1. Congressional Reconstruction
Chapter 12 section 2
Congressional Reconstruction

2. To review… What was Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction?
Appointed military governors
Didn’t want to punish the South for treason
Plan was moderate
Offered amnesty for taking an oath of loyalty
10% of the 1860 voting population required to organize a new state government
What did the Radical Republicans want?
Led by Thaddeus Stevens & Charles Sumner
Prevent Southern leaders from returning to power
Make the Republican Party powerful in the South
Have the federal government help African Americans
Economically (Freedmen’s Bureau)
Protect voting rights
Moderate Republicans supported the Wade- Davis Bill
To review…

3. Johnson Takes Office Had been Lincoln’s vice president
Was a senator from Tennessee, but was loyal to the Union.
Made military governor of TN when it came under Union control during the Civil War
Had been a Democrat, so Lincoln picked him as a running mate hoping for some Democratic support when he was up for re- election in 1864.
Also a moderate
Johnson Takes Office

4. What was Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction?
He called it his restoration program
Very similar to Lincoln’s
Issued a Proclamation of Amnesty
Returned seized property
Could be pardoned once a loyalty oath was taken
Excluded some from the pardon:
All former Confederate officers
Those who owned more than $20,000 worth of property (rich planter elite)
Had to apply individually to the president for a pardon
Issued a proclamation for North Carolina
Was his model for how he wanted Reconstruction to work
Each former Confederate state would call a state constitutional convention
Revoke its ordinance of secession
Ratify the 13th amendment
Reject all Civil War debts
Plan goes into effect over the summer of 1865 while Congress is in recess
Come back in the fall horrified that many Confederate leaders are back in Congress
Radical and moderate Republicans vote to reject these members of Congress (the House and Senate make their own rules for their members)
What was Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction?

5. While the Southern states were busy electing new members to Congress, they were also busy in their state legislatures passing laws to limit the rights of the newly freed slaves (freedmen)
Laws varied from state to state
General purpose was to create as close a system to slavery as possible
Annual labor contracts
Apprenticeships for children
Could be beaten
Set work hours and required licenses for non-agricultural work
Black Codes

6. Radical Republicans React
“The entire South seem to be stupid and vindictive, know not their friends, and are pursuing just the course wich their opponents, the Radicals, desire.”
Moderates and Radicals join forces and create the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
Demonstrates a shift in political power away from the president and back to the legislative branch
President can’t pass legislation!
Radical Republicans React

7. Congress Takes Action Passes the Civil Rights Act of 1866
Grants citizenship to everyone born in the US except Native Americans
African Americans allowed to own property
Are to be treated equally in court
Pass the proposal for the 14th Amendment
Citizenship
Equal protection clause
Due process clause:
No state can deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law.
Supported by Radical Republicans and moderates (in response to increasing violence against African Americans in the South)
Congress Takes Action

8. Election of 1866 Johnson doesn’t support the 14th amendment
Thinks it’s too radical
Makes it a campaign issue in hopes that Northern voters will favor more moderate candidates and he will get a new majority in Congress that supports his plan for Reconstruction instead of what the Radicals want
This is against a backdrop of more violence in the South against African Americans
Outcome of the election is a 3:1 Republican majority in Congress
Election of 1866

9. Military Reconstruction
With the Republicans in control, Congress passes the Military Reconstruction Act
Cancels out Johnson’s plans
By the end of 1866, 6 former Confederate states had met the requirements: NC, SC, FL, AL, LA, AR (and TN)
Sets up 5 military districts (TN is excluded)
Each former Confederate state has to rewrite its state constitution and have Congress approve it
All males have to have the right to vote regardless of race
State as to ratify the 14th amendment
Military Reconstruction

10. Can the Republicans get rid of Johnson?
Congress has a huge majority, so they can easily pass the laws they want and override a presidential veto
But the president executes (puts into effect) the laws
Don’t trust Johnson so look for ways to get rid of him
Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act
Requires the president to get approval of Congress before firing top government officials that require confirmation of the president’s nominee
Johnson decides to test the law
Fires the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton
Stanton locks himself in his office and refuses to leave
House votes to impeach Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office law
Senate held a trial
Lasts two months
Vote is to find guilty
One vote short of 2/3 needed for impeachment!
Those who voted against it thought it would set a dangerous precedent
Can the Republicans get rid of Johnson?

11. Johnson is still in office, but has no support or real power left (lame duck)
Decides not to run for re-election
Republicans chose General Ulysses S. Grant, the big war hero
Was nominated as their candidate unanimously
Election of 1868

12. Federal troops still in place in the South, so African American men can vote
Grant wins in 6 Southern States & most Northern states.
Election of 1868 continued

13. Republicans still have a huge majority in Congress and now also control the White House (with a president they like and who generally goes along with what they want
Grant didn’t have any political experience
Thought Congress should develop policy, not the president
Congress passes the 15th amendment, making the right to vote not subject to race “shall not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” (former slaves)
15th Amendment