How did the Radical Republicans plans for Reconstruction

How did the Radical Republicans’ plans for Reconstruction differ from Lincoln’s and Johnson’s?

Reconstruction – Program put in place by the federal government to repair damage to the South and restore the southern states to the Union. Simply speaking, it’s putting the pieces of the puzzle back together. How will southern states rejoin the Union? How will the southern economy be rebuilt? What rights will African Americans have?

As soon as ten percent of a state’s voters took a loyalty oath to the Union, the state could set up a new government. Lincoln’s Plan “Ten Percent Plan” I am even willing to consider the following: 1. 2. 3. Grant pardons former Confederates Compensate them for lost property Not requiring a guarantee of social or political equality for African Americans If the state’s constitution abolished slavery and provided education for African Americans, the state would regain representation in Congress.

Lincoln’s plan angered members of his own party who wanted to punish the South as well as having full rights for African Americans. Led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, these “Radical Republicans” in Congress insisted that the Confederates had committed high crimes. The Radical Republicans passed the Wade-Davis Bill that required: 1. A majority of a state’s prewar voters swear loyalty to the Union 2. Guarantees of African American equality Lincoln’s Plan “Ten Percent Plan” I don’t think so Thad!

The Freedmen’s Bureau’s goal was to provide food, clothing, healthcare, and education for both black and white refugees in the South. The Bureau also helped to: 1. Reunite families that had been separated by slavery and war. 2. Negotiate fair labor contracts between former slaves and white landowners. 3. Helped represent African Americans in Historical Significance: Established the courts. precedent that black citizens had legal rights.

V. P. Andrew Johnson became President after Lincoln’s death. He intended to follow the broad outline of Lincoln’s Plan. “White men alone Johnson’s Plan included: must manage the 1. States were to withdraw secession. South. ” 2. Swear allegiance to You decide! the Union. What does th 3. Ratify the 13 Johnson mean Amendment & draft a by this quote? constitution that abolished slavery. Johnson’s Plan Historical Significance: He did not want A. A. to have the right to vote. He supported states’ rights over federal regulations, therefore, allowing states to be able to limit the freedoms of former slaves.

As southern states were restored to the Union under President Johnson’s plan, they began to enact black codes. The Black Codes established virtual slavery with provisions such as: Curfews: Generally, black people could not gather after sunset. Vagrancy Laws: Freedmen convicted of vagrancy – that is, not working – could be fined, whipped, or sold for a year’s labor. Labor Contracts: Freedmen had to sign agreements in January for a year of work. Those who quit in the middle of a contract often lost all the wages they had earned. Land Restrictions: Freed people could rent land or homes only in rural areas. This restriction forced them to live on plantations. Black Codes – Similar to Slave Codes, which restricted the freedom of movement and limited African American rights as free people. • •

The Radical Republicans that controlled Congress did not approve of Johnson’s lack of support for African Americans’ rights. Congress responds by: Johnson’s Plan • Expansion of Freedmen’s Bureau to include punishing state officials who fail to extend civil rights to African Americans. • Civil Rights Act of 1866 – Ending of Black Codes by creating a federal guarantee of civil rights to African Americans. Andrew Johnson would use his veto power to block these laws. Johnson was now openly defying Congress.

Congress believed Johnson was working against Reconstruction and overrode his veto. Congress did something unprecedented. With the required 2/3 rds majority, it passed major legislation over a President’s veto. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 became law. Congress begins its Reconstruction Plan, but first they need to take care of something… President Johnson is impeached & 14 th Amendment passed. (Citizenship) An inflexible President, 1866: Republican cartoon shows Johnson knocking Blacks of the Freedmen’s Bureau by his veto.

Impeachment – Accusation against a public official of wrongdoing in office. Bringing charges against the President. Involves two steps… • 1 st Step: U. S. House of Representatives hold hearings to decide if there are crimes committed. They then vote on the charges and if there is a majority, then, charges are brought against the President. • 2 nd Step: U. S. Senate becomes a courtroom. The President is tried for the charges brought against him. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the judge. Once trial is completed, Senators must vote to remove President with a 2/3 rds vote.

• • Brought up on 11 charges of high crimes and misdemeanors. Tenure in Office Act: Law Congress passed. President can’t fire any of his cabinet members without consulting Congress. Fired Edwin Stanton Missed being removed • from office by 1 vote. • • The Presidency would suffer as a result of this failed impeachment. President would be more a figurehead. Saved the separation of powers of 3 branches of government.

Congressional Congress overturned Johnson’s vetoes and Reconstruction enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Freedmen’s Bureau. Congress passed the 14 th Amendment, which guaranteed equality under the law for all citizens. Congress passed the We will FORCE the Reconstruction Act of 1867, South to make all the which divided the 10 necessary changes!! southern states into 5 military districts governed by former Union generals. The South would be reconstructed under the Radical Republicans plan.

African Americans help republican candidate and former Union general, Ulysses S. Grant elected President. Republican leaders now had another reason for securing a constitutional amendment that would guarantee black suffrage throughout the nation. In 1869, Congress passed the 15 th Amendment forbidding any state from denying suffrage on the grounds of race.

13 th Amendment Abolished slavery (1865) 14 th Amendment Provided citizenship & equal protection under the law. (1868) 15 th Amendment Provided the right to vote for all men which included white and black men. (1870) Giving the Black man the right to vote was truly revolutionary……. . A victory for democracy!

How did the Radical Republicans’ plans for Reconstruction differ from Lincoln’s and Johnson’s?

• Freedmen’s Bureau • 13 th Amendment • 14 th Amendment • 15 th Amendment • Appomattox Court House

What were the immediate effects of Reconstruction?

Republicans dominated their newly established state governments. 90% of all African Americans voted when they had the opportunity. Carpetbaggers – Northerners who came South after Civil War. Voted Republican; viewed negatively by southerners; held high offices. Scalawags – White southerners who joined blacks and carpetbaggers in the Republican Party. Viewed as traitors by most southerners.

Republicans dominated their newly established state governments. 90% of all African Americans voted when they had the opportunity. Carpetbaggers – Northerners who came South after Civil War. Voted Republican; viewed negatively by southerners; held high offices. Scalawags – White southerners who joined blacks and carpetbaggers in Republican Party. Viewed as traitors by most southerners.

Who was Hiram Revels? In 1870 he replaced the seat vacated by Jefferson Davis. Hiram Revels was the first African American elected to the Senate.

40 Acres & Mule A term of compensation that was awarded to freed slaves after the Civil War by Gen. Sherman. President Johnson ordered that the original landowners be allowed to reclaim their land evict the former slaves. Congress passed the 1866 Southern Homestead Act. This set aside 44 million acres in the South for freed blacks, but the land was swampy and unsuitable for farming. a Historical Significance: The phrase has come to represent the failure of Reconstruction to assist African Americans.

Farming in the South created a Sharecropping – A system in which cycle of debt, which began with landowners give farm workers land, sharecropping. seed, and tools in return for a part At harvest time, each worker of the crops they raise. gave a share, usually half, to the landowner. In theory, “croppers” who saved a little and bought their own tools could drive a better bargain with landowners. They might even be able to become a tenant farmer. Tenant Farming – A system in which farm workers supply their own tools and rent farmland for cash.

During the war, the demand for Southern cotton had begun to drop as other countries increased their production. As a result, prices plummeted after the war. 1869 1879 17 cents per pound 8 cents per pound You decide! What would you do as a southern farmer? Southern planters tried to make up for the lower prices by growing more cotton – an oversupply that only drove down prices even further. What should’ve the farmers tried instead of growing more cotton?

Some bitter Southern whites relied on violence to keep African Americans from participating in politics. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was founded as a social club for Confederate veterans. Soon the Klan turned into a violent organization. The KKK practiced domestic terrorism. Its major goal was to restore white supremacy and prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights.

NC Senator John Stephens, a white republican, stated that 3, 000 A. A. voters had supported him and he would not abandon them. Stephens was assassinated by the KKK in 1870. KKK mask from the Reconstruction Era – N. C. Museum of History

Grant’s strength, however, were those of a military leader, not those of a politician or government leader. Scandals and corruption damaged Grant’s administration, which diverted attention away from the conditions in the south. Among the most notorious scandals were: i. Credit Mobilier Scandal: Railroad officials impoverished the railroad, then bribed members of Congress to block any investigation. ii. “Whiskey Ring”: Internal Revenue collectors accepted bribes from whiskey distillers who wanted to avoid paying taxes on their product.

As the evidence See you all later. I need to go mounted, there was back in time and fight in the Civil increasing disgust War. I’m not too good at this new with the blatant job. corruption in Grant’s administration. Grant did not seek reelection in 1876.

Election of 1876 Tilden (D) v. Hayes (R) Tilden won the popular vote, but needed one more electoral vote to win the presidency. A deal was made called the Compromise of 1877. Republicans Get Democrats Get 1. 2. 3. Withdraw remaining federal troops from the South, thus ending Reconstruction. Name a southerner to his cabinet. Support federal spending on internal improvements in the South. 1. Hayes becomes President. Historical Significance: Democrats now had Home Rule – the ability to run state governments without federal intervention.

These so called redeemers set out to rescue the South from what they viewed as a decade of mismanagement by northerners, republicans, and African Americans. The withdrawal of federal troops enabled white southerners to eliminate any political advances A. A. had made during Reconstruction. Various methods were used to curb the rights of African Americans, and by 1900, their civil rights had been sharply limited.

1. Union is restored. 2. A. A. gain citizenship & voting rights. 3. South’s economy and infrastructure are improved. 4. Southern states est. public school system. 5. K. K. K. & other groups terrorize A. A. 6. Sharecropping system takes hold in the South.

How and why did Reconstruction end?