1. Reconstruction & Its Effects

2. What is Reconstruction?
Reconstruction is the period of time during which the U.S. began to rebuild the South following the Civil War.
1865 – 1877

3. Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction
Use your text book to read about and summarize President Lincoln’s plan for reconstructing the South
pg. 185
Why was this plan never implemented?

4. Who were the Radical Republicans?
The Radical Republicans were a small group within Congress.
Wanted to punish the South for the War
Wanted African-Americans to be given full citizenship and the right to vote.

5. President Johnson’s Plan
Johnson’s plan is very similar to Lincoln’s
made it relatively easy for ex-confederate states to rejoin the union
Pardoned many former confederates
Wants to ensure that the South is still run by white men

6. Johnson Clashes with Radical Republicans
Radical Republican’s don’t like Johnson’s plan:
viewed as being too lenient on the South;
Doesn’t support civil rights for African-Americans;
Angered many by vetoing legislation such as the Freedman’s Bureau and Civil Rights Acts of 1866.

7. President Johnson is Impeached
Impeach – to remove from public office
Moderate and Radical Republicans in Congress want to take control of Reconstruction;
They believe that Johnson is blocking Reconstruction;
The House impeaches Johnson, but the Senate does not convict;
Message received; Johnson backs down.
Congress takes charge of Reconstruction
Freedman’s Bureau Act (1866)
Civil Rights Act (1866)
14th Amendment (1866)
15th Amendment (1870)
** Define/Describe each piece of legislation (pg ) **

8. *Define these terms (p. 186)*
The Post-War South
The Southern economy and population is devastated by the war;
Many small farms ruined, economy devastated;
Hundreds of thousands of men killed
Southern Politics – dominated by the Republican Party after the war:
African Americans
Scalawags*
Carpetbaggers*
*Define these terms (p. 186)*

9. Life for African-Americans
15th Amendment grants voting rights to African-Americans
Many vote for the first time and run for public office
Hiram Revels – 1st African-American senator
The first public schools and universities are opened for African-Americans
Many AAs forced into tenant farming or sharecropping because they did not own their own land

10. Reconstruction Collapses
White Southerners resent reconstruction;
Ku Klux Klan – a violent vigilante group whose goal was to destroy the Republican party and end reconstruction
Killed as many as 20,000 men, women and children in the South
Used intimidation to prevent African-Americans from exercising their political rights

11. Reconstruction Collapses, cont.
The Republican Party looses power in the South;
Amnesty Act (1872)
Freedman’s Bureau expires
Panic of 1873 – economic concerns divert attention away from the South
Democrats “redeem” the South in the election of 1876

12. Summarizing: How did Radical Republicans try to reconstruct the South?
How successful was reconstruction?