RECONSTRUCTION

Background South seceded from the Union to form

the Confederacy Texas

Civil War 1861-1865 South lacks resources, supplies, soldiers

Ends when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant April 9, 1865

April 14, 1865-Lincoln assassinated

Treatment of Former Slaves

African Americans in Texas 1863-President Lincoln issues

Emancipation Proclamation, which frees slaves

Texans do not hear about this, though

June 19, 1865 Union General Gordon Granger lands at Galveston and proclaims that the slaves in Texas are free “Juneteenth”

What happens to the slaves once they are free?

Freedman’s Bureau Federal agency designed to help former

slaves and manage Confederate-seized land

General E.M. Gregory-head of Texas bureau

Find jobs for freed Texans Issue food/clothing to sick, aged, and

poor Opens public schools (eventually closed

when the bureau ceased operation) Defended rights of former slaves in court

Challenges to the Freedman’s Bureau

Texas is a large state with poor transportation/communication system

Hostility of whites Texans (and Southerners in general)

Texans on the Move Since African Americans are free, some go in

search of family members from whom they were separated

Since other southern states were destroyed during the war, southerners came to Texas looking for land.

More Europeans came to Texas (Germans, Irish, French, English, Austrians, Czechs, Scots, Swedes, and Swiss)

What should we do with the former Confederate

states?

Reconstruction Period lasting from 1865-1870s Southern states are gradually brought

back into the Union Rebuilding the Union

How do we handle the South?

Disagreement among Northerners about how the South should be handled

Lincoln feels like the former Confederate states should be given some sympathy

After assassination, President Andrew Johnson continues Lincoln’s plan

Andrew Johnson

Presidential Plan #1-Easy Set up a provisional government in each

southern state with troops to protect them Must prohibit slavery Must nullify, or cancel, ordinance of

secession Citizens must take oath of allegiance to US Voting requirements Confederate leaders must seek pardon

from president After this, southern states can write new

constitutions

Government in Texas Andrew Jackson

Hamilton appointed governor by President Johnson Against Texas

secession, like Sam Houston

Honest and fair-minded But most Texans liked

him because he wanted the Reconstruction process to go smoothly

Government Restored 1866

Governor Hamilton appointed many state and local officers who took the oath of allegiance

Delegates wrote a new constitution (some of these delegates were former Confederates who got pardons)

Texas Constitution 1866 Declares slavery illegal Declares secession illegal Schools for African Americans

DOES NOT give them full rights, because African Americans do not have the right to vote (disappoints Governor Hamilton)

Ratified June 1866

Congress Reacts Some Northerners think that Lincoln and

Johnson were “going too easy” on the former Confederate states

They wanted Congress to decide how they should be readmitted into the Union

Why do you think Congress felt this way?

Why did Congress feel that way?

Most elected southern officials were ex-Confederates

Example: newly elected Texas Governor Throckmorton had been a Confederate general

It made Congress very nervous and upset that the very people who called for secession were basically back in power.

13th and 14th Amendments Changes to the Constitution passed by

Congress

13th amendment-abolishes slavery 14th amendment-grants citizenship to

former enslaved people

Texas legislators and other southern states refuse to ratify, or accept, these amendments

To make things worse… Southern states started passing black codes

Black codes-Laws limiting the rights of African Americans (not as restrictive in Texas, but still offensive)

Examples: Not allowed to vote Not allowed to testify against a white person Cannot serve on juries If African Americans don’t have a job or home,

they work for a plantation owner

So…has anything really changed for African

Americans???

Radical Republicans Northerners who want stricter regulations

for Southern states to get back in the Union

Want Congress to set up these regulations

Want to protect the rights of and freedoms about African Americans (they think that in the long run, they will stay in power this way)

Radical Republicans in Congress

Many get elected to Congress in 1866 They can override any presidential veto

They do not get along with President Johnson and even vote to impeach him Remove him from office because of

misconduct Senate fails to convict him

Congressional Plan Radical Republican Congress’s plan for

Southern states to reenter the Union

1. Military governs 1 of 5 districts of the South (TX and LA are one district)

2. State constitutions must give African American men the right to vote and to hold office

3. Require states to ratify the 14th amendment and 15th amendment (guarantees African Americans the right to vote)

Congressional Plan4. Must repeal the black codes5. Voters must take Ironclad Oath which states

that southerners had not served in Confederate army (prevents many from voting)

This plan pleased many Unionists and African Americans

Southerners VERY mad In Texas, Governor Throckmorton did NOT put

these laws into effect.

Texas Reaction Elisha M. Pease appointed governor of

Texas after Throckmorton was removed by Unionists Well respected by Texans, as well as Radical

Republicans

All across Texas, ex-Confederates were removed from office and replaced with Radical Republican sympathizers

New Social Groups Scalawags-Southern whites who

supported Reconstruction

Carpetbaggers-Northerners who came to the South during Reconstruction to help rebuild the nation

Ku Klux Klan-group of white Southerners who used terror to prevent African Americans from exercising their rights

Carpetbagger

KKK

New Texas Constitution 1869

Written by delegates including African Americans

No one excluded from voting due to race or color

Support for public education Extended rights of African Americans Many African Americans elected to office

Radical Republican Texas Edmund J. Davis (Radical Republican

choice) elected to governor in 1869 Ratified of the 14th and 15th amendment Everything seems to be ok in Texas

BUT, March 30, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant declares that Reconstruction in Texas had ended………….

What could this mean for Texas?????

Republican Governor Many Texans did not like Republican

Governor Davis Argued that he gave too many rights to

African Americans and Tejanos Tried to restrict rights of white Southerners

Increased spending (education, etc.) meant that state debt increased

Many Texans overlooked the successes of Davis

Democratic Challenge 1872 anti-Davis Democrats won a

majority of seats in the state legislature They reduced the power of the governor

and abolished the state police force Richard Coke (ex-Confederate) ran

against Davis for governor and won Fighting over when Coke will be sworn in Coke sworn in January 15, 1874, and

Davis forced to leave Reconstruction is officially over