Reconstruction
Preparing for Reunion
• Abraham Lincoln
– Ten Percent Plan (December of 1863)
• Wanted to make it easy for the south to rejoin the
union
• Ten Percent of the states voters needed to swear an
oath of loyalty to the Unites States
Preparing for Reunion
• Wade Davis Bill (June of 1863)
– Radical Republicans: Wanted a more strict
reconstruction of the country
– 50 Percent of voters would have to sign loyalty
oath
– Lincoln NEVER signed the bill and it never became
a law
Lincoln Assassination
• April 14, 1865
– John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln at Ford’s Theater
• Vice President Andrew Johnson became
President of the United States
Andrew Johnson
• Became President after Lincoln assassination
• A southern Democrat that remained loyal to
the Union
Johnson’s Plan
• Johnson wanted an easy transition from the
Civil War
• Issued amnesty to most of the former
Confederates
• States needed to form new state governments
and abolish slavery
Radicals in Charge
• Congress wanted a stricter form of
Reconstruction to punish the south
• Radical Republicans had enough control to
override any vetoes from President Johnson
Reconstruction Amendments
• 13th Amendment: (1865) Banned Slavery in
the United States
• 14th Amendment: (1868) All people born or
naturalized in the United States are citizens
(all slaves are now citizens) Also a state cannot
pass laws that take away a citizen’s rights
without due process of law
• 15th Amendment: (1869) Gave African
American males the right to vote
Freedmen’s Bureau
• Provide Emergency relief to people displaced
by the war
• Set up schools to help freedmen to learn to
read and write
• Helped freedmen find jobs
Radical Reconstruction
• Reconstruction Act of 1867
– Imposed military rule on states refusing to accept
14th amend.
– Soldiers helped southern black voters register and
vote
Hope and Advancement
• African Americans were allowed to play an
active role in politics
– They were elected as sheriffs, mayors, and
legislators
• Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce Both were first African
American Senators
What were the expectations of the
freedmen at the beginning of
Reconstruction? Were these
expectations being met at the
beginning of Reconstruction?
Why or Why not?
Southern Republican Followers
• Scalawags: southern whites that opposed
secession
• Carpetbaggers: northerners that went south
for personal gain
• Freedmen
Radical Republicans vs. President Johnson
• Johnson and the Radical Republicans had
different views of Reconstruction
• Radicals tried to impeach President Johnson
– Johnson escaped being impeached
• (he won barely the vote was 35 to 19 one vote shy of
the two-thirds majority that is needed for
impeachment)
Election of 1868
• General Ulysses S. Grant
– Civil War hero
– Republican (Not a Radical Republican)
– With his win the Radical Republicans started
losing control
Reconstruction’s Conclusion
• By 1870 the support for Reconstruction began
to decline
– By 1877 the Radical Republicans had lost all of
their power in the south
Reconstruction’s Conclusion
• Election of 1876
– THE END OF RECONSTRUCTION WAS A DIRECT
RESULT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1876
Election of 1876
• Because of disputes over election returns it
was left up to Congress to decide the winner
• A deal between the Republicans and
Democrats settled the election
Election of 1876
• The Candidates were Republican Rutherford B.
Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden
• Republicans wanted to continue
Reconstruction and the Democrats wanted to
end reconstruction
– Tilden won the popular vote but 20 electoral votes
were in dispute (Tilden was one electoral vote shy
of winning)
Hayes
Tilden
Election of 1876
• To resolve the issue Congress created a
committee
– The committee gave all of the electoral votes to
Rutherford B. Hayes (Even though he lost the
popular vote)
• Hayes informed the Democrats that he would end
Reconstruction, and the Democrats did no contest
Congress’ decision
• Once in office Hayes removed all federal troops and
ended Reconstruction
Aftermath of Reconstruction
• At the end of Reconstruction African
Americans began to lose all of their rights in
the South
African Americans Lose Rights
• To take away voting rights people in the south
created laws
– Poll Tax- a tax to be paid before voting
– Literacy test- a test to see if a person can read or
write that needed to be passed before a person
can vote
– Grandfather clause- if your father or grandfather
voted then a person is eligible to vote
African Americans Lose Rights
• Segregation: Enforced separation of races
(legally)
– Known as Jim Crow Laws
• Banned mixing of races in almost every aspect of life
• Separate hospitals, schools, cemeteries, restaurants,
playgrounds
Plessy v. Ferguson
• 1896
• Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in a
coach marked “for whites only”
• The Court ruled in favor of segregation
– Stated separate is fine as long as the facilities were
equal
Cycle of Poverty
• Sharecroppers: worker that works the land for
the farmer who owns it, and in exchange for a
share of the value of the crop.
Cycle of Poverty
1. Planting the crop
Landowners give the
sharecropper land, seed, and
tools in exchange for a share in
the crop. Sharecroppers buy
goods and supplies from the
landowner on credit
2. Harvesting the crop and settling
accounts
The sharecropper gives the landowner
his crop. Landowner sells it and gives
the tenant his share, minus the amount
owed at the company store
3. Cycle of debt
After a year of hard work, the
sharecropper often owed more
than they had earned and had
no choice but to offer the
landlord a greater percentage of
next year’s crop