RECONSTRUCTION
Chapter 10
Objective 3.4 Analyze the political, economic and
social impact of reconstruction & why it came to
an end
LINCOLN’S 10%
PLAN



Amnesty to all but a few
Southerners who took
an oath of loyalty to the
US & accepted its
proclamations
concerning slavery
When 10% of voters took
the oath they could
organize a new state
government
Members of former
Confederate government
and military would not
receive amnesty
Proclamation of Amnesty &
Reconstruction -1863
* Lincoln assassinated April 1865
Goal-Rapid readmission of seceding
states
RADICAL REPUBLICANS
Didn’t want reconciliation
with Southerners
 Wanted to “revolutionize
southern institutions,
habits, and manners”
 Prevent leaders of
Confederacy from
returning to power
 Institute Republican
Party in the South
 Guarantee of African
American right to vote in
the South
 Opposed Lincoln’s Plan
Leading Radical Republicans

Rep. Thaddeus Stevens

Sen. Charles Sumner
Radicals knew that once the South was admitted
back into the Union, they (the South) would gain
15 seats because slaves now counted as a
whole person not 3/5!
The WADE DAVIS BILL – summer
1864
Required former Confederates to take an oath of
allegiance to the Union
 Once a majority did, the state could hold a
Constitutional Convention to rewrite their
Constitutions
 Requirement of abolishing slavery
 Requirement of depriving all former Confederate
officials & officers the right to vote & hold office
 Lincoln did not sign the bill – (pocket vetoed)
killing it
 Lincoln did not want a “harsh peace”

RECONSTRUCTION
Vision of Former Slaves
Freedom from white
control
 Reunions with family
they were separated
from
 Control over their
labor
 Income to support
families

Vision of Former
Planters




Needed ex-slaves to
work the land
Control over ex-slaves
Black codes – laws
passed by states to
severely limit the rights
of African Americans
To keep African
Americans similar to
slaves
REFUGEE CRISIS

Former slaves followed Sherman’s march in search for food
Sherman gave abandoned plantations to them (40,000
former slaves settled on land between SC & Ga. )

The Freedman’s Bureau







Established by Congress-1865; led by Oliver O.
Howard
Organized the feeding, clothing & housing of war
refugees (immediate concern at end of war)
Aided former slaves in search for work (work
contracts)
Established courts to deal with grievances
Successful in establishing education for African
Americans (built schools, hired teachers)
Many Northerners argued that freedmen should get
“40 Acres & a Mule”- idea never came to pass!
Southern View of Freedman’s Bureau
A Southern Democrat
added to Lincoln’s
Ticket to gain votes
in Tenn. back in the
Union in 1864.
• former Sen. Of Tenn.
•Remained loyal to
Union when Tenn.
Seceded.
• Lincoln named
him Military Gov.
after Tenn. rejoined
Union.
ANDREW JOHNSON’S PLAN

Proclamation of Amnesty
1.
2.
3.
4.



Pardon of all former Confederate
citizens who took oath of loyalty
Property would be returned to them
Excluded former officers, officials &
Planters who had property of
$20,000 or more – all had to apply
for a presidential pardon personally.
Had to approve the 13th Amendment
When Congress returned to session
in Dec. 1865-Johnson’s plan was
well underway
Many former Confederate leaders
had been elected to serve in US
Congress (Alexander Stephens)
Angered northerners & Radical
Republicans
Post-Civil War Amendments & Acts
13TH Amendment –abolished slavery in the US
 Civil Rights Act of 1866

Passed to combat the Black codes
 Granted citizenship to all person born in US except
Native Americans
 Allowed African Americans to own property &
receive equal treatment in court
 Resulted in violence in the South


14th Amendment



Quickly passed for fear the Civil Rights Act would be
overturned in Supreme Court
Equal Protection Amendment-applied to Federal Gov
Granted citizenship to all persons born in US or
naturalized
Congressional Elections of 1866
President Johnson- attacked the 14th Amendment
& hoped voters would also
 July 1866- white mobs in attacked legislators in
New Orleans who supported black rights
 Republicans accused Democrats of starting the
Civil War
 The Election- Republicans won a ¾ majority in
Congress= Radical Republicans will control
Johnson & Reconstruction!!
 NOW- Republicans could override any
presidential veto by Johnson– but were still
afraid he might interfere with their
Reconstruction Plans

*MILITARY RECONSTRUCTION
ACT
March 1867- Plan developed by Radical
Republicans
 Divided the south into 5 military districts
where a Union general was placed in each one
 Constitutional Conventions were required with
the right to vote given to all male citizens
regardless of race
 Ratification of the 14th amendment
 Military would remain in the state until
completed
 By 1868 6 states were readmitted to the Union
under this plan.
 Republicans knew that they could override veto!

Southern Readmission to the Union Under Military Reconstruction
ANDREW JOHNSON’S IMPEACHMENT

Command of the Army Act – required all
orders from President to go through Gen. Grant &
required the Senate to approve the removal of any
government official





Tenure of Office Act- required Senate approval
to fire any government official that had been
approved by the Senate
Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton
Congress voted to impeach Johnson for breaking the law
Came within 1 vote (requires 2/3 vote)
Belief it would set a dangerous precedent to impeach a
president just because he did not agree with Congressional
policies
Johnson Completes his Term & the
Election of 1868
Johnson did not interfere with Reconstruction
again for the rest of his term.
 Completed his term
 Did not run for re-election in 1868
Election of 1868- Grant v. Horatio Seymour
 Republicans nominate U.S. Grant
 Republicans “waved the bloody shirt”
 Presence of Union troops in the South= black
men (500,000) allowed to vote= they vote for
Grant!
 Grant won 6 Southern states & most Northern
states

The 15th Amendment
Congress passed the 15th Amendment- granting
black men the right to vote.
 Key- allowed black men to vote in the South=
they vote for the Republicans & Grant 1868
 By 1870- 2/3 of states had ratified it & it became
part of the US Constitution
 Significance- Radical Reconstruction began to
bring blacks into the politics & change southern
society
 Southern whites were angry= lashed back!!

Republican Rule in the South
By 1870- all former Confederate states had
rejoined the Union under Congressional (Military
Reconstruction).
 Southerners disliked the Republican Party- it
included Northerners & it contained blacks.
 Many Northerners moved South & were
appointed to positions new state governments
 Southern Democrats called them “carpetbaggers”
 White southerners who helped the Republican
governments were nicknamed –scalawags.
 Scalawags- former Whigs, or owners of small
farms, or southern businessmen

African Americans in Politics- “Black
Republicanism”
At first blacks who had been educated before the
war assumed leadership in politics in the South
 100’s of formerly enslaved men served in state
constitutional conventions, won local elections,
served in state legislatures.
 14 African-Americans were elected to the US
House under Military Reconstruction (Joseph
Rainey-1st )
 2 African-Americans were elected to the US
Senate: Hiram Revels & Blanche K. Bruce

Blanche K. Bruce
Hiram Revels
Republican Reforms
How were Republicans able to take control of politics
in the South?

Presence of Union troops, black men allowed to
vote

Large number of poor white Southerners
supported Reconstruction & election of Republican
candidates.
Republicans Reforms in the South
1.
Repealed the Black Codes
2.
Made more state offices elective
3.
Established schools, state hospitals
4.
Built roads, railways, bridges & industry

Imposed high property taxes & debt

Graft- corruption existed during this era
African-American Communities
After the war, blacks built their own churchescenter of life in the community
Education
 By 1870, 4,000 school & 9,000 teachers est. by
Freedman’s Bureau
 A comprehensive public school system emerged
in the South
 1876- 40% of African-American children attended
school
 Higher Education- Morehouse College (Ga.),
Howard University (Wsahington-1867)
 1881- Tuskegee Institute (University); first
teacher Booker T. Washington

The Ku Klux Klan
Southerners organized secret societies to resist
Reconstruction
 1866- The Ku Klux Klan was organized by
former Confederate Nathan Bedford Forrest in
Tenn.
 Goal- drive out carpetbaggers, intimidate black
voters, regain control of the South for Democrat
Party

The US Government Fights the Klan


1.
2.
3.



President Grant-outraged at Klan activities
1870-1871- Congress passed three
Enforcement Acts laws to restrict the Klan.
Made it a federal crime to interfere with a
citizen’s right to vote.
Placed Federal elections under supervision of
federal marshals.
KKK Act- outlawed Klan activities
3,000 Klansmen & officials were arrested
Southern juries convicted only about 600
Hard to enforce
The Grant Administration (1868-1876)




1.
2.
3.
Grant not a politician- had only voted once.
Policy- Continue Reconstruction using federal troops to
enforce.
Surrounded himself with corrupt & incompetent advisors
Grant’s Presidency plagued by scandals & economic
problems (2nd term)
Sec. of War (William Belknap) was impeached & resigned=
he accepted bribes.
The Whiskey Ring Scandal (1875)- government officials
& whiskey distillers cheated government out of taxes;
Grant’s personal secretary involved.
Credit Mobilier Scandal (1872)- Union Pacific RR
investors formed Credit Mobilier & hired themselves at
inflated prices to build the RR Line; bribed members of
Congress.
The Panic of 1873
Started when a series of bad Railroad
investments forced a major bank –Jay Cooke &
Co. to go bankrupt= smaller banks close= 1000’s
of businesses shut down
 Scandals & Economic crisis allowed Democrats to
win control of Congress in 1874 & make gains in
the Senate
 Northerners became more concerned about the
economy not-Reconstruction

“Redeeming” the South
1870’s- Southern Democrats regained control of
state & local governments.
 KKK & other groups- intimidated blacks & white
Republicans
 Election fraud was common (usually against
Republicans in the South)
 Southern Democrats –called on whites to
“redeem” the South from Republican rule
 By 1876- Democrats controlled all southern state
governments except- Louisiana, SC, & Florida.

Election of 1876
Republicans did not nominate Grant for 3rd term
 Rutherford B. Hayes ® V. Samuel Tilden (D)
 Hayes wanted to end Reconstruction
Election Day
 Tilden won 184 electoral votes (1 short of a
majority); Hayes won 165 electoral votes.
 20 electoral votes were in dispute (19 votes in 3
Southern states: La., SC, & Florida)
 Election fraud in all three states= disputed election

Electoral Map of 1876
**The Compromise of 1877
Congress appointed a 15 person commission to
settle the deputed election (8 Republicans/ 7
Democrats)
 The commission voted 8 to 7 to give Hayes the
election.
 Next- The House would vote
 A few Southern Democrats voted with
Republicans to give Hayes the election!
 Within a month- President Hayes removed US
troops from the South
 Significance- Reconstruction Ends!!!
 Was there a secret deal?

The “Solid South”
The “New South” Emerges
Southern leaders called for a New South to
emerge= less reliant on agriculture; more emphasis
on industries .
 Northerners & Rich Southerners used capital to
build RR’s (1890- 40,000 miles of track in the
South)
 Northerners moved textile mills to the South
 NC- tobacco became big business (James B. Duke)
 Socially- little change
 Still remained mostly agriculture

The Sharecropping System
Most blacks & poor whites returned to
plantations & farms owned by whites to work the
land
 Worked for wages or became Tenant Farmers
 Most Tenant Farmers became Sharecroppers
(paid land rent with shares of crop)
 Furnishing Merchants- supplied fertilizer,
seed, equipment to sharecroppers on credit at
high rates of interest.
 Debts owed= crop liens= debt peonage
 Failure to pay debts= imprisonment or forced
labor.
 Blacks & poor whites trapped in a system similar
to slavery.

Sharecroppers