SSUSH10
The student will identify legal,
political, and social dimensions of
Reconstruction
Introduction
• Reconstruction refers to the period of United
States history immediately following the Civil
War, from 1865 to 1877.
• The economy and infrastructure across most
of the South had been utterly devastated by
the war, and even prior to the end of the war,
Lincoln and other politicians had been
working on the problem of re-incorporating
the southern states into the Union.
10.a- Compare and contrast Presidential Reconstruction with
Radical Republican Reconstruction
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Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction was one of reconciliation. Fearing resistance and a prolonging of
war, Lincoln did not want to impose harsh terms on the South. In late 1863 the Proclamation of
Amnesty and Reconstruction promised a full pardon to Confederates who promised to take an oath
of allegiance to the United States, and accept the end of slavery.
Resistance to the presidential plan surfaced immediately in Congress among a faction that came to
be known as the “Radical Republicans.” Led by long-time abolitionists Thaddeus Stevens and
Charles Sumner, the Radical Republicans thought Lincoln’s plan too soft. They wanted to treat the
South as conquered country, to “revolutionize Southern institutions, habits, and manners,” by
barring former Confederates from public office and ensuring full suffrage and political equality for
freed slaves.
Derided as “Black Republicans” by many- the radicals were unable to persuade the moderate
Republican majority in Congress. The moderate Republicans tried to produce a compromise
between the presidential and radical plans (Wade-Davis Bill), but Lincoln blocked it with a pocket
veto.
Lincoln’s assassination only days after Lee’s surrender threw Reconstruction policy into complete
turmoil. Vice President Andrew Johnson stuck to Lincoln’s plans with a lenient policy that allowed
Southern states to quickly reform their governments and rejoin the Union. Many Confederate
officials, even the CSA’s vice-president ,were able to retain political power in state governments.
This, along with the passage of Black Codes across the South convinced many moderate
Republicans to join the Radicals in hoping for a more stringent readmission program for the former
states.
The election of 1866 gave the Radicals a majority in Congress, thus ending Presidential
Reconstruction, and beginning the so-called Radical Reconstruction.
Radical Reconstruction
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The radicals in Congress refused to seat the Southern members attempting to rejoin under
Johnson’s plan. They also immediately sought to combat the Black Codes with the Civil Rights Act of
1866, which attempted to grant freed slaves equality under law. To further reinforce the Civil Rights
Act, they also proposed the 14th Amendment. Many in Congress pushed to have ratification of the
amendment requisite for readmission.
Violence erupted in the spring of 1866- most notoriously when a white mob attacked Black
communities in Memphis- burning churches and schools, and killing 46.
Despite some opposition to the Radical agenda, Republicans emerged a clear majority from the
election of 1866 and began to implement their plan for Reconstruction.
In March of 1867, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Act, which divided the South into
five military districts, to be administered by the U.S. Army. Each state would now be required to
reconvene a constitutional convention, approve universal male suffrage, and ratify the 14th
Amendment as a condition of readmission. By late 1868, six former Confederate states had met the
requirements and had been readmitted.
The Republican Congress neutralized any opposition from Johnson with his impeachment. Union
war hero U.S. Grant was the near unanimous choice for president in the election of 1868. Grant
won easily and with the backing of a supportive president, Military Reconstruction continued.
Congress introduced the 15th Amendment- which was intended to guarantee suffrage regardless of
“race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” By March 1870, the 15th amendment had been
ratified, and Reconstruction entered yet another phase, as Republican sponsored governments in
the South attempted to introduce major reforms.
Radical Reconstruction
• With the aid of federal bayonets, the Republican-controlled state
governments across the South instituted reforms that sought to
enact the spirit of the 14th and 15th amendments by ensuring that
African Americans had full political equality.
• Under Republican rule, African-Americans were elected to state
legislatures and local offices across the South. 14 African-American
House Members and 2 Senators were elected to the federal
Congress. Meanwhile, resistance to such reforms took the form of
terror, by hooded “night riders” of the KKK and other secret antiBlack organizations.
• Throughout the 1870s Southern Democrats worked to regain
political control and “redeem” Southern governments from
Republicans.
• Although Grant had been reelected in 1872, his second term was
plagued by scandal and a declining economy that hurt support for
the Republicans nationwide. As will be shown in SSUSH10.f,
Republicans following Grant would be forced to abandon military
reconstruction to retain power.
10.b- Explain efforts to redistribute land in the South among the
former slaves and provide advanced education (e.g. Morehouse
College) and describe the role of the Freedman’s Bureau
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During Reconstruction some Radical Republicans proposed to confiscate
Confederate plantations and re-distribute the land among the slaves who had
toiled on them.
Some experiments with redistributing land of abandoned plantations along the
South Carolina and Georgia coasts were undertaken to assist the 40,000 refugee
freemen following Sherman’s “March to the Sea.” The crisis prompted Lincoln to
organize the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands- better known
as the Freedmen’s Bureau.
The Freedmen’s Bureau organized immediate relief for war refugees with rations
and clothing. The Bureau also oversaw efforts to provide education to freedmen
and their children by establishing schools across the South. The Bureau also
promoted advanced education, helping to establish institutions such as Howard
University and Morehouse College, among others.
Although the Freedman’ s Bureau made some gains for African-American
communities across the South, the idea of confiscating land for redistribution
never had enough support to be implemented on a wide scale. Opponents of land
redistribution argued that the sanctity of private property rights could never be
infringed upon and the idea slowly fell from the picture of Reconstruction
altogether.
10.c- Describe the significance of the 13
th,
14th and 15th
amendments
• The three “Civil War” amendments deal with
the end of slavery, citizenship/equal
protection, and voting rights, respectively.
• Section 1 of the 14th Amendment, containing
the “due process” clause, and the “equal
protection” clause remains one the most
important areas of Constitutional law.
Amendment 14
(July 28, 1868)
14th Amendment
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are
citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective
numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the
right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United
States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the
Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age,
and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other
crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such
male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and VicePresident, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having
previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member
of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of
the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort
to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred
for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be
questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation
incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or
emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this
article.
15th Amendment
(March 30, 1870)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude-Section 2. The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
10.d- Explain Black Codes, the Ku Klux Klan, and other forms
of resistance to racial equality during Reconstruction
• Under Presidential Reconstruction, Southern leaders took
advantage of the leniency to enact a series of laws, known as “Black
Codes,” that sought to severely limit the rights of freedmen,
including in some cases the right to own property, contract for
wages, or work in any jobs outside of agriculture.
• Radical Republicans countered the Black Codes with the Civil Rights
Act of 1866 and the 14th and 15th Amendments, but resistance to
these efforts remained high across the South. Throughout the
Reconstruction era, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan used terror
tactics to prevent Blacks, Scalawags, Carpetbaggers, and
Republicans from political participation.
• Southern propagandists encouraged open resistance to “Black
Republican” rule, and one-by-one, the Democrats regained power
in state governments until the final “redemption” after the
Compromise of 1877.
10.e- Explain the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in
relationship to Reconstruction
• The political battle over the direction of Reconstruction policy resulted in
the first presidential impeachment proceedings in U.S. history.
• After the Radical Republicans passed the Military Reconstruction Act, their
only real obstacle was the possibility of Johnson refusing to execute the
law by deploying the army. In order to prevent Johnson from replacing his
Secretary of War (Edwin Stanton, an ally of the Congress), they passed the
Tenure of Office Act. The law was intended to prevent the president from
dismissing an appointee that required Congressional approval.
• When Johnson tried to derail militarization of the South by firing Stanton,
Congress brought charges to impeach Johnson for refusing to enforce the
Tenure of Office Act.
• Johnson was spared a conviction by one vote, but was stripped of what
little political influence he had left. He finished his lame duck term and did
not seek reelection.
• As discussed, Johnson was succeeded by another Republican who was
more than willing and able to direct a military occupation of the
recalcitrant South- U.S. Grant- hero of the Civil War.
Andrew Johnson
10.f Analyze how the presidential election of 1876 and the
subsequent Compromise of 1877 marked the end of
Reconstruction.
• The outcome of the presidential election of 1876 led to the final undoing
of Reconstruction. The Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, while
Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden. Tilden had more popular votes, and
led in the Electoral College, but was one vote shy of a majority, due to 20
disputed Electoral votes in three southern states- which just happened to
be the last three “unredeemed” southern states still controlled by
Republicans.
• Congress appointed a commission to investigate the election in Louisiana,
South Carolina and Florida and determined that Hayes should receive the
electoral votes in question, which allowed him to win the election.
• Although no irrefutable “smoking gun” has ever been identified, it is
widely assumed by historians that Hayes and the Republicans struck a deal
with Democrats in the House to give the election to Hayes in exchange for
withdrawing the army and ending southern reconstruction. In any event,
Hayes did withdraw federal troops and the last of the Republican
governments in the South collapsed. The “Redeemer” governments then
systematically disenfranchised southern African Americans, who would be
forced to endure nearly a century of segregation and oppression before
their votes were effectively restored.
Rutherford B Hayes