1. The South After the Civil War
Reconstruction
The South After the Civil War

2. Freedmen
“Freedman” was the term used to describe a former slave after the Civil War
Many freedmen had nothing more than the clothes on their bodies when they were freed, and were uneducated with no skills outside of farming
Because the slave-master relationship had been destroyed, a new relationship had to be created between blacks and whites

3. The Freedman's Bureau
To help these newly-freed slaves and poor whites get a new start, the Freedman's Bureau was created
At first, they offered them food, clothes and other necessities
Soon, they began educating slaves and poor whites to encourage them to find better jobs and circumstances

4. Sharecropping
Sharecropping was a system where landowners provided land, housing and supplies to farmers who would in turn give part of their harvest to the landowner
Landowners would sell medicine, food and clothes to farmers on credit until their crops came in
Farmers would then have to pay landowners back at a highly increased price
This kept farmers from ever leaving the sharecropping system

5. Tenant Farming
Similar to sharecropping, except that tenant farmers owned some farming supplies and animals, as well as seeds for planting
They only borrowed land from landowners, and paid them a set amount (cash or crops) at the end of a harvest
This was better for farmers than sharecropping, but it was still a difficult life

6. Lincoln's Reconstruction
Lincoln said that the South could rejoin the union after two things happened: (1) All southerners, except high-ranking Confederate leaders, had to take an oath of allegiance to the USA, and (2) when 10% of voters in each state had taken the oath, the state would be allowed to rejoin.
Many northerners thought the South should be punished, but Lincoln fought this idea, believing that the South had paid a big enough price

7. Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction
After Lincoln was assassinated, it was left up to Vice President Johnson to bring the country back together.
Johnson's plan for the South rejoining the union was more strict than Lincoln's, but it was still too lenient for many radical northerners
Johnson also required southern states to ratify the 13th Amendment, outlawing slavery and nullify (invalidate) their laws and governments of secession

8. Constitutional Amendments of Reconstruction *Super-Important!!!!
13th Amendment- Made slavery illegal
14th Amendment- Granted citizenship to former slaves, and guaranteed “equal protection of the law” for all people
15th Amendment- Gave all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of race

9. Black Congressmen in Georgia
Only two years after the war ended (1867), the first African American votes were cast
32 African Americans were elected to Georgia's Congress in 1867, but were expelled the next year
It was argued that although the Constitution gave blacks the right to vote, it did not give them the right to hold public office
Regardless, the Republican party held power thanks to the votes of many African Americans

10. Henry McNeal Turner
Born in the South but never a slave, Henry McNeal Turner actually received an education while working as a custodian at a law firm
He would become a highly influential preacher for the African Methodist Episcopal church, and eventually one of the first African Americans elected to Congress
He was removed from office due to pressure from the KKK and a fraudulant election, but remained a prominent leader in the community

11. Ku Klux Klan
The Klan was a group who used intimidation in order to keep freedmen from exercising their rights
They harassed, beat, whipped, and hanged many African Americans to keep them from voting and to return power to the Democratic party in the South
They dressed in hooded garments in order to hide their identity and to scare victims

12. The Georgia Act
The KKK actions became so severe that it impacted the presidential election of 1868 because so many blacks were afraid to vote
The Georgia Act was passed as a result
This act returned Georgia to military control, which made it easier to contain the KKK

13. Ending Reconstruction
Reconstruction in Georgia officially ended in July 1870, when Georgia was readmitted to the United States
Despite this, Georgia had much work left in the rebuilding process that the Civil War had required
Georgia's economy was still in grave trouble, and race relations between blacks and whites were as bad as they had ever been