this Powerpoint - Fifth Grade News
Reconstruction of the South
The Civil War 1861-1865
War between the North (Union) and South
(Confederacy)
The South wanted:
To preserve their way of life including slavery
Leave the Union (United States) and form their own country
The North wanted:
Higher tariffs or taxes
To end slavery
To preserve the Union (keep the country whole)
The Civil War 1861-1865
The Southern states won early battles
Later the tide of the war turned to favor the North:
The Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)
The Union stopped General Lee’s advancement to the North
He and his troops went back to Virginia
The Battle of Vicksburg (Virginia)
General Grant won the Battle of Vicksburg, cutting the
South in two.
General Lee surrendered to General Grant at
Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April9, 1865.
Reconstruction
Reconstruction means to build something again.
After the war, the South needed to be rebuilt.
There were two plans for Reconstruction:
President Lincoln’s plan
Congress’ plan
Lincoln’s Plan
President Lincoln’s plan:
Ended slavery throughout the country by passing the 13 th amendment to the Constitution
Allowed Southern states to reenter the Union if
They formed new state governments
They promised to treat former slaves fairly
President Lincoln was assassinated before
Reconstruction began so President Johnson had to enact his plan.
Reconstruction under
Congress
Congress passed the first Reconstruction Acts in 1867.
They divided the South into military zones.
They required that Southern states rewrite their state constitutions to allow African American men the right to vote.
They prevented former
Confederate leaders and military officers from holding public office.
Problems with Johnson’s plan
Under this plan, Southern states were free to pass laws called Black Codes .
Black codes
Denied African American men the right to vote
Limited jobs
Denied the right to own land or guns
The result was that life for African Americans was much the same as it was under slavery.
Black codes angered Congress and they came up with their own plan for Reconstruction.
Reconstruction Under
Congress
The Freedmen’s Bureau was formed
Helped the 4 million slaves freed by the war
Built hospitals and schools for blacks
Resistance to Reconstruction
Southern whites resented the new state governments
They had a hard time paying new taxes as they tried to rebuild their businesses and farms
They resented new rights given to African
Americans
Some formed the Ku Klux Klan that burned African
American schools and homes and attacked blacks for trying to vote.
Freedmen’s Bureau
Reconstruction Under
Congress
Carpetbaggers:
Northerners who went down South to start businesses
Scalawags:
Southerners who supported Reconstruction
Reconstruction Under
Congress
In order to be readmitted to the Union, Southern states had to accept two new amendments.
The 14 th Amendment:
Gave citizenship to African Americans
Stated that they could not be denied equal rights under the law.
The 15 th Amendment:
Granted the right to vote to all male citizens
Reconstruction Ends
By 1870, all former Confederate states met the requirements of Reconstruction.
After Reconstruction, white Southern Democrats quickly regained power in state governments.
New laws were passed that again restricted the rights of former slaves.
Tried to prevent African Americans from voting
Moved voting booths without notice
Imposed poll taxes many blacks could not pay
Grandfather clause that said they could only vote if their father or grandfather had voted before 1867.
Reconstruction Ends
Jim Crow Laws were also passed.
Enforces segregation or separation of blacks and whites
Blacks could not sit with whites on trains or stay in certain hotels.
They could not eat in certain restaurants or attend certain theaters, schools or parks.
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws, cont.
Reconstruction Ends
Many former slaves were forced to return to plantations because they could not find jobs.
Sharecropping became a way of life for blacks and poor whites.
They rented land from landowners
Paid their rent with crops
Used the money from the rest of their crops to pay for clothes and food
Usually didn’t make enough money
After War and
Reconstruction
Slavery was over.
The federal government had established its power over the states.
The 14 th and 15 th amendments provided for equal rights although it would be a very long time before these rights were recognized.
