1865 1877 Reconstruction 12 Pages Homestead Act 1862

1865 -1877 Reconstruction 12 Pages…

Homestead Act 1862 The first of these acts was signed into effect by Abraham Lincoln Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U. S. government could apply Granted adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee Required to “improve” the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land After 5 years on the land the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear This accelerated the settlement of the western territory

Abraham Lincoln President Lincoln was concerned that the Emancipation Proclamation would be seen as a temporary war measure He wanted to offer southerners amnesty for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion

1865 cartoon showing Lincoln and Johnson using their talents as rail-splitter and tailor to repair the Union

Freedmen’s Bureau Established in the War Department, originally by Abraham Lincoln to help freed slaves after the war. Supervised all relief and education activities relating to refugees and freedmen Issued rations, clothing and medicine Assumed custody of confiscated lands or property in the former Confederate states, border states, District of Columbia and Indian Territory The Bureau encouraged former plantation owners to rebuild their plantations Urged African Americans to gain employment Pushed both whites and blacks to work together as employers and employees rather than as masters and as slaves

Freedmen’s Bureau Main focus: (for black and white people in the South) Provide food Medical Care Help with resettlement Administer justice Manage abandoned and confiscated property Regulate labor Establish schools – educational opportunities for newly-freed slaves

th 13 Amendment Outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude Abolished slavery without compensation to owners First of three reconstruction amendments adopted after the Civil War All enslaved people were freed as a

th 13 President Amendment Lincoln had first proposed compensated emancipation as an amendment in December 1862 His Emancipation Proclamation declared slaves free in the Confederate states in rebellion but did not extend to border-states. After Lincoln’s assassination, President Andrew Johnson declared his own plan for Reconstruction which included the need for Confederate states to approve the 13 th Amendment.

Lincoln’s Assassination

Andrew Johnson 17 th President 1865 -1869 Democrat He wanted to carry out Lincoln’s plan of leniency toward the South. He believed Reconstruction should not be cruel and harsh.

Problems in the South Over 1, 000 schools were built and some services provided, but most people did not get what they were promised People took advantage of the rebuilding of the South Scalawags – Southern Whites who supported the Reconstruction – Seen as traitors Carpetbaggers – Northerners who moved to the South to take advantage of the plight, political and economic

Freed Slaves Some were able to take advantage of the opportunities given to them by the government Most organizations created to help freed slaves were underfunded Most freed slaves ended up working on plantation or sharecropping, much like they had before Sharecropping – People were provided housing, tools and seed. When harvest time came, they were given a share of the crop. Many

Civil Rights Act of 1866 Granted citizenship to persons born in the U. S. except Native Americans This extended citizenship to blacks. President Johnson opposed and vetoed the legislation but Congress overruled his veto and then proposed the 14 th Amendment

th 14 Amendment All persons born in the U. S. (except Native Americans) were citizens and all citizens were entitled to equal rights regardless of their race (Newly-freed slaves became citizens) Their rights were protected under law This amendment did not extend the right to vote to black men but it encouraged states to allow them to vote by limiting the Congressional representation of any state that did not extend the right. This disappointed women’s rights advocates because it defined the right to vote as a male right

Trouble in the Southerners were finding ways to circumvent federal laws that were designed to protect freed slaves Freed slaves were guaranteed rights but had to follow laws passed by the states that they lived in. These laws greatly limited their opportunities.

Trouble in the South Black Codes: 1866 Laws passed in the South to limit the opportunities for blacks. Reflected the unwillingness of southern whites to accept blacks as equals Jim Crow Laws: 1876 -1965 Laws passed to bypass laws created by the Radical Republicans and any other federal law that Southerners did not agree with concerning African -Americans

Trouble in the South Ku Klux Klan: Created by those who did not agree with the opportunities given to freed slaves Secret society that gained support in 1868 Sought to destroy the Republican Party in the South Used harsh intimidation tactics on African-Americans and other groups that helped African. Americans They terrorized any who tried to

Alaska Purchase The first Russian settlement was in the 17 th century The Russians never fully colonized Alaska and it wasn’t very profitable William H. Seward, the United States Secretary of State, negotiated the Alaska Purchase (also known as Seward's Folly) with the Russians in 1867 for $7. 2 million (It became a state in 1959)

Radical Republicans Reconstruction of the South was led by Radical Republicans that favored harsh treatment of the South Quick incorporation of the freedmen into citizenship with full privileges including voting rights and the push for seizure of land from planters States were organized into military districts They wanted to restrict the actions of Southern congressional leaders in the national government

Reconstruction Act of 1867 Military occupation of the former confederate states Strict guidelines on representation and requirements for readmission to the Union Required that all seceded states ratify the 14 th Amendment as a condition of their readmission to the Union and grant voting rights to black men Each state would have to draft a new constitution which would have to be approved by Congress eventually sought to safeguard the vote for black men by proposing the 15 th

Impeachment

Andrew Johnson The amount of vetoes applied throughout his career as president and the differences in view from Congress made him a target for impeachment President Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1868 The Senate tried the case in a trial that lasted from March to May 1868. In the end, the Senate voted to acquit President Andrew Johnson by a margin of 35 guilty to 19 not guilty - one vote short of the two-thirds

Ulysses S. Grant 18 th President 1869 -1877 Republican Was a war hero to many Northerners Supported Reconstruction Ran under the slogan, “Let us have peace. ”

th 15 Amendment Granted black men the right to vote in all states Many black men were not allowed to vote in Northern states Women’s rights activists opposed the amendment because it continued to deny the vote based on gender Fifty more years would pass before the 19 th Amendment gave women the right to

Hiram Revels Rhodes First African-American Senator Mississippi state legislature chose Revels to fill a seat in the Senate that had been vacant since the start of the Civil War He served briefly, but established a precedent by just taking his seat against objection by white Southerners Won notice for speaking out against racial segregation After him, 22 African American men were elected before the turn of the century

Compromise of 1877 After the election of 1877 Congress formed the Electoral Commission to resolve disputed Democratic Electoral votes from the South It was an unwritten and informal compromise between the Republicans and Democrats Included measures to appease the South – removal of all federal troops Appointed at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes’s administration Construction of a second Transcontinental Railroad in the South Legislation enacted to help industrialize the South

Compromise of 1877 Known as the “Great Betrayal” Settled the disputed election of 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes became president in exchange for federal troops removed from the South Ended Reconstruction in the A political cartoon by Joseph South Keppler depicts Roscoe Conkling as a character (the devil) while Rutherford B. Hayes strolls off with the prize of the “Solid South” depicted as a

Rutherford B. Hayes 19 th President Republican 1877 -1881

Morrill Act 1862 & 1890 This act made it possible for new western states to establish colleges for their citizens The new land-grant institutions which emphasized agriculture and mechanic arts opened opportunities to thousands of farmers and working people previously excluded from higher education The Morrill Act of 1890 established sixteen higher education facilities dedicated to African Americans Many states built their first public colleges

Morrill Act Major universities were charted as landgrant schools When Texas rejoined the Union after the Civil War the state legislature authorized the first Texas Public College State colleges brought higher education within the reach of millions of students

Dawes Act Allowed the president to break up reservation land into small allotments for individuals American Indians registered on a tribal “roll” were granted allotments of land This act also provided that the government would purchase Indian land “excess” to that needed for allotment and open it up for settlement by non-Indians

Dawes Act Supposed to protect Indian property rights, particularly during the land rushes of the 1890 s The land allotted to the Indians included desert or near-desert lands unsuitable for farming Techniques of self-sufficient farming were much different from their tribal way of life Many Indians did not want to take up agriculture, those who did, could not afford the tools, animals, seeds, and other supplies necessary to get started It forced ownership of Indian lands among individual members, leading to a significant

A Scar left on our Nation After Reconstruction was over, Democrats ruled the South for over 100 years For over 100 years there was a clear division between North and South