Reconstruction
I. Background of Reconstruction
A. Reconstruction was the period in US history after the Civil War
B. Also refers to process that the Union restored relations with the Confederate states after their defeat
C. Lasted from 1865-1877
D. One of the most controversial periods in US history as many historians still debate successes and failures today
E. Problems facing South after Civil War
1. Cities like Atlanta and Richmond lay in ruins
2. Railroad system destroyed
3. North did not have nearly as much rebuilding to do
F. Questions during Reconstruction
1. How should the 11 states that seceded be readmitted?
2. How, if at all, should the leaders of the Confederacy be punished?
3. What rights should be granted to the 4 million slaves, and how should they be protected?
4. How should the war-ravaged South be rebuilt?
II. The Debate over Reconstruction
Some Northerners believed Confederate states should be treated as territories
Others thought the South still belonged to the Union
While others thought the Southern leaders but not the states should be punished
Lincoln’s Plan - December 1963 President Lincoln announced plan for Reconstruction
Offered pardon to any Southerner who took oath to the Union
A. 10% plan - If 10 percent of stateís voters took the oath the state could adopt new constitution and be readmitted to the Union
-10 % based on number of people who voted in the 1860 presidential election
-state’s new constitution had to prohibit slavery
-Early Congressional Reaction
-Many Northerners thought plan was too mild
-In 1864 Congress proposed that half the voters in the state had to take the oath of loyalty called the Wade-Davis bill
B. National debate over who controlled Reconstruction policy, President or Congress
-January 1865 Congress proposed the 13th Amendment
-Called for abolition of slavery throughout the nation
-In March 1865 Congress created the Freedme’ís Bureau to protect the interests of Southern blacks - Most black were homeless and/or poor
-Lacked education because Southern laws barred them from going to school
-Freedmen-‘ís Bureau worked to improved conditions for blacks Civil War ended on 4/9/1865
-Less that week after war ended Lincoln assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
Vice-President Andrew Johnson becomes President
III. The Start of Reconstruction
A. Johnson’s Plan - Offered pardons to Southerners except main Confederate leaders and wealthy Confederate supporters defeated Southern states to hold conventions to form new governments
had to abolish slavery and vow loyalty to Union in order to qualify for readmission did not offer blacks a role in Reconstruction
-13th Amendment ratified in 1865
B. The Black Codes - series of discriminatory laws passed by state governments that aimed to keep blacks at an inferior position in society
- laws included allowing employers to whip black workers and allow states to jail unemployed blacks and hire out their children
C. Violence against African-Americans
a. in 1865 and 1866 5,000 Southern blacks were murdered by whites
b. race riots in 1866 in Memphis and New Orleans
- in 1866 Ku Klux Klan was founded
IV. The Struggle over Reconstruction
A. Many new Southern congressman were former Confederate officials
B. Congress had a Republican majority and refused to seat any of the Southerners elected from Confederate states
C. The Radicals and the Moderates
1. Radicals wanted a new Reconstruction policy
a. led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens
b. felt federal government needed to take strong actions to protect rights of blacks and loyal whites in the South
c. wanted to give blacks the right to vote
2. Moderates were the larger of the two groups
a. States should decide if blacks can vote
- Supported Radicals that blacks need greater protection and that Congress should determine Reconstruction policy
D. The Civil Rights Act
1. passed in early 1866 along with Freedmenís Bureau Act
2. guaranteed many rights to former slaves but not the right to vote
3. Vetoed by Johnson; didnít think federal government should protect blacksí rights
- Congress repassed the law and overruled the veto, this was the first major law in US history to do so
E. The 14th Amendment
1. passed in June 1866 by Congress
2. gave citizenship to African-Americans
3. guaranteed all federal laws would apply equally to blacks and whites
4. barred former Confederate officials from holding high political office again
5. Congress declared states must ratify 14th Amendment to be readmitted into the Union
a. Johnson urged states to reject it which many did
b. Tennessee did not, and was the first Southern state allowed back in the Union
- In 1868 most states finally ratified the Amendment
1. series of laws passed in early 1867
a. abolished all Southern state governments formed under Johnsonís plan
b. divided seceded states, excluding Tenn., into 5 military districts
c. major general commanded each area with federal troops stationed to help enforce the acts
d. outlined process for 10 states not in Union to be able to rejoin
i. state election boards would register all adult black males and all qualified white males as voters
ii. voters would elect a convention to adopt new state constitution
iii. voters elect governor and state legislature
iv. state would have to ratify 14th Amendment
- Johnson vetoed the acts but Congress easily overruled his vetoes
0. The Impeachment of Johnson
a. Congress passed two more acts in 1867
b. The Tenure of Office Act
c. The Command of the Army Act
2. In February 1868 he violated the Tenure of Office Act when he dismissed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton
3. Radicals demanded Johnson be removed from office
4. on 2.24.1896 the House of Representatives voted 126 to 47 to impeach the President
5. On 5.16.1886 the Senate voted 35 to 19 to removed Johnson from office
a. One vote short of 2/3 majority that is required
b. Johnson remained President
6. In 1869 Congress proposed the 15th Amendment
a. Made it illegal to deny males the right to vote because of their race
- Ratified in 1870 by the states
H. The Reconstruction Governments
A. New state governments established under Reconstruction Acts
B. Many Southern whites protested by refusing to vote in the elections
C. Republicans won control of every new state government
D. By 1870 all former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union
E. The Republicans of the South
1. Consisted of three main groups
- blacks
-former Northerners who became known as carpetbaggers
- Southern white Republicans were called scalawags
2. Blacks formed the largest group
3. Only 17 blacks elected to Congress during Reconstruction
4. Many carpetbaggers were former Union soldiers
- moved to south for economic opportunities
- more than 60 carpetbaggers won election to Congress
5. Most scalawags were poor whites living in hilly areas in the South
- resented plantation owners
-looked to new governments for education and jobs
F. New State Programs and Policies
1. Established the first public, tax-supported school system in most states of the South
- considered by many historians to be most significant achievement of
new state governments
a. took over schools established by Freedmenís Bureau and built more
b. blacks flocked to these schools
c. many whites refused to attend so most Southern states segregated schools by race
2. Major economic problems in South
a. Agriculture recovered slowly
b. Few could afford to launch new industry
c. Southern governments offered to aid railroad and various industries
3. Opened political process to Southern blacks
a. Banned racial discrimination
- Guaranteed right to vote and hold political office for blacks
G. White Resistance
1. Many whites refused to support government
2. Some had land taken away from them because they were unable to pay taxes
3. Corruption angered many whites
4. Basic reason for white opposition was that most Southern whites could not accept the idea
of former slaves voting and holding office
VI. The End of Reconstruction
A. The Republicans Lose Power
1. Southern Democrats began to regain control of the South in 1869
2. use of violence to keep blacks from voting
a. President Ulysses S. Grant tired to stop it but could not
b. Played large part in Democratic victories
3. Many Northerners lost interest in Reconstruction in 1870s
- US troops aiding governments were gradually withdrawn
B. The 1876 Presidential Election
1. led to end of Reconstruction
2. Rep. Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Dem. Samuel J. Tilden
3. outcome depended on 3 Southern states disputed electoral votes that still had Reconstruction governments
- Hayes took office in a compromise which included an agreement to remove federal troops and officially ended Reconstruction
VII. Historiography of Reconstruction
A. Uniform and highly critical view of Reconstruction prevailed for years after
B. White Americans in both North and South had come to believe that few differences divided the sections
C. Most white Americans believed in the superiority of their race
D. The Dunning School
1. Reconstruction, Political and Economic (1907) by William A. Dunning
2. Portrayed Reconstruction as corrupt outrage perpetrated on the South by a vicious and vindictive group of Northern Republican Radicals
3. another motive was to protect Northern business interests
E. W. E. B. Du Bois
1. 1910 article and Black Reconstruction (1935)
2. Reconstruction had been an effort of the part of the masses to create a more democratic society
3. misdeeds of government greatly exaggerated
4. the governments had been expensive because they tried to provide education and services never attempted in the South before
5. due to his Marxist theory many historians dismissed his argument
F. Revisionist view
1. Vann Woodward, David Donald, Thomas B. Alexander
2. Reconstruction governments not as bad as previously assumed
3. This view had growing appeal during the "Second Reconstruction" during the civil rights movement
4. Republicans were in a genuine effort to solve the problem of race in the South
5. Corruption in South was no worse than it was in the North
6. By ending Reconstruction it consigned blacks to more than a century of injustice and discrimination
G. Recent view
1. Attempts to draw attention to what was achieved during Reconstruction
2. Former slaves used new relative freedom to build certain independence for themselves in Southern Society
3. Eric Foner compared aftermath of slavery in US to Caribbean; said it was striking how much US former slaves moved toward freedom in a short time
4. African-Americans won a measure of individual and community autonomy
VIII. Effects of Reconstruction
A. Union was restored and rebuilding of the South began
B. Public school systems established in South
C. Failed to solve economic problems of blacks or South as a whole
D. made Southern whites firm supporters of the Democratic party
E. failed to bring racial harmony to the South
F. whites refused to share political power so blacks set up own churches and other institutions rather than try
and join white society
G. blacks gradually lost the rights they had gained
H. By early 1900s Southern states had laws to prevent blacks from voting like literacy tests and poll Taxes
plus other violations of rights
Brief Reconstruction Timeline
- 1861-1865 American Civil War
- 1863 January 1st Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln frees all slaves in rebel-held areas
In December Lincoln announces his Ten Percent Plan for Reconstruction
- 1864 Congress proposes Wade-Davis Bill - Lincoln vetoes Wade-Davis Bill
- 1865 January Congress proposes 13th Amendment to US Constitution
-April 9th the Civil War ends
-April 15th President Lincoln is assassinated,
-Vice-President Andrew Johnson assumes Presidency
-In May Johnson announces his own Reconstruction plan
-During summer and fall new state governments were formed throughout the South under Johnsonís plan
-In December the 13th Amendment is ratified
-Congress returns from long recess, refuses to seat members from former Confederate states
- 1866 Race riots in Memphis and New Orleans, white mobs kill blacks
-Ku Klux Klan formed in Tennessee
-Congress passes Freedmenís Bureau Act and Civil Rights Act overriding Presidential Vetoes
-June Congress passes 14th Amendment
-Debate over who controlled Reconstruction policy Congress or President
- 1867 In March Reconstruction Act passed over Presidentís veto
-Congress passes Tenure of Office Act and the Command of the Army Act
- 1868 President Johnson dismisses Secretary of War Edwin Stanton
-House of Representatives impeach Johnson on 2/24
-May 16 he is spared conviction and removal from office by one vote in the Senate
-14th Amendment is ratified
-Ulysses S. Grant elected President
- 1869 Congress passes 15th Amendment
-Democrats regain control of Tennessee and Virginia
- 1870 15th Amendment is ratified
-Republican control ends in North Carolina
- 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act passed
-Georgia goes under Democratic rule
- 1872 Grant re-elected as President
- 1874 Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas come under Democratic control
- 1876 Mississippi comes under control of Democrats
-Rutherford B. Hayes wins disputed election over Samuel J. Tilden
- 1877 Hayes becomes President and withdraws federal troops from Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana
Reconstruction of the South ends
The Successes and Failures of Reconstruction for the Equality of Slaves
-Failures
· Freedmen's Bureau
· required former slaves and their owners to sign contracts
· Issued food and supplies to blacks
· Created more than 100 hospitals
· Resettled more than 30,000 people
· Created more than 4300 schools
· Didnít solve the serious economic problems for African Americans
· - still lived in poverty
· suffered from racist threats and violence and from laws restricting their civil rights
· Required slaves to plant and harvest crops
o Resembled the same old treatment of slaves
· Bureau Contracts
· Gave workers a lien on crops they raised to protect their due wages
· Courts, however took the side of the whites usually