The Reconstruction (1865-1876)
I am Abraham Lincoln, President of
the United States. Welcome to a
presentation about The
Reconstruction.
What was the Reconstruction?
The Reconstruction was a plan that
established rules and guidelines
so former Confederate States
could re-enter the Union. Since
no state had ever seceded before,
there was no precedent to guide
leaders through the difficult
issues the process needed to be
addressed.
What Were the Issues?
There were four main issues that
needed to be addressed.
Remember these issues were
complex because they involved
finding solutions to many of the
problems that had led to the Civil
War.
1st. Issue of Reconstruction:Who was Responsible
for the Confederate Rebellion and Should They be
Punished.
I felt we should bring back
the rebels with “Malice
toward none, with charity
for all…” My plan did not
seek to punish people and
granted pardons and restored
rights for many confederates.
Only high ranking officers
did not receive pardons.
2nd. Issue of Reconstruction.
My “Ten Percent Plan” for
readmission to the Union led to
a debate about another issue of
Reconstruction. The issue was:
“What would the relationship
be between the former
Confederate states and the
Federal Union? What should
be demanded of those states
before they were regarded as
reconstructed?
Congress did not agree with my plan and
wanted tougher standards and penalties
for readmission
My plan called for ten % of the
citizens of the former
Confederate states, who were
eligible to vote in 1860, to take
an oath of loyalty. Their new
state governments also had to
agree to abolish slavery. Many
Republicans disagreed with me
and felt the south needed to be
punished for seceding.
Andrew Johnson’s Plan
Following the assassination of
President Lincoln, by John Wilkes
Booth, I implemented my plan for
reconstruction which was similar to
Lincoln’s plan. I called for a quick
restoration of the southern states to
the Union & Amnesty for the
southern rebels as long as they were
not members of the elite, the
confederate government, or former
military officials.
There Were Other Famous People
with Different Plans.
I am Frederick
Douglas.Many
abolitionists called for
equal rights for all the
former slaves. They felt
these newly Freedmen also
needed assistance from the
government. They had no
education, work, food, or
lodging. The Freedman’s
Bureau was a government
agency set-up to help these
people.
The Radical Republicans
I am Thaddeus Stevens. I am
part of a group in Congress that
was given the name “Radicals”.
We believed the Freedmen
should be granted free land and
guaranteed citizenship. We
wanted the south to abide by
strict rules before being
readmitted to the Union and we
called for punishment for the
leaders of the Confederacy
The Radicals in Congress Feel
New Laws Are Needed.
3rd. Issue of Reconstruction:
What rights would the new
Freedmen have? What would the
government need to do to help
them start new lives and take care
of their new freedom?
th
13 .
Congress Passed the
Amendment to Establish Rights
for the Freedmen.
In 1865 this amendment
abolished slavery from
the United States and its
territories.
Congress Expanded Rights for
th
the Freedmen by Passing the 14 .
Amendment.
Passed in 1868 this amendment
gave citizenship to the former
slaves and guaranteed no state
could enforce a law that took
away their rights as citizens. This
reversed the Supreme Court’s
Dred Scott decision
The Last of the “Reconstruction
Amendments” was the 15th Amendment.
Passed in 1870 it gave the
Freedmen the right to vote and
Congress the ability to pass laws
to ensure that they were not
denied that right.
The Union Sends the Military to
Enforce Laws in the South.
In 1867 we passed the Military
Reconstruction Act. This law
enabled the military to establish
order, prevent violence, and
begin political reform in the
South. Southern farmers did not
want to give up their way of life
and fought against reforms.
The
th
4 .
Issue of Reconstruction
How should the Southern economy be converted from
one based on slave labor to one based on free labor?
Reading About Emancipations
Effects of the Southern Way of Life.
• Read the journal entries made by a southern
slaveholder.
• Answer the question at the bottom of your
reading.
• List three reasons to support your
conclusion.
The South Fights Back
The KKK tried to maintain white dominance and preserve the
pre-war way of life. Southern states passed laws called “black
codes” that had the effect of making life in the south difficult for
the Freedmen who, in many cases, were left to work for their
former masters as sharecroppers.
The End of Reconstruction. The
Compromise of 1877
I’m Rutherford B. Hayes. The results
to my Presidential election in 1877
were disputed and the legal winner was
in doubt. In order for me, a
Republican, to win, a compromise was
reached with the Democrats. I agreed
to remove the military from the south
and end Reconstruction in exchange
for being President. Without military
protection former slaves were subject
to discrimination, legal intimidation
and lynching in the southern states.