Southern Reconciliation
and the “lost Cause”
Christian Ojeda
Period 1
Southern
Reconstruction
Presidential election 1864
• This election was a major shift in political structure for the South.
• The Republican candidate for the 1864 presidential election was
Abraham Lincoln, who had already completed one term in office.
• The Democrat candidate for the 1864 presidential election was
George McClellan.
• The election was concluded as Abraham Lincoln had remained as
the 16th President of the Union States of America.
• This election is significant as it will affect the process of Southern
reconstruction.
Political structure
• Due to the fact that a Republican (Abraham Lincoln)
was in office, the Legislature was also composed of
many Republican members.
• Because of this, the North was mostly composed of
Republicans.
• The South however did not stop defending their cause
and what they believed in, categorizing the South as
mostly Democrat.
• The Union government was determined to start
reconstructing the South but the South denied the
requests they were sent many times.
Social Structure
• As an outcome of the Civil War, the social structure of the
South flourished rapidly.
• Industrialization was the main cause for this growth of
social structure.
• Cash crops were produced more in the South,
oppose to the demand of cotton that was apparent
during the War
• More industrial factories were built, creating the
opportunity for more Southerners to become
employed and help produce these new products.
• Such occupations became available i.e. shopkeepers,
lawyers, physicians, businessmen.
Social Structure
(Cont.)
• Beliefs had also changed among individuals and
families in the South.
• Some Southerners had accepted the new way of life
they must now live a life without slaves. It was not a
great amount, but was exceptional.
• Some Southerners had only changed their views to make the
conversion of life easier for them.
• Others had not only believed in a life without slaves but
became advocates for the new slave rights.
Southern Reconstruction
• Since the assassination of Lincoln, only a few days after the end
of the War, President Johnson was appointed President of the
Union States of America.
• President Johnson had proposed the plan to begin Southern
reconstruction.
• The first step to this process began with the First Congressional
Reconstruction, which was held from December 1865 to July
1866.
• This 39th Congress meeting was one of the
most important in American history.
• This meeting began the constructing of the
Reconstruction Acts of 1867.
• For the time being, one important issue brought up
during this convention was the proposal of the 14th
Amendment.
Southern Reconstruction
(Cont.)
• There was a Second Congressional Reconstruction in December
1866.
• The Congress became angry towards the South and the President
• The South did not cooperate with the requests sent by the North.
• President Johnson was blamed for the opposition of the South. He
had pro-South beliefs, therefore allowing the reconstruction process
to not happen so quickly as Congress wanted it to.
• After this convention, Congress began the final approach to the
reconstruction and proposed an act, or acts, called the
Reconstruction Act of 1867.
Southern Reconstruction
(Cont.)
Reconstruction Act of 1867
• There are three different acts which this one Act is
composed of.
• Each act, being slightly different from each other, all
dealt with “an act to provide for the more efficient
government of the Rebel States.”
• The First Reconstruction Act was passed March 2, 1867.
• The Second Reconstruction Act was passed March 23, 1867.
• The Third Reconstruction Act was passed July 19, 1867.
Southern Reconstruction
(Cont.)
Reconstruction Act of 1867 (cont.)
• This Reconstruction Act was to be enacted for all
Rebel States, all Confederate states with the exception
of Tennessee, the first state readmitted back to the
Union.
• All three acts were passed by the House and the Senate
but were vetoed by the President, however the
Congress overrode the veto and passed the bill into law.
Southern Reconstruction
(Cont.)
Radical Reconstruction
• This idea was the last major approach for the North to
reconstruct the South.
• This idea was discussed in the third act from the
Reconstruction Act of 1867.
• Radical Reconstruction called for the South to divide
into military districts and for the states to adopt a new
state constitution that will introduce black suffrage in
these new drafts.
Southern Reconstruction
(Cont.)
Radical Reconstruction (cont.)
• This approach was very successful to the extent that
every Rebel State complied with the rules and
conditions of Radical Reconstruction.
• This approach ended with an extra benefit for the
North as the States slowly began to be readmitted into
the Union States of America.
Southern Reconstruction
(Cont.)
Readmission of the States (Back into the Union)
1.
Tennessee – July 24, 1866
7.
Alabama – July 14, 1868
2.
Arkansas – June 24, 1868
8.
Virginia – January 26, 1870
3.
Louisiana – June 25, 1868
9.
Mississippi – February 23, 1870
4.
Florida – June 25, 1868
10. Texas – March 20, 1870
5.
North Carolina – June 25, 1868 11. Georgia – July 15, 1870
6.
South Carolina – June 25, 1868
Conclusion of Southern
Reconstruction
• Once the Rebel States had been readmitted to the Union States of
America, the single nation was called the United States of
America.
• This final action that concluded the reconstruction of the South
was the ratification of the 15th Amendment. Since the end of the
Civil War, Amendment 13, 14, and 15 were ratified.
• Amendment 13: Ratified December 6, 1865; Slavery (or involuntary
servitude) shall no longer exist within the United States
• Amendment 14: Ratified July 9, 1868; All persons born or naturalized
are citizens of the United States and the state they reside in.
• Amendment 15: Ratified February 3 (or 17), 1870; All citizens of the
United States have the right to vote, despite color, race, or any previous
condition of servitude.
The “lost cause” &
Reconciliation
CONCEPT
• The “Lost Cause” is considered the aftermath emotion
toward the end of the Civil War from the Southerners’
perspectives. It is a described as the way the South
must now deal with a new way of life as well as
commemorating the lives that died for their cause, to
keep their slave rights.
• This concept derived from the Ghosts of the
Confederacy, which consists of Confederate veterans
and strong Confederate advocates.
• These “Ghosts” supported their people was well as
their accomplishments made in during the War.
Concept
(Cont.)
• As more Southerners began to grasp this
concept of the Lost Cause, they began to
remember the war the way they want to
remember it.
• The South believed that their cause was something
the Union could not understand as well as they do.
• The South also began to believe their surrender to
the Union was merely a subsidiary defeat. This
was believed as so to not seem like imposters
when boasting about their accomplishments and
honors.
Reconciliation
Freedmen’s Bureau Act
• This act, established by Congress on
March 3, 1865, created an agency, or
organization, known as the Freedmen’s
Bureau and The U.S. Bureau of Refugees,
Freedmen and Abandoned Lands.
• This organization was used to assist the newly freed, yet
poor, slaves and the abandoned white people after the end
of the War.
• This organization was established in 1865 with Oliver Howard
as the Head.
• Provided food, shelter, medical and financial aide to people of
these categories.
• This organization was placed under the supervision of the U.S.
Department of Defense.
Reconciliation
(cont.)
Issues with the Freedmen’s Bureau Act
• This act was approved by Lincoln before his assassination
but was not enforced correctly by President Johnson.
• This act was meant to be existent and help assist these
people only within the first year since the end of the Civil
War but was shut down by Congress in 1872, due to lack of
funding.
• Many of the white people had gained their land back and
left nothing for the freed slaves.
• More land = Successful individual
Reconciliation
(cont.)
• As many more Southerners began to believe in the
concept of the Lost Cause and the purpose of the
Freedmen’s Bureau weakened, African American
rights were ultimately ignored.
• Many of the Ghosts were frustrated by their new rights.
• Because of the frustration white people were having
against African American rights, they formed white
supremacies, two of which we know of very well.
Reconciliation
(cont.)
• The two major white supremacies formed during this
time of the Lost Cause were the Ku Klux Klan, KKK,
and the White League.
• There was not a difference between these two
organizations besides the members, however it was the
job of both groups to use violence in order to stop and
scare African Americans of their new citizenship.
O. P. V. L.
“The Union As It Was” by Thomas
Nast. Published in Harper’s Weekly,
October 1874
O. P. V. L.
• Origin (O): The cartoon was illustrated by Thomas Nast. It was
published in October 1874 in Harper’s Weekly newspaper.
• Purpose (P): The purpose of this cartoon depicts a type of
propaganda which shows how the power of these two major
white supremacies during this reconciliation period are the central
organizations in fighting against the new rights given to African
Americans since the end of the War. Their hate for black people
is shows as the slave family in the flag of the picture is crouching
in fear, supporting the evidence that violence was present in order
to make these people fear the white supremacies. There is a
negative comment towards the advocates of the freedom and
suffrage of slaves (Union), and a positive comment towards the
advocates of these supremacies, the Ghosts of the Confederacy.
O. P. V. L.
(cont.)
• Value (V): The value of this cartoon was the time in which
it was created, being in 1874, during the active movement of
these supremacies throughout the country. It is historically
accurate as the illustrator captures significant roles of the
White League and the Ku Klux Klan being the violence
during the time of Southern reconciliation.
• Limitation (L): The limitation of this cartoon is that it is
biased in terms of being supportive propaganda for these
white supremacies. It also depicts the opinions of the
Ghosts of the Confederacy only, not including the opinions
of the opposing advocates, supporting the civil rights of
African Americans.
Conclusion to Southern
reconciliation
• This period of violence and hate continued until the
end of the 1870s as the White League and the KKK
both diminished in the shadow of Southern
reconstruction.
• The KKK would surface again even stronger during the civil
rights movement of the 1960s.
• Now, Southerners began to come to terms with the
new way of life they must have to live and began to
show signs of reconciliation after the Civil War.
Bibliography
•
"Lost Cause." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 20
http://americanhistory.abclio.com/Search/Display/294606?terms=lost+cause
•
"White League and Ku Klux Klan terrorize cowering African Americans.” Photos/Illustrations. Library of Congress.
American History. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
http://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1582171?terms=lost+cause
•
McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print.
•
Foster, Gaines M. Ghosts of the Confederacy: Defeat, the Lost Cause, and the Emergence of the New South, 1865 to 1913. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1987. Print.
•
"Reconstruction: Political & Economic, 1865-1877." - 1962, Page Iii by William Archibald Dunning. Web. 8 Oct. 2014.
http://www.questia.com/read/16224153/reconstruction-political-economic-1865-1877
•
Beck, Tim. How “The Ghosts of the Confederacy” Changed the South. Sandia High School, July 26, 2007. Print
•
American Experience: Reconstruction, the Second Civil War. PBS, 1997-2004.
Print.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/states/sf_timeline.html
•
Carr, F.L. A Timeline of Reconstruction: 1865-1877. GMU’s History 122, June 23, 1998. Print.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/recon/chron.html
•
US Constitution. Amend. XIII. Amend. XIV. Amend. XV. Print.
•
“Freedmen’s Bureau.” HISTORY. American History. 2014. Print.
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedmens-bureau