Reconstruction and Its Effects Chapter 12

Reconstruction 1865 – 1877 Rebuilding the country – readmitting southern states Lenient or harsh? Would the Civil War have been for naught?

The Cast Radical Republicans –Supported abolition before the Civil War and the War – Moral issue -- equality of rights for Blacks –Opposed Lincoln’s lenient reconstruction plan –Minority - worked w/Republican majority to impose harsher plan Lincoln – Lenient plan Johnson – follows Lincoln Freed Blacks Southern White power structure

Reconstruction Plans Lincoln’s PlanJohnson’s PlanRadical Republican Plan Amnesty to all but a few 10% Plan – 10% of a states voters in 1860 had to swear a loyalty oath before creating a new constitution Organize a state government that bans slavery Did not required black suffrage Create a new Constitution w/o 10% rule Officially denied pardons, but granted them Did not require black suffrage Disbanded the states that came in under Lincoln’s plan Divided the South into 5 districts Placed under military rule Required Southern states to ratify the 14 th Amendment Required to guarantee suffrage

Reconstruction Plans Lincoln’s PlanJohnson’s PlanRadical Republican Plan Congress had the power to admit new states to the Union. Therefore in had the responsibility for Reconstruction Presidential power to pardon placed responsibility for Reconstruction in the executive branch Secession had been illegal so the states did not have to be readmitted to the Union Executive Branch Argument Legislative Branch Argument The states were “out of their normal relationship to the Union”

Radical Republicans Impeach Johnson Obstructing Radical Republican plan of Reconstruction Violated Tenure of Office Act One vote kept him in office

Carpetbagger/Scalawags Carpetbaggers – Northerners who moved to the South for “economic opportunity” Scalawags – Southern Democrats who joined the Republican Party after the Civil War

Amendments 13 th Amendment – Ended slavery 14 th Amendment –Equal protection under the law - Civil Rights 15 th Amendment –right to vote

Freedmen’s Bureau Program set to help former slaves and poor whites –Hospitals –Schools –Training programs –Distributed clothing Forty Acres and a Mule

Emancipated Slaves Exercise Freedom Traveled Reunited with families Organized schools, colleges, universities, churches Participated in politics

Sharecropping/Tenant Farming Sharecropping –Use of land/tools/seed in exchange for portion of crop grown Tenant Farmer –Cash paid for use of land Cycle of poverty

1. Sharecropper is given land and seed by owner 2. Buys food and clothing on credit 3. Plants crop 4. Harvests crop and gives landowner his share 5. Sells remaining crop at market 6. Pays of debts Farming methods deplete soil At the mercy of the market Crooked merchants charge unfair fines – Can’t leave until debts are paid. Becomes Tenant Farmer if he has leftover cash

Southern Whites Regain Political Power Black Codes –Curfews, vagrancy laws, Labor contracts, land restrictions Amnesty Act of 1872 KKK Infighting within the Republican Party Supreme Court Decisions –Limited equal protection – to a few basic rights –Limited voting rights – what couldn’t be used to limit voting rights –Northern support fades

Successes and Failures of Reconstruction SuccessesFailures Union is restored. Many white southerners remain bitter The South’s economy grows and new wealth is created in the North. The South is slow to industrialize. 14 th and 15 th amendmentsSouthern state governments and terrorist organizations deny African Americans the right to vote. Organizations help many black families Many remain caught in a cycle of poverty. Southern states adopt a system of mandatory education. Racist attitudes continue, in the South and the North.