Reconstruction and the New South Chapter 17

Reconstruction The reorganization and rebuilding of the former Confederate states after the Civil War 1865-1877 Southern states also had to be readmitted into the Union What do the Southern states need to do to be readmitted?

Lincoln’s Plan Ten Percent Plan (1863) When 10% of the voters of a state took an oath of loyalty to the Union, the state could form a new government Must: Adopt a new constitution that banned slavery Lincoln also offered amnesty to all white Southerners who were willing to swear loyalty to the Union, except for Confederate leaders Amnesty: Granting of a pardon

The Radical’s Plan Thought Lincoln was too forgiving Wanted a more radical, or extreme, approach Wade-Davis Bill To rejoin the Union: Majority of white males must swear loyalty Only white males who swore they had not fought against the Union could vote Constitution must ban slavery and no former Confederates could hold public office

Freedmen’s Bureau 1865 Helped African Americans adjust to freedom Provided food, clothing, and medical services Helped freed people acquire land or find work for fair wages Set up schools and gave aid to African American universities

Andrew Johnson After Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, Andrew Johnson took over as President Johnson required high-ranking Confederates to appeal to the President to be pardoned Wanted to humiliate Southern leaders

The 13th Amendment 1865 Abolished slavery in the United States

Black Codes 1866 Southern states passed laws to control freed men and women. Took away African American rights Plantation owners could exploit African American workers Jobless African Americans were arrested Banned from owning or renting farms

Civil Rights Act of 1866 Granted full citizenship to African Americans Overturned black codes Contradicted the Dred Scott decision

The 14th Amendment 1868 Granted full citizenship to all people born in the United States No state could take away a citizen’s life, liberty, or property Confederate leaders could not hold office unless pardoned by Congress Southern States must ratify the amendment to join the Union

First Reconstruction Act of 1867 Called for the creation of new government for the 10 Southern states that had not ratified the 14th amendment Divided the 10 Southern states into 5 military districts each run by a military commander Guaranteed African Americans the right to vote and banned Confederate leaders from holding office

The 15th Amendment 1869 Prohibited the state and federal government from denying the right to vote to any male citizen because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

Scalawags and Carpetbaggers Scalawags: Southern whites who supported radical reconstruction in the South Carpetbaggers: Northern whites who moved to the South after the war Called carpetbaggers because they arrived in the South with their belongings in cheap suitcases

Resistance to Reconstruction Many Southern whites opposed efforts to expand African American rights Refused to rent land to freed people Store owners refused them credit Employers wouldn’t hire them Ku Klux Klan Used fear and violence to deny rights to freed men and women Killed thousands of African Americans Burned homes, schools, churches Most white southerners refused to testify against those who attacked African Americans

Compromise of 1877 Election of 1876- Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden Election was disputed Compromise of 1877 Hayes is declared the President In exchange, the South would receive more aid and all federal troops are withdrawn Hayes’ policies of letting the South handle its own issues ended Southern Reconstruction in 1877

Voting Restrictions The end of Reconstruction meant the end of African Americans’ dreams for justice Southern leaders found a way around the 15th amendment Poll tax- fee for people to vote Literacy test- voters had to read and explain difficult parts of the state constitution Most African Americans had little education Grandfather clauses-Allowed people who did not pass the literacy test to vote if their fathers or grandfathers voted before Reconstruction

Jim Crow Laws By the 1890s, segregation was a common feature of the South Jim Crow Laws required African Americans and whites to be separated in almost every public place African American facilities were far worse than white facilities

Reconstruction’s Impact Both success and failure + Helped rebuild Southern economy + African Americans gained greater equality (voting, some education, citizenship) - Much of the South remained agricultural and poor - African American advances did not last (segregation, discrimination, voting restrictions)

Quiz 1. What is Southern Reconstruction? 2. What was Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan? 3. What did the Freedmen’s Bureau do? 4. What is the 13th Amendment? 5. What are the Black Codes? 6. What did the Civil Rights Act of 1866 do? 7. What is the 14th Amendment? 8. What did the First Reconstruction Act of 1867 do? 9. What is the 15th Amendment? 10. How did some Southerners resist Reconstruction? Include multiple examples 11. How did the South restrict voting for blacks? 12. What are Jim Crow Laws?