HIS 112 Chapter 16 The Agony of Reconstruction
Dec 25, 2015
HIS 112Chapter 16
The Agony of Reconstruction
Reconstruction
Political process by which the 11 rebel states were restored to a normal constitutional relationship with the 25 loyal states and their national government
It was the UNION that was to be reconstructed during the 12 years following the Civil War
There was also a physical reconstruction that needed to take place Cities had been burned Bridges were gone Railroad tracks were missing River-borne commerce had dwindled Commercial ties with Europe and the North
had been snapped Fields lay fallow
Proposals for Reconstruction On 8 December 1863, Abraham
Lincoln submitted his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction or his 10% SolutionAs soon as 10% of voters in any
Confederate state took an oath of allegiance to the Union, the people of that state could organize a government & elect representatives
The plan excludedConfederate government officialsMilitary or civil officials who had
resigned from Congress or U.S. Commissions in 1861
Efforts to do this took place in states occupied by Union soldiers
By 1864 Louisiana and Arkansas had complied
After the war, Tennessee and parts of Virginia quickly tried to set up Unionist governments
Congress, however, would not recognize these governments, and the military remained in these states
Congressional Objections to Lincoln’s Plan
Congress didn’t like the expansion of presidential powers during the war
Congress felt there should be a Congressional Reconstruction Plan
Radical Republicans said Lincoln’s plan made no provisions for freed men
Radical Republicans came up with a plan of their own called the Wade-Davis Bill in July of 1864Said 50% of all white male citizens
had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Union before reconstruction could begin
Radical Republicans said Reconstruction would be designed by Congress, not by the President
Lincoln said he had no objections to a Congressional Plan or to giving blacks who fought in the Civil War the right to vote
But Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865
Andrew Johnson
Succeeded Lincoln as president Had been Lincoln’s Vice President Was from Tennessee and an anti-
Confederate Because Johnson had not been
elected President, he felt that he had to prove himself
Johnson took over in May, 1865 when Congress was not in session and would not re-convene until December, 1865
He wanted to have Reconstruction completed by the time Congress got back
So Johnson came up with his own planWanted to re-unite the country as
soon as possibleFormed new governments in the
South by using his power to pardonBegan pardoning in May, 1865
Johnson eventually pardoned 13,000 Confederate leaders making it possible for them to hold office and to get their confiscated property back, minus slaves
This was a switch for Johnson because he had always thought the South should be punished and have their land confiscated
Some think Johnson gave in to his vanity; he liked being sought after by former leaders
When Congress re-convened in December, 1865, the members were told that reconstruction was completed after only a few months
13,000 had sworn allegiance and governments had been set up
Objections to Johnson’s Plan The North was dissatisfied with
Johnson’s programFelt the election of prominent
Confederates to political office was an act of Defiance by the South
Practices in the South had not changed
• Newly created Black Codes were identical to Slave Codes
See handout Black Codes convinced northerners
that the South was intent upon keeping blacks in a subservient position
Congress was so outraged by Johnson that it refused to seat newly-elected Southern Representatives
Congressional Reconstruction Plan
At this time Congress was diverse but basically conservative
Made up of:DemocratsConservative RepublicansModerate RepublicansRadical Republicans – a minority
within their own party
However, the Radical Republicans were the only ones with a planWanted to democratize the SouthEstablish public education for allEnsure the rights of the freed men
• Favored black suffrage• Supported land confiscation and
redistribution
Radical Republicans were also willing to exclude the South from the Union for several years, if necessary, to achieve their goals
There was a problemCongressional elections were coming
up in 1866Congress knew it needed to come up
with its own Reconstruction Plan fast
So Republicans formed a coalition to come up with an alternative to Johnson’s plan
Ironically, Johnson and the Democrats pushed Congress towards the Radical Republicans’ ideas by refusing to cooperate with conservative or moderate Republicans
Conservatives joined with the Radicals and the result was the 14th Amendment
It was to protect blacks’ rights See p. 462 for 3 Civil Rights
Amendments The 13th Amendment freed the slaves
14th Amendment Section 1: declared Confederate debt null
and void and guaranteed the war debt of the U.S.
Section 2: prohibited political power for prominent Confederates
Section 3: gave citizenship to freed men and all the rights of a citizen; made sure blacks had due process of law
Section 4: dealt with representation; the 14th Amendment did not require states to give blacks the right to vote, but said that states which barred blacks from voting would have their Congressional representation reduced proportionally
The 14th Amendment ignored female citizens
This led women’s rights activists to begin fighting for their own right to vote
Johnson urged states to reject this amendment
All southern states except Tennessee did so
The Congressional elections of 1866 was a decisive victory for Republicans
This showed that the people liked their 14th Amendment
Freedmen’s Bureau
Created by Congress before there was a Reconstruction plan
Administered by the army Provided relief for freed men and some
whites in the form of: Food, clothing shelter Attempted to find jobs Set up hospitals & schools Eased transition from slavery to free
The Meaning of Freedom to Freedmen
EducationThey hungered for education and filled
schoolsFreedmen’s Bureau founded over
4,000 schoolsAlso founded black colleges
For many blacks, education led to election to public office
Family Life
Many black families were reunited Blacks frequently tried to minimize all
contact with whites Black neighborhoods and black
churches were founded by their choice
Share Cropping System
In return for the use of another’s land and “furnishings”, the farmer paid the landowner a share of his crops
Resulted in blacks being cheated and kept in debt
South continued to grow cotton even though the soil was poor and the market had shrunk
Reconstruction
14th Amendment passed in June of 1866
Reconstruction Act passed in 1867 Governments formed under Andrew
Johnson’s plan dissolved The South was partitioned into 5
military provinces Map, p. 463
Constitutional conventions were heldHad to abolish slaveryGive the vote to adult black malesRatify the 13th &14th Amendments
If Congress approved of their work, they would be re-admitted to the Union and to Congress
Tennessee was immediately re-admitted
1868 – 6 more states were re-admitted: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina
Their delegations to Congress included black representatives
Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia did not wish to give blacks the right to vote, so the military remained there until 1870
Next, Congress wanted to remove some power from the Executive Branch because the President’s power had grown during the Civil War
Congressional Actions towards the Presidency
Congress took partial control of the army away from Andrew Johnson
Congress tried to enforce the Tenure of Office Act of 1867It forbade the President from removing
any appointed official who had been confirmed by the Senate without first getting Senate approval
This was done to keep Johnson from dismissing Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, a Radical Republican ally
Stanton’s support would help enforce the Congressional Reconstruction Acts -- the ones Johnson opposed
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Johnson tried to defy the Tenure of Office Act when Congress was out of session
August of 1867, Johnson suspended Stanton from office
February of 1868, Johnson dismissed Edwin Stanton, the only Radical Republican in his cabinet
He did this without Senate approval Many said that the Tenure of Office
Act did not apply to Johnson because he had inherited Lincoln’s Cabinet
But the House of Representatives drew up articles of impeachment (Charges)
They were passed and a prosecutor was appointed (House Managers)
The Senate would act as jury The Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court presided There were 9 articles of impeachment
that dealt with the dismissal of Stanton
There were 2 articles which dealt with Johnson’s disrespect of Congress
Removal of Johnson would need a 2/3 majority vote of the Senate
That meant 36 Senators had to vote for conviction18 votes were needed for acquittal
The vote was 35 – 19Johnson remained in office by 1 vote.
Johnson was impeached but not removed
1868 was an election year, so they let Johnson serve out the rest of his time
He then returned to Tennessee and was elected to the Senate 5 years later
Andrew Johnson was exonerated in 1920s
Precedent
A precedent had been set You couldn’t impeach someone just
on political grounds (you disagree or don’t like him)
A law must have been broken
Ulysses S. Grant was elected president first in 1868 and then again in 1872
Charts, pp. 470 & 474 Grant’s election was followed by the
passage of the 3rd Civil Rights Amendment, the 15th Amendment
15th Amendment forbade states from denying the vote
to any person on the basis of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”
Results of 3 Civil Rights Amendments
Black voters Blacks represented districts and
states like Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi and Hiram Revels also of Mississippi -- both were U.S. Senators; p. 469, picture
A less savory result was the rise of Ku Klux Klan – KKK; p. 472
KKK was founded by a former slave trader and Confederate general, Nathan Bedford ForrestMembers would intimidate blacks
trying to keep them from votingBlacks were at first threatened, then
beaten, and too often murdered (lynched)
Congress outlawed and suppressed the KKK, but it has never totally gone away
President Grant would use force to support Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments but only when absolutely needed
As the 1870s proceeded, there was less and less support for Reconstruction
Other issues were more interestingExample: the scandals and corruption
in the Grant Administration
During Grant’s first term in office there was scandal surrounding the White House but none connected with Grant himself
Grant had appointed relatives and in-laws to offices who used their offices to make money for themselves
Later grant accepted money from those who expected favors
Election of 1876
Republican: Rutherford B. Hayes3 time governor of OhioModerate on Southern policiesFavored home rule in the SouthFor civil and political rights for all
Democrat: Samuel J. TildenGovernor of New YorkA millionaireA lawyerA reformerAgainst fraud and wasteFiscal conservative
Tilden won the popular vote by a small margin and the returns from Florida and Louisiana were challenged
P. 475 It was a contested election, and in a
contested election the House of Representatives decides the outcome, as per the Constitution
In the Compromise of 1877, Congress decided the outcome and gave it to Hayes after a deal was struck between Republican leaders and southern DemocratsTroops would be withdrawn from the
SouthSome talk of support for southern
railroads & internal improvements
Help for blacks was not discussed Lynchings of blacks increased 1889 –
1899An average of 187 blacks were
lynched each year for alleged offenses against whites
Segregation laws were passed around the turn of the century ( Jim Crow Laws)
1890 – 1910 -- Disenfranchisement of blacks began with literacy tests and other legalized obstacles to votingExample: “How many bubbles are in
a bar of Ivory soap?”Poll taxesThe North and the Federal
government did little to helpCases, p. 480