AMENDMENT

13th 14th 15th

YEAR RATIFIED

1865 1867 1870

WHO IT WAS RATIFIED UNDER

President Lincoln

Congress (even though Johnson vetoed

it)

President Grant

DETAILS

•Banned slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime•Necessary because the emancipation proclamation did not free all slaves

•All citizens were granted “equal protection of the laws”•It defined a citizen as “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” •It did not include Native Americans•It forbade states to “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”•If a state denied any male citizen who was 21 years old (or older) the right to vote, that state would have its representation in Congress reduced

•It forbade any state to deny any citizen the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous servitude.”•It did not apply to Native Americans or women

Lincoln and Reconstruction

“with malice [harm] towards none, charity for all” – Lincoln

- Confederate officials pardoned (forgiven of their crimes)

- Freedmen’s Bureau established

Government agency set up to help former slaves who wanted to learn to read and write and set up their own communities

Freedmen’s Bureau

Ex-slaves and poor whites were aided by the federal governmentGave them clothing and foodHelped them to look for jobsProvided medical care for over 1

million peopleSet up schools – first funding of all

black colleges (Howard University)

Freedmen’s Bureau

With Johnson in charge…

- Promised to return Confederate property in exchange for pledging loyalty to the United States

- Southern states set up new state gov’ts – many refused to ratify 13th amendment

- Southern states pass “black codes” which limit freedoms of former slaves and criminalize African-American life

Black Codes

Excerpts from Codes of Mississippi: African-Americans …

must have written proof of employment at all times

are forbidden to meet in unsupervised groups cannot carry any form of weapon

OR RISK INCARCERATION! (prison confinement and labor)

Civil Rights Act 1866 All persons born in the United

States were citizens (except Native Americans) But not Native Americans…

Stated all citizens were entitled to equal rights (regardless of race)

Johnson vetoes and Congress overrides

Proposed 14th amendment but hit resistance by South and president

RADICAL RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 1867RECONSTRUCTION 1867

*Divided South into 5 military military districtsdistricts

*Planter class lost right to vote

Before Southern states could re-enter union they must:

1) Ratify 14th amendment (citizenship)

2) Allow African-American men to vote (15th amendment)

3) Disband state governments and write new state constitutions

Military DistrictsMilitary Districts

What was not done?

Land reform! Suggestion of 40

acres and a mule (Sherman) never realized

Why is economic independence so important?

Most of the new delegates writing southern state constitutions were Republican poor white farmersnicknamed Scalawags (scoundrels)for going along with the “radical” plan

Carpetbaggers: People who headed South carrying only a cheap suitcase, known as a “carpetbag”

Some African-American delegates as well

Johnson fights back and so does Congress! Tenure of Office Act – prohibited

Johnson from firing government officials without approval from Senate

1868 – Johnson fires Secretary of War Stanton over disagreements

Leads to impeachment hearings against Johnson – acquitted by a single vote!

Think about it…

How does your plan compare to what the actual Congress voted to do during the Reconstruction period?

Evaluate their decisions – was enough done?