Reconstruction Citizenship and Politics WHOSE GOALS OF RECONSTRUCTION

Reconstruction: Citizenship and Politics (WHOSE? ) GOALS OF RECONSTRUCTION ROAD TO THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT

�What place for the former slaves? �What place for all African Americans?

Jourdan Anderson

“Freedmen” wanted �Land economic opportunity �Control of family �Schools �Citizenship: Voting; Equal Justice

Southern Whites wanted �Minimal rights former slaves �Continuation of Plantation Labor

Northern Republicans wanted �Acknowledgement of victory �Protect political power �Some protection former slaves

The question of voting Shall I trust this man? And not this man?

The Three-Fifths Clause and Emancipation � Georgia’s population in 1860 for representation under 3/5 clause: 462, 000 slaves counted as 3/5 = 277, 000 595, 000 free people TOTAL: 872, 000 � Georgia’s population for representation after the end of slavery: 1, 057, 000 � Result– more representatives and electoral votes

1865—Presidential Reconstruction �Andrew Johnson �Tennessee

Southern States 1865 -1866 �Black Codes Limited legal rights � Marriage � Property ownership � Sue and be sued �Economic control over former slaves Vagrancy and contract laws Apprenticeship

Violence Attacks on individuals Riots in Memphis, New Orleans Memphis, May 1866: 45 African Americans killed

Congress takes control �Civil Rights Act (1866) � 14 th Amendment

14 th Amendment – section 1 � All persons born in the U. S. . Are citizens of the U. S. and. . [their own state � No state shall. . . Abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U. S. � Nor. . . Deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process � Nor deny. . . Equal protection of the laws

Section 2 of 14 th Amendment �Does it guarantee the right to vote?

� “Representatives shall be apportioned. . . According to respective numbers counting the whole number of persons in each state. . . “ � BUT “when the right to vote. . . [for federal offices] is denied to any of the male inhabitants, being 21 years of age. . [except for crime or rebellion]. . . � “. . . The basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number. . . “

Potential Effects on South and North �South: give voting rights to black men or lose representation in Congress and electoral college �North: African American population too small to affect representation or electoral votes