Unit 5: The Civil War Through Reconstruction Chapter 15: Reconstruction - High Hopes & Shattered Dreams 1865-1877

Radical Republicans Led by Charles Sumner in the Senate & Thaddeus Stevens in the House Opposed to the swift restoration of the South Wanted to use federal power to uproot Southern social structure, punish the planters, & emancipate the blacks Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (R-PENN)

Lincoln’s Plan Believed that Southern states never legally seceded from the Union Wanted restoration to be easy & without malice Policy called the Ten Percent Plan A state could be reintegrated into the Union when 10% of its voters from the 1860 election had taken an oath of allegiance to the U.S. & pledged to abide by emancipation Wrote a new state constitution that abolished slavery & elected new state officials “With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds.” - Lincoln

Wade-Davis Bill Radical Republicans in Congress turned down Lincoln’s Plan They created the Wade-Davis Bill (1864) Required 50% of a state’s voters to take the oath of allegiance stating they were loyal & had never been disloyal Lincoln killed the bill with a “pocket veto” Congressman Henry W. Davis (R-MD) Senator Benjamin Wade (R-OH)

John Wilkes Booth Assassinates Lincoln

Johnson’s Plan Very similar to Lincoln’s plan Ratification of the 13th Amendment Repudiation of Confederate debts Renunciation of secession Recommended the vote be given to blacks

Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction Believing that Johnson’s plan was too mild & that the freed people needed more protection, Congressional Republicans took control of Reconstruction Passed a Civil Rights Bill (1866) & extended the authority of the Freedmen’s Bureau Approved the 14th Amendment

Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction Passed the Military Reconstruction Act 1867 Divided the South into 5 military districts ruled by military governors Ordered the states to rewrite constitutions giving the vote to blacks Required states to ratify the 14th Amendment

Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction

Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction Passed the Army Act to reduce the President’s control over the Army Passed the Tenure of Office Act, forbidding Johnson to dismiss Cabinet members without the Senate’s permission Approved the 15th Amendment

Freedom for African Americans Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau (1865) to assist A-As with food, clothing, medical care, & education Churches became the most prominent social organization & were the first to be fully controlled by A-As

Freedom for African Americans General William T. Sherman issued Special Field Order No. 15 “forty acres & a mule” Johnson ended land redistribution & returned it to its former owners

Freedom for African Americans Many turned to sharecropping Rented land & paid the landowner with crops Turned to local merchants for equipment Increased the dependency of the South on cotton Rental contracts & crop liens were renewed if debts weren’t paid, leaving many poor blacks & whites trapped by sharecropping

Sharecropping

The White South: Confronting Change In an effort to define a legally subordinate place for A-As, southern state legislatures passed black codes Tried to ensure a stable & subservient labor force Established racial subservience The Ku Klux Klan (1866) formed out of resentment to the changing society Used terror to create a climate of fear Goals were to restore white supremacy & destroy the Republican party

Black Reconstruction A-As began to take an active role in state & local govts. in the south Most supported the Republican Party Received support from some white voters Carpetbaggers Scalawags

Black Reconstruction

The Mississippi Plan Democrats in the 1875 election in Mississippi used terror tactics to intimidate the Republicans Pres. Grant refused to get involved out of fear of losing Northern Republican support

Johnson is Impeached Johnson removed Sec. of War Edwin Stanton Violation of the Tenure of Office Act Was impeached by the House but came within one vote of being removed by the Senate The Senate Trial lasted for 11 weeks. Johnson was acquitted 35 to 19, which was 1 vote short of the required 2/3s vote.

Johnson is Impeached

Election of 1868

The Election of 1876

The Political Crisis of 1877 “Corrupt Bargain” Part II?

The Compromise of 1877 Congress created a special commission consisting of Democrats and Republicans to determine the outcome of the 1876 election Hayes was given the Presidency in exchange for ending Reconstruction & withdrawing the remaining federal troops from the South

The Impact of Reconstruction Many white southerners turned radical in their resentment of freedmen & Northerners The Republican political agenda stood in the way of A-A’s realizing full rights & protections Although slavery had come to an end, most A-A’s were relegated to inferior positions