"You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it; and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace."

PUTTING THE SOUTH
BACK TOGETHER after the
CIVIL WAR

• Most Former Slaves were quick and diligent in throwing off the “ Shackles of slavery ”
• Many were freed as the Union Army advanced nearer to their town / community.
• Most Refused to listen to their Master once
Union Army was near.
• Most White former slave holders were surprised by the exuberance shown by former slaves to rid themselves of remnants of their old life!
• 13 th Amendment = Outlawed slavery in the USA.
(1865)

• FreedomTo move wherever you wanted!
– To reunite families separated by slavery for years.
– To form new groups aimed at promoting their interests .
• Education90% of adult freed people were illiterate
– Slave codes prohibited education of black children
– Most Black children were taught by white teachers
– 1865-1870-Over 30 colleges established for African
Americans.
• Many wanted to participate in all that they had previously been denied.

• They needed to figure out how to protect
African Americans in the
South.
• At the same time, many wanted to punish former
Confederates loyal to the
South during the Civil
War.
• Two Plans for
Reconstruction would develop.

1.) Pardons -Let former Confederates swear allegiance to the Union and accept the end of slavery-not punished!
ExclusionsConfederate Officers and Government Officials.
2.) 10% ruleOnce 10% of people who had voted in 1860 took oath, state could select reps for Const.
Convention .
3.) 13th AmendmentOnce delegates formally endorsed the end of slavery, they are readmitted to the Union.
Freedmen’s BureauCreated by Congress in March of 1865 to provide aid (Money) to freed people and help them make the adjustment from slavery to freedom. 250,000 former slaves went to school!
Many politicians opposed Lincoln’s planNot Restrictive
Enough !

• Made it almost impossible for
Southern states to rejoin the
Union.
• Military Governors in southern states.
• Majority of whites swear allegiance, a constitutional convention could be called.
• Each state's constitution was officials from voting or holding office .

Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth

• 17th President of the
USA.
• Had been a Southerner.
• Raised in North
Carolina.
• Former Democrat!
• Senator from TN.
• Had been a tailor, and at one time was illiterate.
• With help from his wife he became a politician.

1.) Delegates to each state Convention were expected to write a Constitution that voided secession , eliminated slavery and ratified the 13th Amendment.
2.) Stop payment of all State’s War debts !
3.) They could elect new state office holders and members of Congress once they had accomplished that!
MOST SOUTHERN STATES TRIED TO FIND
WAYS AROUND JOHNSON’S PLAN!

• They were laws in the South created to restrict the liberties of African Americans .
• Many towns imposed curfews, enacted labor restrictions , and passed Vagrancy Laws .
• Example: Any black not gainfully employed would be arrested and sent to labor gang to pay off debt!
• Many Whites used Black Codes as a way to “keep blacks in their place.”
• Almost another form of slavery!

• Neither could agree on best way to move forward and protect
Blacks in South.
March 1866-Civil Rights Act
– Proposed Equal Rights under the law for all
Blacks .
– President Johnson vetoed it !
– Congress over rode his veto and passed the law.
– It was fairly meaningless because there was no guideline for enforcement .

• Everyone who was born or naturalized here was a citizen of the United States.
• No state could restrict the right to life , liberty and property without due process of the law.
• Also gives Congress sole power to pardon
Confederate soldiers, not President!

• South is divided into 5 Military
Districts.
• States in these districts would be ruled by former Northern
Generals .
• Each state must guarantee
Equal Rights for all citizens and permit African Americans to vote.
• Also must ratify the 14th
Amendment.

• If the President wanted to dismiss or fire a cabinet member previously confirmed by the Senate, the Senate also had to approve of the firing !
• Johnson tried to fire
Secretary of War &
Congress said it was
Unconstitutional.
• They voted to impeach him and hold a formal trial in the Senate!
• Spring 1868-Johnson is formally charged with crimes.
• Trial took place on the floor of the Senate.
• The Attorney General was
Johnson’s lead attorney.
•
Requires 2/3 majority for conviction.
•
Final tally fell one vote short of conviction.

• March 1870-Ratified
– No State could restrict the right to vote because of race , color or previous condition of servitude.
• It was partly inspired by election of 1868 .
• No restrictions on voting rights other than citizenship and registration procedures!

• In order to push
Reconstruction forward in the South, Republicans needed to be in office there!
• Carpetbaggers were
Northern Republicans who moved to the South after the Civil War .
• Term refers to the type of suitcase many of them carried.
Most Southerners thought they were there to take advantage of the situation!

• These were Southern people who had switched their loyalty to the North!
• Term actually means rascal .
• They were interested in the economic benefits that Reconstruction could provide for them!
There were some scalawags who had served Confederacy but most did not!

• Over 1,000 African Americans attended State constitutional Conventions between 1867 and 1869.
• 16 African Americans went to Congress in the years after the Civil War.
• Republicans focused their attention on improving education for former slaves…that was the key to success!
United States Senator from
MS in 1870
Blanche K. Bruce
United States Senator from
MS in 1874
Hiram K. Revels

Many people tried to recreate the lifestyle that slavery had made possible for them before the Civil War.

• Debt Peonage:
– Planters signed former slaves to labor contracts
– Money was advanced for supplies and tools and listed as debt owed!
– Once crop was harvested, a % of crop had to go to pay for debt first!
– Debt always increased, while wages did not!
• Sharecropping
– White landowners rent land to former slaves for planting .
– 1/3 of all harvested crops go to the landlord.
– Low prices in the marketplace made it hard for many to survive.
– Those who did were dirt poor!

• Eventually the South turns to violence as a way to keep the black man in line!
•
Ku Klux Klan formed in TN in
1866 by former Confederate soldiers!
• Members met in secret and wore white hoods and robes .
• Most were upper class citizens who had wanted to preserve the Southern tradition of
Superiority !

• General Nathan Bedford
Forrest.
• Each person took an oath
“ to defend the social and political superiority of the white race ”
• They wanted to stop the
“aggression” that inferior races were pushing forward with !
• Main tools are fear & intimidation!

Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871
• Designed to destroy and cripple the KKK.
• Outlawed the organization and meeting of KKK groups in Military districts of the
South.
• This was really a moot point because the KKK had already succeeded in terrorizing blacks!

• Ulysses S. Grant turned his military successes into a successful Presidency.
• He was unconcerned with effects that Military redistricting would have on the South.
• He put people in place within Administration that would “ put the hammer down !”

• This will effectively end
Reconstruction!
• He actually lost the popular vote to Samuel
Tilden .
• But, full Congressional rights were not granted to all former Confederate
States, so decision would be fair if decided in
Congress

• He disputed the vote counts in Florida, Louisiana and
South Carolina .
• Congress launches an investigation into the matter.
• Hayes uses his political influence to get word to commission members that if he is chosen as President, he will do away with military districts and troops in the South!

• The Commission was packed with more Republicans than
Democrats.
• Democrats had enough strength in Congress to reject the findings.
• But not enough to stop back room, shady deals.
• Hayes trades the lives of southern African
Americans for the
Presidency!

• Civil War Impacted the American Economy especially in the North!
• Supplies for Union soldiers kept many businesses busy during the War.
• And immediately after the War, they swooped down on the former Confederate states like vultures on a gut wagon!
• Industrial Production rose in the USA by 75 % between 1865 and 1873!
• Railroads set the pace for this economic development

Credit Mobilier Scandal
• This was a dummy corporation set up by the
Union Pacific RR
• The shareholders of the
Railroads created the finance company so that they could pay themselves with Government grants given to the Railroad!

• Women -Many in North and
South had helped to care for soldiers.
– Once war was over, they were largely ignored by politicians.
• Labor Unions -were pressing for the rights of factory workers .
•
Immigrants -wanted protection under the law!
• Anti-Slavery Crusaders accomplished their goal but still had work to do!

Reality is that Reconstruction allowed for a different form of slavery to exist in the
South.
African Americans were no longer bound by chains and shackles but instead by segregation and Black Codes .
JIM CROW Would rule the South until the
20th Century and even still today!
Race Relations are still an issue!