Reconstruction Era Notes
This chapter covers America’s attempts to rebuild after the Civil War, the single most significant
event in all of American history. The Civil War was the most painful war Americans ever fought,
killing more Americans than any other war; more, in fact, than WWI and WWII combined. It
created a massive debt and damaged the economic infrastructure of the south (although the
north’s infrastructure was not hurt). It dramatically increased the size and power of the federal
government, and redefined the relationship between it and state governments. It ended slavery
and began discussions about the status of the millions of freemen (ex-slaves).
As the nation struggled to adjust to the changes created by the war, the government turned its
attention to rebuilding. But first, a political struggle emerged in Washington D.C. over who
would be making the decisions. After that question was decided, the government attempted,
for about 10 years, to “fix” the problems. Eventually, however, Reconstruction ended. And the
status of African-Americans declined rapidly thereafter in the south, as whites gained control of
southern legislatures and created what are called Jim Crow laws.
For this and future chapters, DON’T think you need to memorize all the stuff in the textbook.
Recognize that some parts are more important than others, and try to learn the important bits,
skimming the rest. These brief introductions, the “Key Ideas” below, class lectures (you should
print and bring with you each week’s Lecture Outline; that’s what we will be talking about in
class), and the homework questions I will in the future assign, will help you figure out what I
think is important.
Key Ideas:

What were the main problems facing America after the Civil War?

Describe the political fight over Reconstruction and its eventual solution.

Describe how America addressed (or ignored) the main reconstruction-era problems.

How did Reconstruction end?

What was the status of southern African-Americans afterwards?

Key terms: Reconstruction; Impeachment; Jim Crow
Reading assignment:
Read Outline pages 146-153 (starting with “With Malice Toward None”)
Homework assignment:
This, and future homework, will be turned in via email. See the instructions on the main History
12 website. For this week, please read the above pages and for each of the subsections
(subsections have titles in bold and all caps, starting with “With Malice Toward None”) please
write a 4-10 sentences summary of the main ideas from that section. Send these to me in an
email before class.
Lecture Outline:
1. America after the Civil War
a. The Political Question
b. The Economic Question
c. The Social Question
2. Presidential Reconstruction
a. Lincoln's Reconstruction
b. Johnson's Reconstruction
c. Problems Arise
3. Radical Reconstruction
a. Radical Republicans vs Johnson
b. The Radical Program
4. The Reconstructed South
a. Freedmen's Society
b. Freedmen's Politics
c. Freedmen's Economy
5. Ending Reconstruction
a. Wealth & Corruption
b. White Terrorism
c. The Compromise of 1877
6. The New South
a. The New South Economy
b. The New South Society
c. The Black Response