Chapter 4 Lesson 4

 When the Civil War finally ended, it was clear that peace had not come easily. More than 600,000 soldiers had died. Many others had returned home wounded. Much of the South was destroyed. And now the President was dead. The years following the war were hard ones. However, the end of the war brought hope to at least one group of people—the former slaves.

 The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Passed in December of 1865 Banned slavery in the United States Forever

 Free Africans Formed new communities Built churches and schools Opened stores Formed groups to help people find jobs and to take care of people who were sick

Many former slaves began searching for family members that had been sold and sent away  Used newspapers to advertise  Most never found who they were looking for  For the ones that did it was a joyful time

 1865 Congress set this program up to help former slaves  Real name was Bureau of Refugess, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Gave food and other supplies to freed slaves It also helped some white farmers rebuild their farms Most important work was education  Taught them how to read and write  Built more than 4,000 schools  Hired thousands of teachers

 Plantation owners were given there land back after the war. Most freed slaves had trouble finding work and the plantation owners needed workers so many went back to work on the farms. This time they had to be paid. Most plantation owners couldn’t pay with money so they paid them in shares.  Landowners gave a worker a cabin, mules, tools, and seed  The farmer then worked the land.  At harvest, the landowner took part of the crops, plus enough to pay for the items given.  What was left was the workers.

 Vice President, Andrew Johnson became the president when Lincoln died He tried to carry out Lincoln’s promise to be fair to the South  He pardoned most Confederates who promised loyalty to the United States.  They became citizens again and were given their right to vote back.  They had accept the 13 th amendment  Many Southerners were elected to gov. offices

 Many Northerners were upset because they wanted the South to be punished.  Black Codes Laws were passed in the South that limited the rights of former slaves They were different from state to state  Ex. Not allowed to vote  Not allowed to travel freely  Couldn’t own certain property  Couldn’t work in certain businesses  They could be made to work in the fields for free if they could not find a job

 After the war ended secret groups formed in the South to keep Africans from having their rights as free persons Ku Klux Klan or the KKK was one of these groups  Dressed in white robes and hoods  Delivered nighttime messages of hate  Broke into homes  Killed Africans  Burned African schools and churches  Punished anyone who helped former slaves also

 Congress did not agree with what the South was doing so they voted to change to a plan that was much tougher than Johnson’s. 1 st - Congress did away with state government and put the South under Union army rule  Army officers became governors  In order for states to reestablish its gov. it had to write a new state constitution giving all me the right to vote  They also had to pass the 14 th amendment  Gave citizenship to all people born in the U.S.-even former slaves

 He got mad that Congress went behind his back to change laws  He refused to carry them out 1868, the House of Rep. voted to impeach him (aka charge him with a crime) He was put on trial in the Senate  After a close vote…he was found not guilty  This weakened his leadership  After the laws in the south went into affect African Americans from the South were elected to Congress for the first time.

 State Governments made many changes. They did away with the black codes. 15 th Amendment- no citizen can be kept from voting because of race They built hospitals and school and repaired roads, bridges, and railroads To pay for all this they had high taxes on land which hurt the landowners and they were forced to sell their land

 Southerners quickly got mad at all this  They called white Southerners who supported the gov. scalawags  Northerners went to the South to try to help with the Reconstruction or to make money and were called carpetbaggers after the suitcases they carried  White Southerners took back control by the KKK and eventually took back over gov. offices This is when laws led to segregation, separation of blacks and whites Reconstruction ended in 1877