What did the end of the Civil War mean?

For the South: A Tale of Ruin The depot in Atlanta, after Sherman’s March

For the North: A Tale of Two Stories Economic Opportunity – rebuild the South with northern free labor ideology, invest in southern infrastructure (especially RR) and help the South industrialize, “carpetbagging” Social Opportunity – educate southern blacks through the Benevolent Society and its reform organizations, especially school teachers; bring South into 19th century with abolition and more egalitarian society Carpetbaggers and the Scalawags Carpetbaggers, also a term of derision, were white business people from the North who moved to the South during Reconstruction, 1867-1877. Many Carpetbaggers were former abolitionists who wished to continue the struggle for equality, while others Carpetbaggers saw the reconstruction of the South as a political or economic opportunity.

For African-Americans: A Fresh Start Social Changes – freedom, opportunity to marry, to solidify their family ties, migration to West, clothing upgrades, autonomous churches (Baptist), prioritizing education (pooling $ to learn in basements) Political Wants – should be able to vote, testify in court, serve in government Economic Desires – till own land, to take control of the conditions under which they labored, and carve out the greatest possible economic independence. One of the many Freedmen’s schools in the postwar South. These schools drew African Americans of all ages, who eagerly sought the advantages offered by education. (Library of Congress)

1. How do we bring the South back into the Union? Ten Percent Plan (1863) Wade-Davis Bill (1864) Andrew Johnson Plan (1865) Congressional Reconstruction-1867 Proposed by: President Abraham Lincoln Proposed by: Republicans in Congress Proposed by: President Andrew Johnson Proposed by: Radical Republicans in Congress When 10% of the voting population in the 1860 election had taken an oath of loyalty and established a government, it would be recognized. Must abolish slavery Pardon to all but the highest ranking military and civilian Confederate officers. Required 50% of the number of 1860 voters to take an “iron clad” oath of allegiance (swearing they had never voluntarily aided the rebellion ). Former Confederate gov’t officials and military officers could not vote or hold office Pocket vetoed by President Lincoln- feared harsh terms would alienate many whites in the south. Offered amnesty upon simple oath to all except Confederate civil and military officers and those with property over $20,000 (they could apply directly to Johnson) Required states to ratify the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery. Former Confederate states must pass 14th and 15th. Amendments. Divided the south into 5 military districts. New state constitution must guarantee voting rights to blacks. Empowered African Americans in gov’t and supported their education.

2. How do we rebuild the South after its destruction during the war? By 1890, 40,000 miles of RR track criss-crossed the South- nearly four times the amount in 1860. Southern leaders hoped to transition from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy. A “New South” if you will. An alliance between powerful white Southerners and Northern financiers rebuilt railroads and factories. Thriving iron, steel, and cotton mills appeared in numerous towns across the south. For many African-Americans, however, they returned to plantations owned by whites where they either worked for wages or became sharecroppers. For many African-Americans, sharecropping was little better than slavery. The Civil War had ended slavery, but Reconstruction had left many ex-slaves trapped in poverty. In 1880 there were 160 cotton mills in the South. By 1890, there were 400.

3. How do we integrate and protect newly emancipated black freedmen? Amendments and laws passed to help freed slaves: “Civil War Amendments” -13th Amendment- abolished slavery -14th Amendment- Granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States. Declared that no state could “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Guaranteed equal protection of the laws. -15th Amendment- guaranteed black men the right to vote Freedmen’s Bureau -Helped feed and cloth war refugees. -Helped former slaves find jobs. -Provided medical care. -Built schools for African-American children

4. What branch of government should control the process of Reconstruction? When President Andrew Johnson attacked the 14th Amendment, Radical Republicans in Congress were angry and moved to oust him. The Tenure of Office Act forbid the President to remove any officials [esp. Cabinet members] without the Senate’s consent, if the position originally required Senate approval. When Johnson fired the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, the House of Representative moved to impeach Johnson. An 11 week trial in the Senate resulted in Johnson being acquitted by a vote of 35-19 (one vote short of the required 2/3’s vote to convict and remove the president from office).

The End of Reconstruction: The Compromise of 1877 What did the Republicans and Democrats gain from the Compromise of 1877, and why were southern blacks the real losers of the deal? Gains for Republicans: Rutherford B. Hayes, their candidate in the election of 1876, takes office. Gains for Democrats: Federal troops removed from Louisiana and South Carolina. Support for a bill subsidizing the Texas and Pacific Railroad’s construction of a southern transcontinental line Contested states – 19 total electoral votes

Losses of the Blacks: With the Hayes-Tilden deal, the Republican Party quietly abandoned its commitment to black equality, a commitment that had been weakening in any case. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 supposedly guaranteed equal accommodations in public places and prohibited racial discrimination in jury selection, but the law was born toothless and stayed that way for nearly a century. The Supreme Court declared that the 14th Amendment prohibited only government violations of civil rights, not the denial of civil rights by individuals , unaided by government authority. After the federal troops left the south, southern blacks were condemned to eke out a threadbare living under conditions scarcely better than slavery.