Reconstruction
The ruins of a
Train Depot after
the Civil War.
Reconstruction
• The period after the Civil War
is known as Reconstruction.
It lasted from 1865-1877
• Two huge questions faced the
nation during this time period:
1) How should southern states
be admitted back into the Union?
2) What should be done with
the now freed slaves?
Freedman
• Near the end of the Civil War, Congress passed the
13th Amendment. This change of the constitution
outlawed slavery in the United States.
• A freedman or freeman is a person who has been
freed from slavery. All former slaves were now
freedman.
Freedman
Problems
– Many didn’t have jobs,
homes or money.
– Some looked for longlost relatives.
– Most remained on the
plantation they worked
on as a slave for
wages or a portion of
the crop.
Presidential Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson, as the President after
Lincoln, set up four requirements for
southern states to return to the union.
1. States had to accept the 13th
amendment that ended slavery
2. States had to declare that their
secession had been illegal
3. States had to cancel all war debts
4. To receive the right to vote, all
adult white males had to take a
loyalty oath to the United States.
The 17th President of
the United States,
Andrew Johnson
Presidential Reconstruction
• Andrew Johnson wanted
to be lenient (take it
easy) on the south. He
didn’t want to punish
them for secession or
the Civil War.
• He wanted to support
poor southern whites
and by doing so help
heal the nation.
The 17th President of
the United States,
Andrew Johnson
Presidential Reconstruction
• Most southern states including
Texas, did not accept the 13th
Amendment but instead outlawed
slavery in their state constitutions.
• This example of “States Rights”
made many in the North angry but
President Johnson accepted the
former Confederate states back
into the Union anyway.
Presidential Reconstruction
• Once Southern states were let
back into the Union they reformed
their state governments and the
former Confederates retook power.
• They immediately passed laws to
limit the rights of the Freedman.
“Black Codes”
• Southern states passed laws called “Black Codes”
that made African Americans second class
citizens.
• Freedman were forced to work or they could be
sent to jail and needed permission to leave the
plantation where they worked
• The object of the Black codes
was to get Freedman back working
on the cotton plantations and other
work they did when they were slaves
Freedmen’s Bureau
•The Freedmen’s Bureau was created
by Congress to help freeman by
supplying food, shelter, medicine, and
in many cases, jobs.
•Freedmen’s Bureau workers had the
power to settle disputes and issues
between Freedman and Whites.
•Because of this the freedmen’s
bureau faced many challenges from
southerners who would attempt to
intimidate and in some cases kill
freedmen’s bureau workers.
Freedman’s Teacher School
Was Presidential Reconstruction successful?
• NO!!!!!!
• By passing the “Black Codes” southern
states had basically forced Freedman
back into slavery.
• By not punishing Confederate leaders they
could run for office in their state
governments and in the U.S. Congress.
These people would never agree to give
Freedman rights.
THE RADICAL
REPUBLICANS
Radical Republican leaders
Thadeus Stevens and
Charles Sumner
Northerners are Angry!!!!!
Why did the Union fight the
Civil War if the South
refused to actually free their
former slaves?
•The “Radical” Republicans
in Congress used their
version of Reconstruction
as a way to punish the
Southerners and gain fair
treatment for freedman.
Congressional Reconstruction
The Reconstruction plan by the Radical
Republican Congress is known as
Congressional Reconstruction.
1) Congress rejected the new Southern
Governments and refused to admit the
southern Congressmen into Congress.
1) They passed the 14th Amendment which
made all Freedman citizens of the United
States. This did away with the Black Codes
and gave Freedman the same civil rights as
whites under the Constitution.
Congressional Reconstruction
3) Republicans passed the Reconstruction Act
of 1867. This act put the southern states under
Military Control. 10 southern states were now 5
military districts controlled by the Federal
Government and the U.S. Army.
4) Radical Republicans impeached Andrew
Johnson. Impeachment is a process where an
elected official like the president can be
removed from office. Johnson survived his trial
in the Senate by only one vote.
5 Military
Districts
•Texas was combined with Louisiana and placed
in the 5th district and fell under command of
General Philip H. Sheridan.
Congressional Reconstruction
5) The 15th Amendment was passed. This gave the right
to all men, regardless of race or color the right to vote.
The U.S. Army immediately started registering
Freedman to vote.
The Freedman voted in large numbers for the
Republican party since that was the political party that
helped them.
6) The “Iron Clad Oath.” Former Confederates were
barred from voting. The political party of the south, the
Southern Democrats lost all their power to the
Republicans
Reconstruction Amendments sing along
Free, Citizen,
Vote
13,14,15
Carpetbaggers
Republicans supporters in the South
The South called
Northerners who came to the
south after the war
“Carpetbaggers” because
they believed these people
were trying to ruin the south
for their personal gain.
Carpetbaggers were also
Republicans.
Scalawags were southerners
who supported the North
during the Civil War and
Republicans after it.
Freedmen also voted
Republican.
How will the South React to
Congressional Reconstruction?
The Ku Klux Klan
• Many plantation owners and
former Confederate soldiers
did not want African
Americans to have rights.
• A secret group called the Ku
Klux Klan was formed.
• The goal of this group was to:
– restore Democratic control
of the South
– keep former slaves from
voting and so they will be
powerless
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a former
Confederate General and the First
Leader of the Ku Klux Klan
The Redeemers “I won’t be Reconstructed!”
•Soon the Supreme Court ruled that the Ironclad Oath
was unconstitutional. The government has no authority
to disenfranchise (take away the right to vote) people
who had never been convicted of a crime in a court of
law. All southerners could now vote.
Southerners calling themselves
“The Redeemers” soon voted out
the Republicans from their state
Governments. By the mid 1870’s
Southern Democrats took power
again and the South became
known as the “solid south”
because of it’s support for the
Democrats.
“Good Ole Rebel”
-Popular song in
the south at the
time
• Under the motto
“Separate But Equal”
southern states
passed racist “Jim
Crow” laws that
segregated
(separated) the races.
• This segregation
would last for over 80
years. Almost every
part of life was
separate for Whites
and “Colored people”
from schools to
restrooms.
Jim Crow Laws
Was Congressional Reconstruction Successful?
• Sort of…
• African Americans gained the right to vote
and citizenship, but after Reconstruction
ended Southern States found new ways to
limit their rights like Jim Crow Laws and
Poll Taxes (Fees to vote which poor
blacks could not pay)
• Southern reaction to Reconstruction was
very strong and bad feelings lasted for
decades and still linger till this day…