Chapter 17: The Reconstruction

THE RECONSTRUCTION

Chapter 17

The Reconstruction

The process of re-admitting and the Confederate states into the Union

1865-1877

The Damaged South

•Cities, towns, and farms are destroyed

•High food prices lead to starvation

•Southern banks close and their users go bankrupt

Lincoln's Plan

Wanted the process to be quick and painless

•The Ten Percent Plan1. Swear allegiance to the

Union2. Agree that slavery is illegal

•Once 10% agree, a new government can be formed

•Louisiana is the 1st to be readmitted

Wade-Davis Bill•Some want Congress (not pres.) to control the Reconstruction•Argue that the 10% Plan is too lenient

•Wade-Davis Bill1. Ban Slavery2. Majority of adult males had to

swear a loyalty oath3. Only those who never joined the

Confederacy could vote

•Harder to rejoin the Union

•Lincoln refused to sign into law

Freedom for African Americans

Slavery Ends

Thirteenth Amendment is proposed

•Made slavery illegal in the United States

• January 31, 1865 – proposed

•December 18, 1865 – ratified

• Some (William Lloyd Garrison) say their work is done, others (Frederick Douglass) say it’s not until “the black man has the ballot [vote]”

Changes for Freed Slaves

•Couples legalized marriages

•Searched for relatives that had been sold

•Newspaper ads placed for lost children

•Churches formed aid societies

•Many traveled, especially away from white counties

Forty Acres to Farm

•During the war, William Tecumseh Sherman divided plantations•White planters refuse to give up land

•The U.S. gov. returns land to original owners

•Freedman unsure where to live

•New freedoms are difficult to enforce (more on that later!)

THE RECONSTRUCTION

Chapter 17

Cumulative Project

Freedman’s Bureau

•Gov. agency that provided relief for freed people and certain poor people in the South

•900 agents for the ENTIRE SOUTH•Distribute food •Provide education•Legal help for freed people

Freedman’s Bureau: Education

•Also establishes universities for African Americans

•Working adults go to evening classes•Education will help protect rights and provide better jobs

•Many white southerners don’t believe freed people should be educated

Lincoln’s Assassination

•April 14, 1865

•President Lincoln attends a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.

•Shot by John Wilkes Booth•Southern who was against Lincoln’s policies

•Died the next morning

Vice President Andrew Johnson sworn in as

president

Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan•Similar to Lincoln’s

•Wealthy southerners and former Confederate officers must receive presidential pardon to be free of “charges”

•BUT, he pardons more than 7,000 people by 1866

New State Governments

• Johnson (D) was placed on Lincoln’s (R ) ticket to appeal to the border states•Former slaveholder•Democrat

• Johnson’s plan to form “new states” in the south was questioned by Congress

New State Governments (cont.)

•President Johnson’s Plan1. President appoints

temporary governor2. States must revise

constitutions3. Voters elect state and

federal representative1. Government must declare

secession was illegal2. Must ratify 13th

Amendment

New State Governments (Part 3)

•1865: All but Texas are in the Union, according to the president

•Northern Republicans are upset, Southern representatives were leaders of the Confederacy

•Congress refuses to readmit southern states into the Union

Opening Journal (in your notes)A member of Congress, you belong to the same political party as the president. But you strongly disagree with his ideas about Reconstruction and civil rights for African Americans. Now some of the president’s opponents are trying to remove him from office. You do not think he is a good president. On the other hand, you think removing him would be bad for the unity of the country.

Do you vote to remove the president? Answer in complete sentences and give a detailed

explanation for your answer.

THE FIGHT OVER RECONSTRUCTION

Section 2

Opposition to President Johnson: Black CodesSetting: 1866

•Congress disagrees on rules for accepting states into the Union

•New southern states are passing laws that deny African Americans civil rights•Black Codes

• Example: Could be arrested if unemployed; illegal to own a gun, only allowed to rent in cities

Opposition to President Johnson: Radical Republicans“Normal” Republicans:

•Angered by black codes, but more focused on southern states loyalty

•Wanted equal rights, but didn’t want federal involvement

Radical Republicans

•want the federal gov. to force change

•Thaddeus Stevens & Charles Sumner

•Gain support in Congress when Johnson ignored black codes

Johnson vs. Congress:Civil Rights Act of 1866

Pres. Johnson vetoes Freedman’s Bureau Bill

Civil Rights Act of 1866

•Congresses response

•Gives African Americans the same legal rights as white Americans

• Johnson vetoes, but congress overrides his veto

•Propose the Fourteenth Amendment to keep ideas constitutional

The Fourteenth Amendment

1. All born within the U.S. are citizens (except Native Americans)

2. Citizens have equal protection of the law

3. States can’t take away rights without a trial

4. Banned former C. officers from government office

5. State laws can be reviewed by a federal court

6. Congress can pass any needed law to enforce the amendment

1866 Election

• Johnson & Democrats appose 14th Amendment

•Civil Rights is a key issue in 1866 congressional election

Johnson’s Campaign• Gets into fights with audience

members• Two major race riots break out in the

south

Republicans gain the majority in Congress

Reconstruction Acts

•Divided the south into 5 districts

•U.S. military commander controlled each district

To be readmitted…1. Write a new constitution2. Give African American men the

right to vote

President Johnson is Almost Impeached

• Johnson argues that the Reconstruction Act is overuse of federal power

•Congress passes a law that limits president’s power• Johnson breaks the law•But to trial and found guilty by Congress, but one vote short in the Senate

• Impeachment – the process used by a law-making body to bring charges against a public official