Reconstruction
The rebuilding of
the United States
after the Civil War
LIST AS MANY CAUSES AND
EFFECTS AS YOU CAN OF
THE CIVIL WAR
“Burnt Richmond”
“Lincoln’s Procession”
“Locomotive Ruins”
in Petersburg/Richmond
EFFECTS OF CIVIL WAR
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Human toll of the Civil War: The North lost 364,000
soldiers. The South lost 260,000 soldiers.
creation of a single unified country
abolition of slavery-13th Amendment Dec 6th,
1865
increased power of fed. gov't
U.S. now an industrial nation
a stronger sense of nationalism
w. lands increasingly opened to settlement
a deep hatred of the North remained..
South was economically and physically
devastated
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the plantation system crippled
War destroyed 2/3 of South’s shipping industry +
9,000 miles of railroad.
The struggles in the South
By the end of the Civil War…
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Black Southerners began lives as newly freedmen in
a poor region with slow economic activity.
Plantation owners lost slave labor worth $3 billion.
Poor white Southerners: job competition due to
newly freedmen.
What are the BIG, KEY
questions that would have to be
answered following the Civil War?
Now that the Union won the war,
what issues are they going to be
faced with?
Key Questions
1. How do we
bring the South
back into the
Union?
Pardon or punish?
2. How do we
rebuild the
South?
4. What branch
of government
should control
the process of
Reconstruction?
3. How do we
integrate and
protect newlyemancipated
black freedmen?
Reconstruction
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When? 1865 to 1877
By Who? The federal government will carry
it out
Purpose? To create a plan that would
repair the damage to the South and restore
the southern states to the Union.
How Lincoln tries to answer the questions

1863 he issues the Proclamation of
Amnesty and Reconstruction
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He outlined his plan on reunion
This plan was called the “10 Percent Plan”
Lincoln’s 10% Plan
In order to be “re-admitted” into the
Union:
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Confederate Governments had to disband
A pardon would be issued to any Confederate
who would take an oath of loyalty to the United
States, and accept the federal policy on slavery
(which was that slavery would be abolished).
Pardons denied to high-ranking Confederate officers
and gov’t officials
 Pardons denied to southerners who had killed African
American War prisoners
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Once 10 % of 1860 eligible voters are
pardoned states would then…
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hold a constitutional convention, for the
purpose of creating a new state constitution
(which would have to conform to the
Constitution of the United States).
hold elections and resume full participation in
the Union.

No former leaders of Confederacy or high
ranking officers could be a part of the new
government
**Once “readmitted”, Lincoln would protect
their property, not their slaves!
Lincoln’s plan was forgiving

In Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
March, 1865, he said the following:
“With malice toward none, with charity for all,
...let us strive on to finish the work we are in,
...to do all which may achieve and cherish a just
and lasting peace among ourselves and with all
nations.”
Was Lincoln’s Plan a Success?
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1864- 3 states under Union
occupation set up governments
under the plan
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Louisiana, Arkansas, and
Tennessee
Once representative were
chosen for Congress
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CONGRESS REJECTED THEM
Those who were unhappy with
Lincoln’s Plans became known as
the Radical Republicans
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Lincoln was too lenient on the south and the
south needed to be punished
saw it as a threat to their Congressional
Authority.
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It’s Congress’s job to make laws, not the
president’s!
Lincoln “should confine himself to his executive duties—
to obey and execute, not make the laws…and leave
political reorganization to Congress.”
Thaddeus Stevens:
Leading radical in the
House
Charles Sumner:
Leading radical in the
Senate
They created the following plan...
Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
 Required the majority, over 50%, of number
voters to take an “iron clad” oath of
allegiance (swearing they had never
voluntarily aided the rebellion ).
 Required a state constitutional convention.
 banned former Confederates from holding
public office
Congressman
Henry
W. Davis
(R-MD)
 New state Constitutions had to accept
Emancipation
 Gave newly freedmen civil liberties EXCEPT
the right to vote
 Promised to redistribute southern land
Senator
Benjamin
Wade
(R-OH)
What happened to the WadeDavis Bill?
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Lincoln let the bill die in a pocket veto.
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How does a pocket veto occur?
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Typically, if president does not sign bill within
10 days it automatically becomes law
But….if Congress adjourns/leaves within those
10 days and is not signed then it does not
become law
How a bill is passed
Congress creates a law
Congress votes on law (majority)
President of U.S.
Yes
Pocket Veto
President ignores
10 days Congress goes
into recess bill “dies”
Veto (no)
Congress
2/3 vote
override
Why use a pocket veto?
Re-elections are
coming up
 Doesn’t get
accused of saying
“No”
 Can’t go back to
Congress for 2/3
override
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Freedmen’s Bureau
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Created by Congress March, 1865 to help black
and poor white southerners adjust to freedom
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Offers clothing, medical supplies, and food to war
refugees
Built schools, offered teacher training…
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Over 250,000 African Amer students received their first
former education through the Bureau schools.
Created job opportunities
redistributed additional confiscated land to former
slaves and poor whites..
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leased 40acres could purchase later
How were things left before
Lincoln was assassinated?
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No decisions were made
At the end of the Civil War, in the spring
of 1865…
Lincoln and Congress were on the brink of a
political showdown with their competing
plans for Reconstruction…….and then….
Lincoln’s hopes of forgiveness end
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Weeks after his Second Inauguration, April 14,
1865, Lincoln was assassinated at the Ford’s
Theater by John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confed soldier
plotted with others to first kidnap Lincoln and
exchange him for prisoners. Failed
Vice President Andrew Johnson replaced
Lincoln as President
O Captain! My Captain!
om/watch?v=h9QL2o6O7s8
MAKE A T-CHART ON THE
FOLLOWING AND INCLUDE 10
NOTES FOR EACH
JOHNSON’S ACTIONS/BELIEFS
CONGRESS’S/BELIEFS ACTIONS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJLBrD
STgng
Restoration
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Johnson’s plan would grant amnesty to most
Southerners once they swore loyalty to the Union
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High-ranking Confederates could be pardoned only by
appealing to the president…why?
Could hold constitutional conventions without
Lincoln’s 10%-no requirement
States could hold elections and rejoin Union if…
 denounced secession
 And ratified the 13th amendment (Abolished
slavery in the US)
 AND repudiate(reject) Confederate debt
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John stated “white men alone must manage the
South
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Johnson opposed equal rights for African
Americans
Under Johnson’s Administration
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HE:
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Believed “white men alone must manage
the South
Opposed equal rights for African Americans
As State Governments were restored…
Confederates recently pardoned
quickly passed laws severely restricting
African Americans newly found freedom.
 This allowed….
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Black Codes
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Enacted black codes, laws
that restricted freedmen’s
rights.
The black codes established
virtual slavery with
provisions such as these:
Black Codes:
to regulate social & economic lives
CANNOT
CAN
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Marry Blacks
Sue in court
Own property
Go to school
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Serve on a jury
Carry a weapon
Testify against Whites
Marry Whites
Stay out after sunset
Travel w/o permit
Own a business
Commit Vagrancy
Live in urban areas
Northern Republicans in
Congress ANGERED by Codes
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Mad that southerners defied goal of
Reconstruction
Blamed President Johnson for the return
of southern democratic power
Powers Congress used to
change this problem
1)
2)
Amended the constitution.
If vetoed by Johnson, they
would override it!
Civil Rights Bill of 1866
1. Give Blacks
citizenship
2. Forbid the
passing of
discriminatory
laws
--This outlawed THE BLACK CODES--
Congress Breaks with the President
 Joint Committee on
Reconstruction created.
 February, 1866  President
vetoed the Freedmen’s
Bureau bill.
 March, 1866  Johnson
vetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act.
 Congress overrides Johnson’s
vetoes! Passed both bills over
Johnson’s vetoes  1st
U. S. history!!
in
The Fourteenth Amendment
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Ratifed July 1868, Congress passed the
Fourteenth Amendment, which states:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States…are
citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges… of citizens of the United States… nor shall any State
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due
process of the law …”
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Made protection of Civil Rights part of the Constitution
Johnson’s Response
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Continued to oppose equal rights for
African Americans.
Urged states not to ratify the 14th
Amendment
Angry Northern Voters Respond
to Johnson’s Stupidity
Johnson is going down….
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Elect Radical Republicans into office
Now Radicals could put their own
Reconstruction Plans into action!
The Reconstruction Act of 1867
Split up South into 5 military districts
Quiz
You may use your notes from yesterday!
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Fill in circle labeled 1 with points about
Lincoln’s Plan
Fill in circle labeled 2 with points about
Radical Reconstruction Plan
Fill in circle labeled 3 with points about
Johnson’s Plan
Important men Johnson better watch out for
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Thaddeus Stevens: a
Pennsylvania Congressman, led the
Radical charge that would threaten
to bring down Johnson.
Charles Sumner: Founder of the
Republicans and sought voting
right for all blacks.
Edwin Stanton: Secretary of War
and friends of the Radicals, would
control military rule over the south
Bad
Mr. President
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In response to the Reconstruction Act of 1867 and not
wanting a Radical to control the South, Johnson fired
Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, without Senate
consent
 Went against the Tenure of Office Act passed by
congress in 1867 which places limits on the
President’s powers of who he can hire and fire
b/c he needed Senate approval
February 24, 1868 with of vote of 126 to 47, Johnson
was impeached - charged with wrongdoing in the
office–-by the House of Representatives.
The Senate Trial
 11 week trial.
 Johnson acquitted
35 to 19 (one short of
required 2/3s vote).
“He won the battle but lost the
war”
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Johnson served the remaining months of
his term with no mandate and no real
power.
In the following election of 1868, he was
defeated by Ulysses S. Grant.
The Fifteenth Amendment + Impact
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In February 1869, Congress passed the Fifteenth
Amendment, granting African American males the
right to vote. Ratified March 1870
Once again due to angry white southern voters
staying home:
 In 1870, southern black men voted in legislative
elections for the first time.
 More than 600 African Americans were elected to
state legislature
 Louisiana gained a black governor
 Hiram Revels of Mississippi became the first
African American elected to the Senate.
The Republican South
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During Radical Reconstruction, the Republican Party was split
into two groups who both wanted to prosper in the south.
***Earned these nicknames from former Confederates who
despised them for supporting Republicans
Carpetbaggers
Scalawags
Northern Republicans who
(“scrawny cattle”).
moved South
 White southern Republicans
Nickname came from
were seen as traitors and
arriving with a cheap
called
suitcase made from carpet
 Supported Reconstruction
scraps.
 Some were small farmers
Carpetbaggers were often
who resented the planter
depicted as greedy men
class.
seeking to grab power or
 Many scalawags, but not
make a fast buck.
all, were poor.
SCALAWAGS
CARPETBAGGERS
Southernern
Northernern
Republicans
Republicans
Wanted to end Slavery Liked the warm Climate
Wanted to
Looking for Adventure
Industrialize
Wanted to start
Considered Traitors
Business
Wanted to get Elected Wanted to end Slavery
With the end of slavery,
what would happen to
southern agriculture?
Sharecropping
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The most common new farming
arrangement
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Sharecropping family would farm a portion of
planter’s land
As payment, the family was promised a share
of the crop
Planter usually provided housing
The bad and the ugly: planters could
evict sharecroppers, some charged for
housing.
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Sharecroppers were stuck until paid off debt
Economic Reorganization of the New South of the 1870s
Tenant farming
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If a sharecropper could save enough
money, he could then become a Tenant
farmer!
Rented land and could grow what he
wanted
SHARECROPPING TENANT FARMING
 Work on a portion  Rented land
of planter’s land
 Kept all of the yield
 Keep 1/3-1/2 of
yield
 Chose which crops
 Provided food,
to
plant
shelter, clothing,
seeds, and farm
 Chose when they
equipment at a
wanted
to
work
price
Changes in Farming in the
South led to…
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Emphasis on Cash
Crops: Sharecropping
and tenant farming
encouraged planters to
grow cash crops, such as
cotton, tobacco, and
sugar cane. The South
had to import much of
its food.
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The rise of a new class:
Tenant farming created
a class of wealthy
merchants who sold
supplies on credit.
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Landlords would force
their tenants to buy from
their store.
Could the South be like the
Industrialized North???
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Southern cities did become more
industrialized
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One problem: southern factories handled the
earlier, less profitable stages of
manufacturing.
The items were shipped north to be made
into finished products and sold.
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Ex: Cotton: The value in SC went from 713,000 in
1860 to 3mill in 1880
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BUT the big profit went to the northern factories who
died the fabric and sold the finished product.
Funding Reconstruction
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The South’s Need:
Rebuilding the South’s
infrastructure, the
public property and
services that a society
uses,
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Roads, bridges, canals,
railroads, and
telegraph lines
public school systems
by 1872.
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How to fulfill that need:
Congress, private
investors, and heavy taxes
paid for Reconstruction.
Spending by
Reconstruction legislatures
added another $130 million
to southern debt.
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Much of this big spending was lost
to corruption. The corruption
became so widespread that it even
reached the White House.
Secret
Societies
Form
Terrorism emerges
The Ku Klux Klan emerges
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In 1866 a group of former Confederate
soldiers of Pulaski, TN formed a secret
society.
Named Ku Klux Klan after the Greek word
“Klukos” meaning circle.
Dressed in masks and robes to symbolize
the dead confederate soldiers who
returned from the dead in search of their
enemies of the south.
Ku Klux Klan
 GOAL:
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Opposed unions and supported
prohibition
“felt threatened by changes in American
society”
In 1868 killed 1000 just from Louisiana.
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to keep out “foreigners”
1867-elected
Nathan Bedford
Forrest as leader
LYNCHING
1880 – 1950 = 5,000 killed with 70% being Black
1880 = 23 people every 2 ½ days
Heaviest in Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama,
Lousiana and Arkansas –
What do they all have in common?
Not restricted to South – for example:
Zacharia Walker 1911 – Coatesville, PA
Enforcement Act of 1870
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At Grant’s request, Congress passed AntiKKK laws that banned the use of terror,
force, or bribery to prevent people from
voting bc of their race
The end of Reconstruction
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After being re-elected in 1872, Grant tries to
continue reconstruction in the South but by
the mid-1800s it dies bc…
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Corruption in Republican Party
Taking a toll on the economy
White Resistance/Violence
Democrats come to power
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The Amnesty Act of 1872: all but 500 ex-confeds were
pardoned and given the right to vote and hold office.
They combine with other white southerners and form
the Democratic Party of the Solid South
Quick Overview
Enforcement Acts … to stop the Secret Societies
1. Federal supervision of elections
2. Pres. to declare martial law in areas of Klan
But then, the
Amnesty Act
Redemption
begins
** Freedmen’s Bureau dies
out…
** The Klan dies out...
Hayes (R) vs. Tilden (D)
1876
•
•
•
•
•
Dispute over 4 states
D. scared away R. voters
R. threw away D. votes
Polls showed Hayes won
Should have been Tilden
Hayes could remain
in office if…
Compromise of 1877
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Remove remaining federal troops from
South
Support appropriations for building levees
along Mississippi River and give huge
subsidies to railrd
Marked the end of Reconstruction, giving
Democrats control of Southern politics
Many people question whether
or not Reconstruction was a
success or a failure?
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What were the successes?
What were the failures?
Do you think Reconstruction was more of
a success or failure?
Two goals of Reconstruction
 Unify
the North and South
 Equality
for Freedmen
Where these goals achieved???
1
9
4
2
Lincoln’s
plan
Reconstruction Plans
* Denied pardons
to officers and
anyone who had
killed African
American war
prisoners.
* Offered
pardons to
Southerners
who swore
allegiance
* States could
* Permitted each
then hold
state to create a
new constitution elections
and rejoin
after 10 percent
the Union.
of voters took an
oath of
allegiance.
Johnson’s
plan
* Each state could
create a new
constitution
without Lincoln’s
10 percent
allegiance
requirement.
* States had to
void secession,
abolish slavery,
and repudiate the
Confederate debt.