Ch. 22 Notes
The Ordeal of Reconstruction
Reconstruction
1. Reconstruction is going to be the process of
rebuilding the south and restoring the south
states to the Union.
2. The two main problems are:
1. The south must be rebuilt both physically,
economically and socially.
2. Provide for the freedmen (freed slaves) and help
them adjust to a life of freedom.
The Freedman’s Bureau
1. The Freedman’s Bureau was established by the
federal government to help the freed slaves.
2. It aided them in finding food, clothing and shelter as
well helping to get an education and find jobs.
3. Rumors spread that each freedman would be given
“40 acres and a mule” but very few freedmen were
given any land permanently.
4. White southerners despised the Freedman’s Bureau,
viewing it as an effort by the Republican government
to upset white racial superiority in the south – even
President Johnson will hate the Freedman’s Bureau
and will eventually bring it to an end.
The 10% Plan
1. Lincoln wanted reconstruction to be as rapid
as possible for the southern states.
2. Under his 10% Plan, once 10% of a states
voters took an oath of loyalty to the U.S. and
promised to abide by emancipation.
3. Of course, he never was able to implement
this plan thanks to John Wilkes Booth.
The Radical Republicans and the
Wade-Davis Bill
1. A group of Republicans, known as the Radical Republicans
(lead by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens) were upset
with Lincoln’s 10% plan.
2. The Radical Republicans want to use reconstruction to punish
the south for the war and to make sure the rights of the
freedmen are protected.
3. Republicans in general were also concerned that once the
southern states were allowed to count all former slaves as part
of their population, they would be even stronger politically.
4. The Radical Republicans introduced the Wade-Davis Bill in
Congress, which would require 50% of the state’s voters to
take the oath of allegiance and would require stronger
safeguards for the freedmen.
5. Although the Wade-Davis Bill passed through Congress,
Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill.
Andrew Johnson
1. When Andrew Johnson
became president, the
Radical Republicans
believed he would side
with them because he
hated the wealthy
plantation owners of the
south (the only reason he
was put on the ticket was
to bring in votes from War
Democrats and Pro-Union
southerners).
2. Instead, he followed
Lincoln’s lead in trying to
make reconstruction
speedy for the south.
Presidential Reconstruction
1. Johnson basically followed Lincoln’s plan except
that he disfranchised (took away the right to
vote) many leading Confederates, including
wealthy plantation owners (had to have
property worth over $20,000) – they could
petition him for a pardon and he did pardon a
large number of them.
2. States had to call conventions to repeal their
ordinances of secession and ratify the 13th
Amendment, which abolished slavery – once
these conditions were met they were to be
readmitted to the Union.
Southern Reconstruction under the
Presidential Plan
1. As the southern states reformed their
governments, problems began to arise.
2. Most of the southern states refused to ratify the
13th Amendment.
3. Others kept their original constitutions which
allowed slavery.
4. When they held elections, they elected many
former Confederates.
5. They began passing Black Codes – sets of laws
designed to limit the rights of the freedmen and
force them back into the fields.
Radical Reconstruction
1. Many people in the north believed the south
was acting as if the Civil War didn’t even
happen.
2. The Radical Republicans refused to recognize
the new southern governments and instead
passed the Reconstruction Act.
The Reconstruction Act
1. The south was divided into five military
districts run by a military governor and subject
to martial law.
2. All ex-Confederates were removed from local
and state government.
3. Southern states had to write a new
constitution that protected the rights of the
freedmen (specifically the right to vote).
4. Southern states had to ratify – officially enact
as law – the 14th Amendment.
The 14th Amendment
1. In 1866, Congress passed a Civil Rights Bill to
protect the basic rights of the freedmen –
Johnson vetoed it.
2. In response to that veto, Congress wrote the
14th Amendment.
3. The 14th Amendment granted the freed
slaves citizenship and gave them equal
protection of the law from both the federal
and state governments.
Reconstruction Military Districts
Southern Reconstruction
Governments
1. Former Confederates were barred from participating in the
new governments so they were populated with:
2. Carpetbaggers, who were northerners who came south for
southern government positions.
3. Scalawags, who were southerners who supported the
Republican government.
4. Freedmen, who did quite well considering they had little
formal education and no political experience.
5. One common complaint about the reconstruction
governments was that they were corrupt, but they were no
more corrupt than the northern governments that were in
power during the time period.
6. Even though there was corruption, they still passed some
needed political reforms in the south, the most important
being the creation of a system of free public schools in the
south.
Ku Klux Klan
1. The Ku Klux Klan was formed
by the Confederate general
Nathan Bedford Forest.
2. They used violence and
intimidation to try to keep
black southerners (and
white carpetbaggers and
scalawags) from
participating in government.
3. Federal troops were sent
into the south (Force Acts)
to get the KKK under control
but it still undermined the
political influence of African
Americans in the south.
The 15th Amendment
1. Radical and moderate Republicans agreed
that the right to vote for the freed slaves was
a necessity.
2. Because of this, they passed the 15th
Amendment, which guaranteed the right to
vote regardless of race.
3. Women righters were very disappointed in
both the 14th and 15th Amendments because
they didn’t extend political rights to women.
The Impeachment of Johnson
1. Johnson fought the Republicans in Congress over
many issues, vetoing many of their bills they
attempted to pass (they overrode most of the vetoes).
2. So in 1867 they passed the Tenure of Office Act,
requiring the president to get Congressional approval
to remove cabinet members.
3. Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, and
Congress used that as their reason to try to get rid of
him through the impeachment process.
4. The process failed by one vote, mainly because a
group of Republicans refused to vote to remove the
president over political issues.
1. Johnson’s one real
positive action was
allowing Secretary of
State William Seward to
purchase Alaska from
Russia.
2. Most people derided the
decision, referring to it as
Seward’s Folly or
Seward’s Icebox.
The Purchase of
Alaska