1. Chapter 16 The Era of Reconstruction, 1865-1877

2. The North helps the South Rebuild
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When the Civil War ended, the victorious North faced an unprecedented challenge: how to reconstruct the ravaged and resentful South. The Federal government had never taken on such a large responsibility. Its resources were utterly inadequate.
Think about it: not only did you have the economic destruction of the South caused by the war, but now you had four million enslaved African-Americans who were suddenly free, but they didn't have anywhere to go, anywhere to sleep, no land. So it was a monumental challenge for the North to organize a process, an orderly process of restructuring the South in the face of Southern resentment and resistance. At the same time, there was very little money in the South. Banks were virtually non-existent.
There was a short-term crisis for everybody just to put food on the table. The federal armies were still patrolling the South. It was chaotic at times, but at the same time, it was inspiring because so many people decided to help this effort. Thousands of Northerners rushed south to serve as teachers, to serve essentially as social workers helping in the transition, providing resources, providing skills. And over time things began to return to normal. But it was never easy and it was always controversial.

3. Development in the North Devastation in the South
The War’s Aftermath
Development in the North
Devastation in the South
The South had to rebuild, but its railroads, its land, and its manpower had been severely decimated by the war.
The Freedmen’s Bureau
which aimed to provide them with the basic necessities as they adjusted.
The conclusion of the Civil War did not end all of the issues that led up to it. In fact, it created more. How were the Confederate states to be treated? As conquered provinces? Forgiven prodigal sons? Or as traitors to the United States? The time period the South would now enter is known as Reconstruction.
In many instances, the Civil War was a final blow to the industrial–agrarian conflict that for so long had divided the North and the South. Now the North, with its industrial might, had gained control of Congress and would no longer be at the mercy of the South.
The South now had to rebuild its society to conform to the victorious Union’s demands. The Emancipation Proclamation had abolished slavery in the South and had freed over $4 billion worth of slaves. The South had to rebuild, but its railroads, its land, and its manpower had been severely decimated by the war. What money was still available was inadequate to meet the needs of the devastated South.
In order to help the freedmen adapt to their new lives, Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau, which aimed to provide them with the basic necessities as they adjusted.

4. A Street in the “Burned District”
Ruins of Richmond, Virginia, in the spring of 1865

5. Freedmen’s School in Virginia
Throughout the former Confederate states, the Freedmen’s Bureau set up schools for former slaves, such as this one.

6. The War’s Aftermath, continued
A Transformed South
Legally Free, Socially Bound
Although they found themselves freed from slavery, very few northerners were willing to elevate the freedmen to the same status as whites. Many argued that land should be provided for them to work, but nothing came of this plan.
The Confederate army was beaten, but in many areas the southern people were still unbowed. Many planters now found themselves destitute, as they were unable to manage their lands without their slaves. As the Union soldiers were dispatched to take control of the former Rebel provinces, they were viewed with hatred as the conquerors they were.
Although they found themselves freed from slavery, very few northerners were willing to elevate the freedmen to the same status as whites. Many argued that land should be provided for them to work, but nothing came of this plan.

7. The Battle over Reconstruction
Lincoln’s Plan and Congress’s Response
Once 10 percent of those who voted in 1860 took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution, they would be allowed to return to the Union. This plan was viewed by Congress as being too lenient to the Rebels. When Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana met these guidelines, Congress refused to accept them, stating that Reconstruction was a legislative, not an executive, function. The Wade-Davis Bill, which called for even more stringent demands on the South, was vetoed by Lincoln
In 1863, Lincoln issued his plan to return the Rebels to the Union. Once 10 percent of those who voted in 1860 took an oath of allegiance to the Constitution, they would be allowed to return to the Union. This plan was viewed by Congress as being too lenient to the Rebels. When Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana met these guidelines, Congress refused to accept them, stating that Reconstruction was a legislative, not an executive, function. The Wade-Davis Bill, which called for even more stringent demands on the South, was vetoed by Lincoln. In retaliation, the Wade-Davis Manifesto was issued, which accused Lincoln of violating his constitutional authority.

8. The Assassination of Lincoln
Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a southerner sympathizer, on April 14, Other members of Lincoln’s cabinet were targeted, but all escaped without loss of life. Booth and the other conspirators were convicted and hanged
Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a southerner sympathizer, on April 14, Other members of Lincoln’s cabinet were targeted, but all escaped without loss of life. Booth and the other conspirators were convicted and hanged.

9. Debates over Political Reconstruction
Johnson’s Plan
An addition to Lincoln’s plan made by Johnson was that every state must adopt the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, to regain its full rights.
Southern Intransigence
Many southern states had enacted black codes designed to limit African Americans in their new freedom.
Lincoln’s assassination changed the face of Reconstruction. His successor, Andrew Johnson, was not strong enough to counteract the demands of the Radical Republicans in Congress.
Johnson continued with Lincoln’s plan to “restore” the southern states, in the belief that they had never left the Union. An addition to Lincoln’s plan made by Johnson was that every state must adopt the Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, to regain its full rights.
Once they were allowed to send representatives, the South returned many Confederates to Congress, angering the Republicans, who demanded reform-minded legislators. Many southern states had enacted black codes designed to limit African Americans in their new freedom.

10. Andrew Johnson
A pro-Union Democrat from Tennessee

11. Debates over Political Reconstruction, continued
The Radical Republicans
Johnson’s Battle with Congress
Johnson would use the veto to kill an extension of the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1866, stating that it violated the Constitution. In March of that year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, which would be vetoed as well
The Fourteenth Amendment
the same guarantees that citizens receive from the Bill of Rights as federal citizens, improving their status as state citizens as well.
The actions of the South following the Civil War would swell the ranks of the Radical Republicans, as moderates flocked to their camp.
The battle over Reconstruction consumed all of 1865, and by the time it ended, the Radical Republicans found themselves in the majority in Congress, but fell short of the two-thirds vote necessary to override a presidential veto. Johnson would use the veto to kill an extension of the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1866, stating that it violated the Constitution. In March of that year Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, which would be vetoed as well. However, because of his actions, Johnson had alienated more Republicans, and his veto was overridden.
Added to the Constitution as a way to ensure the constitutionality of the Civil Rights Act, the Fourteenth Amendment applied, for the first time, the same guarantees that citizens receive from the Bill of Rights as federal citizens, improving their status as state citizens as well.

12. (?) “Slavery Is Dead” (?) (?) “Slavery Is Dead” (?)
Thomas Nast’s cartoon suggests that slavery was not dead in the postwar south.

13. Reconstructing the South
The Triumph of Congressional Reconstruction
South would be divided into five military districts controlled by governors.
The Impeachment and Trial of Johnson
Radical Republicans impeached Johnson on the grounds that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act, which they had passed in 1866.
Republican Rule in the South
15th Amendment- men right to vote
Johnson received a devastating defeat in the 1866 midterm election for Congress as the Radical Republicans were returned with over a two-thirds majority. Congress then embarked on a new program designed to limit the power of the president and to exert control over Reconstruction. First, it declared that any state that had met previous guidelines to return to the Union was still in rebellion; second, it denied the power of the president to remove members of his cabinet; and third, it made Grant independent of Johnson.
In order to return to the Union, states had to craft new constitutions, provide universal male suffrage, and adopt the Fourteenth Amendment, after which Congress would consider allowing them to return. Until then, all of the South would be divided into five military districts controlled by governors.
Johnson and his secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, who had been appointed by Lincoln, did not get along. In 1867, Johnson removed Stanton from that position and tried to appoint Grant. The Radical Republicans impeached Johnson on the grounds that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act, which they had passed in He was impeached but fell short of being removed from office by one vote. Johnson sought the Democrat nomination in 1868 for his own term as president but never received it, and Grant won the election as a Republican.
By the end of 1870, all of the former Confederate states had met the conditions for being readmitted, including ratifying the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave all men the right to vote.

14. Reconstructing the South, continued
The Freed Slaves
African Americans in Southern Politics
Religion and Reconstruction
The freedmen would not achieve equality now that they were no longer bound to their masters. In some ways, their situation was worse. The church became the center of freedmen society, as by 1890, over 13 percent of African Americans in the South proclaimed themselves to be Baptist, due to that denomination’s decentralized structure. Marriage, which under slavery had been illegal, exploded, with the majority of former slave families living in a two-parent home by Communities also worked to establish schools to educate the freedmen. This effort faced pressure from the whites in the South, who feared that educating them would cause them to seek better social and economic opportunities elsewhere.
The constitutional conventions demanded of the states by Congress were populated by several hundred freedmen. A power struggle between rural and urban freedmen developed over issues pertaining to the redistribution of land. And many urban African American elites argued against the leveling of the social classes to allow the uneducated to be on par with the educated in society.
Religion played a large role in the failure of Reconstruction to level society and abolish racism. Many of the denominations prior to the Civil War had split into northern and southern factions, and after the war, they struggled to consolidate their members. For most freedmen, the Civil War was a gift from God, veritable proof that He cared for them and was looking after their best interests.

15. Freedmen Voting in New Orleans
The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870, guaranteed at the federal level the right of citizens to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” But former slaves had been registering to vote—and voting in large numbers—in state elections since 1867, as in this scene.

16. African American political figures
of Reconstruction
Blanche K. Bruce (left) and Hiram Revels (right) served in the U.S. Senate. Frederick Douglass (center) was a major figure in the abolitionist movement.

17. Reconstructing the South
“Carpetbaggers” and “Scalawags”
southerners who “betrayed” their roots and sided with the Union during the war, known as Scalawags, or northerners who immigrated to the South to take a position southerners could not hold, called Carpetbaggers.
The Radical Republican Record
During Reconstruction, any person who had held a role in aiding the Confederacy was barred from holding a position in government. Therefore, those who held positions were of two categories, southerners who “betrayed” their roots and sided with the Union during the war, known as Scalawags, or northerners who immigrated to the South to take a position southerners could not hold, called Carpetbaggers.
Many of the constitutions that were forced on the South during Reconstruction remained after that era ended, and many of the provisions found therein would be adopted into new ones.

18. Reconstruction, 1865–1877
How did the Military Reconstruction Act reorganize governments in the South in the late 1860s and 1870s? What did the former Confederate states have to do to be readmitted to the Union? Why did “Conservative” parties gradually regain control of the South from the Republicans in the 1870s?

19. Reconstructing the South, continued
Southern Resistance
White “Redemption”
With each passing year, southern whites used terror, intimidation, and violence to prevent blacks from exercising their political rights, and take back control from Republican rule.

20. “Worse Than Slavery” “Worse Than Slavery”
This Thomas Nast cartoon chides the Ku Klux Klan for promoting conditions “worse than slavery” for southern blacks after the Civil War.

21. The Grant Years The Election of 1868 The Government Debt Scandals
Grant’s administration faced a series of scandals, many due to the quality of the people he put in office. Scandals during this time included a plot to corner the gold market, the Crédit Mobilier scandal, and the Whiskey Ring. All of these would be traced back to either Grant’s family or workers close to him, damaging his presidency.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist group dedicated to wiping out those they viewed as dangerous to the South, be it freedmen, carpetbaggers, or scalawags. To counteract these groups, Congress passed three Enforcement Acts designed to protect black voters.
Although he had never held elected office before, Grant was elected president of the United States in 1868, based mainly on his victory in the Civil War. He was the youngest president at the time and was often blind to the forces of politics once in office and awestruck by the wealth of some of his supporters.
Following the war, the United States had $432 million worth of greenbacks that were to be paid back with hard money. Once done, paper money was abolished and a return to specie occurred. Democrats advocated printing more to pay the debt off. This was known as the “Ohio Idea.”
Grant’s administration faced a series of scandals, many due to the quality of the people he put in office. Scandals during this time included a plot to corner the gold market, the Crédit Mobilier scandal, and the Whiskey Ring. All of these would be traced back to either Grant’s family or workers close to him, damaging his presidency.
Groups opposed to Reconstruction of the South and the elevation of freedmen would appear soon after the war ended. The most infamous of these groups was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), a white supremacist group dedicated to wiping out those they viewed as dangerous to the South, be it freedmen, carpetbaggers, or scalawags. To counteract these groups, Congress passed three Enforcement Acts designed to protect black voters.

22. “The Working-Man’s Banner”
This campaign banner makes reference to the working-class origins of Ulysses S. Grant and his vice-presidential candidate, Henry Wilson, by depicting Grant as a tanner of hides and Wilson as a shoemaker.

23. A Visit from the Ku Klux Klan
African Americans in the South lived in constant fear of racial violence, as this 1872 engraving from Harper’s Weekly, published to elicit Northern sympathy, illustrates.

24. The Grant Years, continued
Reform and the Election of 1872
Conservative Resurgence
The Compromise of 1877
In 1876, the Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for president and the Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden. When the electoral returns were announced, rival returns from the same state posed a quandary. Which to choose? Finally, Congress established an electoral commission to canvass the results and declared Hayes the winner. A secret deal with Democrats was later revealed in which they had agreed they would go along with Hayes as president if he withdrew every federal soldier from the South.
The heavy-handedness of Radical Republicans and the scandals of the Grant administration had spawned the creation by 1872 of a new faction in the Republican party, that of the Liberal Republicans. The Democrats supported the Liberal Republicans’ nominee, Horace Greely, for president in Grant won the election.
In the Deep South, the KKK played an instrumental role in determining the outcome of elections. As events outside of the South drew the attention of northerners away from that area, the freedmen found themselves drifting away from their civil rights. Republican control of the former Confederacy dwindled as Democrats began to reclaim their offices and their governments.
The withdrawal of the greenbacks from circulation, the overextension of railway lines beyond profitable means, and the failure of Jay Cooke’s bank caused a loss of confidence in the economy and started a panic. The depression that followed lasted six years. The Republicans, being the party in power, took the blame for the depression, and in 1874 the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. At the time, some greenbacks were still in circulation and were traded lower than gold, but when Grant demanded that greenbacks be redeemed for the same value in gold, parity shook the economy again and the depression continued.
In 1876, the Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for president and the Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden. When the electoral returns were announced, rival returns from the same state posed a quandary. Which to choose? Finally, Congress established an electoral commission to canvass the results and declared Hayes the winner. A secret deal with Democrats was later revealed in which they had agreed they would go along with Hayes as president if he withdrew every federal soldier from the South.

25. The Election of 1876
Why did the Republicans pick Rutherford Hayes as their presidential candidate? Why were the electoral votes of several states disputed? What was the Compromise of 1877?

26. The Compromise of 1877 The Compromise of 1877
This illustration represents the compromise between Republicans and southern Democrats that ended Radical Reconstruction.

27. The End of Reconstruction
Conclusion
The End of Reconstruction
Hayes honored the Compromise of 1877 and removed all remaining federal soldiers from the South. In these areas, the Republican governments that existed would soon fall.
Hayes honored the Compromise of 1877 and removed all remaining federal soldiers from the South. In these areas, the Republican governments that existed would soon fall.

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This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for Chapter 16 The Era of Reconstruction
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