American Reconstruction
Reconstruction of the Union
 Before the end of the Civil War Lincoln
outlined a plan for reuniting the union. A main
goal was to win back the South’s loyalty. The
announced plan was called The Ten Percent
Plan.
 According to the plans, most former
Confederates, including high ranking military
officers, could receive amnesty for their war
actions, by taking an oath of loyalty to the
Union.
10% Plan
 Those taking the oath had to pledge support
to the U.S. Constitution and obey laws
passed by congress. They also had to accept
the end of slavery. Once 10% of a
Confederate state’s voters who had voted in
the 1860 election swore loyalty to the
Union, they could elect a new state
government.
10% Plan
 Only after the new state government
endorsed the 13th Amendment, which
abolished slavery, could the state reenter
the Union. The Union would return any
property with the exception of former
slaves, to voters who took the oath.
Radical Reconstruction
 Not all Republics supported Lincoln. Those
that supported Lincoln’s plan were called
Moderates. Those that believed that the
plan did not go far enough were called
Radicals. They wanted to take drastic steps
to change Southern society and help the
former slaves acquire civil rights. They also
wanted to severely punish the South.
Wade-Davis Bill
 The Radicals had their own
plan called the Wade-Davis
Bill. To bring the South
back into the Union the bill
required that over 50% of
the voters take an ironclad
oath to support the federal
Constitution. Only then
could a southern state
form a new government.
Wade-Davis Bill
 Congress passed the
Wade-Davis Bill in mid
1864. Lincoln vetoed it
and went ahead with his
own plan. During late
1864, early 1865,
Virginia, Louisiana,
Arkansas and Tenn. met
the terms of Lincoln’s
plan. They were restored
to the Union.
Reconstruction Time Line








1865 — President Lincoln is
assassinated.
1865 — The 13th Amendment is
ratified.
1866 — Over President Johnson’s
veto, the Civil Rights Act is
passed.
1867 are passed. — The
Reconstruction Acts
1868 — President Johnson’s
impeachment trial begins; he is
narrowly acquitted.
1868 — The 14th Amendment is
ratified.
1868 — Former Civil War general
Ulysses S. Grant is elected
president.
1870 — The 15th Amendment is
ratified. (voting rights)
Vocabulary


Reconstruction — A set of policies designed to
rebuild the South and to bring the southern
states back into the Union under terms and
conditions set by Congress.

impeachment — An action by Congress to try a president
accused of high crimes and misdemeanors.

15th Amendment — The third of the Reconstruction
Amendments giving the right to vote to formerly enslaved
people.
The Civil War — A major war in the United
States between 1861 and 1865in which northern
states battled southern states that were attempting to
leave the Union.

Freedmen’s Bureau — An agency set up by Congress to
help formerly
enslaved Africans during Reconstruction, especially in terms of
education.

Ku Klux Klan — An organization set up to restore white
control in the South through the use of terror and violence.

The Force Acts — Along with the Ku Klux Klan Act,
laws passed by
Congress in 1870 and 1871 to protect African Americans from
the Klan and
ensure their right to vote.

segregation — Separation of a group from others. In
many places in
America, certain laws kept blacks segregated from whites.

sharecropping — A system of tenant farming in the
South after
Reconstruction that kept ex-slaves working the land and tied to
the land,
under impoverished conditions.

Jim Crow laws — In U.S. race relations, laws enacted
in the South to make segregation a fact, named after a
minstrel show character.

Plessy vs. Ferguson — An 1896 case in which the
Supreme Court upheld the notion of “separate but equal.”

13th Amendment — The first of the
Reconstruction Amendments, abolishing
slavery.

Black Codes — Laws passed by southern
legislatures right after the war to keep ex-slaves
under strict white control.

14th Amendment — The second of the
Reconstruction Amendments, granting equal
rights of citizenship and legal equality to all.

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 — A series of
measures that Congress established as
conditions for southern states to follow in order to be
readmitted to the Union.
President Johnson
Based on Johnson’s beliefs about
wealthy plantation owners and
his support for the Union, Rep.
Radicals thought that Johnson
would be firm with the south.
They hoped that he would ban
former Confederate leaders
from holding political positions.
They also hoped that he would
require Confederate states to
uphold the 13th Amendment,
banning slavery.
President Johnson
 However Johnson, surprised the
Republicans when he adopted a plan that
was similar to Lincoln’s. He pardoned many
Confederates, restoring both their political
and property rights.
Impeachment
When Johnson took office, Congress was not
in session and so could not interfere with
his plans for reconstruction.
Radical Rep. reacted by removing Johnson
from power.
Black Codes
Mean while in the South...
Although the South accepted the 13th,14th, and 15th
amendments, they continued to preserve inequality.
Black codes varied from state to state. They did allow for
some freedoms (marriage and property ownership), but
 Permit needed to travel
 Prohibited renting
 Pay a work tax
 Had to sign work contract or face arrest for not being employed.
 Could not own a gun
Most codes were passed to keep former slaves tied to the
land and plantations.
Presidential Reconstruction
Lincoln’s 10% Plan
Johnson’s Plan
Freeman’s Bureau
Congressional Reconstruction
Civil Rights Act
14th and 15th Amendments
Reconstruction Acts
Reconstruction
Resistance to Reconstruction
Black Codes
Violence Against Freemen
Reconstruction Economics
Labor contracts and wage-labor
system
Sharecropping
Continued dependence on cotton
Some ownership of land by former
slaves.
The End of Reconstruction
By the mid 1870s interest in Reconstruction was declining.
Thaddeus Stevens (Rad Rep) had died and the Supreme
Court was weakening provisions with new decisions.
 Slaughterhouse Cases 1873
Civil rights/freedoms were the states concern and therefore
not protected under the 14th Amend
(granting equal rights of citizenship and legal equality to all.)
 United States v. Reese 1876
Determined that the 15th Amend did not protect voting
rights if they were denied for some other reason than
race.