Reconstruction

• Lincoln dies - Andrew Johnson, a Southern Democrat, becomes president

Johnson the Politician

• Johnson owned a few slaves and defended slavery and "states' rights" • But he was a small time farmer who did not own slaves early in his life. • He got elected by protecting the rights of non-slaveholding yeoman farmers • He proposed the Homestead Act • But he cared more about the Union than he did about slavery, so when the South seceded, he was the only Southern senator to remain loyal to the Union • That is why the republicans chose him to be Lincoln’s vice-presidential candidate in the 1864 election, so that border states with large slave-holding populations would vote for the Republican candidate • But when Lincoln died, Johnson implemented his own Reconstruction Plan during the first 8 months of his term as president. (It was based on Lincoln’s “Ten Percent Plan”)

Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan

• Handed out thousands of pardons to Confederate soldiers and politicians • Enforced Lincoln’s plan to admit states if they ratified the 13th Amendment • Took back the land promised to the slaves of Edisto Island, South Carolina (“40 Acres and a Mule”) • But, Johnson's plan left rebuilding the South in the hands of the same people who controlled the Southern governments during slavery • “States Rights” , to Johnson, meant not just letting the South rebuild what the Union army destroyed, but also giving them the responsibility to help the 4,000,000 freed blacks get enough food, clothing, shelter, land, medical care, and education • But the South had no intention of doing this o They set up the Black Codes o Ku Klux Klan is started with help of Nathan Bedford Forest

Radical (Congressional) Reconstruction

• The Radical Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate had passed the Wade-Davis Bill in 1864, but Lincoln vetoed it using a “pocket veto” o They believed that the legislative branch (Congress), not the executive branch (the President), should control Reconstruction • Congress returns to session in December, 1865 after Johnson had begun his limited Reconstruction Plan • The Radical Republicans pass the Civil Rights Act and the Freedman’s Bureau Bill in 1866 o Johnson vetoes both of them, Congress passes them over his head • Congress also passes: o 14th Amendment o Tenure of Office Act o Reconstruction Act of 1867 ▪ Gave male African Americans the right to vote ▪ Said that for a state to re-enter the Union, they had to agree to the 14th amendment ▪ No southern states, except for Tennessee, accepted the 14th amendment, so they were divided into 5 military districts ▪ Troops were sent in to enforce the 14th amendment, the Civil Rights Act, and to protect Freedman’s Bureau officers • Johnson made Reconstruction very difficult for Congress; they wanted to impeach him; when Johnson violated the Tenure of Office Act, Congress had a legal reason for impeachment o 1870 – Congress passes 15th Amendment o 1871 – Congress passes the Ku Klux Klan Act

The End of Reconstruction

• 1868 - South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Louisiana are readmitted to the Union. • 1870 - Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, and Georgia are readmitted to the Union. • In the election of 1868, Union General Ulysses S. Grant wins because of the votes cast by Black Americans. • From 1869 until 1877, 14 African American men served in the House of Representatives and 2 in the U.S. Senate. • Southerners do not like how Black Americans are gaining a little power in politics. They also do not like scalawags and carpetbaggers. • KKK drives Northerners out of the South. • 1872 - The Freedman’s Bureau was abolished • 1872 - Amnesty Act removed restrictions on former Confederate officers • The Democrats win a majority of seats in Congress in the 1874 Elections • Grant Administration Scandals made the Republican Party look bad o Crédit Mobilier o Black Friday o The Whiskey Ring o The Indian Ring • Compromise of 1876 ends Reconstruction • The South sets up Jim Crow Laws • Disenfranchisement of Black voters o Grandfather Clause o Poll Tax o Literacy Tests • Lynching becomes popular and Blacks are murdered by the thousands
-----------------------
1. Reconstruction:

2. Yeoman Farmer:

3. Homestead Act:

4. “Ten Percent Plan”:

5. 13th Amendment:

6. Edisto Island:

7. Black Codes:

8. Ku Klux Klan:

1. Radical Reconstruction: 2. Wade-Davis Bill: 3. Pocket Veto: 4. Civil Rights Act of 1866: 5. Freedman’s Bureau: 6. 14th Amendment: 7. Tenure of Office Act: 8. Impeachment: 9. 15th Amendment: 10. Ku Klux Klan Act:

1. Scalawag: 2. Carpetbagger: 3. Crédit Mobilier: 4. Black Friday: 5. Whiskey Ring Scandal: 6. Indian Ring Scandal: 7. Compromise of 1876: 8. Jim Crow Laws: 9. Grandfather Clause: 10. Poll Tax 12. Literacy Test: