Reconstruction – 1865-1877
 How can we bring the nation together as
one Union again?
 Should the South be punished for
seceding?
 What avenues would be taken to ensure a
peaceful solution to the problem?
Reconstruction is the rebuilding of the nation.
Southern situation
Reconstruction
• PLAN 1ABRAHAM
LINCOLN’S
PLAN
Wanted the South to
come into the
Union with little
punishment. This
was called a
moderate plan.
*Offered general amnesty to
anyone who took an oath
to be loyal…no
insurrection.
*When 10% of voters in a
state took oath- readmitted
in the Union.
*States must pass the 13th
amendment
*No social or political
equality for the African
American
*Compensate the slave
owner- ? Could we do this?
Reconstruction
• President
Andrew
Johnson’s Plan
for
Reconstruction…
this plan was like
Lincoln’s plan
• Pardon all citizens except
former Confederate
officers and officials.
• Wealthy Southerners had
to apply individually for a
pardon.
• Had to ratify the 13th
amendment.
Reconstruction
• Radical Republicans
lead by Thaddeus
Stevens- wanted to
punish the South for
secession. WadeDavis Bill – proposal
to divide the South
into military districts.
They blamed the war
on these states.
• Leaders of the South were
never elected again.
• They wanted the
Republican Party to
become a powerful
institution down South.
• African American –
voting rights…more
equal…even hold political
office.
• Pass the 13th/14th/15th
amendments…free,
citizens, vote.
Thaddeus Stevens -Republican
• He was a member of
the new anti-slavery
Republican Party. He
was an early opponent
to President Johnson
and his plan for
reconstruction.
Elections of 1866 and 1868
• Mid-term election Radical Republicans gain
control in Congress
• 1868 – U.S. Grant “waved the bloody shirt”
War Hero, blacks in South who have the
right to vote elect him – Republican
• Carpetbag Rule in South – graft, corruption
with government officials
• Scalawags – Southern traitors who took
advantage of poor whites
Reconstruction
• WADE – DAVIS
BILL- this plan was
a moderate plan
…not as lenient as
Lincoln’s and not
as severe as the
Radical Republican
Plan. Lincoln used
a pocket veto for
this plan.
• Majority of white
males in states take an
oath to the
Union…loyal.
• New state
constitutions- no
slavery in them.
• No slavery in any state
• All Confederate
officials /officers
would hold no
political office.
Reconstruction
• Andrew Johnson – President…February
21,1868 the House of Representatives voted
to impeach Johnson. The Tenure of Office
Act required any government official fired
by the President must be approved by
Congress. Johnson fired Secretary of War
Edwin M. Stanton…he was a Radical
Republican against Johnson’s ideas. The
Senate put Johnson on trail to remove him
but fell 1 vote short.
Andrew Johnson
• Andrew Johnson- 17th
President of the
United Statesimpeached by
Congress. Tenure of
Office Act.
Reconstruction
• Freedman’s Bureau- federal government help
those down South…for food, housing, train for
jobs – most important accomplishment
EDUCATION…African Americans and poor
whites got this aid.
• “Forty Acres and A Mule” – Northerners believed
that former slaves deserved 40 acres of land and a
mule to farm…from former plantation owners.
This was William Tecumseh Sherman’s plan.
• Civil Rights Act of 1866- African Americans shall
be citizens of this country…Amendment 14 to the
Constitution.
• Amendment 15… voting shall not be denied on
account of color, race, or previous condition.
Who is this man?
• A lieutenant general in
the Confederate army.
A crude man who
made his fortune as a
slave trader. He was
accused of war crimes
during the Civil War.
He was said to have
killed unarmed black
Union army prisoners.
Reconstruction
• Black Codes- Southern states down South made
laws to limit the power of the African
American…no ownership of land, no ownership
of guns…licenses to work. In many Southern
towns you may have seen signs that said” If black,
stay back” – segregation in areas.
• Ku Klux Klan- ( Nathan Bedford Forrest)- slide
before) secret society…against carpetbaggers,
African American rights, against the Freedman’s
Bureau, against military districts. They wanted the
Democrats to regain the South: they were against
the Republican Party.
Changes in the South politically?
• Blacks now became school superintendents,
sheriffs, mayors, judges, Congressmen.
• Republican Party now is seen in the South.
• Corruption in government with building
projects. This became known as Graft.
• Enforcement Acts- Congress made it illegal
to stop a black man from voting.
Changes in the South socially?
• 1. New public school system- now more children
go to school- even some African Americanssegregate. By 1870 more than 200,000 formerly
enslaved people of all ages went to school.
• 2. Racial violence down south.
• 3. Many African American head to cities- form
schools, churches, social institutions.
• 4. Some states allowed African Americans
ownership of homes…create homes for their
families. But very few.
• 5. Legalized African American weddings.
• 6. A few African Americans held jobs- trained
jobs.
Ku Klux Klan • Founded in 1865 by
several confederate
army persons. This
group resisted
reconstruction. They
used violence and
scare tactics to
intimidate the
Freedman and
Republicans.
Reconstruction
• The South was divided into 5 districts under
military rule. Union military soldiers were
among the Southern population. Until each
state passed the 13, 14, 15 amendments they
would not be readmitted and military rule
would continue. This plan (Wade-Davis
Bill) won out and the Radical Republicans
were in charge of American domestic
policy. From 1865-1877 the south was
under military districts.
The military Districts- Radical
Reconstruction
Reconstruction
ELECTION OF 1876 -- COMPROMISE OF
1877- ended Reconstruction
…Rutherford B. Hayes-Republican
V. Samuel Tilden- Democrat
…somehow the Democratic candidate
seemed to win…there was so much
election fraud that no one really knew
who won the election. So the
Republicans made a deal…Hayes won
and the troops were pulled from the
South…reconstruction was over.
Election Map of 1876 Hayes v.
Tilden
Reconstruction
• While Northern troops were in the South in
military districts:
• A. Many African American’s voted.
• B. Many African Americans held public office and
some became leaders in Congress. (Hiram Revels1st African American in the Senate - Mississippi)
• C. This made the Republican party powerful down
South…this was hated by most white Democrats.
• D. Carpetbaggers – Northerners with money who
took advantage of Southerners – graft with gov’t
• E. Scalawags- White Southerners who were
considered traitors because they took advantage of
poor Southerners – graft with Republican gov’t
RECONSTRUCTION
• With the Compromise of 1877 Union troops
were pulled back up North… with the
POLL TAX, LITERACY TESTS,
GRANDFATHER CLAUSE, African
Americans found themselves not being
allowed to vote. The government positions
they had held for 10 or so years now were
taken from them.
Jim Crow Laws in the South
• By 1876 Reconstruction is waning in the South b/c
the U.S. government was weary of governing the
Southern states with military
• Solid South Democrats gain power after
Reconstruction is ended
• States pass Jim Crow Laws that LEGALIZE
segregation / separation of the races
• Plessy v. Ferguson – gave segregation a
foundation – Supreme Court justified “separate by
equal”