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I. Chapter 26: The Problems of Peace
a. The Aftermath of the WarPlantations, fields and railroads were mangled from the battles. The Confederate
army collapsed, leaving areas to groups such as the guerillas or deserters.
Starvation threatened the South. Reconstruction promised a new land of freedom in
the likeness of the free-labor North, overseen by a strong national government.
Occupation forces, the Freedmen's Bureau and Northern relief agencies stayed
south to clean up the mess they helped make and served as the main source of law
and order.
i. The Attitude of the Southern Whites
Many southerners had contempt towards the Northerners for destroying their
land and people. These attitudes were less prevalent among confederate
soldiers, however, than the noncombatants. They felt as if the Southern
surrender meant their fighting was all for nothing.
ii. The Attitudes of Northern Whites
Northerners celebrated their victory over the south as southern destitution
poured vengeance from their hearts. They wanted to help the south rebuild so
they could become a union as quickly as possible. A wide spectrum of
northern ideals for reconstruction arose. Self-reconstruction was on one side
of the spectrum, which allowed southern governments to proclaim loyalty to
the union, who would oversee their actions. The other end of the spectrum
included radicals overthrowing the southern government.
b. Presidential Reconstruction, 1865- Johnson opposed the Whig/Republican policy of
using the government to promote economic development. He was also committed to white
supremacy, so he did not agree with the northern idea of the freedmen's roles in society. He
thought of reconstruction of more of an executive function.
i.
ii.
Republican Response to Presidential Reconstruction
At first the republicans, except abolitionists and radicals, supported
Johnson’s actions. Most republicans believed blacks should take part
in reconstruction.
The Black Suffrage Issue in the North
Blacks were discouraged when the outcome of the CT, WI and MN
referendums in 1865 to enfranchise the few black men in those
states. Republican leaders worked to pass amendments that would
sway the northern opinion of black suffrage.
iii. The Revival of Southern Defiance
Assaults on freedmen and unionist alarmed even moderate republicans, convincing
them that Johnson’s program was not very successful. Ex-Confederates began to go
back to their old ideals and replacing unionists in office with confederates in union
resistance.
iv.
Johnson and the South
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Johnson bore the responsibility for southern defiance. He believed that they needed
to place a little more trust in the southern government so they will be more likely to
“act in good faith and restore the former constitutional relationship with the union.”
(544)
c. Land and Labor in the Postwar South
The abolition of slavery was officially announced in the spring of 1865. Many freedmen
remained on the plantations at which they were slaves to work for wages, but for others,
leaving their slave owners was the most essential part of freedom. They also searched for
their relatives, jobs with higher wages, and protection and rations from the Freedmen's
Bureau. This created labor shortages in plantations
i. The Issue of Land for the Landless
Many freedmen felt that ownership of land would make their freedom truly concrete.
If they couldn’t afford to buy land, they expected the government to grant or lease it
to them, and the Freedmen's Bureau provided land for nearly 10,000 families by
1865. Later on, the fight for land was determined by the Homestead Act of June
21, 1866. Most freedmen did not end up getting all the economic independence
they hoped for.
ii. The “Labor Question” and the Freedmen’s Bureau
Many southern whites had difficulty gathering that freedom for the blacks meant
the same thing as freedom for them. They treated blacks as closely to slaves as
they possibly could, but when freedmen began to leave their plantations for poor
treatment, the white men began complaining about labor shortage. The Bureau
decided to develop a required sort of contract for each plantation between the
workers and the owners specifying wages, hours, type of work and various
conditions.
iii. The Black Codes
These laws included: authorization of freedmen to own property, make contracts,
sue and plead in court, and contract legal marriages with stipulations. There was
some requirement of public segregation, exclusion from juries and did not allow
interracial marriage. The most important impact of the codes was not the the
operation itself but the impact on the north. The codes strengthened the resolve of
republican congressmen to keep the south on probation until they could work out
mean to protect the freedmen on their own.
II. Chapter 27: The Origins of “Radical” Reconstruction
a. The Making of Another Constructional Crisis
Republicans remained divided among themselves over how to reunite the
confederates to the union, as well as guaranteeing the former slaves freedom. They
did all agree, however, not to let any southern representatives into congress. THis
was meant to provoke a basis for accommodation between the president and the
moderate majority of republicans.
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b. The Fourteenth Amendment
The 14th amendment was to be the basis for readmission of the southern senators
and representatives to congress. It would have to provide a constitutional guarantee
of the of the rights and security of the freedman, insure against a revival of the
neo-confederate political power and enshrine in the constitutions the sanctity of the
national debt and the repudiation of the confederate debt. The 14th amendment
overall provides that all states will provide equal protection to everyone within their
jurisdiction. It provides due process under the law and equally provides all
constitutional rights to all citizens of this country, regardless of race, sex, religious
beliefs and creed.
c. The Military Reconstruction Act
The Military Reconstruction Act of 1867 was meant to rebuild the governments of
southern states by using those of the north as an example. It was also to ensure
civil rights to freedmen in the south by requiring the southern states to include the
rights of freedmen in their constitutions. It also required the new southern
governments to accept the Fourteenth Amendment.
III.
Chapter 28: Reconstruction and the Crisis of Impeachment
a.
Johnson’ s Continued Defiance of Congress
i. The Southern Response of the Reconstruction Acts
Ex-Confederates advised southerners to accept the inevitable and comply
with the laws. some white southerners hoped to influence the reconstruction
process in a moderate direction. They hoped to create a third party
independent of the democrats and the republicans, in which they were
unsuccessful. However, with the passage of the Military Reconstruction
Acts, the Southern Republicans became a prominent party in in nearly half
of the southern states by winning the allegiance of the freemen. They
recruited blacks into the republican party with the Union League, created in
the north during the war.
b. The Impeachment and Acquittal of Johnson
The replacement of Sheridan by Hancock reversed many of Sheridan’s
policies and set back Republican efforts for improvement. Johnson also
replaced two republican generals in the GA-AL-FL district with
conservatives expected to follow Hancock’s examples. These steps only
encouraged southern resistance. Southern Republicans expressed dismay
toward this negative power of the president.
i. The House Votes Impeachment
After Johnson violation of the Tenure of Office Act by removing Stanton from
his position and replacing him with Thomas without the Senate’s consent,
moderates who opposed impeachment were swayed toward it. They
believed he truly overstepped his boundaries.
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d. Readmission of Southern States
After the 1867 voter’s registration ended, approx. 735,000 blacks and 635,000
whites had enrolled in the ten underconstructed states. Democrats searched for
ways to either control or defeat reconstruction. They encouraged followers to
abstain from voting in hopes of a constitutional convention.
i. The Constitutional Conventions
These constitutional convention of 1867-1868 were of the most
progressive in the nation. Modeling the most advanced features of the
northern state constitutions, they determined factors such as public
education, social welfare responsibility, boards for public charities, prison
reforms, and public services. They also discussed property issues such as
taxes and ownership. They also dealt with the issue of the disfranchisement
of the ex-Confederates, which took place slowly throughout the states until
the last one, Arkansas, removed its disabilities in 1872.
IV.
Chapter 29: The First Grant Administration
a. The Election of 1868
The struggles between Johnson and Congress taught Republicans that the program
of reconstruction demanded not just executive action but legislation as well.
i.
The Republican Convention
Grant became a major republican candidate after turning against Johnson's
restoration program. Chase was his only real threat, who had ambitions not
satisfied by his chief justiceship of the Supreme Court. The radicals favored
Chase until there were reservations made about Grant, like his endorsements
of the congressional program in 1867 by his actions as commanding general
of the army, the democratic gains in the the 1867 elections, and his bitter
break with Johnson in 1868 when siding with congress and allowing Stanton
to keep his position in office. The Republican party made a unanimous
decision to nominate Grant.
ii. The Democratic Convention
The Democrats favored Seymour as their candidate. They stood for the
abolition of the Freedmen’s Bureau and all other political instrumentalities
designed to “secure negro supremacy”.
b.
The Fifteenth Amendment
The 15th amendment states that voting rights in states cannot be withheld on the
basis of race, color, or previous position of servitude.
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I.
Chapter 30- The making of the new regime in the South
a. Southern Republicans: Blacks, Carpet Baggers, and Scalawags
i. Controlled almost all Southern States
ii. Southern Republicans
1. Saw as incredibly uneducated and very lower class of society
2. Voting
a. 80% of voters were black
b. 20% of voters were white- Party leadership
c. Whites were intimidated by blacks in office
3. Scalawags and Carpetbaggers
a. Fought
b. Scalawag- Southern White that joined Republicans
i. Racially tolerant
c. Carpetbaggers- Union members that moved South
i. Usually educated
ii. Help economy and rebuild South
d. Wanted to industrialize the South
b. Southern Republicans in power
i. The Amnesty Question
1. Total Forgiveness of Rebellion
a. Carl Schurz
b. Horace Greeley
2. Wanted a moderate Southern Republicans Party
ii. Klu Klux Klan (KKK)
1. Used to intimidate blacks
2. Regain social and economic control of the black population
a. Keep Blacks out of office
b. Violent to intimidate before elections
i. Lost Republican control- 1869
3. Laws to protect blacks
a. 14th and 15th Amendments
b. Act- Federal Offence to interfere with voting
c. Klu Klux Act- Authorized President to use the Army while
empowering the President to suspend the writ of habeas
corpus against Klansmen in areas declared to be a state of
insurrection
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d. Most Klansmen were not convicted or granted pardons by
President Grant
II.
c. Election of 1872
1. Liberal Republican Convention- Cincinnati 1872
a. Republicans attempt to find new candidate
b. Split from Republican party and formed Liberal Republican
Party
c. Agreements on Reconstruction
2. Campaign
a. http://presidentialcampaignselectionsreference.wordpres
s.com/overviews/19th-century/1872-overview/
b. Grant won
Social and Economic Reconstruction
a. Education in the South
i. Blacks were eager to learn
ii. Whites felt white supremacy was threatened
iii. 1866- Freedmen’s bureau started public schools in south for Blacks
iv. W.E.B. Du Bois
v. Segregation in Schools
1. It was allowed for schools to be desegregated, but white children
rarely went to school with black children
2. Some states forced schools to desegregate causing whites to drop
out of the school
b. Civil Rights Act of 1875-Desegregation Act
i. Charles Sumner introduced a bill prohibiting racial discrimination
ii. Law was weakly enforced
iii. Found Unconstitutional because under the 14th Amendment Congress
had no right to legislate against discrimination against an individual, only
a state.
c. The New Order in Southern Agriculture
i. Lien Laws to protect worker’s wages
ii. Black per capita agricultural income in the cotton states increased 46%
from 1857-1879
d. Land
i. The Evolution of Tenantry- The owner of a plantation would be offering
share of the crop. Also the freedmen got their own plot of land that made
them feel pride.
ii. Land and crop began to work more on a credit system
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III.
IV.
iii. Poverty in the south was caused by dropping prices of cotton,
emancipation, and post-war debt.
e. Postwar Commercial and Industrial Developments
i. Railroad
1. Crucial in benefit of a country and trading
2. 1866-1873 35 thousand miles were laid
3. There were many skeptics because the railroad put small farmers
out of business
4. Violent strikes caused 4 years of depression starting in 1877
5. 1866- National Labor Union
The Destruction of Reconstruction
a. The Overthrow of the Regimes
i. The Wheeler Compromise and wavering commitment of Northern
Republicans
ii. The Supreme Court and Reconstruction
1. The Democrats had control over the Supreme Court and had over
ruled the radical reconstruction policies.
b. The Election of 1876i. Republican Hayes and Democrat Tilden tied in electoral votes
c. The Compromise of 1877
i. House controlled by Democrats had decided Hayes could win if the North
would take troops out of the South, ultimately taking away the protection
from the freemen.
The Making of the Solid South
a. Persistence of the Southern Question
i. United in their opposed to Reconstruction
b. Ideology and Reality in the New South
i. Economy boomed after 1878 Depression with steel production
ii. The Ideology of the New South
1. Democratic former Confederates who were granted amnesty had
continued to rule the South after the Compromise of 1877 when
the troops had withdrawn from the South.
2. They ruled through Jim Crow Laws and continued prejudices
against black 1960s.
c. Farewell to the Bloody Shirt
i. Bloody Shirt- During elections Republicans would automatically gain the
black vote due to them being against slavery and a part of the Union. The
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election of 1888 was the first time since the Civil War that a democrat
was elected.