LT- Reconstruction.ppt
- 2. Simply speaking, it’s putting the pieces of the puzzle back together. Reconstruction – Program put in place by the federal government to repair damage to the South and restore the southern states to the Union. The role that political climate played in reconstruction. What was life like for the freedmen? What rights will African Americans have?
- 3. Reconstruction GOALs • In order for reconstruction to be a success the four following goals have to be achieved • 1. Protect new African American Freedmen • 2. Rebuild Southern economy • 3. Reintegrate the South back into the Union • 4. Which Branch of Government will control Reconstruction
- 5. Repair the damage? 1. The casualties of the Civil War were over 650,000. (From 10,455 engagements, naval clashes, accidents, suicides, sicknesses, murders, and executions) 2. The U.S. government spent an estimated $6.2 billion by 1879. (War & Reconstruction) 3. The Confederacy spent perhaps $2.1 billion. 4. Physical Devastation: burned or plundered homes, pillaged countryside, untold losses in crops & animals, ruined buildings/bridges, destroyed railroads, and neglected roads (South in Ruins)
- 6. Still Burying the Dead One Year After the War at Cold Harbor, Virginia
- 7. Treatment of the Traitors • Jefferson Davis: – Temporarily clapped into irons during early days of two-year imprisonment – He and fellow “conspirators” finally released – All rebel leaders pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1868 – Congress removed all remaining civil disabilities some thirty yeas later – Congress posthumously restored Davis's citizenship more than a century later.
- 8. Living in the South • Old South collapsed economically and socially • Handsome cities, Charleston and Richmond, now rubble-strewn and weed-choked • Banks and businesses locked doors, ruined by runaway inflation • Factories smokeless, silent, dismantled • Transportation broken down completely • Agriculture—economic lifeblood of South—almost completely crippled • Not until 1870 would cotton production be at pre-war levels Princely planter aristocrats humbled by losses • Investment of more than $2 billion in slaves evaporated with emancipation
- 9. Cont. • Beaten but unbent, many white Southerners remained dangerously defiant: – Continued to believe their view of secession correct and “lost cause” a just war – Such attitudes boded ill for prospects of painlessly binding up Republic's wounds
- 13. Reconstruction Plans Lincoln’s Plan- (10% Plan) Amnesty for Oath of Loyalty Emancipate the Slaves New Gov’t after 10% take oath No Confed. officers or officials Johnson’s Plan Amnesty for all except wealthy Revoke ordinance of succession Ratify the 13th Amendment Reject Confederate War debts Mod/Rad.- Wade Davis Bill (51%) Majority of voters must take oath New States must abolish slavery Must reject Confed. War debts Deny officers/officials vote & office Congressional Plan No officer/official in new Gov’t Abolish Slavery & give AA’s Vote Civil Rights Act / 14th Amendment Pass Military Reconstruction Act • Allowed former confederates to be re-elected • Johnson’s impeached for violating the Office of Tenure Act Hindered by Redeemers & KKK Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction
- 14. As soon as ten percent of a state’s voters took a loyalty oath to the Union, the state could set up a new government. Lincoln’s Plan “Ten Percent Plan” If the state’s constitution abolished slavery and provided education for African Americans, the state would regain representation in Congress. I am even willing to consider the following: 1. Grant pardons for former Confederates 2. Compensate them for lost property 3. Not requiring a guarantee of social or political equality for African Americans • Lincoln pressed Congress to pass the 13th amendment (Movie Lincoln)
- 15. Congress Reconstruction Republican rammed through Congress 1864: • Wade-Davis Bill: – Required 50% of state's voters take oath of allegiance – Demanded stronger safeguards for emancipation than Lincoln's as price of readmission to Union – Controversy over Wade-Davis revealed: – Deep differences between president and Congress » Congress insisted seceders left Union and “committed suicide” as republican states » Thus forfeited their rights – Could be readmitted only as “conquered provinces” on such conditions as Congress should decree Lincoln “pocket-vetoed” bill- Pocket vetoes occur when the President receives a bill but is unable to reject and return the bill to an adjourned Congress within the 10-day period. The bill, though lacking a signature and formal objections, does not become law. Pocket vetoes are not subject to the congressional veto override process
- 16. Congress Reconstruction (cont.) • Majority moderate group: – Agreed with Lincoln—seceded states should be restored as simply and swiftly as reasonable—though on Congress's terms, not president's • Minority radical group: – Believed South should atone more for its sins – Wanted social structure uprooted, planters punished, newly emancipated blacks protected by federal powers Andrew Johnson: • Agreed with Lincoln—seceded states never left Union • Quickly recognized several of Lincoln's 10% governments
- 17. Lincoln’s Plan “Ten Percent Plan” Lincoln’s plan angered members of his own party who wanted to punish the South as well as having full rights for African Americans. Led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, these “Radical Republicans” in Congress insisted that the Confederates had committed high crimes. 1. Sen. Sumner’s Goal: Citizenship/political rights for former slaves 2. House of Rep Stevens Goal: Economic opportunity for former slaves The Radical Republicans passed the Wade-Davis Bill that required:
- 18. “No government can be free that does not allow all its citizens to participate in the formation and execution of her laws” Thaddeus Stevens Hallmark
- 19. Thaddeus Stevens • His most important accomplishment is keeping the ex-Confederates out of Congress on Dec. 4, 1865. President Andrew Johnson allowed the South to have congressional elections where they allowed Confederate officials to be elected to Congress. That could have negated progress made for freed blacks after the Civil War. Stevens saw to it that House clerk Edward McPherson skipped the reading of Southern representatives’ names, keeping them from being seated. That was the beginning of Reconstruction.” • He was instrumental in the creation of paper money, There was no federal paper money before the Civil War, only coins. • Helping secure passage of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, and the 14th Amendment, which defined citizenship and helped extend equal rights to the states. • He was the one most steadfastly championing the access of free public education to all citizens (in Pennsylvania) • Stevens died in Washington, D.C. on August 11, 1868. In failing health, Stevens had requested to be buried in Shreiner-Concord Cemetery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, because the state accepted all races.
- 20. Lincoln’s Plan Ends • • John Wilkes Booth (This Guy) • Ford Theater (at this place) Ford’s Theater, April 1865 John Wilkes Booth, 1862
- 21. Lincoln’s Assassination (April 14, 1865)
- 22. Johnson’s Plan V.P. Andrew Johnson became President after Lincoln’s death. He intended to follow the broad outline of Lincoln’s Plan. Johnson’s Plan included: 1. States were to withdraw secession. 2. Swear allegiance to the Union. 3. Ratify the 13th Amendment & draft a constitution that abolished slavery. “White men alone must manage the South.” Was supposed to be stabbed the night of Lincoln’s death but the conspirator got scared and decided to get drunk instead. Historical Significance: He did not want A.A. to have the right to vote. He supported states’ rights over federal regulations, therefore, allowing states to be able to limit the freedoms of former slaves.
- 23. Andrew Johnson (D-TN) 1865-1869 • Why Johnson • Only southern Senator to remain with union • Offered VP to balance ticket • Personality of Johnson • Stubborn, never willing to compromise • Inflexible, righteous streak, thin skinned to criticism • Believed in conspiracy theories when people were against him • Loved Andrew Jackson • Some say he was the most racist president. (Blacks were savages, barbarians, just go back to work on plantation • Wrong side of History, Morality, and Politics (does he remind you of another Pres) Click for Bio
- 24. Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan: 1) Amnesty upon simple oath Exceptions: Confederate government officials, military officers & those with property over $20,000. Pardons 2) New state constitutions - repudiate Slavery, Secession, and Confederate debts. Johnson’s Plan Impact • 13,500 pardons (re-establishes the planter aristocracy) • Former Confederates elected to Congress • BLACK CODES passed Andrew Johnson Johnson’s Plan Presidential Reconstruction
- 25. Johnson’s Plan • Also demanded that wealthy planters and high- ranking Confederates ask him personally for forgiveness • By December 1865, all former Confederate states had met Johnson’s requirements for readmission to the Union. • Johnson considered Reconstruction complete. • Southern states held elections and rebuilt their state governments. • Many former Confederates regained power. • Dec. 1865 – Stevens saw to it that House clerk Edward McPherson skipped the reading of Southern representatives’ names, keeping them from being seated. Presidential Reconstruction
- 26. States Pass Harsh Black Codes • In 1865-66 Southern states passed black codes to help restore order to the South. • Similar to the old slave codes, these laws applied only to African Americans and severely restricted their freedom. • South Carolina and Mississippi had some of the harshest black codes of all the Southern states. This engraving shows a black man convicted of “vagrancy” being auctioned off to the highest bidder.
- 27. Black Codes – Similar to Slave Codes, which restricted the freedom of movement and limited African American rights as free people. As southern states were restored to the Union under President Johnson’s plan, they began to enact black codes. The Black Codes established virtual slavery with provisions such as: • Curfews: Generally, black people could not gather after sunset. • Vagrancy Laws: Freedmen convicted of vagrancy – that is, not working – could be fined, whipped, or sold for a year’s labor. • Labor Contracts: Freedmen had to sign agreements in January for a year of work. Those who quit in the middle of a contract often lost all the wages they had earned. • Land Restrictions: Freed people could rent land or homes only in rural areas. This restriction forced them to live on plantations.
- 28. Race Riot in Memphis In the late afternoon of May 1, 1866, long broiling tensions between the residents of southern Memphis, TN erupted into a three day riot. The riot began when a white police officer attempted to arrest a black ex-soldier and an estimated fifty blacks showed up to stop the police from jailing him. The victims initially were only black soldiers, but the violence quickly spread to other blacks living just south of Memphis who were attacked while their homes, schools, and churches were destroyed. White Northerners who worked as missionaries and school teachers in black schools were also targeted. By the end of May 3, Memphis’s black community had been devastated. Forty-six blacks had been killed. Two whites died in the conflict, one as the result of an accident and another, a policeman, because of a self- inflicted gunshot. There were five rapes and 285 people were injured. Over one hundred houses and buildings burned down as a result of the riot and the neglect of the firemen. No arrests were made. The New Orleans Riot July 30, 1866 occurred when white residents attacked Black marchers gathered outside the Mechanics Institute, where the reconvened Louisiana Constitutional Convention met in response to the state legislature enacting Black Codes and limiting suffrage. The brutal attack led to a total of 150 casualties, including 48 deaths (44 African Americans and three white Radical Republicans). Race Riot New Orleans
- 29. Republicans Gain Control of Congress • President Johnson toured the country in 1866 to support Democrats running for Congress. But he cussed people out from the podium • He also urged states NOT to ratify the 14th Amendment. • His actions helped Republicans win a landslide victory in elections that year. ELECTION of 1866 – 3-1 margin for Radical Republicans Republicans now had a “veto-proof” majority in Congress and would take full control of Reconstruction. Radical Republicans Response • Block the seating of former Confederates • Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Johnson Veto) • Renew the Freedmen Bureau (Johnson Veto) VOTE
- 30. Johnson’s Plan Congress responds by: Johnson vetoed the Congress 29 times to block laws. Johnson was now openly defying Congress. The Radical Republicans that controlled Congress did not approve of Johnson’s lack of support for African Americans’ rights. • Expansion of Freedmen’s Bureau to include punishing state officials who fail to extend civil rights to African Americans. • Civil Rights Act of 1866 – Ending of Black Codes by creating a federal guarantee of civil rights to African Americans.
- 31. An inflexible President, 1866: Republican cartoon shows Johnson knocking Blacks of the Freedmen’s Bureau by his veto. Congress believed Johnson was working against Reconstruction and overrode his veto 15 times. President Johnson is impeached & Congress did something unprecedented. With the required 2/3rds majority, it passed major legislation over a President’s veto. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 became law. Congress begins its Reconstruction Plan
- 32. Congressional Reconstruction Congress passed the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equality under the law for all citizens. Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which divided the 10 southern states into 5 military districts governed by former Union generals. The South would be reconstructed under the Radical Republicans plan. We will FORCE the South to make all the necessary changes!!
- 33. Radical Reconstruction • Each district placed under martial law. • Union troops were stationed in the South to prevent violence and protect freedmen.
- 36. Impeachment – Accusation against a public official of wrongdoing in office. Bringing charges against the President. Involves two steps… • 1st Step: U.S. House of Representatives hold hearings to decide if there are crimes committed. They then vote on the charges and if there is a majority, then, charges are brought against the President. • 2nd Step: U.S. Senate becomes a courtroom. The President is tried for the charges brought against him. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the judge. Once trial is completed, Senators must vote to remove President with a 2/3rds vote.
- 37. • The Presidency would suffer as a result of this failed impeachment. • President would be more a figure- head. • Saved the separation of powers of 3 branches of government. • Brought up on 11 charges of high crimes and misdemeanors. • Tenure in Office Act: Law Congress passed. President can’t fire any of his cabinet members without consulting Congress. • Fired Edwin Stanton • Missed being removed from office by 1 vote.
- 40. Protecting the Freedmen 13th Amendment 1865 Freedmen’s Bureau 1865 Civil Rights Act of 1866 Reconstruction Act of 1867 14th Amendment 1868 KKK Acts 1871 15th Amendment 1870 Civil Rights Act (Enforcement Acts) 1875
- 41. 1865-13th Amendment to the US Constitution • Legal Abolishment of Slavery in all states in the Union • All Southern States were required to ratify this constitutional amendment for remittance to the Union
- 42. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, EXCEPT as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their Ratified December 6, 1865 RECONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS: 13 14 15
- 43. Convict Leasing “Chain Gang” States paid private contractors to house and feed the prisoners. Within a few years states realized they could lease out their convicts to local planters or industrialists who would pay minimal rates for the workers and be responsible for their housing and feeding -- thereby eliminating costs and increasing revenue. Soon, markets for convict laborers developed, with entrepreneurs buying and selling convict labor leases. Unlike slavery, employers had only a small capitol investment in convict laborers, and little incentive to treat them well. Convict laborers were often dismally treated, but the convict lease system was highly profitable for the states and the employers. U.S. Steel is among American companies who have acknowledged using African-American leased convict labor. The practice peaked around 1880, was formally outlawed by the last state (Alabama) in 1928, and persisted in various forms until it was abolished by President Franklin D. Roosevelt via Francis Biddle's "Circular 3591" of December 12, 1941.
- 44. 1866-14th Amendment to the United States Constitution • Made all former slaves citizens of the United States • All Southern States had to ratify this amendment for remittance back into the Union
- 45. Thaddeus Stevens In late April 1866, Representative Thaddeus Stevens introduced a plan that combined several different legislative proposals (civil rights for Black people, how to apportion representatives in Congress, punitive measures against the former Confederate States of America and repudiation of Confederate war debt), into a single constitutional amendment. After the House and Senate both voted on the amendment by June 1866, it was submitted to the states for ratification. President Johnson made clear his opposition to the 14th Amendment as it made its way through the ratification process, but Congressional elections in late 1866 gave Republicans veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate. Southern states also resisted, but Congress required them to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments as a condition of regaining representation in Congress, and the ongoing presence of the Union Army in the former Confederate states ensured their compliance. On July 9, 1868, Louisiana and South Carolina voted to ratify the 14th Amendment, making up the necessary two-thirds majority.
- 46. Fourteenth Amendment Ratified July 9, 1868 N RECONSTRUCTION AMENDMENTS: • Section 1 Naturalization Clause & the Citizenship Clause The clause conferred U.S. and state citizenship at birth to all individuals born in the United States. • Section 2 deals with the apportionment of representatives to Congress. • Section 3 forbids anyone who participates in “insurrection or rebellion” against the United States from holding federal office. • Section 4 addresses federal debt and repudiates debts accrued by the Confederacy. Section 5 expressly authorizes Congress to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment “by appropriate legislation.”
- 47. Civil Rights Protection under the 14th Amendment • The most commonly used -- and frequently litigated -- phrase in the amendment is "equal protection of the laws", which figures prominently landmark cases, including Brown v. Board of Education (racial discrimination), Roe v. Wade (reproductive rights), Bush v. Gore (election recounts), Reed v. Reed (gender discrimination), and University of California v. Bakke (racial quotas in education “Affirmative Action”). • In Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94 (1884), the Supreme Court held that children born to Native American tribes governed by local tribal governments were not automatically granted citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. Congress, however, granted citizenship to Native Americans in 1924 when it passed the Indian Citizenship Act. • In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), the Supreme Court ruled that a child born in America to non-citizen Chinese parents, that child is a United States citizen. • State Action – The State Action Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment declares that a state cannot make or enforce any law that abridges the privileges or immunities of any citizen. In the Civil Rights Cases, 109 U.S. 3 (1883), the Supreme Court ruled that the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations, was unconstitutional because it tried to regulate private actors. – In a number of cases, the Court has continued to limit state action claims against private individuals.
- 48. 15th Amendment The 15th Amendment Gave African-American Males the Right to Vote
- 49. Background of the 15th Amendment • With the adoption of the 15th Amendment in 1870, a politically mobilized African American community joined with white allies in the Southern states to elect the Republican Party to power, which brought about radical changes across the South. By late 1870, all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union, and most were controlled by the Republican Party thanks to the support of Black voters. • Today, people in power are still trying to control who votes The main impetus behind the 15th Amendment was the Republican desire to entrench its power in both the North and the South. Black votes would help accomplish that end. The measure was passed by Congress in 1869, and was quickly ratified by the requisite three-fourths of the states in 1870.
- 50. 13th Amendment Abolished slavery (1865) 14th Amendment Provided citizenship & equal protection under the law. (1868) 15th Amendment Provided the right to vote for all men which included white and black men. (1870) Giving the Black man the right to vote was truly revolutionary…….. A victory for democracy!
- 51. 1st Black Senators & Congressmen, 1872 • 90% of all African American men voted when they had the opportunity. • Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans. It would take the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of African Americans in the South were registered to vote.
- 52. Hiram Revels was the first African American elected to the Senate. Mississippi Who was Hiram Revels? In 1870 he replaced the seat vacated by Jefferson Davis. During Reconstruction, African Americans held the largest majority in the Republican-controlled state legislature.
- 53. Blanche K. Bruce Richard H. Cain Henry P. Cheatham Robert C. DeLarge Jeremiah Haralson John A. Hyman John M. Langston Jefferson F. Long Thomas E. Miller George W. Murray Charles E. Nash James E. O'Hara Joseph H. Rainey Alonzo J. Ransier James T. Rapier Hiram R. Revels Robert Smalls Benjamin S. Turner Robert B. Elliott John R. Lynch Josiah T. Walls George H. White African-Americans in Congress
- 54. State Number of Officeholders Alabama 173 Arkansas 46 District of Columbia 11 Florida 58 Georgia 135 Louisiana 210 Mississippi 226 Missouri 1 North Carolina 187 South Carolina 316 Tennessee 20 Texas 49 Virginia 85 Total 1517 Black Officeholders during Reconstruction By State Black Officeholders during Reconstruction: Federal Title Number of Officeholders Ambassador 2 Census Marshal 6 Census Taker 14 Clerk 12 Congressman: Senate 2 Congressman: House of Representatives 14 Customs Appointment 40 Deputy US Marshal 11 Engineer 1 Mail Agent 14 Pension Agent 1 Postmaster/Post Office Official 43 Register of Bankruptcy 1 Timber Agent 1 US Assessor 10 US Grand Jury 3 US Land Office 5 US Treasury Agent 3 Unidentified Patronage Appointment 2 Total 185
- 55. Black Officeholders during Reconstruction: State and Major Black State Officials Constitutional Convention 1867-1869: Delegate 267 Legislator: House of Representatives 683 Legislator: Senate 112 Lieutenant Governor 6 Militia Officer 60 Secretary of State 9 Speaker of House 4 State Commissioner 5 Superintendent of Education 4 Lunatic Asylum, Board of Regents 7 Lunatic Asylum, Assistant Physician 1 Deaf and Dumb Asylum, Superintendent 1 County or Local Assessor 32 Harbor Master 3 Auditor 7 Health Officer 1 Board of Education 79 Inspector 10 Board of Health 1 Jailor 9 Chancery Clerk 1 Judge 11 Charitable Institutions, Supervisor of 1 Jury Commissioner 1 City Attorney 1 Justice of the Peace or Magistrate 232 City Clerk 1 Lumber Measurer 1 City Council 146 Mayor 5 City Marshal 7 Notary Public 5 City Officer (unidentified) 3 Ordinary 3 City Public Works Commissioner 2 Overseer of Poor 7 Claims Commissioner 1 Overseer of Roads 1 Clerk 12 Park Commission 1 Clerk of Court 24 Police Officer 71 Clerk of Market 2 Recorder 9 Constable 41 Register of Bankruptcy 1 Coroner 33 Register of Deeds 2 County Attorney 1 Register of Mesne Conveyances 1 County Clerk 2 Registrar 116 County Commissioner 113 Sheriff 41 County Superintendent of Schools 14 Solicitor 1 County Treasurer 17 Street Commissioner 5 Deputy Sheriff 25 Streetcar Commissioner 1 Detective 2 Tax Collector 35 District Attorney 1 Trustee 2 District Clerk 1 Warden 4 Election Officer 52 Weigher 4
- 56. African Americans help republican candidate and former Union general, Ulysses S. Grant elected President. Grant was against the policies of Andrew Johnson. Initially, Grant wanted to delay the 15th amendment, but evolved his views in its support In 1869, Congress passed the 15th Amendment forbidding any state from denying suffrage on the grounds of race.
- 59. The Freedmen’s Bureau’s goal was to provide food, clothing, healthcare, and education for both black and white refugees in the South. The Bureau also helped to: 1. Reunite families that had been separated by slavery and war. 2. Negotiate fair labor contracts between former slaves and white landowners. 3. Helped represent African Americans in courts. Historical Significance: Established the precedent that black citizens had legal rights.
- 60. The Freedmen’s Bureau! Aid Organization 1. Provide Food 2. Provide Clothes 3. Provide Money 4. Legal Services 5. Labor Contracts 6. Create Schools 7. Medical Care For Whites/Blacks Howard University Food Lines Make Clothes Provide Money / Legal Adv. Labor & Land Contracts Public Schools
- 65. 40 Acres & a Mule A term of compensation that was awarded to freed slaves after the Civil War by Gen. Sherman. President Johnson ordered that the original landowners be allowed to reclaim their land and evict the former slaves. Congress passed the 1866 Southern Homestead Act. This set aside 44 million acres in the South for freed blacks, but the land was swampy and unsuitable for farming. •The Truth Behind ’40 Acres and a Mule
- 66. 40 Acres & A Mule Most freedmen wanted/expected land to help them transition to freedom • Rumor spread that the government would give all ex- slaves forty acres and a mule to start their newlives • Radical Republicans proposed taking away land from plantation owners and giving it to freed people, butthe idea did not have enough support in Congress to pass • Many felt that civil/voting rights were enough • Land reform would be too harsh onSoutherners https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z IeiIgHl7A
- 67. During the war, the demand for Southern cotton had begun to drop as other countries increased their production. As a result, prices plummeted after the war. 1869 17 cents per pound 1879 8 cents per pound Southern planters tried to make up for the lower prices by growing more cotton – an oversupply that only drove down prices even further. What should’ve the farmers tried instead of growing more cotton?
- 68. Contract System vs. Sharecropping Contract System Sharecropping System freedmen worked on plantation Freedmen rented a plot of in exchange for wages, shelter, land in exchange for a share and food of the crop Pros: • African Americans could decide whom to work for • Planters could not abuse them or split up families Cons: • Like in slavery, workers couldn’t leave the plantation without permission • Planters cheated the workers in wages and benefits • Laws punished workers for breaking contracts even if they were cheated Pros: • Families without land had a place to farm and call home • Landowners had a source of cheap labor Cons: • Farmers wanted to grow food crop for their families, but landowners wanted them to grow cash crops like cotton. Surplus
- 69. SHARECROPPERS
- 70. Farming in the South created a cycle of debt, which began with sharecropping. Sharecropping – A system in which landowners give farm workers land, seed, and tools in return for a part of the crops they raise. Tenant Farming – A system in which farm workers supply their own tools and rent farmland for cash. At harvest time, each worker gave a share, usually half, to the landowner. In theory, “croppers” who saved a little and bought their own tools could drive a better bargain with landowners. They might even be able to become a tenant farmer.
- 71. The Barrow plantation, 1860-1881 Before the Civil War, about 135 slaves worked on the plantation, supervised by an overseer and a slave foreman. After the war, the former slaves who remained on the plantation signed labor contracts with owner David Barrow. Freedmen grew cotton for wage, but they disliked the new arrangement. In the late 1860s, Barrow subdivided his land into tenant farms of twenty-five to thirty acres, and freedmen moved their households from the old slave quarters to their own farms. By 1881, 161 tenants lived on the Barrow plantation, at least half of them children. One out of four families was named Barrow.
- 72. Realities of Sharecropping • Planters needed to enter into sharecropping agreements with their former slaves because they needed workers to plant and harvest crops. • Small farmers were angry and often hostile towards African American sharecroppers. They believed the African Americans created unfair competition. • Sharecroppers were often in debt they could not repay. The crop lien system perpetuated the endless cycle of debt. POVERTY
- 73. Benjamin & Isiah Montgomery and Mound Bayou
- 74. UNDERFUNDED Re-chartered annually until it was abolished in 1872. Northern Cartoon (Pennsylvania, 1866) Met with resistance in both North and South
- 75. The Ku Klux Klan The first Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee, on December 24, 1865, by six former officers of the Confederate army The first two words of the organization’s name supposedly derived from the Greek word “kyklos,” meaning circle and Klan means family. In the summer of 1867, local branches of the Klan met in a general organizing convention and established what they called an “Invisible Empire of the South.” Leading Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as the first leader, or “grand wizard,” of the Klan; he presided over a hierarchy of grand dragons, grand titans and grand cyclopses.
- 76. The Ku Klux Klan 1. Adopted white costumes: robes, masks, and conical hats, to be terrifying, and to hide their identities. 2. Desired to rid the South of all Northern influence. 3. Advocated white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti- immigration/catholic/Jew. 4. Soon the Klan turned into a violent organization practicing domestic terrorism. Its major goal was to restore white supremacy and prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights
- 78. KKK Got to Go Away I met four white men about six miles south of Keachie, De Soto Parish. One of them asked me who I belonged to. I told him no one. So him and two others struck me with a stick and told me they were going to kill me and every other Negro who told them that they did not belong to anyone. One of them who knew me told the others, "Let Henry alone for he is a hard-working nigger and a good nigger." They left me and I then went on to Shreveport. I seen over twelve colored men and women, beat, shot and hung between there and Shreveport. • Henry Adams
- 79. Stephens, a white republican, stated that 3,000 A.A. voters had supported him and he would not abandon them. Stephens was assassinated by the KKK in 1870. NC Senator John Stephens KKK mask from the Reconstruction Era – N.C. Museum of History
- 80. The Ku Klux Klan Hearings 1871 congressional hearings for “Reconstruction Violence and the Ku Klux Klan Hearings.” The hearings detailed severe violence in the South against African-Americans and sympathizers by Klan members in the aftermath of the Civil War and after passage of the reconstruction amendments. Congressional testimony estimated that anywhere from 20,000 to as many as 50,000 people, mostly black, died in violence between 1866 and 1872, he said. As a result of the congressional investigation, federal grand juries issued about 3,000 indictments in connection with the killings. Hundreds of defendants pleaded guilty in return for suspended sentences, and the Justice Department dropped charges against nearly 2,000 others in order to keep the court system from being clogged. Of those who did face trials, about 600 were convicted and 250 were acquitted. Only 65 individuals were imprisoned.
- 82. • In response, the Reconstructionist Congress passed a series of Enforcement Acts (also known as the Force Acts) to curb such violence and empower the president to use military force to protect the rights of African Americans. • The Third Force Act (KKK or the Civil Rights Act of 1871) empowered President Ulysses S. Grant to use the armed forces to combat those who conspired to deny equal protection of the laws. After the act’s passage, the president for the first time had the power to suppress state disorders on his own initiative and suspend the right of habeas corpus. Grant did not hesitate to use this authority. • Shortly after Congress approved the law, nine counties in South Carolina, where KKK terrorism was rampant, were placed under martial law and thousands of persons were arrested. Civil Rights Act of 1871
- 83. • In United States v. Harris, also known as the Ku Klux case, four men were removed from a Crockett County, Tenn., jail by a KKK-affiliated group led by County Sheriff R.G. Harris. They were beaten and one of them was killed. A deputy sheriff tried, but failed, to prevent what occurred. The court ruled that an act to enforce the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause applied only to state action and not to state inaction. Under this thinking, the 14th Amendment authorized the federal government to take remedial action only when state actions, not those of individuals, violated the amendment. • Since then, the Civil Rights Act of 1871 has been the subject of voluminous interpretation by the courts. The legal pendulum swung back in 1961, when the high court ruled that the statute could be applied to “override certain kinds of state laws”; to offer “a remedy where state law was inadequate”; and to provide “a federal remedy where the state remedy, though adequate in theory, was not available in practice.” Today, sections of the 1871 Civil Rights Act that have survived court scrutiny can be invoked whenever a state actor violates a federally guaranteed right. They are most commonly employed to redress violations of constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure and in lawsuits alleging false arrest and police brutality. United States v. Harris, Ku Klux case
- 84. The 1873 Colfax Massacre Crippled the Reconstruction Era One of the worst incidents of racial violence after the Civil War set the stage for segregation • The Colfax Massacre occurred on April 13, 1873. The battle-turned-massacre took place in the small town of Colfax, Louisiana as a clash between blacks and whites. Three whites and an estimated 150 blacks died in the conflict. • On March 28, local white Democratic leaders called for armed supporters to help them take the Colfax Parish Courthouse from the black and white GOP officeholders on April 1. The Republicans responded by urging their mostly black supporters to defend them. Although nothing happened on April 1, the next day fighting erupted between the two groups. • A total of 97 white militia men were arrested and charged with violation of the U.S. Enforcement Act of 1870 (also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act). • A handful of them were convicted but were eventually released in 1875 when the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Cruikshank ruled the Enforcement Act was unconstitutional. • If a mob kills you, the Court said you were not denied your rights as long as its private individuals and not a Federal Crime but a State crime. U.S. v. Reese & U.S. v. Cruikshank weakened federal power to enforce the Force Acts
- 85. Judicial blocks of Reconstruction • Slaughterhouse Cases 1873: 14th/15th Amendment do not protect individual rights against discrimination by their own state government. (most citizenship rights stayed with state governments) basically meaning the states could decide what rights African Americans had at times.
- 86. Growing Disenchantment • Economic Panic of 1873 (lasted for six years) • People’s attention became focused on their pocketbooks rather than on abstract ideals of equality and justice in the South • The United States was experiencing growing pains of modernization and during Reconstruction, the Republican Party went through a battle for its soul. By 1874, the strength of the Radical Republicans Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner were dead • Republican Party became a protector of privilege rather than a guarantor of basic rights; Republicans and Democrats joined hands in conservative support of railroad and industrial interests • In 1874 Midterm elections, Democrats gained control of the House and gained seats in the Senate with help from KKK’s actions, changing Republican Party, and ECONOMY
- 87. Civil Rights Act of 1875 U.S. legislation (last of the major Reconstruction statutes) which guaranteed all persons the enjoyment of transportation facilities, in hotels and inns and in theaters and places of public amusement regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude Also, African-Americans can service on juries
- 88. Retreat from Reconstruction By 1876, all the elements were present for a national retreat on Reconstruction: – the distraction of economic distress – a deep desire for unity among whites – the respectability of racism – a frustrated weariness with black problems – a growing conservatism on economic and social issues – a changing political climate featuring a resurgence of the Democratic Party – a general public disgust with the failure of Reconstruction. Have White Men Any Rights Left
- 89. Supreme Court Civil Rights Cases 1883 The Civil Rights Cases of 1883 combined five different cases that revolved around the 1875 Civil Rights Act. Although privately owned establishments, they were viewed by Congress to be quasi-public facilities carrying out public functions for the benefit of the public and therefore were subject to regulation. The Supreme Court examined the 1875 Civil Rights Act in light of the 13th and 14th amendments: • By an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the 1875 Civil Rights Act was unconstitutional. • Neither the 13th or 14th amendments empowered Congress to pass laws that prohibited racial discrimination in the private sector. • The 14th Amendment, read narrowly by the Supreme Court, applied only to state, not individual actions. • In regard to the 13th Amendment, the discrimination by individuals in these cases were "ordinary civil injuries" rather than "badges of slavery." The Supreme Court also emphasized at the end of its decision that the time had come where former slaves were to be considered normal citizens rather than a special group favored by the law.
- 90. Broken Promises
- 91. Among the most notorious scandals were: i. Credit Mobilier Scandal: Railroad officials impoverished the railroad, then bribed members of Congress to block any investigation. ii. “Whiskey Ring”: Internal Revenue collectors accepted bribes from whiskey distillers who wanted to avoid paying taxes on their product. Grant’s strength, however, were those of a military leader, not those of a politician or government leader. Scandals and corruption damaged Grant’s administration, which diverted attention away from the conditions in the south.
- 92. Carpetbaggers & Scalawags 1. A Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War for political or financial advantage. 2. An outsider, especially a politician, who seeks a position or success in a new locality. 1. a scamp; rascal. 2. a white Southerner who supported Republican policy during Reconstruction, often for personal gain.
- 93. View of Reconstruction became it was a burden Carpetbaggers – Northerners who came South after Civil War. Voted Republican; viewed negatively by southerners; held high offices. Scalawags – White southerners who joined blacks and carpetbaggers in Republican Party. Viewed as traitors by most southerners.
- 96. As the evidence mounted, there was increasing disgust with the blatant corruption in Grant’s administration. Grant did not seek reelection in 1876. See you all later. I need to go back in time and fight in the Civil War. I’m not too good at this new job.
- 97. Election of 1876 Tilden (D) v. Hayes (R) Historical Significance: Democrats now had Home Rule – the ability to run state governments without federal intervention. Tilden won the popular vote, but needed one more electoral vote to win the presidency. A deal was made called the Compromise of 1877. Republicans Get 1. Hayes becomes President. Democrats Get 1. Withdraw remaining federal troops from the South, thus ending Reconstruction. 2. Name a southerner to his cabinet. 3. Support federal spending on internal improvements in the South.
- 98. The withdrawal of federal troops enabled white These so called redeemers set out to rescue the South from what they viewed as a decade of mismanagement by northerners, republicans, and African Americans. Various methods were used to curb the rights of African Americans, and by 1900, their civil rights had been sharply limited. southerners to eliminate any political advances A.A. had made during Reconstruction.
- 99. Plessy vs. Fergusson! • Case that came before the Supreme court in 1896. • Ruled that “Separate but Equal is Legal” • Not undone until 1954 Case- Brown vs. Board
- 100. 4. Southern states est. public school system. 1. Union is restored. 5. K.K.K. & other groups terrorize A.A. 2. A.A. gain citizenship & voting rights. 6. Sharecropping system takes hold in the South. 3. South’s economy and infrastructure are improved.