American History A
Mr. Bekemeyer
Reconstruction (1865 -- 1877): Successes and Failures
(Unit III, Segment 3 of 3)
[From History Alive! Pursuing American Ideals – Chapter 11 (Sections 1 - 5)]
I. An Overview of Reconstruction (1865 to 1877)
A. Reconstruction is the era after the Civil War when the U.S. gov’t:
1. Brought the seceded Southern states _____________________________
2. Ended slavery & tried to protect newly emancipated slaves
3. _____________________ the nation after more than four years of fighting
B. Reconstruction occurred in 2 phases:
1. Presidential Reconstruction (1865-67) was ________ in order to allow Southern
states to quickly rejoin the Union; It was initiated by President Lincoln
but carried out by President Andrew Johnson
2. Congressional Reconstruction (1867-77) was directed by Radical Republicans
in Congress who wanted a ____________ plan that protected the rights of former
slaves & kept Confederate leaders from regaining power in the South
II. Reconstruction Plans
A. Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan (Proposed but never enacted)
1. Before the Civil War came to an end (& before his death), Lincoln proposed his
Ten - Percent Plan
2. This plan was very lenient & allowed former Confederate states could _________
the Union when:
a.
10% of its population swore an oath to the USA
b.
States ratified the __________________________ ending slavery
B. Presidential Reconstruction under Andrew Johnson (1865-1867)
1. When Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 VP Andrew Johnson tried to continue
Lincoln’s policies:
a.
His ___________________________ plan was lenient towards Southerners
b.
States could come back into the USA once they ratified the 13th
Amendment
2. Johnson’s Reconstruction plan hoped to quickly re-unify the nation
3. But, this plan did not require strict regulations to protect former slaves
a.
Southern states passed black codes to keep African-Americans from
gaining _______________, jobs, voting rights, & protection under the law
b.
Johnson _____________ 13,000 ex-Confederates
4. Led by Thaddeus Stevens, many “_______________” Republicans in Congress
opposed Johnson’s plan & pushed for laws to ____________ African-Americans:
a. The ___________________________ was established in 1865 to offer
assistance to former slaves & protect their new citizenship:
(i.)
Provided emergency food, housing, medical supplies
(ii.)
Created new _____________ (The emphasis on education led to the
creation of African American universities, such as
____________________________________ in Atlanta)
b.
(Many former abolitionists moved South to help freedmen, called
“_______________________________” by Southern Democrats)
c.
Congress feared Johnson would allow violations of civil rights so it drafted
the __________________________________:
(i.)
Clarified the idea of ___________________ to include former slaves
(ii.)
All citizens were entitled to _____________________________
under the law & cannot be deprived of life, liberty, property without
due process of law
5. President Johnson opposed these new protections because he felt it would _____
reconstruction:
a.
Johnson _______________________ the Freedman’s Bureau bill &
encouraged Southern states to not support the 14th Amendment
b.
This backfired when Republicans increased their control of Congress in the
1866 elections
C. Congressional Reconstruction (1867-1877)
1. With a dominance in Congress, moderate & “radical” Republicans took control &
began “______________________________ Reconstruction” in 1867:
a.
Did not _______________ the state gov’ts approved under Johnson’s Plan
b.
Made Reconstruction more _______________
2. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 required that any Confederate state that wanted
to re-enter the Union had to:
a.
Ratify the 14th Amendment
b.
Allow African-American men the right to vote in their states
c.
Keep _______________________________ from returning to power
d.
Created 5 __________ to protect former slaves & to enforce reconstruction
D. President Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment (1868)
1. President Johnson obstructed Congressional Reconstruction:
a.
He fired military generals appointed by Congress to oversee Southern
military zones
b.
He violated a new law called the Tenure of Office Act when he tried to
fire his Secretary of War who supported Congress’ plan
2. Radical Republicans used this as an opportunity to ______________ the president
a.
To impeach is to formally charge an elected official of wrongdoing
b.
The House of Representatives voted 126-47 to impeach Johnson
c.
After an 11 week trial, the Senate fell 1 vote short of removing the
president from office
d.
Johnson argued that removal could only occur due to “high crimes &
misdemeanors” but no “crime” had been committed
e.
But, Johnson did promise to enforce Reconstruction for the remainder of
his term… & he did!
E. The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
1. In 1868, Civil War hero Ulysses Grant won the presidency & worked with
Congress to _________________________ the South:
a.
By 1868, most Confederate states had been re-admitted to the Union under
Congressional Reconstruction
b.
Because of Congressional Reconstruction, African-American men in the
South could _________________ for the first time
2. In 1870, the ________________________ gave black men the right to vote
a.
Prohibited any state from denying men the right to vote due to _______
b.
But…the amendment said nothing about literacy tests, ________________,
& property qualifications
III. The Successes of Reconstruction
A.
Through Reconstruction, the national gov’t achieved Lincoln’s original goal:
“________________________________”
1. By 1870, all 11 Confederate states had been re-admitted into the United States
2. The states' rights & nullification arguments came to an end
B.
Reconstruction led to the end of slavery & protections for all citizens, including
African-Americans:
1. 13th Amendment ______________________________
2. 14th Amendment guaranteed all citizens, regardless of race, _________________
under the law
3. 15th Amendment gave ________________________ to African-American men
C.
Reconstruction was the “golden age” of voting for African-Americans:
1. With the right to _____________, military districts, & _____________________
in the South to protect voters, African-Americans were empowered
2. The first African-American _________________ were elected to state & national
offices
3. __________________________ took control of state governments in the South
D.
Reconstruction stressed education:
1. Before the Civil War, it was illegal to teach slaves to read & write
2. The Freedman’s Bureau created __________________ for African-Americans
E.
The end of slavery allowed African-American _____ to be reunited, __________
to be legally recognized, & African-American workers to make their own money
IV. Failures of Reconstruction
A.
Sharecropping (Tenant Farming)
1. After the Civil War, slavery was replaced by _____________________________:
a.
White land owners would “_________” parcels of their fields to AfricanAmericans in exchange for 1/2 to 1/4 of the cotton that they produced
B.
b.
But, former slaves had no _______________ for tools or seeds so they
gained loans from the land owner in exchange for more of their cotton
c.
By the end of 1865, most __________________ had returned to work on
the same plantations on which they were previously ________________
Southern whites resisted attempts at reconstruction by:
1. Passing discriminatory laws called _______________________:
a.
These laws restricted African-Americans from serving on juries, testifying
against whites in court, _____________________ whites, or owning land
b.
Black codes kept African-Americans from being able to have true
___________________
2. Using violence & intimidation to keep African-Americans inferior to
whites:
a.
Groups like the ___________________________ attacked AfricanAmericans who tried to vote or spoke out against black codes;
carpetbaggers, & ________________ (whites who voted Republican)
b.
lynching became common
3. The inability of the federal gov’t to sustain Reconstruction
a.
_________________ and scandals during Grant’s presidency & economic
recession in 1873 distracted northerners from Reconstruction
b.
The Supreme Court ruled against civil rights laws designed to protect
African-Americans
4. Supporting the return of the Democratic Party to state gov’ts:
a.
The KKK & black codes became successful in ______________ AfricanAmerican voting
b.
Federal troops & military districts had difficulty protecting AfricanAmericans
c.
One-by-one, Southern state gov’ts shifted from Republican control to the
Democratic Party
d.
C.
These “Reedemer Democrats” hoped to restore the “_______________”
In 1877, Reconstruction ended:
1. The __________________________ returned to power in all 11 Southern states
2. The only thing protecting African-Americans were federal troops; but by
1875, Grant had stopped sending reinforcements
3. The “Compromise of 1877”:
a.
In the 1876 election, neither Democrat Tilden nor Republican __________
won a majority of electoral vote
b.
Democrats in Congress agreed to vote for Hayes if the remaining federal
troops were ___________________ from the South
c.
President Hayes removed federal troops & ended __________________
d.
Reconstruction officially ____________________ in 1877
V. With Reconstruction over, the Jim Crow era began (1877-1954)
A.
___________________ laws, such as literacy tests (reading requirements) & poll
taxes (fees to vote) kept African-Americans from voting
B.
_____________________ clauses allowed poor whites to avoid these laws & vote
C.
In Plessy v Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court said segregation was OK
(“____________________________________”)
Thoughts on "Jim Crow?" ---
American History A
Mr. Bekemeyer
Team Members:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Creating a Plan to Reconstruct the Union After the Civil War
Overview:
You are a member of Congress in 1865. The Civil War is finally over and the North has won.
Your most important job is to develop a plan to “reconstruct” America after the Civil War.
To do this, consider solutions to the following problems:
Problem #1: Southern states seceded and left the Union. The President and Congress can determine the rules by
which the Southern states should be re-admitted. Should Southern states be granted mercy and
offered a quick and easy series of requirements in order to return to the Union? Or should Southern
states be punished for the Civil War and required to meet a series of strict regulation before being
re-admitted to the Union? Explain your rationale.
Problem #2: Based upon your answer in the previous question, what are your requirements for Southern readmission to the Union? Be sure to explain why your group has picked these options.
Southern states will not be re-admitted in the United States until the following conditions are
met
(Pick as many of the following options as you feel are appropriate):
a) States must re-write their state constitutions and reapply as states because they willingly broke
away from the USA to join the Confederate States of America
b) States were never really legally part of the CSA so rewriting their state constitution is not
necessary.
(choices “a” and “b” are mutually exclusive)
c) States must agree to the 13th Amendment (abolition of slavery)
d) States cannot allow Confederate leaders to be elected into government positions
e) States must disband their militaries
f) States cannot manufacture any military equipment
g) States must turn over to federal marshals all leaders of the Confederacy who live in their state
who played a military or political role in the Civil War.
h) States must seize the plantations of large slave owners, divide this land, and sell the pieces off
in order to destroy the plantation system of the South
i) States cannot be readmitted until 10% of their citizens take a loyalty oath to the USA
j) States cannot be readmitted until more than 50% of their citizens take a loyalty oath
(choices “i” and “j” are mutually exclusive)
k) Other conditions…?
l) States should be readmitted immediately without any conditions
(choice “l” is mutually exclusive with all other choices “a-k”)
Problem #3: What should be done with the freed slaves in the South? What kinds of services or protections
should the national government provide in order to help guarantee their safety and freedom in the
South after the Civil War?