Reconstruction
1865-1877
Chapter 18
Rebuilding the Union
Rebuilding the Union
 To describe why Reconstruction was needed
 To analyze the conflict that developed over
Reconstruction and identify the goals of Radical
Republicans
 To explain the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1866
and the Fourteenth Amendment
 To evaluate the effects of Reconstruction
The South faced the challenge of building a society not based on slavery. (1)
RECONSTRUCTION-The process the federal government used to readmit
the Confederate States to the Union (2)
 The Civil War had ended.
Slavery and secession
were no more.
Now what?
 How does the Union
integrate the South back
into American society?
 How do 4 million newly
freed African American
slaves integrate
themselves into society?
1865-1877
LINCOLN’S PLAN
 Pardoning Confederate officials (3)
 Allow Confederate states to quickly form new governments and
send representatives to Congress (3)
 Lincoln made it clear that he favored a lenient Reconstruction
policy
 His Ten Percent Plan called for a pardon of all Confederates
who would swear an oath of allegiance to the Union
 When 10% of the voting population of a state took the oath, a
state would be readmitted into the Union
THE POLITICS OF
RECONSTRUCTION
 The politics of
Reconstruction was
complicated by the fact
that Lincoln, his VP and
successor Andrew
Johnson, and the
Congress all had different
ideas of how
Reconstruction should be
handled
ANDREW JOHNSON
JOHNSON’S PLAN
 After Lincoln’s death, his VP
& successor Andrew
Johnson announced his
own plan by supporting
Lincoln
 It differed only slightly from
Lincoln’s: He excluded high
ranking Confederates and
wealthy planters from the
oath, but did pardon 13,000
while contending that
“White men alone must
manage the South”
CONGRESS’S PLAN
 Congress worked hard to
shift the focus of
Reconstruction from the
President to the Congress
 In 1866, Congress
overrode President
Johnson’s veto and passed
the Civil Rights Act, the
Freedmen’s Bureau Act,
passed the 14th
Amendment and finally the
Reconstruction Act in1867
Congress overrode Johnson’s
veto of Freedmen’s Bureau
FREEDMEN’S BUREAU
 Congress also passed
the Freedmen’s Bureau
Act which provided much
needed aid to African
Americans
 To assist former slaves,
the president established
the Freedmen’s Bureau.
This agency set up
schools and hospitals
for African Americans and
distributed clothes, food,
and fuel through the
South. (4)
EDUCATION WAS AN IMPORTANT PART
OF THE BUREAU
Johnson Becomes President
 Johnson became President in April of 1865
 He was a Democrat(5)
 Put on ballot in 1864 with help win border states
 Former slave-holder(5)
 Was a stubborn unyielding man(5)
 Believed Reconstruction was President’s
job-NOT Congress (5)(6)
 Offered Amnesty to most white Southerners if
they pledged loyalty to US government
Johnson Becomes President
 Johnson offered amnesty, or official pardon,
to most white Southerners. He promised to
return their property. In return, they had to
pledge allegiance to the United States. (7)
Rebuilding Brings Conflict
 Many Southern states set up governments much
like old ones
 Refused to ratify 13th Amendment (8)
 “This is a white man’s government, intended for
white men only.”
 Passed Black Codes (8)
Black Codes
 The Southern states passed laws, known as Black Codes, (9)
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which limited the freedom of former slaves.
Employment was required of all freedmen; violators faced
vagrancy charges
African Americans were forbidden to carry a gun or meet in
unsupervised areas; they were forced to work on
plantations if they did not show proof of work(9)
Freedmen were assumed to be agricultural workers and their
duties and hours were tightly regulated
Freedmen were not to be taught to read or write
Public facilities were segregated
Violators of these laws were subject to being whipped or
branded.
Radical Republicans
Thaddeus Stevens
Some members of the Republican
Party were not only in favor of the
abolition of slavery but believed that
freed slaves should have complete
equality with white citizens. They
also opposed the Fugitive Slave Act
and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This
group became known as Radical
Republicans. They were led by
Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania
and Charles Sumner of
Massachusetts. Their goal was to
destroy the South’s old ruling class
and turn it into a region of small
farms, free schools, respect for
labor, and political equality for all
citizens.
Rebuilding conflicts
 Southern states refuse to ratify the 13th
amendment, stating that, “This is a white
man’s government intended for white men
only”. Congress refused to seat Southern
Congressmen and established a
committee to study conditions in the
south. (10)
Rebuilding Conflicts
 How did the Radical Republicans wish to
reorganize the south?
 Radical Republicans wanted the federal
government to play an active role in
dictating a variety of aspects of Southern
society. Most importantly, the Radical
Republicans wanted full and equal
citizenship for African-Americans (11)
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT
 One of the important acts
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FROM HARPER’S MAGAZINE 1866 –
BLACKS CELEBRATE

passed by Congress was
the Civil Rights Act -1866
All people born in the
United States were
citizens (except Native
Americans)
Citizens entitled to equal
rights regardless of race
(12)
President Johnson vetoed
Congress overrode the veto
TH
14
AMENDMENT
 In 1866, Congress passed
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the 14th Amendment which
provided legal backing to the
Civil Rights Act
All people born in the
United States were citizens
(except Native Americans)
Equal protection under the
law
No voting rights for
African-Americans (12)
This nullified the Dred Scott
decision
Civil Rights Legislation
 Republicans respond to the civil rights
legislation
 Outraged Republicans causing them to
pass the punitive Reconstruction Acts of
1867 (13)
RECONSTRUCTION ACT OF 1867
 Congressional Republicans again
joined forces to pass the
Reconstruction Act
 This act voided the state
governments formed in the South
under the Presidential plans and
instead divided the south into 5
military districts
 Before the South could re-enter
the Union, they had to ratify the
14th Amendment and approve
the new state governments.
(14)
“First
Vote”
This image depicts an artisan, a
businessman, and a soldier
standing in line to cast their first
RECONSTRUCTION ACT OF 1867
 New state constitutions
were drafted in the
south in 1867, by
groups who controlled
the drafting.
Delegates to a state
assembly (15)
 New state constitutions
set up public schools
and gave all men the
right to vote. (16)
JOHNSON IMPEACHED
 Radical Republicans felt
GALLERY TICKET FOR
JOHNSON IMPEACHMENT
HEARING
Johnson was blocking
Reconstruction efforts
 Thus, they looked for
grounds to impeach him
 Johnson violated the
“Tenure of Office Act”
by firing Edwin Stanton
 He was impeached, but
not convicted he was
acquitted by 1 vote and
served out his term. (17)
Reconstruction and Daily Life
 To describe the responses of African-
Americans to freedom
 To trace the establishment of AfricanAmerican schools
 To evaluate the impact of land reform,
sharecropping, and the contract system
 To describe the development of the Ku Klux
Klan
RECONSTRUCTING
SOCIETY
 The South went through
significant changes after
the war
 The economy was in ruins
and they lost hundreds of
thousands of young men
 Republicans now
dominated politically, but
often with conflicting goals
MANY SOUTHERN CITIES
SUFFERED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE
SOUTHERN REPUBLICANS
 3 groups made up the bulk of
Carpetbaggers carried
their goods in bags like
these
SCALAWAGS
Southern Republicans
 1) Scalawags: Southern whites
who supported reconstruction
 2) Carpetbaggers: These were
Northerners who came South
in search of opportunity after
the war
 3) African Americans: Former
slaves- 90% of whom were
Republican
AFRICAN AMERICANS
 African Americans took
an active role in the
political process in the
South
 They voted in record
numbers and many ran
for office
 Hiram Revels was the
first black Senator
 Black Codes often
restricted African
Americans right to vote
HIRAM REVELS – FIRST
BLACK SENATOR
Responding to Freedom
 First reaction of African Americans was to leave
plantations(1)
 Many returned to where they were born
 Looked for economic opportunities
 Others traveled because they could
 For the first time African-Americans had the
freedom to travel freely to seek out family (2)
1. Could marry legally
2. Could raise family without fearing of being
sold
3. Adopted children of dead relatives and friends
Starting Schools
African Americans no longer had to work for an owner
Needed to learn to read and write to achieve independence
Freedmen’s Schools educated children and adults
African American groups like the Freedmen’s Bureau, Northern Missionary
Society, and other African American organizations started schools
Held classes in warehouses, billiard rooms, and former slave markets in cities
Held in churches and houses in rural areas
Schooling for Freed Slaves
 African-Americans now needed education
so they could work and make a living for
themselves. Freedman’s Schools (3)
 American’s first national aid organization
helped education for African-Americans in the
south
 Freedman’s Bureau (4)
 Who opposed education for AfricanAmericans in the South?
 White Southerners (5)
40 ACRES AND A MULE
 Despite Sherman’s promise
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of “40 acres and a mule” few
former slaves received
anything
Did not want to have to
depend on former masters
for support
Felt they deserved land for
their labor
Therefore, most plantation
owners kept their land
African Americans received
no land of their own
SPIKE LEE’S PRODUCTION COMPANY IS
CALLED 40 ACRES AND A MULE
SHARECROPPING AND TENANT
FARMING
 Without ownership of land
newly freed African-Americans
would be at the mercy of white
land owners. Land reform did
not pass (6)
 Under the contract system
former slaves returned to the
fields to work, however this
time they were paid. Working
conditions were often very
poor.
 Sharecropping-the farmer
provided the land, tools and
seed in exchange for a large
percentage of the harvest. (7)
ARKANSAS
SHARECROPPERS
 Kept them in constant poverty
SHARECROPPING IN THE SOUTH - 1880
SHARECROPPING AND
TENANT FARMING
 Sharecropping and tenant farming brought
new problems to the former slaves.
 Often times the farmers took advantage of
the African-Americans with AfricanAmericans having little or no recourse (8)
 Problems in the south with the continued
production of cotton
 Cotton destroys the soil and left little land
for the production of food (9)
THE COLLAPSE OF
RECONSTRUCTION
 While some Southern
whites participated in the
new governments, voted
in elections, and
reluctantly accepted
African Americans--others were very resentful
and formed hate groups
 Most famous vigilante
group was the Ku Klux
Klan
KU KLUX KLAN
 The Klan was formed by disgruntled
Confederate soldiers whose goals
included restoring Democratic
control of the south and keep
former slaves powerless (10)
 Estimates range as high as 20,000
murders attributed to the Klan
whose membership peaked at
almost 4 million in the 1920s
 Many African Americans were
lynched as a form of terror
 The Klan utilized acts of
intimidation and violence to bring
about its goals (10)
Many opponents of Reconstruction rose up!
KU KLUX KLAN
 The Klan was successful because?
 There was no one to stop them the military
and local governments ignored them (11)
 The actions of the Klan helped Democratic
Party
 They scared Republicans away from
voting (12)
CONGRESS SUPPORT FADES
 When Congress passed
the Amnesty Act returning
voting rights to 150,000
Confederates and
allowed the Freedmen’s
Bureau to expire—it
became clear that
Southern Democrats
were back in political
control
DEMOCRATS “REDEEM
SOUTH”
 Lack of Republican unity in
the South and an economic
downturn that diverted
attention from Southern
issues, caused Democrats
to regain control of the
South
 Called “Redeemers” these
politicians were out to
reclaim Southern Culture
and tradition
 The Reconstruction Era was
over
End of Reconstruction
 To evaluate the impact of Grant’s election and the
passage of the Fifteenth Amendment
 To analyze Grant’s Administration
 To explain events that led to the end of Reconstruction
 To analyze the legacy of Reconstruction
1868 Election
 In 1868 the Republican party seemed to be
stronger than ever
 That year, its candidate, General Ulyess S.
Grant, won the presidency. During the
campaign the Democrats attacked the
Republicans’ Reconstruction policies.
They blamed the party for granting rights
to African Americans. (1)
1868 ELECTION
 Civil War hero U.S. Grant
ran as a Republican against
Democratic nominee Horatio
Seymour
 Grant won (2) by a margin
of 300,000 in the popular
vote
 500,000 African Americans
voted – 90% for Grant (3)
th
15
AMENDMENT
 Soon after Grant’s election,
Congress passed the 15th
Amendment
 Prevented men form being
stopped from voting based
upon the color of their skin,
Native Americans were once
again excluded (4) Women
protested because it failed to
give them the right to vote
(5)
 The 15th Amendment was
ratified in 1870
Grant Fights the Klan
 African Americans continued to be terrorized by
the Klan in the South
 Pres. Grant asked Congress to pass a tough law
against the Klan
 Congress approved the bill in 1871
 Federal marshals arrested thousands of
Klansmen the bill was called, the Anti-Klan Bill
(6)
Grant signed the
Anti-Klan Bill in 1871.
The Election of 1872
Grant (7) Defeats Horace Greeley of New York
The Liberal Republicans nominated
New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley
to run against Grant. The Democrats who
were in disarray went along with the nomination.
Ulysses S. Grant and
running mate Henry Wilson.
Grant won an overwhelming
victory over Greeley.
Scandal Rocks Grant
 Grant made poor choices for his advisors
 Many were unqualified and corrupt (8)
 Bribes were accepted from the Union Pacific
Railroad to head off a Congressional hearing
by Cabinet members
 Done in by the “Spoils System”
Grant’s Administration was marred with scandal. Although he was
an honest man himself, some of his advisors weren’t. Republicans broke
away and formed the Liberal Republican Party (9)
Panic of 1873 (-1878)
 Started in Europe and reached the U.S. in the fall of
1873
 Severe economic depression
 Several Banks ran out of money (10)
 More than 18,000 businesses failed
 Stock market collapsed (10)
 89/364 Railroads went broke
 Midwestern farmers couldn’t move their crops
 Hundreds of workers lost their jobs
 Panic of 1873 (10)
Supreme Court Reversals
 U.S. v. Cruisksbank (1876)
 Federal Government could not punish
individuals who violated the civil rights of
African Americans
 The court ruled that states not the
government had the right to punish
individuals for Civil Rights violations (11)
 Ruled only states had that power
 Southern states often would not punish those
who attack A-A’s
 Violence increased
More Supreme Court Reversals
 U.S. v. Reese (1876)
 Supreme Court ruled in favor of white
Southerners who barred African Americans
from voting
 Said 15th Amendment only listed the grounds
on which states could not deny the vote
 States could bar A-A from voting for other
reasons
 Imposed Poll Taxes and Literacy Tests
Reconstruction Ends
Election of 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes vs
Samuel J. Tilden
Election of 1876
 Originally Tilden won the election with 184
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electoral votes to 165 for Hayes
20 votes were uncertain
An Electoral Commission was formed
19 disputed votes from Florida, Louisiana,
and South Carolina and 1 from Oregon
Led to the Compromise of 1877
As a result of the Compromise of 1877
most reconstruction policies ended (12)
Compromise of 1877
 Federal troops removed from the South (13)
 Government would provide land grants and loans to
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build railroads from the South to West coast (13)
Southern officials would receive federal funds for
reconstruction and improvement projects to
industrialize the South (13)
Hayes would appoint a Democrat to his cabinet (13)
The Democrats promised to respect African
Americans’ civil and political rights (13)
Obstacles African Americans still faced
Poverty, violence and prejudice (14)
The Legacy of Reconstruction
 Nation reunited and rebuilt
 Did not achieve equality for African
Americans
 Most still lived in poverty
 Protection of civil rights and voting was in
U.S. Constitution
 The creation of many black churches and
schools and the first steps toward equality
(15)
 Put African Americans on the path to full
equality with 14th and 15th Amendments