Reconstruction Chapter 16 Section 1 and 2 Reconstruction

Reconstruction Chapter 16, Section 1 and 2

Reconstruction Debate • As Americans attempted to reunite their shattered nation, they faced difficult questions: 1. Should slaveholding Southerners be punished? 2. What rights should be given to freed African Americans? 3. How could the nation be brought back together?

Reconstruction Debate • The war had left the South with enormous problems: Cities and towns were in ruin, plantations had been burned, railroads and bridges had been destroyed.

Reconstruction Debate • People all over the nation agreed that the devastated Southern economy and society needed rebuilding. They disagreed bitterly , however, on how to accomplish this. • This period of rebuilding the south is called Reconstruction. The term also refers to the various plans for accomplishing the rebuilding.

Reconstruction Debate • President Abraham Lincoln believed that punishing the South would serve no useful purpose and would only delay healing the war torn nation. • Lincoln announced a reconstruction plan known as the Ten Percent Plan.

Key Points of the Ten Percent Plan 1. When 10 percent of the voters of a state took an oath of loyalty to the Union, they could form a new government and adopt a constitution that banned slavery. 2. The president offered amnesty (a pardon or formal forgiveness) to all white southerners, except Confederate leaders, who were willing to swear loyalty to the Union.

Challenge to Lincoln • Some individuals were more radical or extreme than Lincoln. Many thought that the South deserved strict harsh punishment, especially “Radical Republicans. ” • Republicans in Congress argued that former Confederates should not be allowed to hold public offices. • Lincoln realized compromise was inevitable.

African Americans • Helping African Americans freed from slavery was also a huge concern for Lincoln and Congress. • To assist these African Americans the government created the Freedmen’s Bureau. • In the years following the war, the Freedmen’s Bureau played an important role in helping African Americans make the transition from slavery to freedom.

African Americans • The Freedmen’s Bureau distributed food, clothing and also provided medical services to African Americans. • The bureau also established schools and created institutions of higher learning. • The bureau also helped freed people acquire land.

Lincoln’s Assassination • Before compromise could be made on how to allow Southern states back in the union, a terrible event occurred. • On the evening of April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D. C. . • John Wilkes Booth, a wealthy actor of theatre and Confederate sympathizer, entered the private balcony box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head.

John Wilkes Booth

“Restoration” • When Lincoln died, Vice President Andrew Johnson became the 17 th president. • Andrew Johnson soon revealed his plan for Reconstruction.

“Restoration” • Johnson introduced his plan in May of 1865. Johnson simply called his plan “Restoration. ” “Restoration” worked in the following way: 1. Most Southerners would be granted amnesty if they swore allegiance to the Union. 2. High-ranking Confederate officials and wealthy land owners could only be pardoned if they applied personally to the president. 3. Before a state could re-enter the Union, it had to denounce secession and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment.

“Restoration” • By the end of 1865, all the former Confederate states except Texas had formed new governments and were scheduled to rejoin the Union. • President Johnson declared that “Restoration” was almost complete. • Despite President Johnson’s claim that “Restoration” was nearly complete, many Radical Republicans felt Johnson’s plan was robbing the Union of a hard-won victory. In addition, many Northerners realized the treatment of African Americans in the South was not improving.

Black Codes • As many Southern states came back into the Union, state legislatures created a series of laws called black codes. • According to the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery was no longer permitted; however, these laws aimed to exploit (take advantage of) African Americans.

Black Codes • Some of these black codes: 1. Allowed local officials to arrest and fine unemployed African Americans then make them work for white employers to pay off the fine. 2. Some banned African Americans from owning or renting farms. • In all, black codes basically reestablished slavery in disguise.

Challenging Black Codes • To protect African Americans from these black codes, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. • This act granted full citizenship to African Americans and gave the federal government the right to intervene in state affairs to protect African American rights.

The Fourteenth Amendment • • 1. 2. • Congress wanted to ensure that African American rights were further protected. In June 1866 Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment: Granted full citizenship to all individuals born in the United States. Stated that no state could take away a citizen’s life, liberty and property without due process of law. (Free slaves were granted legal rights. ) In order to be admitted into the Union, Southern states had to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.

Reconstruction Acts • On March 2, 1867 Congress passed the First Reconstruction Act. • This act divided 10 Southern states into five military districts and placed each under the authority of a military commander until these states ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and submitted new state constitutions for Congressional approval. • By 1870 all Southern states were returned to the Union.

Grant and the Fifteenth Amendment • In 1868 a new president was elected. Ulysses S. Grant was elected as the 18 th president. • After the election, Republicans developed their last piece of Reconstruction. Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment which prohibited state and federal governments from denying male citizens the right to vote due to race, color or previous condition of servitude.