson’s appeal to the public failed and the Radicals gained over a two-thirds majority in Congress.

Republican Principles and Programs Both moderate and radical Republicans agreed that freed slaves must gain the right to vote.

Reconstruction by the Sword Radical congressional Reconstruction of the South ended when federal troops were removed.

Continued Congressional Reconstruction Acts (1867) Passed over Johnson’s vetoes Military Reconstruction Act: a moderate compromise, required acceptance of the Fourteenth Amendment and black suffrage by the South. * Ten states were divided into five military districts.

Continued * Statehood could result from a constitution approved by adult males (white and black) 2. Command of the Army Act: limited the president’s military authority. 3. Tenure of Office Act: required Senate approval for removal of presidential appointees.

No Women Voters Many feminist leaders were disappointed with the Fifteenth Amendment because it failed to give women the right to vote. Fifteenth Amendment Forbade the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude Failed to extend the right to vote to women.

The Realities of Radical Reconstruction in the South Blacks in the South relied on the Union League to educate them on their civic duties. During Reconstruction, African-American women assumed new political roles like monitoring state constitutional conventions, participating in political rallies, and organizing mass meetings.

Continued Carpetbaggers – Northerners who came to the South to participate in state conventions. Scalawags – Southern whites who supported the Union and Reconstruction Radical Reconstruction state governments passed much desirable legislation and badly needed reforms. Political corruption during Reconstruction was present in both the North and the South.

The Ku Klux Klan Members used the following methods to achieve their goal of white supremacy: beatings, scare tactics, and murder. The following were goals of the KKK: “keep blacks in their place” – that is subservient to whites. Prevent blacks from voting. Keep white “carpetbaggers” from voting.

Johnson Walks the Impeachment Plank Congress’s impeachment of President Johnson and attempt to remove him from office were directly precipitated by his dismissal of Secretary of War Stanton in 1867.

A Not-Guilty Verdict for Johnson The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Johnson because he violated the Tenure of Office Act, making scandalous speeches, and bringing Congress “into disgrace.” In the Senate, Johnson fell one vote short of being impeached.

Continued The Senate voted to acquit President Johnson for the following reasons: Opposition to abusing the Constitutional system of checks and balances. Concern about the person who would become President. Fears of creating a destabilizing period.

The Purchase of Alaska In 1867, Secretary of State Seward accomplished an enduring success in foreign relations for the Johnson administration when he purchased Alaska from Russia.

The Heritage of Reconstruction Reconstruction might have been more successful if Thaddeus Stevens’s radical program of drastic economic reforms and stronger protection of political rights had been enacted.