Reconstruction

The federal government’s controversial effort to repair the damage to the south and restore the southern states to the Union Carried out from 1865 to 1877 and involved three US presidents: Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant Reconstruction

War destroyed 2/3 of southern shipping and 9,000 miles of Railroad. Farms were destroyed property prices dropped 70% The war destroyed a generation of young, healthy men 364,000 Northern soldiers died 260,000 Southern men died (1/5 of adult white men)

Postwar south was made up of 3 groups of people

Black southerners: 4 million freed people were starting their new lives in a poor region with little economic activity Poor White Southerners: The war cost them their lives and gave them nothing Plantation Owners: lost slave labor worth $3 billion couldn’t afford to hire workers often had to sell property to cover debts

Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction Called the 10% Plan of Reconstruction

1. Offered pardons to Confederates who’d take an oath of allegiance to the Union 2. Denied pardons to confederate military and government officials 3. Permitted states to hold a constitutional convention only when 10% of voters swore allegiance to the Union States Could then hold elections to resume full participation in the government

-Radical Republicans viewed Lincoln’s plan as too lenient. -Congress passed its own stricter reconstruction laws -Lincoln let the bill die in a pocket veto and died 1 month later

Andrew Johnson Johnson’s Plan: Pardoned southerners who swore allegiance to the union permitted each state to hold a constitutional convention required states to void secession, abolish slavery, and ratify the 13th amendment States could hold elections and resume participation in the Union

Freedom to learn freedom to worship Freedom of movement Freedom to own land

Freedmen’s Bureau Created by Congress to help black Southerners adjust to freedom First major federal relief agency in US history 250,000 African American students got their education in a Freedmen’s school

Black Codes Post war south set-up laws that restricted the freedmen’s rights Included: curfews, vagrancy laws, labor contracts, limits on women’s rights, and land restrictions

1868 Civil Rights Act ( personal liberties guaranteed by law) attempted by Congress in th Amendment ratified All people born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the US and the state in which they live

Radical Reconstruction Radical Republicans opposed Johnson’s plans Opposed the spread of black codes Brutality against blacks caused them to put their plan for reconstruction into action

Reconstruction Act of 1867 Put the south into five military districts which would be governed by a Northern general

Reconstruction Act of 1867 Ordered Southern states to hold new elections for delegates to create new state constitutions Required states to allow ALL qualified male voters to vote in the elections Temporarily barred Southerners who had supported the Confederacy from voting Required Southern states to guarantee equal rights to all citizens Required states to ratify the 14 th amendment

Radical Republicans Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner Pennsylvania Congressmen Thaddeus Stevens

Radical Republicans Struggled with Johnson over the firing of Secretary of War Stanton

Impeachment February , the House voted to impeach (charge him with wrongdoing) Johnson May 1868, Senate tried Johnson for “high crimes and misdemeanors” 2/3 of Senate needed to vote to convict Johnson He escaped by 1 vote!

Election of 1868 Ulysses S. Grant beat Democrat Horatio Seymour, former Governor of New York

15 th Amendment Feb. 1869, Congress passed the 15 th Amendment No citizen could be denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude

PBS Pinchback First African American elected Governor of Louisiana

Blanche Bruce First African American elected Senator in Mississippi

Carpetbaggers Northern Republicans who moved South White Southern Republicans Scalawags

Sharecropping Freed people needed jobs Plantation owners needed workers A new farming system developed in the South

Sharecropping Workers farmed some portion of the land in exchange for a share of the crop at harvest time The planter provided housing for the family

Tenant Farming Workers paid to rent the land Could choose what to plant and when to work Of higher social status than the sharecroppers

Changes in Farming affected the Southern Economy Change in labor force: 90% black before the war- 40% white laborers in 1875 Emphasis on cash crops: had to import much of its food

Changes in Farming affected the Southern Economy Cycle of debt caused rural poverty among blacks and whites Rise of a merchant class: stores provided plantation supplies on credit

The rebuilding and extension of the Southern railroads turned Southern villages into towns, villages into cities Big cities included: Atlanta, Richmond, Nashville, Memphis, Louisville, Little Rock, Montgomery, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, and Fort Worth

Reconstruction didn’t turn the South into the industrialized center like the North Most industrial Growth came from Cotton Mills

Infrastructure Public property and services a society uses Had to be rebuilt in the South Created public school systems by 1866

Ku Klux Klan Formed as a Southern social club in Tennessee in 1866 Evolved into a terrorist organization Sought to eliminate Republican party in the South

Force Act Encouraged by President Grant Banned the use of terror, force, or bribery to prevent people from voting because of their race

Election of 1872 Grant reelected

Election of 1876 Hayes did not win a clear cut victory of Electoral votes Democrats agreed to give Hayes the victory in the 1876 election Compromise of 1877

Successes of Reconstruction Rebuilt the Union and repaired the war-torn South Stimulated economic growth in South, new wealth in the North passed the 14 th and 15 th Amendments Established the Freedmen’s Bureau Established public schools in the South

Failures of Reconstruction most blacks remained in poverty KKK denied blacks the right to vote Racist attitudes continued Bitterness in South towards Federal government and Republicans South was slow to industrialize