RECONSTRUCTION: THE FAILED PROMISE
1865: Johnson’s Reconstruction
- Andrew Johnson (Southern Democrat) became president following the assassination of Lincoln
- Plans to continue Lincoln’s policy of “___________________________________________”
- Respected ______________________ and _________________________
- _____________________________ required for high ranking Confederate officials and
wealthy southerners
- Former Confederates could ________________________________________________
- Executive (Johnson) would appoint _________________________ after goals were met
- 10% Plan met
- Establish State Constitution respecting 13th Amendment
- Union ________________________________________ to guarantee smooth transition
- ___________________ established in Southern state constitutions
- Severely restricted rights of blacks
- Known as “Jim Crow Laws” after 1876
- ___________________________________________________________________________
- _______________________________
- Distributed land and supplied food, teachers, legal aid, and horses to freed slaves
- Congress passes legislation to extend the organization’s existence indefinitely
- Johnson vetoes
- Congress overrides veto
1866: Radical (Congressional) Reconstruction and Southern Resistance
- Congressional Joint Committee established to take over Reconstruction from the executive
- Civil Rights Act passed over presidential veto
- Full citizenship to all persons born in the U.S. except Native Americans
- Supposed to guarantee blacks the same rights as whites
- __________________________________________________ ratified
- ____________________________________________; overturned Dred Scott decision
- Permanent constitutional ______________________________________ for all citizens
- _____________________________ to former slave holders for loss of property (slaves)
- Southern resistance to Reconstruction increased
- _________________________________
- Established by former Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forest
- Joined by many southerners, especially former Confederates
- Goal was to terrorize blacks and ensure white supremacy
- _________________________________
- Kept free blacks and poor farmers from voting
- Voting became a privilege for the wealthy
- _________________________________
- Organizing voting districts to limit representation of blacks and Republicans
- _________________________________
- Wealthy landowners gave supplies to Freedmen in exchange for a percentage of crop
- Freedmen indebted to landowner
- Impossible to break out of the cycle: defacto slavery
1867: The Radical Republicans Formalize Control
- ____________________________________
- ________________________ held advantage in Congress
- Senate: 42 Republicans, 11 Democrats
- House: 143 Republicans, 49 Democrats
- Could ___________________________________ (requires a 2/3 majority of Congress)
- _________________________________________________
- South divided into ___________________________ (except TN which had ratified the
14th and was readmitted)
- New qualifications for reentry of states established
- New Constitutional Convention had to be called; no ex-Confederates allowed
- Had to approve the 14th Amendment
- No ex-Confederates could vote without a Congressional pardon
- Johnson Impeachment (1st Attempt)
- Fall 1867 - House Judiciary Committee brought a bill of impeachment against Johnson
- Charges were not legal arguments so much as they were a list of complaints
- Vote for trial failed: 108-57
- _____________________________________________
- ______________________________________________________________________
- Johnson decided to test the act by firing ______________________________________
1868: Congress v. Andrew Johnson - Can’t we all just get along?
- Stanton refused to leave after being dismissed by Johnson
- Congress claimed Johnson violated the Tenure of Office Act
- Johnson Impeachment (2nd Attempt)
- House brought charges of impeachment for ___________________________________
- ____________ whether it was an impeachable offence and if the law was Constitutional
- Johnson may not have technically violated the act as Stanton was a Lincoln appointment
- Wording of the _________________________________________ on that point
- 1926 the Supreme Court ruled the Tenure of Office Act was not Constitutional
- ________________________________________ held in Senate
- Each time, vote was the same
- 35 voted Guilty
- 19 voted Not Guilty
- ________________________________________________________________
- Guilty verdict would have set a ______________________________: removal of
president for political differences not “high crimes or misdemeanors”
1869: From Johnson to Grant
- General Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) elected president (1869-1877)
- Administration filled with ______________________, especially among his appointees
- Grant ___________________________________ against the corrupt official, even after
their guilt was firmly established
- Grant apparently _______________________________ from the corruption
1870: Protecting New Citizens
- ________________________________________ ratified
- Right to vote guaranteed to all citizens
- ________________________________________
- Violators of 14th and 15th Amendments could be prosecuted
- ________________________________________
- Federal government could use troops to protect citizens from terror
- Began the downfall of the KKK
1871: The End Of The KKK (for now)
- _________________________________________________________
- Lynchers were rarely prosecuted
- Prosecutions often failed: ______________________________
- Made it ____________________________________________
- Gave control of lynching trials to the federal government
- ________________________________________________________
- Allowed for _____________________________ within federal courts
- KKK disappeared until around 1915
1875: Violent Reactions
- ____________________________________________
- Widespread terror against
- ____________________
- ____________________ (Northern Republicans who went South to work)
- ____________________ (Southern Republicans who supported Reconstruction)
- Democrats visited Republican political rallies and __________________________
- During riots, “________________” gunned down innocents and political leaders
- Turned an 1874 election Republican majority of 30,000 to a Democratic majority of
about the same number in 1875
- President ____________________________________; feared being accused of “bayonet rule”
- ____________________________________________________________________________
1876: An Election Ends Reconstruction
- Election of 1876 - _____________________________________________________________
- Conflict:
- Hayes (Northerner) lost the popular election to Tilden (Southerner)
- With 20 electoral votes still to count, __________________________________
- _________________________________________________ (Mississippi Plan)
- All votes given to Hayes
- Later, votes were tossed out
- _________________ was formed to decide: 8 Republicans, 7 Democrats
- Compromise of 1876:
- ______________________________________ but would not run for reelection
- ________________________________________________________________
- Lack of troops meant little protection for African-Americans in South
- ________________________________________________________________
- ___________________ - North was tired of Reconstruction anyway; not working out very well