Reconstruction and Its Effects
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Reconstruction - the period during which the US began to rebuild after the Civil War which lasted from 1865-1877.
Also the time in which the Federal Government readmitted the Confederate States.
Andrew Johnson (TN) became President after the death of Lincoln – would he
punish or pardon former confederate - How to bring the defeated Confederate states back to the Union.
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Reconstruction Plans
Presidential Reconstruction
Lincoln
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Lincoln believed that secession was constitutionally
impossible and therefore that the Confederate
states never left the Union. Lincoln wished to make
the South’s return to the Union as quick and easy
as possible.
Ten-Percent Plan - The Government would pardon
all Confederates-except high-ranking Confederate
officials and those accused of crimes against
prisoners of war - who would swear their allegiance
to the Union. After 10% of those on the 1860 voting
list took this oath of allegiance, a Confederate state
could form a new government and gain
representation in Congress
Johnson
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To most individual’s dismay, Johnson continued
Lincoln’s polices. The following states, AL, GA, FL,
MS, NC, SC, and Texas, could rejoin the Union if
they meet the following conditions:
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Withdraw its secession
Swear its allegiance to the Union
Annul Confederate war debts, and ratify the 13th
amendment, which abolished slavery
Johnson supported states right - strong central
government (south approved) - he did not favor
former slaves having the right to vote.
“ White men alone must manage the south.”
Radical Republicans - Wanted to destroy the political power of former slaveholders, they wanted African Americans to
be given full citizenship and the right to vote. Thaddeus Stevens – PN rep. wanted to destroy
the power of slaveholders.
Wade-David Bill
– pushed by the Radicals responding to the Ten-Percent Plan proposed that Congress, not the
President, be responsible for Reconstruction. Lincoln used the “pocket veto” to kill the bill.
Radical (Congressional) Reconstruction
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1866 Radical Republicans gained almost
complete control in Congress - sufficient power
to override any potential vetoes by President
Andrew Johnson.
1st Reconstruction Act (Military) in March
1867 the bill reduced the secessionist states to
little more than conquered territory, dividing
them into five military districts, each
governed by a Union general. Congress
declared martial law in the territories,
dispatching troops to keep the peace and
protect former slaves.
Southern states must redraft their constitutions,
ratify the 14th Amendment, and provide
suffrage to blacks in order to seek readmission
into the Union.
Second Reconstruction Act, placing Union
troops in charge of voter registration. Congress
overrode two presidential vetoes from Johnson
to pass the bills.
Major Reconstruction Legislation 1865-1870
Legislation
Provision
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"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime
whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United
States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." This formally abolished and
was passed by the Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states
on December 6, 1865.
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In March 3, 1865, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and
Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, the first
federal agency dedicated to social welfare.
The law granted relief to black and white persons displaced by the Civil War,
but was aimed at assisting the freed slaves in their transition from enslavement
to liberty. The freed slaves were provided basic shelter and medical care,
assistance in labor-contract negotiation and the establishment of schools, and
similar services.
February 1866, Congress passed a second Freedmen’s Bureau Act, which
extended the temporary agency’s life for two years and gave the United States
Army the responsibility of protecting the civil rights of black Americans in the
former Confederate states.
Gave African Americans citizenship and forbade states from passing
discriminatory laws, known as black codes, which severely restricted African
American lives these Black Codes included - Prohibited carrying weapons,
serving on juries, testifying against whites, marring whites.
Ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or
naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed.
In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property,
without due process of law".” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the
14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all
Americans.
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867-68 laid out the process for readmitting
Southern states into the Union
A key feature of the Acts included the creation of five military districts in the
South, each commanded by a general, which would serve as the acting
government for the region
In addition, Congress required that each state draft a new state constitution,
which would have to be approved by Congress. The states also were required
to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and grant
voting rights to black men.
In 1869 Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment, granting all American
males the right to vote. Congress also required secessionist states that had
not yet reentered the Union to ratify the amendment in order to rejoin. By 1870,
three-quarters of the Union had ratified the amendment, and it became law.
The Enforcement Acts were passed by the United States Congress between
1870 and 1871. They were criminal codes which protected blacks’ right to
vote, to hold office, to serve on juries, and receive equal protection of laws.
The laws also said that if the states failed to act and enforce these laws, the
federal government had the right to intervene.
The Enforcement Acts did many things to help freedmen, the main purpose
under this act was the prohibited use of violence or any form of intimidation to
prevent the freedmen from voting and denying them this right
13th Amendment
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Freedman’s Bureau Acts
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Civil Rights Act of 1866
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14th Amendment
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Reconstruction Act 1867-68
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15th Amendment
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Enforcement Act
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The Ku Klux Klan
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The KKK was formed as a social group in Tennessee in 1866. The name probably came from the Greek word kuklos,
meaning "circle." Klan was an alliterative version of "clan," thus Ku Klux Klan suggested a circle, or band, of brothers.
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With the passage of the Military Reconstruction Acts in March 1867, and the prospect of freedmen voting in the South, the
Klan became a political organization. Former Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest served as the Grand Wizard
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The Klan's organized terrorism began most notably on March 31, 1868, when Republican organizer George Ashburn was
murdered in Columbus, Georgia. Attacks on blacks became common during 1868. Freedmen's Bureau agents reported 336
cases of murder or assault with intent to kill on freedmen in Georgia alone from January 1 through November 15 of 1868.