Blog notes
- 1. Reconstruction and the New South
- 3. Huge problems after Civil War ended Vast parts of the South were ruined Homeless refugees scattered across the South Both African American & Whites Needed: food, shelter, & work Biggest problem Suppressing the hard feelings between the North & South
- 4. Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction December 1863 10% of voters need to take loyalty oath to U.S. New gov’t could then be formed Declare an end to slavery Members of state could be sent to Congress to take part in national gov’t Plan included amnesty for former Confederates Not for Confederate gov’t leaders or military leaders
- 5. Stricter than 10% plan 50% of voters to swear loyalty oath Voluntary Confederate soldiers not allowed to vote for delegates meeting to form new state constitution Lincoln refused the bill & it never became law Lincoln thought his lenient plan would promote a strong Republican party in the South Radical Republicans opposed lenient plan & wanted strict plan Thought strict plan would keep Confederates who led the secession from regaining power
- 6. Developed to deal with the needs of freed African Americans & war refugees after the war 1st Duty: provide emergency relief 2nd: set up schools to teach freed slaves to read & write African American communities also set up their own schools & paid for teachers by pooling money Many white northern women were teachers as well as black northern women Continue education centers were also started Public Education system to education whites & blacks in most southern states
- 7. Bureau also helped freedmen find jobs & resolve disputes between whites & blacks Bureau also set up its own court system to deal with cheaters
- 8. April 14, 1865 5 DAYS after the war John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln at the Ford’s Theater in Washington Shot Lincoln in the head with a single bullet Booth later shot & killed after the barn he was hiding in was set on fire 8 others convicted & 4 were hung for their part in the plot to kill Lincoln Nation shocked by death Huge crowds paid their last respects & Lincoln’s body was transported back to Illinois for burial Vice President Andrew Johnson, southern Democrat, became President Showed bitterness toward the Confederacy before & during the war, many expected him to take a strict approach to Reconstruction
- 9. The Battle Over Reconstruction
- 10. Andrew Johnson Proposed lenient plan of Reconstruction Put plan into effect himself, did not consult w/ legislators
- 11. January 1865 Congress approved amendment to abolish slavery throughout the nation Banned slavery & forced labor Congress had power to make laws to enforce its terms
- 12. Amnesty offered Southern states could organize new gov’t & elect reps. for Congress Had to abolish slavery & ratify the 13th Amendment December 1865 Most states met Johnson’s requirements Senators elected included many former Confederate leaders Congress rejected plan 1st: refused to seat southern senators & reps. 2nd: two houses appointed a committee to form a new plan for the South Heard testimony about black codes: new laws used by southern states to control African Americans
- 13. Black Codes Replaced slavery w/ near slavery Caused hard line in Congress Radical Republicans Wanted to prevent former Confederates from regaining control over southern politics To protect the freedmen & guarantee them a right to vote
- 14. Granted citizenship rights to African Americans and guaranteed the civil rights of all people except Native Americans Vetoed by Johnson & another bill extending the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau Congress voted to overturn vetoes, & both received 2/3 vote of each house & became law
- 15. All people born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens States may not pass laws that take away a citizen’s rights; cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property w/o due process of law, or deny equal protection of the laws. Any state that denies the vote to any male citizen over the age of 21, will have representation in Congress reduced (not enforced until 1970s) Became powerful tool for enforcing civil rights
- 16. 1866 election Rioters & police killed many African Americans in southern cities Led Congress to push for a stricter form of Reconstruction
- 17. Radical Republicans Won support to begin strict reconstruction Reconstruction Act of 1867 Removed gov’t of all southern states that did not ratify 14th Amendment Imposed military rule & divided states into five military districts Before returning to Union, each state had to write new state constitution & ratify 14th Amendment Also had to let African Americans vote
- 18. African Americans Were elected as sheriffs, mayors 18 served in Congress Radical Reconstruction Southern states opened public schools, legislators spread tax money more evenly, & made fairer voting rules, gave property rights to women, states rebuilt bridges, roads & buildings Republican Party built a strong following from 3 groups Scalawags: southern whites who had opposed secession Freedmen voters Carpetbaggers: name given by southerners to northern whites who went south to start businesses or pursue political office
- 19. Approved in 1869 Barred all states from denying African American males the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude Did not prevent states from requiring voters to own property or pay a voting tax
- 20. Secret societies created by white shut out of power to terrorize African Americans & their white allies Would threaten African American voters, burn crosses in their yard When threats failed they would: whip, torture, shoot, or hang African Americans & white Republicans Congress responded to violence w/ new laws Ku Klux Klan Acts of 1870 & 1871 Barred use of force against voeters
- 21. The End of Reconstruction
- 22. Radical Republicans Support declined People focused more on their own lives Grant’s Scandals Poor public office appointments Corruption of appointees Grant Claimed no part in scandals, but reputation was hurt Won reelection in 1872, but Northerners lost faith in Republicans & their policies
- 23. Amnesty for Confederates? Northerners & Southerners both wanted the withdrawal of federal troops & amnesty for Confederates 1869 Republican opponents: began taking back the south one state at a time Chipped away at African Americans rights
- 24. End of Reconstruction resulted from this election Choice of President decided by Congress Due to election returns Deal made between Republicans & Democrats Republicans: Rutherford B. Hayes; would continue reconstruction Democrats: Tilden; would end reconstruction Won popular vote; 20 electoral votes disputed; one vote short of 185 needed to win electoral college Special Commissions 15 members appointed by Congress Most were Republicans 20 electoral votes given to Hayes Democrats did not fight decision because Hayes told them privately he would end reconstruction Once in office Hayes removed federal troops from the South
- 25. End of Reconstruction African Americans lost political & civil rights Several techniques used to stop blacks from voting Poll tax: must pay a tax before voting; kept poor whites & freedmen from voting Literacy test: required to read & explain section of Constitution Grandfather clause allowed illiterate white males to vote; test avoided if father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on Jan. 1, 1867 Segregation: enforced separation of races; barred mixing of races in almost every aspect of life, know as Jim Crow laws (born in separate hospitals, buried in separate cemeteries, separate playgrounds, restaurants, & schools, travel on specific seats on streetcars or take black streetcars); Laws were upheld in local courts
- 26. 1896 Supreme Court upheld segregation laws Plessy v. Ferguson Homer Plessy arrested for sitting in a coach marked for whites only Court upheld Louisiana law of segregated streetcars Ok if they were equal Separate but equal rule was in effect until the 1950s Facilities were rarely equal
- 27. Poverty forced freedmen & poor whites to become sharecroppers Work the land for the farmer in return for a share in the value of the crop Landlord Supplied living quarters, tools, seed, & food on credit Crops were harvested & sold and amount given to sharecroppers was figured out In times of bad harvests or low crop prices sharecroppers often earned enough money to pay what they owned landlords Locked into a cycle of debt
- 28. South’s economy began to recover 1880s New industries Agriculture in the South recovered, especially cotton production Tobacco production also increased Southern investors started or expanded industries Textile industry became important part of economy South began to develop their natural resources New mills to use South’s iron, timber, & oil South no longer dependent on cotton