• The South was in ruins & the people
of the nation agreed that the South’s
economy & society needed rebuilding.
• This period of rebuilding is called
Reconstruction. It also refers to the
various plans for accomplishing the
rebuilding.
• Before the war even ended, Lincoln
offered the first plan for reconstruction.
• Lincoln’s plan was called the ten percent
plan.
• 10% of southern voters had to take an oath
of loyalty to the U.S.
•States had to form a new government.
• States’ constitutions had to ban slavery.
• The Freedman’s Bureau was a government
agency created to help former slaves.
• The Freedman's Bureau helped to:
• Distribute food and clothing
• Provided for medical services
• Established schools
• Helped freed people to acquire land
• Offered free transportation to the countryside
• Helped obtain fair wages
• Johnson agreed with Lincoln’s reconciliation plan &
called his plan
.
• In addition to the same conditions that Lincoln
wanted for re-entry into the Union, southern states’
constitutions had to denounce (go against) session &
abolish (end) slavery.
• Because of the leniency of Johnson’s restoration
plan, the new Southern governments were being
run by former Confederate leaders. The
Southern state legislatures passes a series of
laws called “
.”
•These laws were aimed to control freed men
and women and to enable plantation owners
to
(take advantage of) AfricanAmericans.
• Some laws allowed local officials to arrest and
fine unemployed African-Americans and make
them work for white employers to pay off their
fines.
• Some laws banned African-Americans from
owning or renting farms.
• One law allowed whites to take orphaned
African-Americans children as unpaid
apprentices.
•The Civil Rights Act of 1866:
•Granted full citizenship to
African-Americans.
•The law overturned the Black
Codes.
• Divided the southern states into 5
military districts.
• Guaranteed African-Americans the
right to vote in state elections.
• Prevented former confederate
leaders from holding political
office.
• In 1868, Congress passed the 15th
amendment which prohibited states
from denying the right to vote to any
male citizen based on race, color, or
previous condition of servitude.
• -Some Southern whites supported
Republican policy throughout Reconstruction.
Many were non-slaveholding farmers or
business leaders who opposed secession in
the first place.
• Former Confederates despised (hated)
these people for siding with the Republicans
and called scalawags; meaning scoundrel (or
worthless rascal).
• -Many northern white who moved to the
South also supported the Republicans and
called them carpetbaggers because they
often arrived with all their belongings in
cheap suitcases made of carpet fabric.
• - Although some carpetbaggers were
greedy and took advantage of the South,
many were soldiers, lawyers, doctors,
teachers who wanted to reshape Southern
society (for the better without taking
advantage).
• -Most Southerners opposed efforts to expand
African- American rights.
• -Plantation owners tried to maintain control over
freed people.
• -Many plantation owners told the AfricanAmericans they could not leave the plantations.
• -Most white land owners refused to rent land to
freedmen.
• -Store owners refused them credit.
• -Employers refused to give them work (jobs).
- Violence against African-Americans and
their white supporters became commonplace
during Reconstruction (meaning, it happened
all the time).
- The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) launched midnight
rides against the African-Americans
burning their homes, churches, & schools.
- Klan violence increased before elections to
keep African-Americans from voting.
- The Klan also attacked white supporters of
Reconstruction.
• The most common form of farm work for freed
individuals was sharecropping.
• In this system, the landowner rented a plot of land to
a sharecropper along with a crude shack, some seeds
and tools, and perhaps, a mule.
• In return, a sharecropper shared a percentage of their
crop with the landowner.
• After paying the landowner, the sharecropper had
little left to sell. Sometimes there was barely enough
to feed their families.
• For many, sharecropping was no better than slavery.
• In the election of 1876, Tilden
(Democrat) and Hayes (Republican) ran
for president. Although Tilden won the
popular vote, there was no clear winner
of the disputed electoral votes. A
special Congressional commission
decided the fate of the election. This led
to…
The Compromise of 1877
• A deal was made. Rutherford B.
Hayes (the Republican candidate)
would become president, but he would
have to do favors for the south
including:
• Giving aid to the region (money, grants)
• Withdrawing all the remaining troops
from the Southern States.
Reconstruction Policies
These policies made some in the
South want to... SCREAM!!!
Soldiers from the North supervised the South.
Carpetbaggers from the North took advantage of the South
during Reconstruction.
Rights for African Americans were gained as a result of the
Civil Rights Act of 1866, which also authorized the use of
federal troops for its enforcement.
Established the Freedman's Bureau to aid former enslaved
African Americans in the South.
African Americans could hold public office. (they were
elected).
Military leaders from the South could not hold office.