Reconstruction
What do you remember??
• Who is constitutionally in charge?
• If the South had seceded, was reconstruction under the
jurisdiction of the President or the Congress?
• If they had not left the union, then Reconstruction could be
handled by the President under his executive pardoning
power.
• If they HAD left the union, then Congress should handle it.
Essential Question:
• 1. Extreme: the states had no constitutional existence
and the Congress had to decide how and when they were
readmitted. (PUNISH!! Sumner & Stevens)
• 2. Moderate: the states had forfeited their constitutional
rights and Congress had to determine how to restore
them. (most Republicans)
• 3. Lenient: rebellion had not affected the south’s status;
could be restored to union by executive pardon.
(Lincoln)
3 positions on
Reconstruction
•
•
•
•
Political justice for blacks (vote)
Restore the South to the union
“with malice toward none, charity toward all”
Pardon to all but the civic/military leaders of the
Confederacy; when any 10% of registered voters in 1860
took oath, they could set up a new state gov’t; they HAD
to abolish slavery
Lincoln’s 10% plan
• So Johnson, who is not as respected (or as wise), carries
through w/ Lincoln’s plan EXCEPT he would not let
anyone with more than $20,000 worth of property be
pardoned.
• Why? Not a fan of the southern aristocracy
• BUT: he pardons more than 13,000 former Confederates
But Lincoln dies….
• Brainstorm a list:
• What did African Americans want? What did “freedom”
mean?
• What did whites, both Northern and Southern, want?
What were the goals of
Reconstruction?
• Freedmen’s Bureau: supervise and
manage all abandoned lands; issue
provisions, fuel, clothing, etc, oversee
courts, establish schools
Government’s actions:
• Granted citizenship and equal protection
under the law to African Americans
• (overturned Dred Scott)
• Johnson VETOED
• Congress overrode a presidential veto for
the 1st time in history!
Civil Rights Act of 1866
• Abolished governments formed in former Confederate
states (that were being run by former Confederates!)
under the Lincoln/Johnson plan
• Divided those states into 5 military districts
• Set up requirements for readmission to Union: grant
African American men the vote AND ratify the 14th
Amendment
Johnson vetoes; Congress overrode
Reconstruction Act of
1867
• And one tidbit I forgot:
• Back to 1864: The Wade Davis bill-- Congress didn’t like
Lincoln’s 10% plan; they wrote a bill to make a majority of
former Confederates take the oath
• Lincoln vetoed it; sets the stage for the
presidential/congressional showdown.
But Johnson will be the one to fight it.
Bellwork: EOC Question
• Johnson fires Edwin Stanton (Secretary of War), ignoring
the Tenure of Office Act
• Congress was just WAITING for something to bust him
on….this is it. So they impeach him.
• 11 week trial Falls short by 1 necessary vote.
In the meantime….
• Get in groups of 3 for the following activity
• LISTEN for directions!!
• You will have about 3 minutes with each source.
So how successful is
Reconstruction?
• Explain 3 pieces of evidence that
we examined yesterday that
demonstrate the failure of
Reconstruction.
BE SPECIFIC
Bellwork Q
• Go over the primary sources
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nowsS7pMApI
“Reconstruction” with our
favorite (or most hated)
history geek
• 13th: Abolishes slavery
• 14th: Provides Equal Protection and Due
Process (legal rights!)
• Extremely important for many pivotal cases for
the next 150 years!
• 15th: The right to vote
• To whom?? How is it limited? Who might
have a problem with this??
RECONSTRUCTION
AMENDMENTS
• All states are back in the Union
• But Reconstruction continues for ECONOMIC reasons
By 1870:
• Political issues:
• Carpetbaggers
• Scalawags and
• African Americans
• These 3 often had conflicting goals
• Economic issues: Sharecropping
• Black Codes: (social, political AND economic issues)
• Rise of extremist groups
Things to know:
• Amnesty Act: returns right to vote and hold office to
160,000 former Confederates
• Freedmen’s Bureau expires
• Presidential Election: scandals in Grant administration
break down any Republican unity
1872
• The Panic: an economic depression that lasts 5 years
• Northern attention shifts from Reconstruction to their
own personal interests
1873
Which of the following is an enduring achievement of
Reconstruction?
A. A guarantee of universal suffrage for former slaves
B. The extension of civil rights through constitutional
amendments.
C. The establishment of universal and integrated public
education.
D. A tradition of economic cooperation between
geographic regions.
Bellwork:
• Hayes vs. Tilden: Tilden gets popular vote, but 1 electoral
vote shy
• A commission (with Republican majority) strikes a deal
with southern Democrats to get Hayes approved:
• REMOVE ALL FEDERAL TROOPS from LA and SC (2 of
the 3 states Republicans governed)
Compromise of ‘77
• Those Democrats who began to regain control of the
region as the Republican party fell apart. They called
their return to power “redemption.”
The Redeemers
• Is it a failure or a success?
• Look at the chart on pg. 200 and develop an argument for
1 of the 2 sides
So Reconstruction
effectively ends in that
year
• Reconstruction was a success in the amendments that
were added to the Constitution, abolishing slavery and
giving African Americans legal and civil rights. It was,
however, also a failure in that, even though African
Americans were free, they were not always treated fairly.
The sharecropping cycle caused them to be dependent on
the white landowners. The white governments instituted
Black Codes to limit their social and economic freedoms.
And the threat of violence was constant from those who
did not want blacks integrated into society.