Chapter 17: Reconstructing the Union NATION OF NATIONS, SIXTH EDITION DAVIDSON • DELAY • HEYRMAN • LYTLE • STOFF © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 2 Preview “Reconstruction became the battleground of attempts to define the new shape of the Union. Congress rejected Andrew Johnson’s lenient terms for the South’s reentry and enacted a program that included the principle of black suffrage. African Americans asserted their freedom by uniting divided families, establishing churches, and seeking education and land.” © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 3 The Highlights Presidential Reconstruction Congressional Reconstruction Reconstruction in the South Black Aspirations The Abandonment of Reconstruction © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 4 Presidential Reconstruction Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan – Lincoln in 1863: Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction allowed states to reenter the Union when 10% of qualified voters took oath of loyalty – Radical Republicans disagreed with leniency of the proposal – Lincoln vetoed Wade-Davis Bill – President and Congress working out compromise when he was assassinated © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 5 The Mood of the South – Northerners concerned about the attitude of ex-Confederates – Lincoln’s death complicated the delicate task of dealing with Southerners Johnson’s Program of Reconstruction – Johnson was a native Southerner, but deeply disliked the planter class – Johnson largely followed Lincoln’s plan, at least initially © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 6 © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 7 The Failure of Johnson’s Program – Southern states defied the federal government – Enactment of Black Codes, heavily restrictive laws against African Americans – Elections in the South returned ex-Confederates to power; Johnson’s resolve began to buckle Johnson’s Break with Congress – Issue of black rights drove wedge between president and Congress – Johnson’s vetoes aggravated tensions © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 8 The Fourteenth Amendment – 1866: amendment passed in Congress – Broadened citizenship to include African Americans – Ratified in 1868 in spite of Johnson’s and most Southern states’ opposition The Elections of 1866 – Anti-black riots throughout the South, 1866 – Radicals repudiated Johnson © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 9 Congressional Reconstruction Post-Emancipation Societies in the Americas – United States and Haiti (1804) were the only countries in the Americas where slavery was destroyed by violence – United States was unique in that suffrage was granted almost immediately – Importance of the vision of Radical Republicans © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 10 The Land Issue – Blacks’ desire for land – Failure of land distribution rested on American belief in self-reliance Impeachment – Tenure of Office Act used by Republicans to impeach the president – May 1868: Senate acquitted the president, but only one vote short of conviction (36-19) © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 11 © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. The Southern States during Reconstruction 12 © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 13 Reconstruction in the South Black Office Holding – Black men constituted 80% of Republicans in the South – Most black office holders were literate and came from top levels of black society “Increasingly the success or failure of Reconstruction hinged on developments not in Congress but in the southern states themselves. Power there rested with the new Republican parties, representing a coalition of black and white southerners and transplanted northerners.” © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 14 White Republicans in the South – Black voters were a majority in only three southern states; Republicans therefore needed white votes – Such voters were largely yeoman farmers from the upland districts and “carpetbaggers” (northern transplants) – Serious divisions among southern Republicans © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 15 The New State Governments – New state constitutions included many political and social reforms – All granted political equality but social equality was generally ignored Economic Issues and Corruption – Southern economy in ruins – Corruption was rampant and state debt was skyrocketing © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 16 Black Aspirations Experiencing Freedom – Changing employment was a big step for ex-slaves – Taking last names was a symbolic transition from slavery to freedom “Emancipation came to slaves in different ways and at different times… Whatever the timing, freedom meant a host of precious blessings to people who had been in bondage all their lives.” © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 17 © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 18 The Black Family – African Americans tried to strengthen their families in freedom – Black Americans copied gender roles of white families The Schoolhouse and the Church – Black education was a high priority – Teachers in Freedman’s Bureau schools were typically young northern women – Independent black churches became important nodes of community © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 19 New Working Conditions – Blacks asserted control over their work by refusing the work conditions of slaves – Sharecropping became the typical arrangement; often highly exploitative The Freedman’s Bureau – Bureau’s record was mixed because of divergent racial attitudes of its agents – End of program in 1872 signal of the North’s waning commitment to Reconstruction Planters and a New Way of Life – Planters’ new values focused on economics © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 20 A Georgia Plantation after the War © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 21 The Abandonment of Reconstruction The Election of Grant – Gen. Grant elected in 1868 – 1870: Fifteenth Amendment ratified; granted suffrage to blacks – Proponents of women’s suffrage disappointed by amendment’s silence on women’s suffrage © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 22 The Grant Administration – Corruption under Grant was rampant – Reformers began to focus on cleaning up corruption rather than on blacks’ rights Growing Northern Disillusionment – Civil Rights Act of 1875 was the last major piece of Reconstruction legislation – Economic depression in 1873 led to Democratic resurgence and growing disinterest in issues of Reconstruction © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 23 The Triumph of White Supremacy – Racism not dissipated by Reconstruction – Rise of the Ku Klux Klan led to federal attempts to stem racial violence – Mississippi Plan—bold effort by the Democrats to use force to win the election The Disputed Election of 1876 – Election between Hayes and Tilden unresolved because of votes in last three unreconstructed states – Compromise of 1877 made Hayes president © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 24 Racism and the Failure of Reconstruction – Reconstruction failed for many reasons, racism chief among them – End of the Davis Bend experiment, 1875 “By 1877, the entire South was in the hands of the Redeemers, as they called themselves. Reconstruction and Republican rule had come to an end.” © 2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.