What was Reconstruction?
What did Reconstruction mean in 1863 – 1877?

Was secession illegal?
Was the Constitution a compact among peoples of different political societies, as peoples of the several states?
Had the colonies – as a union – thrown off the dependence and in turn made the states?
Members of the Congress (including the 1 st and 2 nd
Continental Congresses) were present as agents of existing political societies and thus the political societies of the states existed prior to the adoption of either the Articles of
Confederation or the Constitution.
No one had ever questioned the right of a state to secede prior to the debate concerning the secession of the southern states and reconstruction.

Originally it meant simply reunification.
By the end of the war it had come to mean a fundament reconstruction of the South.
 Reconstruct Southern political life
 Reconstruct Southern economic life
 Reconstruct Southern social life

On what terms should Southern states be readmitted?
Should Congress or the President establish those terms?
What system of labor should replace plantation slavery?
(slavery had been, first and foremost, a system of labor)
What should be the place of blacks in the political, economic, and social life of the South and the nation?

1. President v. Congress
2. Republicans v. Southern Democrats
3. Radical Republicans v. Moderate Republicans
4. Blacks v. Whites
(Blacks were not passive bystanders)
Each group had their own answers to the questions posed by
Reconstruction

1. Rehearsal for Reconstruction (1863 - 1865)
2. Presidential Reconstruction (1865 - 1867)
3. Congressional Reconstruction (1867 - 1877)
(also known as Radical Reconstruction)

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
The “Ten Percent Plan”
(Dec, 1863)
Full pardon for those who took an oath of allegiance
Restored property (except slaves)
Prominent military & civilian leaders excluded
Became known as the “Ten percent Plan” because:
When those taking oath = 10% of voters in 1860, could establish a new state government
Reconstructed state governments had to accept abolition
As soon as first two were complied with, states could be readmitted

Wanted tougher stance toward Confederates
Saw Reconstruction as a chance to fundamentally transform Southern society
Refused to seat new reps from Arkansas & Louisiana
Passed Wade-Davis Bill
Required 50% loyalty oath
Oath was much stricter than Lincoln’s (called the
Ironclad
Oath )
Bill was pocket vetoed by Lincoln - felt it would damage his efforts to win over moderates (in both camps)

April 9, 1865 - Lee surrenders to Grant in Virginia
April 14, 1865 - Lincoln assassinated in Washington DC
April 26, 1865 - Johnston surrenders to Sherman in North
Carolina
May 4, 1865 – Taylor surrenders to Canby in Alabama
May 10, 1865 - Davis captured while fleeing to Texas
May 12 & 13, 1865 – Battle at Palmetto Ranch in South Texas
May 26, 1865 – Buckner (for Smith) surrenders to Canby in
Trans-Mississippi
June 23, 1865 – following Winchester Colbert of the Chickasaws and P.P. Pitchlynn of the Choctaws, Stand Watie of the
Cherokees surrenders to Matthews in Indian Territory

Wanted to restore the Union as quickly as possible
Blamed individuals (specifically planter elite), not states for secession
Spring, 1865 - granted amnesty and pardon to Confederates who took loyalty oath and supported emancipation
Confederate officers & wealthy landowners had to apply for
Presidential pardon - freely granted
States must hold constitutional conventions
Delegates elected by those who took oath or were pardoned (only whites could participate)
New constitutions must: a) repudiate secession b) Acknowledge abolition c) Void state war debts

1. Bestowed full citizen ship on African-
Americans
2. Overturned black codes
3. Overturned 1857 Dred Scott decision

AMENDMENT XIV
(Ratified July 9, 1868)
Defined citizens as ALL natural born or naturalized persons.
Set Congressional Representation based on number of citizens.
Made former Confederates ineligible to hold office.
Made debt caused by “suppressing insurrection or rebellion” legal while those incurred by the southern states “incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States … illegal and void.”

AMENDMENT XIV
(Ratified July 9, 1868)

Designed to incorporate reconstruction principals in
Constitution
 Was a specific response to Johnson’s policies

Made passage of amendment part of 1866
Congressional campaign

By 1867 Republicans controlled both Houses of
Congress
Completely controlled the Northern States
Were not only prepared but were capable of directly challenging the president and seizing control of Reconstruction

First Reconstruction Act
(March, 1867)
Divided the South into 5 military districts
Established martial law
Required new state constitutional conventions
Elected by universal manhood suffrage
Had to guarantee voting rights to African-Americans
Had to ratify 14th amendment
Supporting legislation
Invalidated provisional governments created under Johnson’s plan
Military to conduct voter registration
Required strict loyalty oath

Johnson tries to impede Radical Reconstruction
February, 1868--Congress impeaches
Uses Tenure Act as an excuse
Real cause is differences over Reconstruction
Senate refuses to convict Johnson
Radical Republicans seen as subversive of
Constitution, lose publics support

<= Horatio Seymour
Northern Democrat
Ulysses S. Grant =>
Republican

AMENDMENT XV
(Ratified February 3, 1870)
SECTION 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican
Samuel J. Tilden
Democrat
Peter Cooper
Greenback

Contested States:
Florida
Louisiana
South Carolina
Oregon

Democrats agreed that Hayes would be president
Republicans agreed to allocate more federal money for
Southern internal improvements
Republicans agreed that federal government would not intervene in Southern affairs
Republicans agreed to appoint 1 Democrat to cabinet