Reconstruction 1863-77. I. The “Unfinished” Revolution.

Reconstruction 1863-77

I. The “Unfinished” Revolution

A. Was Reconstruction Revolutionary?1. No

- whites kept most property; caste system maintained

2. Yes- Constitutional changes; emancipation; groundwork for the future

B. Contemporary Views

1. Lincoln- states had never left- quick as possible

2. Radicals- “foreign” territory- great, historic opportunity

C. Challenge of the Aftermath1. Loss of manpower

- 600 K; ¼ of military-age Southerners

2. Total War

3. Problem of “freedom”- freed people nowhere to go

Competing Plans for Reconstructing the South

A. Presidential 1863-67

1. Pardons for most

2. Oath-takers could vote- elites back in power

3. Ratification of 13th Amendment

4. Black Codes- economic rationale- maintain hierarchy- tolerated by moderates

B. Congressional / Radical Reconstruction

1. Waving the “bloody shirt”

From the beginning of our history the country has been afflicted with compromise. It is by compromise that human rights have been abandoned.

- Charles Sumner

2. Expansion of Federal Power- Civil Rights Act of 1866- Freedmen’s Bureau 1865

- 14th Amendment 1866

Dual Citizenship

Review Sessions for Final Exam

Thursday April 26, 3:30 P.M. - HUMB 360

Friday April 27, 1:00 - ?    Picklefish

Monday April 30, 7:30 P.M. - HUMB 360

& by appointment

III. Reconstruction and Constitutional Crisis

A. Andrew Johnson

1. Inferiority complex

2. Opposition to reform

3. Struggle with Congress- Tenure of Office Act

B. Congress takes control

1. Southern military districts

2. Redefined voting rights

3. Ratification of 14th Amendment

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States…

IV. Reform and Its Limits

A. Land distribution

1. “40 acres and a mule”- Sherman’s order- 1880, 20% freed land owners

2. Opposition to land re-distribution

3. Rise of sharecropping- 1880: 10% own 60% of land- white and black sharecroppers

B. Racial Radicalism

1. Terrorism- Ku Klux Klan 1866- lynching

2. Stereotypes- violent- sexual- commercial

C. Politics

1. Voting rights- 15th Amendment 1870- “Party of Lincoln” 1932

2. Redemption

D. Constitutional changes

1. Amendments- 13th 1865- 14th 1866- 15th 1870

2. Basis of “3rd” American Revolution- Civil Rights, 1950s-60s

E. Social Relations

1. White men- “extra” legal caste system

2. Class antagonism

- Populism 1880s+- Tom Watson

3. Black men- legally free- “manhood” = own land; marry; protect family; military service- antagonism reflects psychological shift

4. White women- “pedestal to politics”- construction of the Lost Cause Myth

5. Black women- “Aren’t I a Woman?” Sojourner Truth- double burden

19th century ideals conflicted witheconomic reality

Church; education

V. End of the Experiment

1. Westward Expansion- 1876 Little Big Horn- Plains Culture 1866-90

2. Republican corruption- Crèdit Mobilier 1872

- Whiskey Ring 1875

3. Northern Democrats rebound- immigration- labor movement

4. Election of 1876