Reconstruction
Three Phases
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Lincoln’s 10% Plan-Proposed toward the
end of the war (1864-1865)
Presidential Reconstruction under
President Andrew Johnson
Radical Reconstruction
Questions
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On what terms should the defeated Confederacy
be reunited with the Union?
Who should establish these terms? Congress or
the President?
What should be the place of former slaves in the
political, economic, and social life of the South?
Why did the country quickly forget why the Civil
War was fought for?
Why did the country quickly forget the
contribution of blacks and former slaves?
Myths/Stereotypes of Reconstruction
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Former slaves were not smart or educated
Former slaves could not be productive
members of society
“Lost Cause” generation
Slavery was not a “peculiar institution”
Civil War was a war of northern
aggression
Special Field Order No. 15
“Forty Acres and a Mule”
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South Carolina, Georgia, Sea Islands
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Issued by General William Sherman
40 acre plots of land to black families
Land confiscated by the Union army
Mules army could no longer use
10% Plan
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If 10% (based on 10% of the voters in the
1860 election) of white southerners took an
oath affirming loyalty to the Union and
supported emancipation then those states
could elect a new state government
Oath did not apply to Confederate
government officials and high ranking
military leaders
New government would have to abolish
slavery
Amnesty and full rights for white
southerners
Property rights for slaves
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Lincoln’s plan offered leniency to
southern whites. Why?
Lincoln’s idea is opposed by certain
members of Congress
Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
• Required a majority of southern whites to
pledge support to the Union before
Reconstruction could begin
• Blacks-equality before the law but not the
right to vote
• Lincoln refuses to sign it
Louisiana: A Test of President Lincoln’s Plan
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Union forces controlled two of the state’s
congressional districts since 1862
Many transplanted residents lived in New
Orleans before the war
They opposed secession
Many businessmen took the oath of
allegiance
Military generals willing to help Lincoln
with his reconstruction plan
The 13th Amendment Signed by James
Buchanan
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"ARTICLE THIRTEEN, No amendment shall
be made to the Constitution which will
authorize or give to Congress the power to
abolish or interfere, within any State, with
the domestic institutions thereof, including
that of persons held to labor or service by
the laws of said State."
Signed by President Buchanan on March 2, 1861
13th Amendment
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January 1865
13th Amendment abolished
slavery throughout the entire
Union
Introduced the word slavery in
the Constitution for the first time
The Freedman’s Bureau (1865-1870)
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Established by Congress in 1865
Purpose was to provide practical aid
and assistance to 4,000,000 freed
blacks
Examples-schools, aid, settle disputes
between white and blacks, equal
treatment before the court
Best accomplishments were the
formation of schools and medical aid
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Presidential Reconstruction (1865-1867)
Summer 1865-Gave all federally owned land
back to their white owners
Pardon all white southerners who took an
oath of allegiance
Provisional governors who would organize a
state convention (white only)
New governments-free hand in local affairs
Johnson declares Reconstruction done by
December 1865
Black Codes turn Republican North against
the President
Sharecropping and Tenant Farming
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After President Johnson’s decision, a large
number of former slaves return to white
owned plantations for work
Poor
Discrimination
“Crop Lien”
Poor White Yeomen Farmers
Making of Radical Reconstruction
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President Andrew Johnson
Former governor of Tennessee
Strong defender of the Union
As a senator, stayed in post when
Civil War began
Named military governor by Lincoln in
1864
**Racist**-no blacks had a role in
Reconstruction
Believed states never left Union
Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction
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Leaders are Charles Sumner and
Thaddeus Stevens
Free labor for all men
Advancement through economic
opportunity
New state governments without
former Confederate leaders
Right to vote for blacks
Civil Rights Bill of 1866
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First major piece of legislation during
Reconstruction
All persons born in US were citizens
Equality before the law
State could no longer enact Black
Codes
Johnson vetoed this bill
Congress overrides veto
14th Amendment
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June 1866
Due process
Equal protection under the law
Birthright citizenship to former slaves
or slaves born in this country
Reconstruction Act (1867)
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South divided in five military districts
New state governments
Blacks given right to vote
Leads to poll taxes and literacy tests
“The Tocsin of Freedom”
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Former slaves and blacks serving in public
office
By 1870, 2,000 blacks in elected office
New state constitutions
• State funded public education
• Institutions for the mentally ill
• Equality before the law
Impeachment
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March 1867-Congress passes Tenure of
Office Act
States that President couldn’t remove
certain office holders, including cabinet
members w/o Senate approval
Johnson removes Edward M. Stanton
(Secretary of War)
Johnson impeached/Trial in Senate
Falls one vote short of being removed from
office
1868-Republicans nominate Ulysses S.
Grant for President
15th Amendment
• Prohibited federal and/or state
governments from denying anyone
the right to vote based on race
• Amendment ratified in 1870
New Views on Reconstruction
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Stevens died in 1868
Presidential Election of 1872
Economic Panic of 1873
Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)
“The Redeemers”
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Democrats in Tennessee, South Carolina,
and Texas in the 1870
“Redeemed” South from northern and
black control of south
Public was “tired” of Reconstruction
End of Reconstruction
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Election of 1876
Rutherford B. Hayes (R-Ohio)
Samuel Tilden (D-NY)
Tilden-more popular votes
Electoral College-Hayes 184, Tilden 183
Both parties claim to have won S.C., Florida,
and Louisiana
Winner of these states would be next
President
Outcome
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15 Member Electoral Commission
decides election
Republicans hold an 8-7 majority
Behind the scenes, the following
compromise is reached
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Hayes becomes President
Troops pull out of South
Southerner becomes Post Master General
Hayes agrees to pay for Internal
Improvements in the South
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“Solid South”-South votes exclusively
Democratic until the election of
Ronald Reagan as President in 1980
“New South”-Southerners who did
well economically-railroads, industry,
business