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UNIT 3 APUSH
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What was Reconstruction??
Reconstruction was the federal government’s attempt to repair the damage to the South after the Civil War Occurred from 1865 to 1877 Controversial Had mixed results
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Think About It… Was Reconstruction a success or a failure?
Most historians claim that Reconstruction failed to truly help southern blacks and thoroughly angered and alienated southern whites.
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Results of the Civil War
The entire country was impacted by the Civil War The North Lost 364k Federal soldiers including 38k African Americans The South Lost 260k Confederate soldiers 1/5 of all white men in region
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Southerners’ Hardships
Black Southerners 4 million freed slaves with little or no skills or education Homeless and jobless Plantation owners Lost slave labor that amounted to $3 billion Lost seized plantation land- $100 million Poor white southerners Could not find new jobs Moved North if possible
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Rival Plans to “Reconstruct” the South
President Lincoln’s Plan- 1863 Congress Plan (Wade-Davis Plan)- 1864 President Johnson’s Plan The Radical Republicans’ Plan-
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Lincoln’s Plan- The 10% Plan
1. Pardon any Southerner who pledged allegiance to the United States But denied pardons to officials who had killed African American war prisoners 2. Permitted states to hold a new constitutional convention AFTER 10% of voters had sworn allegiance to the US After state constitutions were accepted, voting rights would be reestablished
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Like Adding Fuel to the Fire
Lincoln's Plan vs. Congress Lincoln’s was more generous to the South Created anger and resentment in Congress Congress decided to make own plan The Radical Republicans were born
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Congress’ Wade-Davis Plan
A state must have a majority within its borders take the oath of loyalty A state must formally abolish slavery No Confederate officials could participate in the new governments.
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The Death of a President
Did not live to see the peace he helped to create Conspirators and southern sympathizers plotted against the president Died in office on April 14, 1865
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Lincoln - Kennedy Coincidences
9) The first name of Lincoln's private secretary was John, the last name of Kennedy's private secretary was Lincoln. 10) John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839 [according to some sources] Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939, one hundred years later. 11) Both assassins were Southerners who held extremist views. 12) Both assassins were murdered before they could be brought to trial. 13) Booth shot Lincoln in a theater and fled to a warehouse. Oswald shot Kennedy from a warehouse and fled to a theater. 14) Lincoln and KENNEDY each have 7 letters. 15) ANDREW JOHNSON and LYNDON JOHNSON each have 13 letters. 16) JOHN WILKES BOOTH and LEE HARVEY OSWALD each have 15 letters. 17) A Lincoln staffer Miss Kennedy told him not to go to the Theater. 18) A Kennedy staffer, Miss Lincoln, told him not to go to Dallas. 1) Lincoln was elected in 1860, Kennedy in 1960, 100 years apart 2) Both men were deeply involved in civil rights for African Americans. 3) Both men were assassinated on a Friday, in the presence of their wives. 4) Each wife had lost a child while living at the White House. 5) Both men were killed by a bullet that entered the head from behind. 6) Lincoln was killed in Ford's Theater. Kennedy met his death while riding in a Lincoln convertible made by the Ford Motor Company. 7) Both men were succeeded by vice-presidents named Johnson who were southern Democrats and former senators. 8) Andrew Johnson was born in Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908, exactly one hundred years later.
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Strange….But True???
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Results of Lincoln’s Death
The looming showdown between Lincoln and the Congress over competing reconstruction plans never occurred because of Lincoln’s assassination. His successor, Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, lacked his predecessor’s skills in handling people.
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President Andrew Johnson
Not well liked by either side Only Southern senator to remain in Congress after Secession Created own plan for Reconstructing the South Political Cartoon, “Johnson Antagonizes Washington”
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Johnson’s Plan Pardon all Southerner’s who swore allegiance to US
No pardons would be available to high Confederate officials and persons owning property valued in excess of $20,000 Permitted each southern state to hold a constitutional convention without Lincoln’s 10% requirement Former Confederate states had to void secession, abolish slavery, and ratify 13th Amendment, then elections could be held and statehood resumed
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The Radical Republicans
Most northerners in Congress were Republicans and opposed to slavery before the war They now wanted to punish the South Congress refused to admit the states that had enacted governments under Johnson’s plan and then proceeded to place the entire South under military rule.
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A Showdown Between Branches
In March 1867 Congress passed, over President Johnson’s veto, several Reconstruction acts. The First Reconstruction Act, also known as the Military Reconstruction Act, effectively raised the qualifications for southern states’ readmission to the Union.
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The Military Reconstruction Act, 1867
Congress placed the former Confederate states under military authority and divided the states into five districts with a Union general and the Army in charge of each district.
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The Military Reconstruction Act, 1867
2. Congress charged the former Confederate states with creating new state constitutions and new governments. 3. The military directed the registration of voting for all adult males including African American males who swore they were qualified.
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African-Americans in Office
During Reconstruction, some 2,000 African Americans held public office, from the local level all the way up to the U.S. Senate, though they never achieved representation in government proportionate to their numbers.
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The Military Reconstruction Act, 1867
4. Congress asserted its right to reframe the state governments and constitutions and that all the new state governments disfranchise high-ranking Confederates. 5. Congress demanded that all new state governments ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Thank God Almighty I’m Free At Last!
Southern blacks celebrated their freedom as the Radical Republicans decided how to proceed with punishing the South Freedom of Movement Freedom to Own Land Freedom to Worship Freedom to Learn
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The Freedman’s Bureau Created in March 1865 as a relief agency for newly freed slaves or “Freedmen” Was intended to offer assistance in housing, education, and citizenship Was not completely successfully in any of these areas due to corruption and mismanagement Did issue 20 million rations of food, established 50 hospitals, set up 4,330 schools and helped establish the first Black colleges.
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Veto! A bill extending the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, who viewed the legislation as an unwarranted (and unconstitutional) continuation of war powers in peacetime. The veto marked the beginning of the President's long and unsuccessful fight with the radical Republican Congress over Reconstruction.
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Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude.“ First bill to be vetoed and OVERRIDDEN by the Congress in American history
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The 14th and 15th Amendments
Congress was concerned about these abuses and decided to add civil rights to the US Constitution 14th Amendment- Granted citizenship and “equal protection” to all African Americans 15th Amendment- Gave the right to vote to all African American males over the age of 21 Both amendments have had far reaching effects in the 19th-20th and 21st centuries
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A Showdown Between Two Branches of Government!
A constitutional crisis occurred when the Congress’ plan was pitted against the President’s plan Two powerful Senators led the charge against President Johnson Charles Sumner- MA senator and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens- PA senator and power player
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Executive versus Legislative
President Johnson tried to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton The Radical Republicans tried to block the firing using the new Tenure of Office Act Provisions of the Act: Took power away from the President The hiring and firing of Cabinet secretaries had to approved by Congress The title of Commander-in-Chief was also removed
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Andrew Johnson Cartoons
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Johnson as Caesar: “Treason is a crime and must be punished"
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The 1st Presidential Impeachment
The House of Representatives filed charges of impeachment against Johnson The House voted ‘yes’ The Senate held a trial and Johnson was found ‘not guilty’ by one vote Was not convicted Kept his office Established the precedent that “high crimes and misdemeanors” were needed to remove a president
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“The Old South carries the Burden of Reconstruction”
Political Cartoon- “The Old South carries the Burden of Reconstruction” Notice ‘AJ’ on top of the Carpetbag!
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The Life of a Freedman The South was desperate for workers
Former slaves who could leave did Most who stayed in South became sharecroppers or tenant farmers using the crop lien system Worked another person’s land Had free or reduced rent in exchange for tending crops Received part of profit- if any was made
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The Crop Lien System The crop lien system allowed farmers to receive food, supplies, seeds, etc. on loan or credit and pay this debt back after their crop was harvested and sold. Therefore, there was a lien against the crop. The amount of credit that was received was based on the estimated value of the crop. But a bad crop year meant longer indebtedness and no profits
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Economic Effects on South
The labor force changed Cotton harvest changed from 90% slave labor to 40% white tenant farmers Emphasis now on cash crops Cotton, tobacco, and sugar cane rather than food The South became dependent upon imports of food Cycle of debt was established Poverty in all classes and races Rise of merchant class in South New stores sold goods on credit
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Birth of Industry in the South
There was a growth of a few southern cities after the Civil War Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Dallas, Montgomery, Little Rock Some areas became industrial Birmingham AL- steel production However, the majority of Southerners remained dependent upon agriculture for their livelihood
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Improvements in Education in the South
Black and white teachers from the North and South, missionary organizations, churches and schools worked tirelessly to give the emancipated population the opportunity to learn. Former slaves of every age took advantage of the opportunity to become literate. Grandfathers and their grandchildren sat together in classrooms seeking to obtain the tools of freedom.
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Carpet Baggers and Scalawags
Coined by white conservatives, the terms were used to describe the two major groups of white Republicans allied with the far more numerous black Republicans.
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Carpet Baggers and Scalawags
Scalawags were southern-born white Republicans or, by a broader definition, any white Republicans who had lived in the South before the war.
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Carpet Baggers and Scalawags
Carpetbaggers were northerners who came south after the war to seek their fortune through politics, under a system in which a one-year residence in any southern state brought voting and office-holding rights.
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Black Codes After Southern states met Johnson’s requirements they one-by-one rolled back civil rights laws Many southern states instituted Black Codes as a way of getting around the new civil rights requirements The Vagrancy Laws in the Black Codes allowed police to arrest people merely on the suspicion they were about to do something illegal.
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Other examples of Black Codes in the South
Permission to travel Segregation Different laws and punishments Limited choice in employment and strict labor contracts Permission required from employers to sell farm produce Banned from bearing arms Orphans placed into forced apprenticeships Preventing Freedmen to vote or serve on juries
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Terror Groups White Southerners unhappy with their new way of life created “political clubs” to complain about politics These soon evolved into terrorist groups KKK, The Knights of the White Camilla… Used tactics such as intimidation, threats, and violence against freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags Effective at stopping progression in South
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“Jim Crow” Laws The mistreatment of blacks during the Jim Crow period was based, in large part, on denying blacks the right to vote. "White primaries" permitted only white citizens to vote. Poll taxes were used to keep poor people from voting. Blacks who tried to vote were routinely intimidated and threatened with violence.
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Other Obstacles to Voting and the 15th Amendment
"Grandfather Clauses" exempted those persons with an ancestor who had voted before 1867, this kept poor and illiterate whites in the voting pool. Literacy tests were used to keep African Americans from voting.
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The Election of 1868 General Ulysses S. Grant Horatio Seymour
Republican Popular war hero Horatio Seymour Democrat Not a popular war hero PLUS many Southern Democrats were still not allowed to vote The last line of Grant’s letter of acceptance of the Republican nomination, “Let us have peace,” became the Republican campaign slogan.
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President Ulysses S. Grant
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Stopping the Klan The Enforcement Act of 1870
President Grant requested that Congress pass a series of laws outlawing hate groups and their tactics The Enforcement Act of 1870 Used federal troops to stop the violence, but once the troops withdrew the terror started again
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New York Tribune newspaper editor who is known especially for his vigorous articulation of the North’s antislavery sentiments during the 1850s. He opposed the Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Dred Scott Decision. He sided with the Radical Republicans in advocating early emancipation of the slaves and, later, civil rights for freedmen. Horace Greeley
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Horace Greely Runs for President
Although a Republican, he joined a group of Republican dissenters, forming the Liberal Republican Party. The party opposed Grant in 1872 and nominated Greeley for president. He lost to President Grant who was relected.
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The Slaughterhouse Cases- 1873
Facts of the Case Butchers not included in Louisiana's slaughterhouse monopoly brought their case to the Supreme Court. They claimed the state had violated the 14th Amendment’s “privileges and immunities clause” by excluding them from the business
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Results and Importance
The Court said that the Fourteenth Amendment only banned the states from depriving blacks of equal rights as a racial group and it did not guarantee that all citizens, regardless of their race, should receive equal economic privileges by the state. This case was later overturned but landmark at the time in its narrow ruling about the 14th amendment’s power
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Civil Rights Act of 1875 The Civil Rights Act of 1875 protected all Americans, regardless of race, in their access to public accommodations and facilities such as restaurants, theaters, trains and other public transportation, and protected the right to serve on juries. However, it was not enforced, and the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1883. The Supreme Court would not reverse itself until the 1950’s and 1960’s with the end of Jim Crow
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The Election of 1876 Republican Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote to Democrat Samuel Tilden But neither candidate won a majority in the Electoral College. Tilden’s 184 electoral votes were one short of the required majority of 185
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The Compromise of 1877 Congress was forced to settle the election but because the House and Senate were divided evenly by party a special committee was appointed The Electoral Commission was comprised of five senators, five house members, and five Supreme Court justices.
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The Corrupt Bargain of 1877 The 7 Democratic votes (plus 1 Republican vote) went to Hayes when he promised to end Reconstruction Became known as The Compromise of 1877 Also known as the 2nd Corrupt Bargain Hayes became the 35 president of the United States and gave the Southern states self-control back Reconstruction was officially over
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“Compromise, Indeed!”- (Tilden or blood)
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The Solid South is Born When the Southern states all were readmitted they began to vote in a Democratic block White Southern Democrats were elected who blocked new legislation in Congress
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The End of Reconstruction
Most Americans had become tired of Reconstruction by the mid-1870’s- Why? The country had gone into debt and economic recession turned public opinion away from the movement for equal rights Reconstruction programs became known for greed and corruption Southerners had gained back control in most Southern states and began to block legislation in Congress again Many Northern voters’ did not support the Radical Republican’s idea of full equality for blacks
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Successes of Reconstruction
Union was rebuilt and South was rebuilt Economic growth was established in the South The 14th and 15th Amendments granted rights to freedmen The Freedman’s Bureau helped many newly freed slaves with a fresh start Mandatory education was started in South
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Failures of Reconstruction
Most blacks remained poor and uneducated Terror groups were formed Racist attitudes continued in both the North and South Southern infrastructure and economies lagged far behind the North Many problems remained unaddressed Women, labor unions, and farmers fearful of the coming of the railroads
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Was Reconstruction a success or a failure??
Think About It…Again! Was Reconstruction a success or a failure?? Why did the implementation of truly radical measures during Reconstruction fail to truly help southern Blacks while thoroughly angering and alienating southern whites?
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