Day 91: The Ordeal of Reconstruction 1865-1877Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
January 23, 2014A/A.P. U.S. History
Mr. Green
We had 2 snow days, 1/21 and 1/22
2 hour delay
Objectives: Define the major problems facing the nation and the South after the Civil War.Describe the responses of both whites and African Americans to the end of slavery.Analyze the differences between the presidential and congressional approaches to Reconstruction.Explain how the blunders of President Johnson and the resistance of the white South opened the door to the Republicans’ radical Reconstruction
AP FocusThe Union victory is significant in transforming and diversifying the South’s production. It also represents the defeat of the planter-slaveholder and the continued rise of the industrial capitalist.In the aftermath of the war, especially in those southern states that reenter the Union under Johnson’s lenient plan, Black Codes again segregate and subordinate the South’s blacks. Organizations, such as the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the White Camellia, use violence and intimidation to deny blacks access to institutions, such as voting, that would improve their lives. Blacks are reduced to a form of slavery without chains, in that they are economically dependent and subservient to the owner of the land on which they are sharecroppers.
The Ordeal of Reconstruction 1865-1877
CHAPTER THEMESJohnson’s political blunders and Southern white recalcitrance led to the imposition of congressional military Reconstruction on the South. Reconstruction did address difficult issues of reform and racial justice in the South and achieved some successes, but was ultimately abandoned, leaving a deep legacy of racial and sectional bitterness.
During Reconstruction, the Constitution was strengthened with the Fourteenth (citizenship and equal protection of the laws) and Fifteenth (black voting rights) Amendments, but it was also tested with the conflicts between the president and Congress that culminated in an impeachment process.
Chapter Focus
Decades Chart 1860’s-Due on WednesdayQuiz on Friday over Chapter 22
Announcements
1. How would the South be rebuilt?2. How would liberated blacks fare as free men
and women?3. How would the Southern states be reintegrated
into the Union?4. Who would direct the process of
Reconstruction?5. What should happen to the Confederate
leaders?Slave-owners lost some $2 billion in slaves“damn yankees”, “your government”
Warm-up? The Problems of Peace
Rebel troops evacuating Charleston blew up military supplies to deny them to General William Tecumseh Sherman’s forces. The explosions ignited fires that all but destroyed the city.
Emancipation followed the Union Army.Slaves were freed then re-enslaved, then
freed, then re-enslavedSome displayed loyalty to plantation, others
pillagedAfrican-American churches doubled in size
after EmancipationWhole communities moved together-
ExodustersEducation key to freedom-Education societies
Freedmen Define Freedom
Created on March 3, 1865 to address the transition to freedom
Provide:1. food2. Clothing3. Medical care4. Education-blacks/white refugeesNot all good-some collaborated with planters
in removing blacks from towns or signing labor contracts with former masters
The Freedmen’s Bureau
Came from humble beginningsServed in the House and refused to secede
when Tennessee didSupporter of states’ rights
Johnson: The Tailor President
Lincoln’s 10% plana state could be re-admitted when 10% of its voters from the 1860 Presidential election took an oath of allegiance to the U.S.creation of a formal state government
Congress in 1865Wade-Davis Bill: 50% needed to take the oathLincoln pocket-vetoed the bill in 1864
Johnson’s plandisfranchised Confederates with taxable property more than $20,000-except for pardonsrepeal ordinances of secessionrepudiate Confederate debtratify 13th amendment
Presidential Reconstruction
Black codes-regulated the affairs of the emancipated blacks
Created the share-cropping class of emancipated blacks and landless whites
African-Americans not allowed to 1. Serve on a jury2. Rent/own land3. Punished for idlenessThe North looked down on the South for this
reaction
The Baleful Black Codes
Many ex-Confederates won state elections as senators and representatives
The North enjoyed free reign during the warMorrill Tariff, Pacific Railroad Act, Homestead Act
With newly freed slaves, the South population was about to explode and increase their power
Johnson claims southern states met readmission conditions on Dec 6, 1865
Congressional Reconstruction
Johnson vetoed and Congress overrode the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 which granted citizenship to freed slaves
14th Amendment1. Civil Rights/Citizenship2. reduced representation if a state denied African-Americans the right to vote3. disqualified former Confederates as federal office-holders4. guaranteed federal debt/repudiated Confederate debt
Johnson clashes with Congress
Johnson’s lack of vote-getting in the mid-terms of 1866 resulted in a 2/3 majority for the Republicans in both houses of Congress
Swinging “round the circle with Johnson”
Charles Sumner-led radicals in the SenateThaddeus Stevens-led radicals in the HouseRadical Republicans
keep Southern states out as long as possibleuse federal power
Moderate Republicansrestrain states from denying citizens’ rightslimited federal authorityhad the upper hand
Republican Principles and Programs
Congressional Reconstruction Act-March 2, 18675 military districts in the Southdisfranchised former Confederates
Readmissionratify 14th amendmentstate guarantee of full suffrage to blacks15th amendment
Women Rights were not addressed at this timeElizabeth Cady Stanton/Susan B. Anthony not supportive of the 14th/15th amendment
Scalawags-former Unionists/Whigs that were corruptCarpetbaggers-northerners seeking power in the South
politically or economically or both
Reconstruction by the Sword
1. How would the South be rebuilt?2. How would liberated blacks fare as free
men and women?3. How would the Southern states be
reintegrated into the Union?4. Who would direct the process of
Reconstruction?5. What should happen to the Confederate
leaders?
Wrap-Up
Continue Reading Chapter 22
Homework