Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights 1865-1877

Reconstruction The twelve year period after the Civil War Faced problems of rebuilding the South and reunited the states. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson wanted to be gentle on former Confederates.

Reconstruction Southern states began passing laws that took freedom from African Americans. Congress wanted the South to accept the end of slavery. Led by the Radical Republicans they wanted to make sure freed slaves were safe, make a living and be full citizens.

Divided Reconstruction 1865 to 1866 1866-1877 Controlled by the Presidents Controlled by Congress and called Radical Construction

Presidential Plan March 1865 Lincoln created the Freedmen’s Bureau, which provided food for both blacks and whites in the South, help find jobs and protect them from discrimination. Johnson pardoned most Southerners, including Confederate officials and army officers. These pardons allowed them to vote and hold office.

Presidential Plan In 1865, four Confederate generals, six cabinet members, and fifty-eight congressman, as well as Alexander Stephens were elected U.S. representatives.

Black Codes Laws to keep former slaves from voting, testifying against whites in court, serving on juries, and joining the military.

Radical Reconstruction Reentering the Union required each Southern state to ratify the 14th Amendment. Congress divided the South into five military districts. States were required to hold conventions with both black and white delegates to rewrite their state constitutions.

Carpetbaggers & Scalawags Northerners that moved South as missionaries and teachers wanting to help former slaves and suffering farmers were called “Carpetbaggers”. Southern Democrats called them “scalawag” or rascal, referring to Southern whites who supported Radical Republicans.

Reconstruction Legislation Amendments and Laws Reconstruction Legislation 1. 13th Amendment abolished slavery. 2. Freedmen’s Bureau Law helped the South. 3. Civil Rights Act of 1866 made all persons born in U.S. citizens. 4. 14th Amendment made former slaves U.S. citizens 5. 15th Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote. 6. Force Acts protected citizens. 7. Civil Rights Act of 1875 tried to end Jim Crow laws. 8. Compromise of 1877 settled undecided presidential election and ended Reconstruction.

African American Officeholders 1869-1876, fourteen blacks were House Representatives. Hiram R. Revels and Blanche K. Bruce were Senators. Overall 600 African Americans served state legislation.

The Ku Klux Klan Formed in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866 by Confederate veterans. Claimed to be Confederate ghosts. Secret society that appeared in public in white with faces covered. Believe in the supremacy of the white race. Burned homes and lynched others to prevent them from voting.

Jim Crow Laws Passed to legalize segregation. Created separate areas in public waiting rooms, restaurants, schools, and hospitals. The name comes from a minstrel song, “Jump. Jim Crow.” Lasted until the 1960s

Impeachment Congress and President Andrew Johnson fought bitterly. Tenure of Office Act was passed in 1867 to prevent the President from removing government officials. Johnson tested the law by removing Edwin M. Stanton. Johnson was charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors” and voted to impeach him. Did not get the two-thirds majority needed to convict him.

Civil Rights Movement African Americans were still treated badly. They were segregated in public places. Lived on and worked land that belonged to someone else and given a share of the crops in return. Elsewhere they got the lowest paying jobs and little chance to move up.

Black Leaders Booker T. Washington believed that learning how to make a living was the first step to equality and he founded the Tuskegee Institute, an industrial school in Alabama. W.E.B. DuBois said without equal rights, making a living was meaningless and helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NACCP) in 1909.

Hiram R. Revels Born into a free family in Fayetteville North Carolina Became a barber before going to seminaries in Indiana. 1st African American elected to the Senate in 1870 representing Mississippi.

Blanche K. Bruce First to serve a full term in the Senate (1875-1881) representing Mississippi. Born a slave in Virginia, escaped to the North, and attended Oberlin College in Ohio. Returned to the South and became a planter in Mississippi.

Thaddeus Stevens White abolitionist representative from Pennsylvania. Studied at Dartmouth College. After the Civil War he pushed for more rights for African Americans and under his leadership the 14th Amendment was passed.

Ida B. Wells Southerner who led a movement to educate the public about lynching and make sure people were punished. She edited and published, The Memphis Free Speech, as well as many pamphlets.