RECONSTRUCTION

1865-1877

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
Lincolns 10% Plan
When the Civil War finally ended, the problems of

winning the war gave way to the even harder problems of restoring the Union
Lincoln suggested a basis for Reconstruction in a

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction issued on December 8, 1863

His Ten Percent Plan proposed a generous settlement Offered a full pardon (except for high ranking

Confederate leaders) to Southerners who pledged loyalty to the Union and to the Constitution
Southern states in which 10% of the 1860 electorate

took such an oath and accepted emancipation would be restored to the Union

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
Lincolns Ten Percent Plan
Lincoln concluded his Second Inaugural

Address by promising malice toward none, with charity for all

He pledged to bind up the nations wounds

and strive for a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations
We will never know if Lincoln could have fulfilled

his inspiring pledge

Just over a month later, John Wilkes

Booth assassinated Lincoln while he was watching a play at Fords Theater

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
Johnsons Plan Lincolns tragic death placed the burden of reconstructing the S on Andrew Johnson Johnson issued his own Reconstruction Plan in May, 1865
Offered amnesty to most Confederates

who took an oath of loyalty to the Union High officials and wealthy planters had to apply for a presidential pardon Whites in each S state could then elect delegates to a state convention which had to Repeal all secession laws Repudiate war debts Ratify the Thirteenth Amendment

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
Southern intransigence
All of the S states soon complied with Johnsons plan Moderate Reps hoped the restored govts would act responsibly and treat

their former slaves fairly - which did not happen

Resentful and intransigent (unyielding) white Southerners called for a

renewal of laws to control the freed black population

Black Codes
Passed by newly elected state legislatures and designed to limit the rights

of the newly freedmen

Limited socioeconomic opportunities open to black people The codes barred blacks from owning land, marrying whites, and carrying

weapons
They were forced to return to farm labor under conditions reminiscent of

slavery

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION
Southern intransigence
The Black Codes underscored the difficulty of assimilating 4 million former slaves

into S society Racial tensions soon erupted into violent riots in Memphis and N.O. Mob violence in these cities claimed the lives of 80 African Americans and 5 whites Rioters looted and burned hundreds of black homes, churches, and schools The new Johnson state governments provided further evidence that the S remained unrepentant When Congress reconvened in December 1865, a large number of former Confederate politicians and military officers were waiting to take seats in the House and Senate

RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION
Congress versus President Johnson
Congress refused to admit sen. and reps elected by the S In response, Congress formed a Joint Committee on Reconstruction The Committee recommended a CRA to clarify the rights of freed

slaves
Johnson vetoed the bill an unwarranted extension of federal power

that would foment discord among the races

Johnsons veto energized the Reps
Overrode the veto First time Congress had prevailed over a veto of a major piece of

legislation
Also marked the beginning of a 2-year

struggle between Congress and President Johnson that ended with an impeachment trial

RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION
The Fourteenth Amendment
The Rep majority in Congress feared that Johnson would not

enforce the Civil Rights Act

They also worried that the courts would declare the law

unconstitutional
These concerns prompted Congress to pass the 14th A in June

1866
It overturned the Dred Scott decision Also gave the federal govt responsibility for guaranteeing equal

rights under the law to all Americans

RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION
The Fourteenth Amendment
Intensified the struggle for power between President Johnson

and Congress
Saying that blacks were unfit to receive the coveted prize of

citizenship, Johnson urged state legislatures in the S to reject the A

He also vigorously campaigned for Congressional candidates

who supported his policies

Johnsons strategy backfired Outraged voters repudiated the Presidents policies by giving the

Reps a solid 2/3 majority in both houses of Congress

RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION
The Radical Republicans
Led by Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of PN and Charles

Sumner of MA, the Radicals now controlled Congress

Wanted to punish the S
The Reconstruction Act of 1867 eliminated the state

governments created by Johnsons plan

Divided the S into 5 military districts, each under the

command of a Union general

In order to be readmitted into the Union, a state had to

approve the 14th A and guarantee black suffrage

The growing rift between the Radical Reps and the

President deepened when Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction Act which was immediately overturned by Congress

RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION
The impeachment crisis
Johnson remained defiant He undermined the Radical program by

appointing generals who obstructed the implementation of the Reconstruction Act Tenure of Office Act
Congress escalated the crisis by requiring Senate

consent for the removal of any official whose appointment had required Senate confirmation Convinced that the law was unconstitutional, Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a leading Radical Rep ally

RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION
The impeachment crisis
On February 24, 1868 the Rep-dominated House of Reps impeached

Johnson for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, that included violating the TOA
After a tense trial, the Senate failed to convict Johnson by one vote Although Johnson escaped conviction, the trial crippled his presidency Led to the election of the Union war hero Ulysses S. Grant Reps completed their overwhelming victory by retaining 2/3 majorities in both

houses of Congress

THE FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT

Ratified on February 3, 1870, it forbade

either the federal govt or the states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
Enabled AAs to exercise political

influence
Freedmen provided about 80 % of Rep votes

in the S
Over 600 blacks served as state legislators

in the new state governments

In addition, voters elected 14 blacks to the

House of Reps and 2 to the Senate

Black voters supported the Rep Party loyally

casting votes that helped elect Grant in 1868 and 1872

FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT
While AAs celebrated the passage of the 15th A,

leading womens rights activists felt outraged and abandoned They angrily demanded to know why the suffrage was granted to ex-slaves but not to women Julia Ward Howe and other leaders of the womens suffrage movement finally accepted that this was the Negros hour However, both Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton actively opposed passage of the 15th A It is important to note that the South would soon find ways to get around the A
For example, property qualifications, poll taxes, and

literacy tests all denied blacks the vote without legally making skin color a determining factor

FROM SLAVE TO SHARECROPPER

The Civil War brought freedom to the

slaves, but few freedmen got the 4o acres and a mule promised by zealous reformers Many former slaves stayed on their old plantations because they could not afford to leave Sharecropping
Under this system, black (and sometimes

white) families exchanged their labor for the use of land, tools, and seed The sharecropper typically gave the landowner half of the crop as payment for using his property

FROM SLAVE TO SHARECROPPER

In addition to being in debt to the landlord, sharecroppers had to

borrow supplies from local storekeepers to feed and clothe their families
These merchants then took a lien or mortgage on the crops Sharecropping did not lead to economic independence
Unscrupulous merchants often charged sharecroppers exorbitant

prices and unfair interest rates

As a result, the freedmen became trapped in a seemingly endless

cycle of debt and poverty

THE COLLAPSE OF RECONSTRUCTION

The Ku Klux Klan Two centuries of slavery created deeply entrenched racial prejudices that

could not be easily changed Southerners bitterly resented govts imposed by Radical Reps that repealed Black Codes and guaranteed voting and other civil rights to African Americans The years immediately following the CW witnessed the proliferation of white supremacist organizations
KKK began in TN in 1866 and then quickly spread across the S Anonymous Klansmen dressed in white robes and pointed cowls used

whippings, house-burnings, kidnappings, and lynchings to keep blacks in their place

The Klans reign of terror worked

Without the support of black voters, Rep govts fell across the S By 1876, Dems replaced Rep in 8 of the 11

former Confederate states Only SC, LA, and FL remained under Rep control

THE COLLAPSE OF RECONSTRUCTION

The erosion of Northern interest
Radical Reps had long been the driving force behind the

program to restructure S society

Sympathy for the freedmen began to wane New focus of issues that included Western expansion, Indian

wars, tariffs, and railroad construction

President Grant showed little enthusiasm for Reconstruction
Soon distracted by scandals and charges of corruption In addition, a business panic followed by a crippling economic

depression further undermined public support for Reconstruction

THE COLLAPSE OF RECONSTRUCTION

The Compromise of 1877
Disillusioned voters looked to the 1876 pres election for a return to honest

govt
Reps nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, an OH governor untarnished by the

scandals of the Grant administration

Dems nominated Samuel Tilden, a NY governor who earned a reputation as a

reformer by battling Boss Tweed

Tilden won a convincing victory in the popular vote and 184 of the 185 votes

needed for the election

However, both parties claimed 19 disputed electoral votes in FL, LA, SC, and

1 in OR

THE COLLAPSE OF RECONSTRUCTION

The Compromise of 1877
Congress created an electoral commission to determine which

candidate would receive the disputed electoral votes

Dem and Rep leaders reached an agreement known as the

Compromise of 1877
Dems agreed to support Hayes and in return, Hayes and the

Reps agreed to withdraw all federal troops from the S, appoint at least 1 Southerner to a cabinet post, and support internal improvements in the S
The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction The Rep govts in LA and SC quickly collapsed as S Dems

proclaimed a return to home rule and white supremacy