Reconstruction
A Second Civil War?
Ms. Gewecke
Unit 3
Reconstruction
What is Reconstruction?

This was a period of time after the Civil
War (1865-1877)

Attempts were made to readmit the South
to the Union

This is a period of rebuilding physically,
politically, and socially
Political Reconstruction:
Lincoln’s Plan

A moderate Reconstruction Policy

Issued in December 1863
◦ Proclamation of Amnesty or the Ten-Percent
Plan

Under this plan:

All Confederates who swore allegiance to the
Union would be Pardoned (except high-ranking
officials and those who committed crimes against
POWs)

Once 10% of those who had voted in 1860
took the oath, the state would be readmitted
Political Reconstruction:
Lincoln’s Plan

This plan angered a minority of
Republicans in Congress
 Known as Radical Republicans
What did Radical Republicans want?
◦ To destroy the political power of the South
◦ To give African-Americans full citizenship and
the right to vote
Political Reconstruction:
Johnson’s Plan

Lincoln was assassinated before his plan
could go into full effect
• New President Andrew Johnson had a
different idea for Reconstruction

May 1865 Johnson announced
his plan for Reconstruction
 It was similar to Lincoln’s but
excluded more Confederates
from being pardoned
Political Reconstruction:
Johnson’s Plan
• Pardons would be granted to those taking a
loyalty oath
• No pardons would be available to high
Confederate officials and persons owning
property valued in excess of $20,000
• A state needed to abolish slavery before being
readmitted (Ratify the Thirteenth Amendment)
• A state was required to repeal its secession
ordinance before being readmitted
Political Reconstruction:
Congress

Congress was upset that Reconstruction was
under the control of the Executive Branch
• Radical and Moderate Republicans joined
together to move the process of
Reconstruction to the Legislative Branch.
They gained control in 1866

They overruled Johnson’s Civil Rights Act and
Freedman’s Bureau Act
Political Reconstruction:
Congress

They drafted the Fourteenth Amendment
• What is the significance of the Fourteenth
Amendment?
Political Reconstruction:
Johnson Impeached!


Radicals in Congress believed Johnson
was blocking Reconstruction
They set him up by saying he violated the Tenure
of Office Act
 House Impeached Johnson
 Senate voted not to convict him
 Johnson stayed in office
Political Reconstruction:
Grant Elected

In 1868 Ulysses S. Grant was elected
president (by a small margin)
• The importance of the Grant election was
the support of the African-American vote

9 out of 10 African-Americans voted for
Grant and the Republican Party
Social Reconstruction:
Postwar South

The South was in complete disarray
physically and economically
• The war had destroyed a lot of property
and thousands of people had died (low
population)

The new Republican governments did try
to help through public works programs
and social services
The Collapse of Reconstruction:
Opposition

Three major groups made up the
Republican Party in the South and had
different goals:
 Scalawags
 Carpetbaggers
 African-Americans

There was also conflict between white
Southerners (who did not like blacks’
being free) and African-Americans (who
were now trying to live as U.S. citizens)
The Collapse of Reconstruction:
Opposition

Many white Southerners agreed to follow
what the North said but some white
Southerners did not agree
 These people often formed their own
groups (like the KKK)
 They resorted to violence and
intimidation to achieve their goals
What was the KKK and what were the goals of
the group?
The Collapse of Reconstruction:
Opposition

The violence and intimidation was so bad
that Congress had to pass several laws:



Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871
The president could use federal troop in areas
where the KKK was highly active
These acts limited Southern Democrat’s
political power


However, the Freeman’s Bureau came to an
end in 1872
And the Amnesty Act (1872) restored the vote
to many former Confederates, restoring
Democratic political power
The End of Reconstruction

The Republican Party began to break
apart and Radical Republicans could no
longer carry out their plans

The Supreme Court began to reverse
social and political changes that had
fueled Reconstruction

Southern Democrats achieved
“redemption” and made a deal with the
Republicans during the 1876 election
The End of Reconstruction

This deal entailed:
 The Southern Democrats would agree to
elect Hayes
 In exchange federal troops would be
withdrawn from the South

The Republicans agreed and
Reconstruction in the South came to an end

What remained was the 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments
The Thirteenth Amendment

It was ratified at the end of 1865

It stated:
◦ “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,
except as a punishment for crime whereof the
party shall have been duly convicted, shall
exist within the United States”
What was the significance of the Amendment?
The Fourteenth Amendment

It was drafted in 1866 and ratified in 1868

The amendment grants citizenship to "all persons
born or naturalized in the United States“

It forbids any state to deny any person "life,
liberty or property, without due process of law"
or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction
the equal protection of the laws.“

This is known as the “Reconstruction
Amendment”
Who drafted the Fourteenth Amendment and why?
The Fifteenth Amendment
 This
was a reaction to the 1868
election
 It
stated that no one could be kept
from voting because of “race, color, or
previous servitude”
 This
was ratified by the states in 1870
Why was there a need for the Fifteenth Amendment?
The Amendments: Review

The Thirteenth Amendment
◦ Officially abolished slavery

The Fourteenth Amendment
◦ Prevented states from denying rights to U.S.
citizens

The Fifteenth Amendment
◦ No one can be restricted from voting because
of race, color or previous condition of servitude