Reconstruction process of reuniting the nation rebuilding the

Reconstruction – process of reuniting the nation & rebuilding the southern states Feb. 1865 – Congress proposed the 13 th Amendment to the Constitution: abolished slavery Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau to provide help & legal aid former slaves Many states issued Black Codes: laws denying civil rights to blacks; aimed at freedom of movement & work, created in defiance of the Freedman’s Bureau Civil rights – individual rights guaranteed by the U. S. Constitution Civil Rights Act of 1866 – all citizens are entitled equal rights regardless of race

Presidential Reaction § President Andrew Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 § Radical Republicans § Nickname for party members leading Congress § “Government should play greater role in Reconstruction” § Many wanted to punish the South § Johnson believed Reconstruction was the job of the president § Not the job of Congress

Presidential Reconstruction § President Johnson’s plan was based on Lincoln’s goals § Ratify the 13 th Amendment § Take oath of allegiance to the U. S. A. § People of high stature had to personally apply for a pardon § Each state had to write a new constitution under a provisional government: declare secession illegal & abolish slavery § Promised to return property § States rushed to session with a “supposed” ally in D. C.

Congressional Reconstruction § Congress proposed the 14 th Amendment § Guaranteed citizenship & equal rights to black Americans § Reconstruction Acts: must follow to rejoin § Southern state governments declared provisional § South broken into 5 military districts § Re-write constitutions guaranteeing civil rights, including suffrage § Ratify the 14 th Amendment

1870 1866 1868 1870 1868 1870 Date readmitted to the Union Boundary of military district

Presidential Impeachment § Johnson tried to block Congressional Reconstruction § Congress passed Tenure of Office Act § President cannot fire govt. employees w/o permission § Johnson suspended Sec. of War & tried to hire a new one § House committee impeached the President for wrongdoing against public office § Avoided removal in the Senate by one vote

The New South § People from northern states came to help reconstruct the south § Called Carpetbaggers § White Northerners who came to the south carrying what they had in a bag made of carpet § Most people in the south hated these northerners § Carpetbagger was a term of contempt § Accused them of seeking to get rich or gain power

Change of Agriculture § Most Americans (mostly freedpeople) could not afford land § Turned to new methods of farming § Tenant farming § Rent land to grow crops § Sharecropper § Farmer who lacked land & necessary supplies § Constantly in debt due to borrowing money & supplies

Fighting Reconstruction § Most northerners operated with supporters § Called “scalawags”, or “mean fellows” § Secret societies were formed to terrorize blacks, carpetbaggers, & “scalawags” § White League § Ku Klux Klan § Republicans lost power over time

The New-Old South § Former Gen. Ulysses S. Grant won the 1868 Presidential election § About 500, 000 freedmen voted in the South § Most freedmen supported Grant § Congress passed 15 th Amendment (1869) § Right to vote secured despite race, color, or previous service § Did not apply to WOMEN! § Grant urged Congress to pass an anti-Klan bill to stop the terrorizing of African. Americans § Bill led to a more fair election in 1872

Bad Decisions § Scandals within Grant’s administration hurt the Rep. party § Grant put unqualified army friends and his wife’s relatives in government positions § Panic of 1873 § Many powerful Eastern banks made bad loans, ran out of $, and shut down § Stock market temporarily closed & RR industry suffered

Impact of the Panic of 1873 Run on the bank (1873) § More than 18, 000 companies shut down and thousands lost jobs § Republicans lost power due to public blame § Democrats won victories in 1874 and tried to restore the old south § Rutherford B. Hayes wins election of 1876 § Republicans & Democrats claimed victory in 3 southern states § Compromise of 1877 solved the election and gave concessions to both sides in the South

Growth and Expansion § Transcontinental railroad developed the West and connected it with Eastern markets § Homestead Act (1862) § Government encouraged western settlement § Offered 160 acres of free land to anyone who agreed to live on the land for 5 years and improve it § Morrill Act (1862) § Gave federal land to states to sell to fund public colleges that taught agriculture and mechanical arts § Dawes Act (1887) § Encourage Native Americans to give up their traditional cultures and become farmers