What efforts were made by Congress to acclimate former slaves into a free society? How was racial equality challenged during the period of Reconstruction?

Similar to Slave Codes.Similar to Slave Codes. Restricted the freedom of movement.Restricted the freedom of movement. Limited their rights as free people.Limited their rights as free people.

 As southern states were restored to the Union under President Johnson’s plan, they began to enact black codes, laws that restricted freedmen’s rights.  The black codes established virtual slavery with provisions such as these:  Curfews: Generally, black people could not gather after sunset.  Vagrancy laws: Freedmen convicted of vagrancy– that is, not working– could be fined, whipped, or sold for a year’s labor.  Labor contracts: Freedmen had to sign agreements in January for a year of work. Those who quit in the middle of a contract often lost all the wages they had earned.  Land restrictions: Freed people could rent land or homes only in rural areas. This restriction forced them to live on plantations.

13th Amendment Abolished slavery (1865) 14th Amendment Provided citizenship & equal protection under the law. (1868) 15th Amendment Provided the right to vote for all men which included white and black men. (1870) VOTING RIGHTS A victory for democracy! Giving the Black man the right to vote was truly revolutionary……..A victory for democracy!

1865, Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau to help former slaves get a new start in life. This was the first major relief agency in United States history. Bureau’s Accomplishments  Built thousands of schools to educate Blacks.  Former slaves rushed to get an education for themselves and their children.  Education was difficult and dangerous to gain.  Southerners hated the idea that Freedmen would go to school.

FREEDMEN’S BUREAU 2

FREEDMEN’S BUREAU 3

FREEDMEN’S BUREAU 4

KKK 1.Rise of the Ku Klux Klan 2.Jim Crow Laws 3.Compromise of 1877

 Ku Klux Klan refers to a secret society or an inner circle  Organized in 1867, in Polaski, Tennessee by Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Represented the ghosts of dead Confederate soldiers  Disrupted Reconstruction as much as they could.  Opposed Republicans, Carpetbaggers, Scalawags and Freedmen.  Ku Klux Klan refers to a secret society or an inner circle  Organized in 1867, in Polaski, Tennessee by Nathan Bedford Forrest.  Represented the ghosts of dead Confederate soldiers  Disrupted Reconstruction as much as they could.  Opposed Republicans, Carpetbaggers, Scalawags and Freedmen. KKK

The Ku Klux Klan  The Klan sought to eliminate the Republican Party in the South by intimidating voters.  They wanted to keep African Americans as submissive laborers and keep them from voting.  Prosperous African Americans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags became their victims.

SOCIAL REALITY. After Reconstruction, 1865 to 1876, there were several ways that Southern states kept Blacks from voting and segregated, or separating people by the color of their skin in public facilities. Jim Crow laws, laws at the local and state level which segregated whites from blacks and kept African Americans as 2nd class citizens and from voting.  poll taxes  literacy tests  grandfather clause

Poll Taxes: Poll Taxes: Before you could vote, you had to pay taxes to vote. Most poor Blacks could not pay the tax so they didn’t vote. Literacy Test: Literacy Test: You had to prove you could read and write before you could vote…. Once again, most poor Blacks were not literate. Grandfather clause: Grandfather clause: If your grandfather voted in the 1864 election than you could vote…..Most Blacks did not vote in 1864, so you couldn’t vote…. SOCIAL REALITY

social reality  Goal: Take away political and constitutional rights guaranteed by Constitution: Voting and equality of all citizens under the law.

 Hayes-Republican  Tilden-Democrat Rutherford B. Hayes Samuel Tilden

Why would 3 southern states vote Republican? Something is askew…

ELECTION OF 1876 Originally LA, SC, and FL voted Democratic (Tilden) Congress declared that since those states did not allow blacks to vote, that Congress would allocate the electoral votes for them. Congress gave those electoral votes to the Republican Party. Democrats freaked out! This led to the Compromise of 1877

COMPROMISE OF 1877 The Democrats and Republicans work out a deal to recognize Hayes as President In return, President Hayes must end Reconstruction and pull the Union troops out of the South. Once this happens, there is no protection for the Freedmen and the South will regain their states and go back to the way it was… LED TO THE END OF RECONSTRUCTION

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF RECONSTRUCTION SuccessesFailures Union is restored.Many white southerners bitter towards US govt & Republicans. South’s economy grows and new wealth is created in the North. The South is slow to industrialize. 14 th and 15 th amendments guarantee Blacks the rights of citizenship, equal protection under the law, and suffrage. After US troops are withdrawn, southern state governments and terrorist organizations effectively deny Blacks the right to vote. Freedmen’s Bureau and other organizations help many black families obtain housing, jobs, and schooling. Many black and white southerners remain caught in a cycle of poverty. Southern states adopt a system of mandatory education. Racist attitudes toward African Americans continue, in both the South and the North.