The Reconstruction and its Effects- US History Outline

US HISTORY Chapter 12: Reconstruction and Its Effects I. The Politics of Reconstruction- Presidents Lincoln and Johnson face congressional opposition to the Reconstruction plans. Congress wins control, and Radical Reconstruction begins A. Andrew Johnson: succeeded Abe Lincoln as President 1. poor NC famz; taught himself to read and his wife taught him to write 2. tailor’s apprentice 3. Only senator from Conf state to remain loyal to Union 4. harsh punishment for rebellion leaders in the war! 1865 B. Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction 1. Reconstruction: the time period following the Civil War, 1865-1877; rebuilding. Process of fed govt readmitting Conf states to the Union 2. Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan lenient reconstruction plans a. Believed the states never technically left the Union cause secession is impossible! b. Individuals, not states, had rebelled. President had power to pardon people! c. Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction: 1863//10% Plan i. Govt pardon’s all Confederates, except high rank officials and those accused of war crimes; ii. 10% of the ppl in the state needed to swear allegiance to the Union and promise to obey laws. New state govts and such. iii. Wants a quick return for the South d. 4 states moved to readmission to Union under his plan: AR, LA, TN, VA e. His moderate plan angered a minority of Republicans in Congress: Radical Republicans  abolitionists who want full rights for AfAms i. Representative Thaddeus Stevens of PA. ii. No polit power for slaveholders!! 3. Radical Reaction to Lincoln’s Plan a. Wade-Davis Bill: Congress, not the President, is responsible for Reconstruction. b. for a state govt to be formed, a majority (not just 10%) of those able to vote would have to take an oath to support the Constit. c. Lincoln uses a pocket veto to kill the bill. Radicals outraged! Congress had supreme authority! C. Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction 1. Johnson Continues Lincoln’s Policies a. Presidential Reconstruction: each state (AL, FL, GA, Miss, NC, SC, TX) can be readmitted if they met these conditions i. declare secession illegal ii. swear allegiance to Union iii. ratify 13th amendment (no slavery) b. Differed little from Lincoln’s plan much to the Radical’s dismay! i. Johnson just excludes high ranking Confs and wealthy Southern landowners from taking the oath needed for voting rights. ii. Failed to address the rights of slaves (voting, protection, land rights under law) c. Supports states rights over large central govt white southerners lik it! i. We can do what we want about black voting rights!

ii. AJ pardoned mad Conds bc he says that “white men alone must manage the South” and think former slaves shouldn’t vote. d. Loads of the states comply (tho some not for the 13th amendment, and TX all together) and grew up knew state stuff headed to Congress in 12/1865 i. Mad of the reps and such were old Conf reps! Not much change!! ii. Radicals are pissed! 2. Presidential Reconstruction Comes to a Standstill a. 39TH Congress in Dec 1865: Rad Rep legislators led by Thaddeus, says that AJ is wrong and Recont is not finished1 i. South is still the same!! ii. Congress refused to readmit the South legislators elected under AJ’s plan. b. Moderate Reps pushed for laws to fix weaknesses in AJ’s plan i. 2/1866, Congress voted to continue and enlarge the Freedman’s Bureau. ii. The Bureau, established by Congress at the end of the war, assisted former slaves and poor whites with clothes and food, hospitals, schools, industrial institutes and teacher-training schools. 3. Civil Rights Act of 1866 a. Gave Blacks citizenship and forbade states from passing black codes (discriminatory laws) the restricted their lives. b. The codes prohibited blacks from carrying guns, being on juries, testifying against whites, marrying whites, having own business, and traveling w/o permits (same laws as when they were slaves!) i. Some wont even let them rent or lease farmland! ii. In some areas whites used violence to stop blacks from improving their position in society. iii. These codes say that the South has not changed!! 4. Johnson veto’s Freedmen’s Bureau Act and Civil Rights Act a. Congress going beyond their powers! Chill… b. AJ alienates the moderate Reps and angered the Radicals D. Congressional Reconstruction 1. Moderates and Radicals Join Forces to override the veteos a. The Civil Rights Act is the first major legislation ever enacted over a presidential veto. Also, Congress had 14TH Amendment drafted: constit basis for Civil Rights Act b. 14th: all person born or naturalized in US a citizen. Equal protection of law, with life, liberty and property if not, only with due process of law. i. Didn’t specify blacks, but if any state stopped a portion of its male citizens from voting the state would lose some congressional seats equal to the percent of ppl kept from the polls. ii. Barred most Conf leaders from holding fed or state offices unless they were permitted by 2/3 Congress vote. c. At 14TH Sent to states approval i. If most South states ratified it, then the North legislatures happy to have them readmitted ii. AJ tho, believed it treated the Confs too harshly and that it was wrong to force the states to accept an amendment that their legislatures had no part in creating it.

iii. AJ advises the south states to reject it. All but TN does, and the amendment not ratified till 1868 2. 1866 Congressional Elections who had Reconstruction power?!! a. AJ’s “swing around the circle (speaking trip from DC to NOr to IL back)” was not good. i. He offended many voters with rough language and undignified behavior ii. Audience cheered for General Grant instead!! b. Race riots in TN, NOr cause mad deaths of blacks. Convinced North voters that the fed govt must stop in to protect former slaves c. In the elections, Rad Reps won a ODEE over Dems. 2/3 vote in Congress so they can override presidential vetoes. March, 1867 the 10th Congress ready to move with its Reconstruction policy 3. Reconstruction Act of 1867 a. Did not recognize the state govts formed under Lincoln and AJ’s plans, except for TN which had the 14th amendment and was readmitted to Union. b. Divided the other 10 Conf states into 5 military zones each headed by Union generals. i. All qualified voters in these lands (blacks and men not disqualified by 14th am.) elect delegates to the conventions held for writing new state constits. ii. The constits must grand black men the right to vote and ratify the 14th am. iii. Then you shall reenter the Union!! 4. Johnson Impeached a. AJ not carrying out constit obligations to enforce the Reconst Act i. Removing military officers who tried to enforce the Act ii. He was blocking Recon! Impeach!! b. March 1867, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act the president could not remove cabinet officers during the term of the president who they may have been appointed w/o 2/3 consent in Congress i. Protect the secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Radical) whose supported was needed for enforcing congressional Recons. c. AJ and others think the act is unconstit executive branch doesn’t answer to the legislature!! i. Tested in court: ii. Aj fires Stanton to force the test. iii. Gives the Radicals the opportunity to initiate impeachment d. HoR brings 11 charges of impeachment against AJ, 9 based on his violation of the Tenure Act. e. 11 week trial before the Senate in March 1868. f. NOT GUILTY! 5. U.S. Grant Elected 1868 Presidential Elections a. Dems have wartime governor of NY, Horatio Seymour b. Reps have Civil War hero Ulysses Grant. c. Grant winds by huge margin in electoral votes. The popular vote mostly from Af Ams d. 15th Amendment: Radicals fear the pro-Conf south may try to limit black suffrage

i. No one can be kept from voting bc of race, volor, or previous condition of servitude ii. Also affected those North states where blacks couldn’t vote. iii. Ratified by states in 1870 II. Reconstructing Society- the South must rebuild its ravaged economy in the aftermath of the war. African Americans begin to exercise freedoms denies to them during their enslavement A. Conditions in the Postwar South (South under Republican Govt) 1. Physical and Economic Conditions a. Mad damage to towns lik in SC and GA b. Value of southern property does DOWN. i. Farms in ruin ii. Wealth in South FALLS. Worth about 1/6 of wealth before the war! c. Mad people dead or unable to really work. i. White men from war ii. Women and kids malnourished during war @ home iii. Blacks flee/up north/dead from Conf fighting 2. Public Works Programs a. Built roads, Railroads, bridges b. Established orphanages, mental institutes c. Public schools! (a first for many South states) d. State govts grow larger and spend more money than ever before i. Task is hard bc lack of funds and resources (depleted South assets and North capitalists reluctant to invest in the South) ii. To raise money: increased poll taxes; made property, sales, luxury taxes iii. Taxes almost tripled from 1860-1870 in the South B. Politics in the Postwar South 1. Scalawags and Carpetbaggers negative labels given by the Democrats a. Scalawags: white southerners who joined the Republican Party i. Industrial south!! (best under Rep govt) ii. Others supported Union in the war. iii. Majority are small farmers who wanted to improve their economic position and did not want the formerly wealthy planters to regain power iv. Few who wanted power by the help of black voters, and to enrich themselves Southern Democrats pointed out these men as the representatives of all white South Republicans b. Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the south after the war i. “arrived w/ so few things that they carried everything in a carpet-covered bag” ii. Mixed motives also: (1) Freedmen’s Bureau agents, teachers and ministers w/ moral duty to help blacks (2) Union soldiers who wanted to buy land (3) Business ppl who hoped to start new industries (4) Adventurers who exploited the South’s postwar chaos for their own profit 2. African American Voters largest group of South Reps a. Voting rights bc 15th Amendment!! 8/10 black men who registered to vote, supported the Rep Party.

b. Slaves were mad illiterate and ignorant of the politics, but eager to vote and learn! c. Almost 90% of qualified blacks voted in some areas despite all the grief they got 3. Political Differences a. Lack of unity in the Rep Party bc of the 3 diff groups i. Few scalawags shared the Rep commitment to civil rights and suffrage for blacks ii. Many of them ^ returned to Dem party later b. Reps try to get more whites to be Reps i. Puts white Dems in offices ii. Blacks are pissed iii. Instead, whites just don’t really change parties! c. Some whites Southerners support Reconstruction and think the end of slavery will benefit south; Others think investment by Northerners will help south recover from war d. Tho mad white Southerners still want to not be equal, but higher than blacks. Also, had to deal w/ those victorious Northerners daily! Hard adjustment!! e. Some white Southerners emigrate to Europe, Mexico and Brazil after the war to get out C. Former Slaves Improve their Lives 1. New-Won Freedoms what do we do now??!?! a. Do we move or stay in out state? We can go wherever! Lets be out! b. Most eager to leave plantation areas, and moved to Southern towns and cities to find jobs. c. 1865-70, black population of ten largest South cities doubled! 2. Reunification of Families a. Travel to find our long lost family members! b. FreeBur worked to reunite families, black newspapers posted “Info Wanted” ads c. Men and women married legally finally!! Traditional family roles of the time ensue… 3. Education a. More than 90% of the freed blacks illiterate! So errbody sought some education b. FreeBur, black churches, North charitable organizations, and state govts help blacks to organize their own schools, colleges and universities (eg Hampton Institute, VA) i. Raised money to buy land, build and pay teacher salaries. ii. At the start, most teachers North white women; later educated blacks (c1869) taught also iii. By 1877, 600 tho blacks enrolled in” elementary schools c. Some white Southerners pissed at this idea, and respond violently! 4. Churches and Volunteer Groups a. While enslaved and forced to listen to preachers tell them to obey their masters, slaves formed their own “praise meetings” by slave preachers. i. After the war, many blacks founded their own churches (usually Baptist/Methodist) and held meetings similar to the praise meetings. ii. Influential community leaders b. Blacks from thousands of volunteer organizations i. Fire companies, debating clubs, mutual-aid societies, drama groups, trade associations, political associations ii. Fostered black independence and emotional support for members

iii. Opportunity to develop leadership skills! 5. Blacks in Reconstruction  active in political processes a. Organized black conventions to demand equal rights and protection under the law b. Joined influential political groups like the Union League c. Some served as delegates to the state constit conventions btwn 1867-69 d. 1865-77 growing involvement at all levels i. Offices in local, state and federal govts ii. At first, most were freeborn blacks, but by 1867 former slaves gettin in (mostly ministers and teachers edu in the north) e. Tho more black voters than white ones in the South, still a minority representation (Only SC had black majority in state legislator) f. No south state had black elected governor g. 16/125 southerners elected to Congress during the Reconst were blacks Hiram Revels, first black senator 6. Laws Against Segregation a. By 1866, most Rep Southern state govts repealed the black codes b. Black legislators proposed bills to desegregate public transportation i. 1871, TX outlawed distinctions btwn groups of passengers on railroads, and other states followed suit. ii. Tho, many antiseg laws weren’t practiced and enforced iii. State orphanages had separate places for white and black kids c. Blacks too were more interested in their own black community than total integration i. Separate black schools, social organizations and churches ii. Thus able to promote black leadership and escape white interference D. Changes in the Southern Economy 1. 40 Acres and a Mule a. During Civil War, General Sherman promised the free slaves in his army 40 acres per family and a mule. i. After the war, 40 thou free slaves on 400 tho acres in GA and SC. ii. Land that govt seized from Conf supporting planters, or that ppl abandoned b. Blacks were chill till a few months later President AJ ordered the original landowners be allowed to reclaim their land and evict the blacks c. Blacks r pissed “we worked hard for the army too! We deserve it!”// some Rad Reps agree d. Thaddeus Stevens called for govt to confiscate the plantations of about 70 thou “chief rebels” and to give part of it to former slaves i. Many Reps say this messes w/ property rights in the Constit e. Congress sucks i. Rejected land reform proposals ii. Passed weak legislation: 1866 Homestead Act 40 million acres of crap land no good for farming set aside for free slaves and loyal whites, but few people even have the resources to TRY to farm successfully 2. Restoration of Plantations a. The planter class wants to restore the plantation system North merchants and owners of textile mills encourage these efforts (esp for cotton)

b. To make the system work they claimed they needed complete control over their laborers i. Fear they wont make a profit bc they needed to pay the labor and couldn’t force them to have harsh long work days; many resented having to negotiate services w/ former slaves c. labor shortage: i. high war death toll ii. man black women and kids refuse to work in the fields iii. laborers plantation hopped looking for best conditions iv. too much like slavery! Chill with that son! d. People seek alternatives: i. on railroad construction crews, mills ii. subsistence farming/self sufficient  food enough for the famz iii. White planters determined to keep old slaves from getting land to support themselves 3. Sharecropping and Tenant Farming a. With no land to get, many blacks turn to signing labor contracts w/ white planters. i. In exchange for wages, housing, and food, freedmen worked in the fields ii. FreeBue promoted the system, tho it doesn’t satisfy the freedmen or planters (1) FreedmenWages too low, and too much control from white planters! (2) Planters lack sufficient cash to pay workers b. Thus, Sharecropping develops: landowners divide their land and gave each worker a few acres, along with seeds and tools. i. After harvesting crops, worker gives share of crops to landowner (~ ½) ii. This pays back the landowner and ends agreement until the next yr’s crops c. Tenant farming: those croppers who saved some and bought their own tools could have better deal with their own horses/mules, they can become tenants and rend land for cash. Eventually, they might move up to be owners of their own farms! d. This arrangement rarely worked in practice tho: i. Ppl buy supplies on credit, where merchants overcharged them and claimed share of crops not enough to save, cover merchant, and cover landowner! ii. Too hard to save money to buy own farms 4. Cotton No Longer King a. Other countries began to make their own cotton, thus cotton prices DROP b. Planters don’t want to have varying crops try to make up the profits by making more cotton this drives prices further down vicious cycle!!!! c. Agricultural problems lead to diverse South economy i. Textile mills ii. New industry tobacco product manufacturing iii. Helps raise average wage, tho still much lower than in North d. State banks in the South had mad Conf debt. i. Dropping cotton prices worsen this; planter debts make banks fail ii. The only credit Southerners in rural areas could get was from local merchants III. The Collapse of Reconstruction- Continued opposition to Radical Reconstruction in the South and economic problems in the North bring the Reconstruction process to an end. A. Henry Turner: black who served as GA delegate

1. 1868, white delegates expelled the 27 black ones bc constit didn’t give them right to hold offices! 2. Congress reinstates them but it was a year later, new the end of their terms!! 3. Turner becomes leading proponent of black emigration to Africa by end of 1800s B. Opposition to Reconstruction 1. Ku Klux Klan- notorious vigilante group against blacks a. Formed by 6 Conf veterans as a social club in 1866. b. Dems and former Conf officers took control of many new chapters and turned them into violent terrorist organizations c. 1868, KKK in every South state. d. Goals: i. Destroy Republican Party ii. Throw out Reconst govts iii. Aid planter class in controlling black laborers iv. Prevent blacks from using their political rights e. Burned cabins, churches, murdered thousands of blacks and white Reps (NC senator John Stephens in 1870) terrorized whites who helped blacks (teachers, landowners w/black tenants; merchants who purchased cotton from blacks) 2. Anti=Black Violence a. As the violence increased, more whites turned against the KKK; former leader Nathan Bedford tried to disband it but enough ppl didn’t comment so terrorization still b. Some South Dems use open violence to intimidate Reps i. Before 1875 state election in Miss, Dems rioted, murdered and attacked Rep leaders and important blacks. Frightened blacks away from polls and white Dems vote ii. 1876 elections, Dems in FL SC LA adopted similar tactics to stop blacks from voting 3. Economic Pressure a. The Dems and KKK want to stop blacks from making economic progress i. As in KKK kills livestock of blacks ii. Attacked black landowners and forced them to labor for white landowners iii. Whipped blacks who complained about employer/didn’t work in agriculture b. Mostly nonviolent economic pressure by most South whites on blacks to get control over them i. Economic necessity forced most freedmen to work for whites as wage laborers or sharecroppers ii. Refused to higher or do business with blacks who voted Rep iii. The officials knew bc they watched ppl vote, so this kept many blacks from voting for Reps or voting at all! 4. Legislative Response a. To curtail KKK and Dem intimidation Congress passes a series of Enactment Acts in 1870 and 1871 i. Provided fed supervision of elections in South states ii. President had power to use fed troops in KKK areas b. By this time, the fed govt, blacks, many white Southerners opposed KKK activities

c. Individual acts against blacks and white Reps continued but KKK activities decline 5. Shifts in Political Power a. Congress passes legislation that weakens the Rep party in the South b. White Southerners complain that their best leaders had been barred from public service i. Remedy: May 1872, Congress passes Amnesty Act ii. Returned the right to vote and hold fed/state offices to about 160,000 former Confs they will vote Democratic. ~500 highest leaders don’t get polit rights back iii. Allowed FreeBur to expire! It has fulfilled purpose! (nahhh!!!!) c. South Dems have opportunity to turn the tables C. Scandals and Money Crises Hurt Republicans- Scandal in politics directs the North's attention away from the conditions in the South 1. Fraud and Bribery a. Grant, in his 2nd term 1872, didn't have political experience so was naive i. didn't think people would use him ii. Has friends in positions vs qualified people; many turned out to be dishonest b. 1872 scandals i. Credit Mobilier affair: a construction company skimmed off huge profits from a govt railroad contract. Involved several leading Reps, lik Grant's first VP, Schuyler Colfax ii. Exposure of the Whiskey Ring: internal revenue collectors and other officials took bribes from whiskey dealers to avoid paying taxes on whiskey (1) fed govt fraud of $millions in revenue. (2) Grant's private secretary General Babcock indicted in this scandal (3) Grant doesn't think this is tru and helps him escape conviction. c. 1876 investigation showed Secretary of war, navy, and interior took bribes and shady deals. Blatant corruption. 2. Republican Unity Shattered a. Reps set out to reform this corruption i. Missouri Reps banded together to form the Liberal Rep Party in 1872 --> honest and efficient govt ii. 1872 pres election: LReps nominate Horace Greely (prewar abolitionist, some RadRep ties but wanted universal amnesty for Confd and no military rule in South: former slaves fend for themselves!) iii. Dems nominate Greely too. iv. Greely lost the election to Grant by a lot. Died later. b. The LReps do weaken the Radical's hold over the Reps--> breakdown of Rep unity, hard to have Reconst in the South. 3. Panic of 1873 a. Depression in 1873-->bc economy was expanding post-war, investors were confident that business profits would increase. i. Eager to get to the South opportunities, N and S investors borrow mad money and built new facilities ii. Many take on too much debt b. Banker Jay Cooke invests too heavily in RR construction, with not enough investors to buy shares and pay debts. His banking firm, largest in the nation, went bankrupt

i. Sets off series of financial failures known as Panic of 1873 ii. Stock markets collapse, banks close, RR’s go broke iii. By 1875, more than 18 thou companies failed. c. 5 year panic; 3 million ppl lose their jobs 4. Currency Dispute a. Economic depression: period of high unemployment and reduced business activity. Followed the Panic b. Currency disputes; started from Civil War i. Fed govt issued greenbacks paper money not worth much gold ii. After the war, many financial experts advised withdrawing greenbacks and returning the country to currency backed by gold; iii. Less dollars in circulation iv. South and West farmers and manufacturers who were in debt wanted more greenbacks distributed  easy money (large supply) can help them pay off their debt v. Govt reduced the number of greenbacks in circulation c. 1875, Congress passed the Specie Resumption Act country back on gold standard d. As the economy improved in 1879, the controversy dies a bit D. Judicial and Popular Support Fades 1. Supreme Court Decisions – mess with 14th and 15th amendments; 1870s a. Slaughterhouse- 1873, the Court decides he 14th am only protected the rights people had by virtue of their citizenship in the US (free travel, eg). Most basic civil rights were obtained thru citizenship in a state, so the 14th doesn’t protect these rights b. U.S. vs Cruikshank, 1876, the 14th did not give fed govt right to punish individual whites who oppressed blacks. c. U.S. vs Reese- 1878: Court ruled in favor of officials who had barred blacks from voting the 15th did not confer the right of suffrage to anyone, but merely listed the ground on which a state could not deny suffrage. d. By late 1870s, SupCor narrowed the scope of these amendments so much that the fed govt no longer has much power to protect the rights of blacks 2. Northern Support Fades a. As the SupCor rules, the North becomes indifferent to events in the South i. focus on national concerns like Panic and Grant’s admin corruption ii. desire for reconciliation btwn the regions iii. most turn against Reconstructive policies b. Reps begin to back away from the fight for Recon ; i. Major Radical leaders were dead ii. Bisiness interests steal their attention iii. Scalawags and carpetbaggers deserted the Rep Party iv. Eventually comes to terms that govt cant impose moral and social changes E. Democrats “Redeem” the South 1. South Dems get back control of the Region: 1870s, recapture the state govts of TX, TN, AL, AR, GA, NC, VA, Miss; Redemption: Democratic return to power in the South 2. Election of 1876 a. Reps don’t run Grant for a 3rd term. Back the gov of OH, Rutherford Hayes b. Dems back Samuel Tilden of NY (gov, great work).

c. Tilden falls short of electoral votes to win, most popular vote and 20 electoral votes were disputed. A commission was appointed to deal with this, and it was mostly Republican so Hayes won. i. How did a man who lost the popular vote become president? ii. Party leaders made a deal Dems control HoR (approves election results) and Reps controlled electoral commission. iii. South Dems OK with Hayes if they got (1) Withdrawl of troops from LA and SC (2/3 states Reps still governed) (2) Federal money to build a RR from TX to the West and improve South rivers, harbors, and bridges. (3) Hayes must appoint a conservative Southerner to cabinent iv. Compromise of 1877: Reps agree and Hayes inaugurated. v. This means the end of Reconstruction in the South 3. Home Rule in the South a. After 1876 election, state govt dispute in LA and SC, but when Hayes removed the fed troops, Dems took over b. FL had questionable election returns too, but the state SupCourt rules in favor of Dems c. Reps no longer control any South state!! d. Home Rule: the ability to run state govts without fed intervention i. Dems made mad changes ii. Laws restricting the rights of free slaves iii. Wiped out social programs iv. Slashed taxed v. Dismantled public schools 4. Legacy of Reconstruction a. Recon ended w.o much real progress against discrimination b. Mistakes of the Rad Reps: i. They think protection under the constit will help them daily but Congress didn’t protect them well enough and SuCor undermined them ii. They drew back giving land to slaves so they can be economically indep iii. Didn’t realize the extent of the racism c. 13th amendment still all cool d. 14th and 15th too (tho SuCo had at them) important in 20th century!