Bell Starter
Reconstruction Focus Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What group made up the majority of Southern
Republicans?
Name five (5) ways the lives of Southern African
Americans changed during reconstruction.
What is meant by the phrase “40 acres and a
mule”?
What were the goals of the KKK?
What were the failures of Reconstruction?
What were the successes of Reconstruction?
Starter: Copy the frame and begin filling in the chart using the textbook or the
blue EOC Review Book. YOU WILL HAVE 20 MINUTES. This can be placed
directly in your NOTES for today.
Reconstruction Plans
Reconstruction Plan
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan
Johnson’s Reconstruction
Plan
Reconstruction Act of 1867
(Congressional
Reconstruction)
Describe the Plan
Reconstruction
1865-1877
Goal 3 Lesson 3
Reconstruction
 Reconstruction
was the time period after
the Civil War in which the nation was
rebuilt, especially the South
 The South was physically, economically,
and politically destroyed.
 What would all of these freed slaves do?
How to implement Reconstruction?
 Different
groups had different
ideas on how to rebuild.
 Was the Executive Branch or the
Legislative Branch in charge of
Reconstruction?
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan
Reconstruction
Plan
Lincoln’s Ten
Percent Plan
(1863 Proclamation
of Amnesty and
Reconstruction)
Describe the Plan
The government would pardon former
Confederates, and compensate property
lost, except high ranking officials
 After 10% of those who voted in 1860 took
the oath & wrote a Constitution, they could
form a new state government and gain
representation in Congress (providing
education for African Americans)

Johnson’s Plan (Presidential
Reconstruction)
Reconstruction
Plan
Describe the Plan
Andrew Johnson’s  Each confederate state could be
Plan
readmitted to the Union if it would
(Presidential
meet several conditions
Reconstruction)
Each would have to withdraw its
secession, swear allegiance to the
Union, annul Confederate war debts,
and ratify the 13th Amendment.

Reconstruction Act of 1867
(Congressional Reconstruction)
Reconstruction
Plan
Reconstruction
Act of 1867
(Congressional
Reconstruction)
Describe the Plan
Divided the confederate states into 5 military
districts, each headed by a Union general.
 The voters in the districts (including blacks)
would elect delegates to conventions in which new
state constitutions would be drafted
 In order to reenter the Union, state constitutions
had to ensure that black men could vote & the state
had to ratify the 14th Amendment

Lincoln’s Assassination



Five days after the Civil War ended, Lincoln was
assassinated while watching a play, (Our American
Cousin) at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC.
His assassin was John Wilkes Booth, an actor and
Confederate supporter.
Booth escaped and was found days later in a barn.



Lincoln, Vice-President (Johnson), Secretary of State
(William Seward)
Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated.
Vice President Andrew Johnson became President.
Radical Republicans
During Reconstruction, a group called the
Radical Republicans controlled Congress.
Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner led this
group.
 They wanted to destroy the power of former
slaveholders.


They wanted African Americans to have full
citizenship, including suffrage (the right to vote).
th
13
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Outlawed slavery in America
Many former slaves were reunited with their families.
Many became sharecroppers or tenant farmers.
Sharecroppers: farmers who worked someone else’s
land & gave at least ½ of the profit to the landowner at
harvest time.


Amendment
People in the North called sharecropping the “continuation of
slavery”.
Tenant Farmers: Rented the land and kept the profit
from the harvest.
Freedmen’s Bureau
During Reconstruction, Congress approved
the passage of the Freedmen’s Bureau (1865).
 It assisted former slaves and poor Southern
whites by distributing food and clothes, and
establishing hospitals, teacher training
programs, schools, and industrial institutions.
 Lack of strong support disband in 1869.

Carpetbaggers



Carpetbaggers were Northerners who came to
the South during Reconstruction to take
advantage of the turmoil in the South
Many came for humanitarian reasons, like to be
teachers or work for the Freedmen’s Bureau
Some came to start businesses and take
advantage of Southern poverty
Scalawags



Scalawags were Southerners who became
members of the Republican party
Southerners were Democrats during the Civil
War
To become a member of the Republican party
meant you were a traitor
Important Reconstruction Legislation



Civil Rights Act of 1866- gave African Americans citizenship
and forbade states from passing discriminatory laws (called
black codes)
 Black codes – sought to limit the rights of African
Americans and keep them as landless workers.
14th Amendment- made all people born or naturalized in the
U.S. citizens. Also gave citizens equal protection under the
law
15th Amendment- no one could be denied the right to vote
because of race, color or previous condition of servitude
Conflict between the President
and Congress




With the passage of the Reconstruction Act of 1867,
Congress was in charge of implementing Reconstruction.
Andrew Johnson did not agree that Congress should be in
charge.
Johnson fired the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, who was
a Radical Republican. (appointed by Lincoln)
This violated the Tenure in Office Act, which limited the
power of the President to hire & fire government officials.
Congress had to approve the removal of certain officials from
office.
Johnson Impeached
Violation of Tenure Act
 House of Representatives
voted to impeach Johnson
 Led by Radical Republican,
Thaddeus Steven,.
 He was found not guilt by
one vote. (2/3 votes Senate)
 Johnson did not run for reelection.

Ulysses S. Grant becomes
President
Former Union General,
Ulysses S. Grant, was
elected President of the
United States.
 He was a good general, but
not a good politician.
 His administration was
plagued with corruption.

Democrats Come to
Power
In Election of 1874, the Democrats came to
power again in the South.
 This time period is known as “redemption”.


Politicians aimed to repair the South in the eyes
of Congress
Democrats controlled the state governments in
the South.
 They also gained power in Congress.
 “Solid South”

Compromise of 1877
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The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction.
In the election of 1876, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was
elected President by one electoral vote.
Instead of the Democrats making a big issue out of the
election results, they made a deal with the Republicans.
The Democrats would allow Hayes to stay President, if the
Republicans would pull the military out of the South, appoint
Southerner to a cabinet position, states guaranteed federal
subsidies to rebuild railroads and improve the ports.
Rutherford
B. Hayes
What group made up the majority of
Southern Republicans?
African
American
men who
could vote
for the first
time
Hiram Revels,
1st African
American
Senator
What is meant by the phrase “40
Acres and a Mule”

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

General Sherman promised freed slaves who
followed his army 40 acres per family and
use of an army mule
Land abandoned by planter or confiscated
by the federal government
Rejected by southern landowners
Plan abolished by Johnson
What were the goals of the KKK?



To restore white
supremacy
To prohibit African
Americans from exercising
their rights as citizens *
To terrorize those who
wanted progress for
African Americans
What were the failures of
Reconstruction?


Discrimination and racist attitudes still
existed
Jim Crow laws established (segregation
laws; laws that separated the races)
Examples: literacy tests, poll taxes,
Grandfather clause-allow a person to
vote if their ancestors had voted prior
to 1866.
What were the successes of
Reconstruction?



The 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments gave
rights to African Americans
African Americans established
churches, schools, and civic
organizations, gained more political
power, economic and social freedom
Southern economy expanded
Name five (5) ways the lives of Southern
African Americans changed during
reconstruction.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Searched for loved ones
Went to school
Able to hold paying jobs
Established churches
Could travel freely
They could run for political office & vote