RECONSTRUCTION
SUCCESS OR FAILURE?
What is Reconstruction?
• A period of rebuilding
after the Civil War
lasting from 1865 to
1877.
• America had lost over
600,000 men and the
South was in ruins.
• How would the nation
recover?
Lincoln’s Plan
• Wanted to be easy on the
South.
• Pardoned Confederates if
they swore allegiance to
the Union.
• As soon as 10% of a
state’s voters swore
allegiance to the Union,
the state would be
readmitted. (10% Plan)
Who were the Radical
Republicans?
• Group that thought
Lincoln’s plan was too
easy on the South.
• Wanted to punish the
South and give
African Americans the
right to vote.
• Led by Thaddeus
Stevens and Charles
Sumner.
What was the Wade Davis Bill?
• In 1864, The Radical
Republicans passed the
Wade Davis Bill.
• This bill put Congress in
charge of Reconstruction.
• A Majority of a state’s
voters had to swear
allegiance to the Union.
• Lincoln vetoed the bill.
What was Johnson’s Plan?
• After Lincoln’s
assassination, Johnson had
a similar plan to Lincoln’s.
• Johnson felt that the South
had re-entered the Union
and his work was done.
• The Radical Republicans
disagreed.
What was the Freedmen’s
Bureau?
• The Radical Republicans
felt that African
Americans needed help
after slavery.
• The Freedmen’s Bureau
gave food, clothing,
school, and hospitals to
newly freed slaves.
• Johnson vetoed the
Freedmen’s Bureau, but
Congress made it law.
What was the Civil Rights Act of
1866?
• Passed by the Radical
Republicans and
vetoed by Johnson.
• Congress overrode
Johnson’s veto.
• This act declared that
states could not enact
black codes.
What were Black Codes?
• These codes in
Southern states
discriminated against
African Americans.
• Prevented African
Americans from
participating in
American democracy.
What was the Congressional Plan
of Reconstruction?
• Congress overrode many
of Johnson’s vetoes.
• Their objective was to
give full citizenship to
African Americans.
• They also wanted put the
Southern states under
military control.
• Johnson felt they were
much too harsh on the
South.
What was the
th
14 Amendment?
• Gave citizenship to
“all persons born or
naturalized in the
United States,”
including former
slaves.
• Forbids any states
from denying any
person “due process of
law.”
What was the Reconstruction
Act?
• Declared state governments
created under Lincoln and
Johnson to be invalid.
• Put Southern states under
military control and called for
new state constitutions.
• Nostate could reenter the Union
without passing the 14th
amendment and giving African
American men the right to vote.
• Vetoed by Johnson and passed
by Congress.
Why was President Johnson
impeached?
• Impeachment means a
legal process to formally
charge a president with
misconduct in office.
• Johnson removed Edwin
Stanton from his cabinet
post which violated the
Tenure of Office Act.
• Congress voted to
impeach Johnson and he
was found not guilty by
1vote!
What was the
th
15 Amendment?
• Passed under Ulysses
S. Grant’s presidency.
• Gave African
American males the
right to vote.
• Banned states from
denying the vote to
African American
males.
What were the postwar
conditions of the South?
• Plantations and farms
destroyed.
• Population of South
devastated.
• 1/5 of adult white men
died in war.
• Women and children
suffered from illness
and malnutrition.
Who were the scalawags?
• White Southerners
who joined the
Republican Party.
• They were small
farmers who did not
want wealthy planters
to regain power.
Who were the carpetbaggers?
• Northerners that moved to
the South.
• Some came to profit from
the conditions of the
South.
• Others truly wanted to
reform Southern society.
• Despised by many white
Southerners.
How did former slaves improve
their life?
• Reunited with families with
help of the Freedmen’s Bureau.
• Established African American
schools and colleges.
• Founded own churches and
community organizations.
• Participated in government.
Hiram Revels was the 1st
African American Senator.
What was sharecropping?
• Landowners gave a few
acres of land to farm
workers.
• The farmer keeps a small
portion of crops and gives
the rest to the landowner.
• This kept former slaves
under the control of
Southern planters.
What was tenant farming?
• Farmers rented land
from landowners in
exchange for cash.
• Kept African
Americans working in
agriculture and under
the control of white
Southerners.
What was the Ku Klux Klan?
• Terrorist group created to
oppose African
Americans.
• Did not want African
Americans to vote.
• Used violence and
destroyed African
American property.
• Intimidated African
American from voting.
What was the Amnesty Act?
• In 1872, this act gave
former Confederates
the right to vote.
• White southerners had
complained that
Republicans had
abused their power.
• Southern Democrats
began to gain power.
What was the Panic of 1873?
• Scandals had tarnished
Grant’s administration.
• The Panic of 1873 was
a nationwide
depression caused by
people taking on more
debt than they could
afford and banks
closed.
What was redemption?
• Southern Democrats’
term for their return to
power in the South in
the 1870’s.
• Their goal was to
return the antebellum
South. (Pre-Civil war
days when African
Americans were
slaves)
What happened in the Election of
1876?
• Republicans ran
Rutherford B. Hayes
and Democrats ran
Samuel J. Tilden
• Tilden won the
popular vote and
Hayes won the
electoral vote.
What was the Compromise of
1877?
• Democrats allowed
Hayes to be President
and Republicans
agreed to withdraw
federal troops from the
South.
• Reconstruction had
officially ended.
What was home rule?
• Democrats called
redeemers controlled
every Southern state
government.
• Ability to run state
governments without
federal interference.
• Restricted rights of
African Americans, wiped
out social programs, got
rid of public schools.
Was Reconstruction a success or
failure?
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here! Support it with
details!