Chapter 14 Notes
To Punish or To Forgive
(Reconstruction)
Section 1 = “With malice toward none”
-questions of how to treat rebel south after peace
-the south had already suffered regardless of any punishment
-land of cinders and desolation
-no punishment would be enough for many Northerners who had lost fathers, sons, or husbands
-had to get South back on its feet
-factories, plantations, railroads, and government
I)Lincoln versus the Radicals
-Lincoln believed “once a state, always a state”
-Believed that they could still run own affairs
-Radical Republicans wanted white southerners punished and fair treatment for former slaves
-believed south had no rights under constitution
- nothing but territories
-Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner
-Radical leaders
-Thaddeus Stevens (Pennsylvania)
-“humanitarian w/o humanity”
-bitter man with grudge against world; abolitionist; lived life after war intent on punishing south
-Charles Sumner (Massachusetts) (Senate)
-fought for equal rights for blacks
-proud, vain, and bitter against white southerners
- conscience of the North in Senate
II)Lincoln’s Plan for Reunion
-concerned with future of the nation; intent on reunion
-would pardon almost all Southerners
-must take oath of loyalty
-abolish slavery
-one-tenth plan
- Radicals not satisfied with plan; to soft
III)Wade-Davis Plan
-each southern state had to make list of men
-after majority of men on list took “ironclad oath” state would be recognized
-convention to make new constitution
-no one could vote or be delegates unless they took oath
-Radicals content with leaving South under Northern General’s control
-bill passed Congress on July 2, 1864, but Lincoln refused to sign
-proposed two options
IV)The Assassination
-April 14, 1865
-urged cabinet to use charity in reconstruction
-“malice towards none”
-assassinated at Ford’s Theater while attending play
-John Wilkes Booth
-Originally wanted to kidnap Lincoln
-Decided to kill Lincoln, VP Johnson, and Secretary of State Seward
-Booth and conspirators caught and killed
-Lincoln became a martyr
Section 2 = Andrew Johnson and the Radicals
-succeed Lincoln after assassination
-democrat from Tennessee
-was crude, stubborn, and argumentative
-planned to follow Lincoln’s policies with the South
I)Southern Conventions
-Northerners grew impatient
-Johnson makes suggestion to hurry things along
-repudiate war debts; nullify ordinance of secession; adopt 13th Amendment
-Southern states took advantage of Johnson’s indecisiveness
-S.C. repeals secession; Mississippi does not accept 13th amendment; S.C. and Mississippi do not repudiate debts
-Southern extremists gain strength
II)The “Black Codes”
-new southern governments adopted laws to limit the freedoms of newly freed slaves
-based on slave codes, northern vagrancy laws, and laws passed in West Indies after emancipation
-codes restricted occupation opportunities and mobility
-slavery under a new name
III)Confederates elected to office
-former confederates elected to congress
-former VP, 6 cabinet members, 58 congressmen, and former military
-Johnson pardons the men
-Republicans upset and discouraged
-feared that they learned nothing
-returned w/ more members b/c representation based on total population
-alliance w/ northern Democrats would bring an end of Republican control
-congressman shutout by republicans
-President did not have power to make rules
-Congress sets up Joint Committee of Fifteen
-draw up plans for reconstruction
-tried to take care of matters of real concern
IV)Equality for the Blacks
-Freedmen’s Bureau
-meant to help war refugees get southern farms working; and help newly freed blacks get started in their new lives
- helped feed refugees, set up hospitals
-new bill helped protect blacks from Black Codes
-built schools (colleges) and educated blacks to be teachers
-Johnson vetoed new bill for expansion of Bureau
-power through military courts to fight discrimination
-Congress passes resolution forbidding Southern Congressman into Congress until state was recognized by Congress
-Civil Rights Bill
-protect blacks in the South
-allowed federal government to intervene in state’s affairs to protect civil rights
-vetoed by Johnson (believed in state’s rights)
-moderates join radicals to override Johnson
-also pass new Freedmen’s Bureau Bill over veto
-Fourteenth Amendment
-defined citizenship
-forbade states to deprive rights and privileges
-reduced representation of states who did not allow all adult males to vote
-no state could chose to pay its confederate debt
-no one who held federal office in Union and then supported confederacy could hold office again until 2/3 vote of Congress pardoned them
-this was the North’s clear cut terms
-Tennessee quickly accepted
-Other states were slower
-President and Republicans clearly at odds
-Radicals gained more power in 1866 congressional elections
Section 3 = “Black Reconstruction”
-congressional reconstruction ready to take place
-based on revenge, idealism, and political opportunism
-conquered province
-Northern troops sent to occupy south
I)Military Reconstruction
-south divided into five military districts; ruled by Northern generals
-Radicals developed reconstruction rules to maintain Republican control
-refused to forgive and forget
-refused to allow leading citizens to vote or hold office
-wanted to rule through friends
-feared giving political liberty to enemies
-not as severe as many wanted
-Johnson vetoed act, but was passed over the veto
-military districts established and take over
II)Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
-radicals out to get Johnson
-wanted to get rid of Johnson
-passed laws to take away constitutional duties of the president
-Tenure of Office Act: prevented president from dismissing any federal official w/o the consent of the Senate
-fired Secretary of War Stanton
-radicals attempted to impeach Johnson
-May 16, 1868: majority voted guilty, but not 2/3
III)The Election of 1868
-Republicans nominate U.S. Grant
-knew nothing of politics, but north loved him
-Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour of New York
-wartime governor of NY
-opposed both abolitionist and southern extremist
-opposed fighting to keep south, but helped recruit troops
-savage campaign
-Republicans reminded people of the war (“waved the bloody shirt”)
-Grant won electoral votes easily; black votes in the south delivered popular
-election results encouraged 15th Amendment
-protected the right to vote for all men regardless of race, color, or previous servitude
IV)New State Constitutions
-state conventions held to create new constitutions
-white majorities in most cases
-African American delegates were not all bitter
-followed requests of Congress by banning confederates from office and black suffrage
-social welfare programs, public schools, provisions for orphans and handicapped
-difficulty occurred in passing constitutions due to black influence
V)Black Reconstruction – myth and reality
-myth = governments were dominated by foolish blacks who were manipulated by evil whites
-reality = governments made up of “scalawags” (white southerners) and “carpetbaggers” (northerners who came south); blacks did not dominate any state government
-had to rebuild the South, therefore taxes rose due to the great expense
-corruption existed but it was no different than any where else
-radical reconstruction only did not last that long for most states
-1870 TN, VI, NC
-1877 FL, SC, LA
VI)South Fights Back
-radicals could only stay in power w/ help from blacks
-Southerners intent on stopping blacks from voting
-Developed Ku Klux Klan and other secret societies to continue Civil War
-harassed, tortured, and struck fear into blacks
-eventually Radical governments replaced by traditional southern governments
-oppression of blacks was now done legally
-Ku Klux Klan laws and amendments had little affect
-after 1868 the radical spirit began to die off with regards to the Southern situation
Section 4 = The North withdraws
-1872 = Grant wins reelection over Horace Greeley
-Grant’ s troubles began after reelection
-gullible in the world of politics
I)Grant Administration Scandals
-Credit Mobilier scandal
-dealt w/ building of transcontinental railroad
-Union Pacific created Credit Mobilier and paid C.M. for work being -done w/ federal funds
-Officers were basically paying themselves
-bribe paid to VP Colfax, Rep. James Garfield, and others to avoid investigation
-“salary grab” = congress voted for 50% pay raise for themselves, Supreme Court, and President
-pay increase eventually repealed for Congressmen
-Whiskey Fraud = distillers joined w/ Treasury officers to get around whiskey tax
-Scandals were also very prevalent in Grant’s cabinet
-Cabinet members took bribes for different reasons
II)The panic of 1873
-nation falls into severe financial panic
-growth of railroads and factories
-fires destroy Chicago (1871) and Boston (1872); $273 million in insurance
-collapse of Jay Cooke’s investment firm began panic
-lasted five years
III)Election of 1876 and the aftermath
-depression and scandal opened door for the Democrats in Congress (1874); “bloody shirt” tactic was over
-Republicans nominate Rutherford B. Hayes (Ohio), over James G. Blaine, for president in 1876
-reform governor, moderate views on the south
-Democrats nominate Gov. Samuel J. Tilden of NY
-reform governor as well, exposed corruption in NY politics
-bitter campaign
-electoral votes very close; after all returned there were 20 disputed votes
-question arose about which of the disputed votes should be accepted
-Electoral Commission: fifteen member commission developed to determine which disputed returns to accept
-5 representatives, 5 senators, 5 Supreme Court justices
-7 Dem., 7 Rep., 1 Independent
-eventually republicans had 8 members
-split along party lines in favor of Hayes
-Compromise of 1877
-Democrats could block Hayes victory
-conservative (southern) Democrats make deal w/ Republicans to secure Hayes’s victory
-(1) last federal troops would leave south; (2) at least one Southern in cabinet; (3) conservative Southern Democrats control of part of local patronage; (4) support for generous spending on Southern improvements
-March 2, 1877 = Congress approves commission’s report
-April 1877 = Hayes withdrew final federal troops
-May 1877 = decorated Confederate graves at Chattanooga
-reconstruction only ended because the North no longer cared to protect the rights of black Southerners
-Tilden accepted results and retired
Section 5 = The Divided South
-slavery was abolished, but the roots still existed in every part of the South
-the nation remained divided due to the existence of racism
-after the withdrawal of troops from South, Reconstruction came to an end
-segregation did not automatically appear
-many former Confederates believed that they could find away to coexist w/ the former slaves
-majority of southern whites believed blacks were inferior
-blacks did hold positions in local, state, and national governments even after Reconstruction
I)“Jim Crow” laws
-prior to 1880, segregation mainly occurred in public schools
-during the 1880s informal segregation begins to appear throughout the South
-not all Southern whites were in favor of these “Jim Crow” laws
-Plessy v. Ferguson: supreme court approved segregation in facilities that were separate but equal
-Supreme Court more or less approved “Jim Crow” laws
-very few Northerners reacted to decision
-blacks were provided w/ very little opportunity to make a living
-sharecropping appeared in the South
-not very profitable for any involved
-kept southerners in bondage to land and crop
II)Scorecard
-radical reconstruction increased fears of blacks
-Reconstruction made South into “one-party” South
-Old Confederate Democrats v. Republican Yankees
-slavery’s roots ran a lot deeper than first thought
-provided public education for all
-introduced blacks into political realm
-introduced backbone of Civil Rights movement (14th & 15th Amendments)