“Radical Reconstruction”??? Failure to implement truly radical measures during reconstruction failed to truly help southern Blacks while thoroughly angering and alienating southern whites.

I. After Appomattox: The Ultimate Questions How do you reconstruct the Union? How far should the federal government go to insure Black freedom and civil rights?

II. Philosophies of Reconstruction Presidential --quick restoration with minimal protection for southern Blacks Congressional -- “loyal” southern governments to replace ex-confederates --Southern Blacks need basic rights of American citizenship

III. Presidential Reconstruction Lincoln’s 10% plan Battle over who had the power to reconstruct the Union Andrew Johnson’s background --hated southern planters --no friend of Blacks Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan (May, 1865)

IV. Radical Republicans Gain the Upper Hand Johnson’s controversial vetoes Johnson’s opposition to the 14th amendment The “Swing Around the Circle” (1866) Republicans won veto-proof majorities in the 1866 election

V. Congressional Reconstruction (Begins in 1867) Reconstruction Act of 1867 Military rule of the south Readmission of states with guarantees of Black suffrage Exclusion of ex-Confederates from government office Radicals wanted redistribution of land to Blacks—too radical

VI. The Impeachment Crisis Johnson tries to obstruct congressional reconstruction with executive privilege Tenure of Office Act Johnson tries to remove Secretary of War Stanton Impeachment and Trial in the Senate Process neutralized Johnson

VII. Reconstruction in the South A Condition of Ruin “Forty Acres and a Mule” Blacks resist gang labor after the War Development of Sharecropper system Black Codes The Segregated South Freedmen faced violence if they tried to vote

VIII. The Southern Republican Party Hastily organized for 1868 elections Three constituencies: --southern Blacks --northern businessmen --poor, white farmers Some success, some corruption Blacks held only limited political offices in the south

IX. The Fifteenth Amendment Highpoint of Reconstruction era Ratified in 1870 Ambiguous wording allowed the future use of literacy tests, poll taxes, and property requirements Worked to divide the feminist movement

X. Grant and the Retreat from Reconstruction Rise of the Ku Klux Klan between 1868-1872 Inconsistent use of federal troops to protect Black voters Northern disenchantment with “propping up” corrupt southern state governments Open southern appeal to white supremacy after 1872

X. Retreat from Reconstruction (cont.) Grant administration facing charges of corruption -- Credit Mobilier scandal Radical Republicans dying or out of office Civil service reform replaces Black civil rights as the major political issue of the time

XI. The Compromise of 1877 The election of 1876 Tilden vs. Hayes Disputed votes in the electoral college Electoral commission fell under Republican control Hayes’ victory in exchange for southern “home rule” Eliminates Republican party in the south

XII. The “New South” Redemption governments Laissez-faire policies and white supremacy Northern industry attracted to no taxes and low wages for workers Corrupt governments

XII. “The New South” (cont.) Lynchings common Poor whites neglected just as much as Blacks Some Blacks continue to vote until the 1890’s Supreme Court decisions between 1875-1896 gutted Reconstruction --Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

XII. “The New South” (cont.) Signs of sectional healing: Battlefield reunions Sectional reconciliation made possible by northern abandonment of Black rights “Lost Cause” myth also helps reconcile the two regions Blacks bore the burden of sectional reconciliation