Reconstruction Rebuilding the South

What was Reconstruction? When the American Civil War ended in 1865, the South was in ruins. The Southern Economy was ruined Social Systems were destroyed Over 250,000 Confederate Soldiers had been killed.

Northern View on Reconstruction Most Northerners believed that Reconstruction was necessary because of conditions in the Southern States, but few agreed on what should be done. Many also disagreed about how to ensure freedom and civil rights of former slaves.

What kinds of problems did Virginia face following the Civil War?

Virginia faced social, political, and economic problems following the Civil War.

What was the impact of the Civil War on the politics and government of Virginia? Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America Abraham Lincoln, United States President during the Civil War Politics: the methods involved in managing a government

Andrew Johnson, President of the United States during Reconstruction What was the political impact of the Civil War on Virginia? Andrew Johnson, President of the United States during Reconstruction Political: having to do with government

When the Civil War was over, Virginia had no functioning government. President Lincoln reviews Union Artillery troops, Washington,D.C., May, 1865. Virginia had belonged to the Confederacy (Confederate States of America), which no longer existed.

The state government had to be redesigned to make African Americans equal citizens.

Virginia had to adopt a new constitution which banned slavery and gave African American men the right to vote.

What was the impact of the Civil War on the economy of Virginia? Sheet music by James Bland, an African American composer economy: how a country manages its resources impact: the effect of one thing on another

Virginia faced many economic problems after the Civil War. Sharecropper child working in a cotton field Economic: producing, developing, managing wealth and resources

Life for Virginians was difficult during Reconstruction. Sharecroppers picking cotton Sharecropper’s cabin

The economy of Virginia had collapsed. Plantations could no longer raise cotton, tobacco, and other products, because owners could not afford to pay former slaves.

Plantation owners had invested all their money in the Southern Armies Plantation owners had invested all their money in the Southern Armies. There was no way to get their money back. Their country was no more.

Many Southern men had been killed or injured in the Civil War Many Southern men had been killed or injured in the Civil War. Even if they were well and young,they could not work on hundreds of acres of land to raise a cash crop without many workers. Civil War hospital

Slaves did not own any land and could not raise their own crops or feed their families.

Newly freed slaves had little food, clothing, shelter, and no way to make a living.

Confederate money had no value.

Railroads, bridges, and crops had been destroyed during the war.

Most people in Virginia and the South were poor Most people in Virginia and the South were poor. Times were hard for everybody.

Virginia had to rebuild the state after the Civil War.

How did Virginians start to rebuild the state after the Civil War?

The problems of newly freed slaves were addressed (given attention) by the Freedman’s Bureau.

The United States Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau to help newly freed slaves.

The Freedman’s Bureau provided (gave) the newly freed slaves help in several ways. Beaufort, SC

Slaves were given food and medical care.

A new economic system developed, called sharecropping.

Why did sharecropping develop? Sharecropping developed because plantation owners lacked money to pay workers, and former slaves needed land and work.