1. © 2005 Clairmont Press G EORGIA AND THE A MERICAN E XPERIENCE Chapter 9: 1866-1889 Reconstruction and the New South

2. S ECTION 1: L INCOLN AND R ECONSTRUCTION ESSENTIAL QUESTION What were Lincoln’s plans for rebuilding the South after the Civil War?

3. S ECTION 1: L INCOLN AND R ECONSTRUCTION What words do I need to know? freedmen Freedmen’s Bureau Reconstruction Thirteenth Amendment Nullify

4. S ECTION 1: L INCOLN AND R ECONSTRUCTION What people do I need to know? Abraham Lincoln John Wilkes Booth Andrew Johnson

5. C ONDITIONS IN G EORGIA AT THE END OF THE WAR : farms were in ruins homes, railways, bridges, roads were destroyed or in need of repair not enough food banks were closed – Confederate money was worthless the state owed $20,000,000 in war debt 25,000 Georgians had died of wounds or disease – many more were crippled and could not work

6. T HE F REEDMEN Problems of freedmen (former slaves): homeless hungry uneducated free for the 1st time no property or goods searching for lost family/friends Many former slaves feared re-enslavement Most whites had difficulty treating freeman as free persons

7. T HE F REEDMEN ’ S B UREAU Started as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands by U.S. government in 1865 Its job was to help freed slaves and poor whites with basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter The purpose shifted to education 1. Set up 4,000 primary schools 2. Started 64 industrial schools for jobs training 3. Started 74 teacher-training schools Missionaries started schools like Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Clark College

8. L INCOLN ’ S P LAN FOR R ECONSTRUCTION Lincoln wanted to rebuild and return the south to the Union ASAP “Reconstruction” would have two parts: 1. Southerners would be pardoned after taking an oath of allegiance; 2. When 10% of voters had taken the oath, the state could rejoin the Union and form a state government. Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 during a play at Ford’s Theater by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson took over as President.

9. R EACTIONS TO L INCOLN ’ S P LAN FOR R ECONSTRUCTION Lincoln’s plan to reconstruct the south was challenged. Some northerners called “Radical Republicans” thought the south should be more severely punished. The Radical Republicans wanted to make sure the freedmen retained their new rights. Reward was offered for the capture of Confederate President Jefferson Davis…..he was captured and imprisoned.

10. J OHNSON ’ S R ECONSTRUCTION P LAN Expanded the groups of southerners not granted general pardon. The following categories had to apply directly to the President for pardon: Who had owned property worth more than $20,000, or Who held high civil or military positions In addition to Lincoln’s requirements, President Johnson added a few more. Southern states had to: approve (ratify) the 13 th Amendment (outlawing slavery); nullify their ordinances of secession; promise to repay money borrowed during the war. Click to return to the Table of Contents

11. S ECTION 2: R ECONSTRUCTION IN G EORGIA ESSENTIAL QUESTION What changes occurred in Georgia during Reconstruction?

12. S ECTION 2: R ECONSTRUCTION IN G EORGIA What words do I need to know? provisional discrimination Black Codes Fourteenth Amendment carpetbagger scalawag Ku Klux Klan

13. S ECTION 2: R ECONSTRUCTION IN G EORGIA What words do I need to know? suffrage Georgia Act Fifteenth Amendment impeach sharecropping credit tenant farming

14. S ECTION 2: R ECONSTRUCTION IN G EORGIA What people do I need to know? James Johnson General John Pope Henry McNeal Turner

15. T HE C ONSTITUTIONAL C ONVENTION OF 1865 President Johnson appointed James Johnson as Georgia’s provisional Governor. Governor Johnson held a Constitutional Convention. The representatives voted to abolish slavery and repeal the ordinance of secession. Elections were held in November 1865 for a new legislature. The General Assembly voted to extend rights to freedmen.

16. B LACK C ODES Black Codes were laws passed to keep freedmen from having the same rights as whites. Didn’t allow blacks: the same jobs as whites, the right to vote, the right to marry a white person, jury service, or the right to testify. Blacks could be: whipped as punishment, forced to work from sunrise to sunset six days per week, or put in jail if they didn’t have a job.

17. C ONGRESSIONAL R ECONSTRUCTION Congress was angry about Georgia’s Black Codes, so it passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law gave: citizenship to all freedmen; the federal government power to intervene any time civil rights were taken from freedmen. The 14 th Amendment was passed granting citizenship to freedmen and required “equal protection under the law.”

18. C ONGRESSIONAL R ECONSTRUCTION Congress required southern states to ratify the 14 th Amendment. Georgia and most of the other southern states refused to ratify the amendment. Congress abolished these states’ governments and put them under military rule. Georgia was ruled by General John Pope. Pope was required to register all male voters – black and white. These voters would elect new representatives to form a new state government.

19. C ONSTITUTIONAL C ONVENTION OF 1867 Georgia male voters elected delegates to the convention to create a new state constitution. Delegates were (12)conservative whites, (9)carpetbaggers, (most)scalawags, and (36)blacks. Accomplishments of the Convention: A new constitution ensuring civil rights for all citizens; Free public education for all children; Women were allowed to control their own property. Georgia had satisfied Congress, so General Pope and his troops left the state.

20. A FRICAN A MERICANS IN P OLITICS The election of 1867 was the first time African Americans had voted. Several African Americans were elected to Georgia’s General Assembly. Rev. Henry McNeal Turner was one of the first black men elected in Georgia. The African Americans elected to the General Assembly were expelled in 1868. It was argued by whites that civil rights laws gave blacks the right to vote but not to be elected.

21. K U K LUX K LAN Secret organization – originally started as a social club for men returning from the war. Members hid behind robes and masks. Goal: The group terrorized blacks to keep them from voting. As a result, Congress passed “The Georgia Act” and sent troops back to Georgia. The act required Georgia to pass the 15 th Amendment giving all males the right to vote.

22. E CONOMIC R ECONSTRUCTION Without slaves, landowners needed laborers to work their large farms. Two systems emerged: tenant farming and sharecropping. Cotton was Georgia’s most important crop. Continuous growing of tobacco and cotton ruined the soil on many farms. Railroads expanded across the state. Savannah and Brunswick became important shipping ports. Atlanta began its growth into an important business center.

23. T ENANT F ARMING AND S HARECROPPING SharecroppingTenant Farming Landowner provides a house, land, equipment, animals, fertilizer and seeds. The landowner issued credit to the worker to buy medicine, food, clothing and other supplies. The landowner gets a share of the crop and crops to pay any debt owed. Sharecroppers rarely had any cash. Landowner provides house and land. Landowner received a set amount of cash or a portion of the crop at the end of the season. Tenant farmers usually made a small profit.

24. T HE E ND OF R ECONSTRUCTION The African Americans who had been expelled from the General Assembly in 1868 were readmitted by the Georgia Supreme Court in 1870. The Assembly approved the 14 th and 15 th Amendments. Georgia was readmitted to the Union, again, ending Reconstruction. Click to return to the Table of Contents

25. S ECTION 3: G EORGIA ’ S R EDEMPTION Y EARS ESSENTIAL QUESTION How did Georgians work to improve their state after Reconstruction?

26. S ECTION 3: G EORGIA ’ S R EDEMPTION Y EARS What words do I need to know? redemption white supremacy Bourbon Triumvirate

27. S ECTION 3: G EORGIA ’ S R EDEMPTION Y EARS What people do I need to know? Joseph E. Brown Alfred H. Colquitt John B. Gordon Rebecca Latimer Felton

28. T HE B OURBON T RIUMVIRATE Who? Powerful Democratic leaders who controlled Georgia’s government after Reconstruction were Joseph E. Brown, Alfred H. Colquitt, and John B. Gordon. When? They were active in politics from 1872-1890 Their influence lasted until the early 1900s What? Their goals were: expand Georgia’s economy and ties with industries in the North; maintain the tradition of white supremacy.

29. D ECLINE OF THE B OURBON T RIUMVIRATE “Independent Democrats” criticized the Bourbons for not attending to the needs of the poor or improve education and working conditions in factories. Leaders William and Rebecca Felton worked to improve conditions for poor Georgians using newspapers to highlight problems in the state. The convict lease system “rented” prisoners to companies to use as workers. It took many years for the poor conditions the prisoners endured to be brought to light and changed. Click to return to the Table of Contents

30. S ECTION 4: T HE N EW S OUTH ESSENTIAL QUESTION What changes occurred to create the era of the “New South” in Georgia?

31. S ECTION 4: T HE N EW S OUTH What words do I need to know? New South normal school segregation Grange Farmers’ Alliance co-op

32. S ECTION 4: T HE N EW S OUTH What people do I need to know? Henry Grady

33. T HE N EW S OUTH E RA Challengers to the Bourbon Triumvirate wanted Georgia to be more industrialized. Henry Grady was a speaker and newspaper editor. Grady described Georgia as a place which could have competitive industry and more efficient farming. Grady envisioned improved race relations in a “New South” which left its antebellum past behind.

34. E DUCATION IN THE N EW S OUTH E RA Funding to provide elementary education for all children in Georgia grew slowly from 1868-1895. Teachers were paid a little more than farm hands and had little or no training. Normal schools were started to train more teachers. The “school year” was only three months long for 2 reasons: children to work on farms or in factories. Not enough teachers available to work full year The state constitution of 1877 did not allow for school beyond 8 th grade and segregated black and white students.

35. T HE A RTS OF THE N EW S OUTH E RA Several Georgians gained fame for their work as writers: Joel Chandler Harris’ most famous work was Uncle Remus: His Sayings and Stories ; Sidney Lanier was one of the best known poets of his time; Charles Henry Smith wrote satire for newspapers in Georgia.

36. A GRICULTURE IN THE N EW S OUTH E RA Crop prices declined through the 1870s. The Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance started out as social groups but began to reorganize to put pressure on lawmakers to find ways to help farmers. Georgia created the first state to have a Department of Agriculture. Co-ops allowed farmers to work together to buy goods and equipment at a lower cost. Click to return to the Table of Contents