April 27: The Civil War To 1865

Lecture S17 -- Reconstruction

The Base Problems of Reconstruction: Treason?: Were ex-Confederates to be treated as traitors? If so, to what degree? Every soldier? Just the high ranking officers and ministers? The cabinet? If no treason trials, should there be an effort to disenfranchise those who supported the Confederacy? Status of the States: What exactly was the legal status of the states? Did they still legally exist? Did they now become territories that had to reapply? Rights of ex-slaves: What rights did ex-slaves have? How could those rights be protected? Were they legally equal to whites now? What did that mean? Rights of Unionists: Some had opposed secession. How could those groups be rewarded for loyalty? Veteran’s Rights: How should those who fought for the North be rewarded? Should ex-Confederate soldiers recieve any benefits? Law and Order: The South had collapsed into chaos in the Confederate zones by the end of the war. How could that best be restored? Repairs: Parts of the South were now wastelands. How could they be fixed? Economic Wasteland: The South was an economic disaster area. How could the economy be gotten back in order?

From Slavery to Freedom: The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (The Freedman’s Bureau): The Freedman’s Bureau, created in March 1865, oversaw every aspect of the transition, working to ease the lot of the ex-slaves. It operated until 1872, led by Major General Oliver Howard. Education: The Bureau’s greatest success was in the area of education. Pre-War Status: There was no state-supported public education for anyone, not even Whites, in the pre-Civil War South. Schools: The Bureau created three thousand schools serving 150,000 men, women, and children. This cost 5 million dollars (72 million in today's money.) Teachers: Mostly white women from the Northeastern states. Many were fairly religious and also wished to Christianize the former slaves. Later, there were enough educated blacks for them to take over. Literacy: Black literacy rose from 10 to 30% by the mid-1870s. Black Colleges: Thirteen universities for black students were created by 1880. Howard University was named after the head of the Bureau. “Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute”: This school was created in 1868 to produce teachers; in 1870, it became a formal land grant university for black students. Hampton's curriculum mixed intellectual classes, moral instruction, and training in physical skills. (“head, heart, and hands”). Booker T. Washington attended here and took this philosophy when he was sent to found the Tuskeegee Institute. Today it is known as Hampton University. Food: The Freedman's Bureau distributed 15 million rations (enough food for one person for one day) over the course of its operation. Reuniting: The Bureau tried to help slaves find their families, often divided by the internal slave trade before and during the Civil War. Medical: The Bureau set up a 100 hospitals for former slaves. Work and Judicial: The Bureau also operated its own court system and tried to help slaves get work and to negotiate better terms with employers. Shifting Economic Role: Ex-Slaves didn’t want to work the plantations any more. During the war, many followed the armies. After the war, most sought out their own land. This created an urban and rural labor shortage for white employers in 1865 and 1866 Land for the Freemen: Field Order No. 15: In January 1865, this set aside land along the South Atlantic Coast for freed blacks to establish farms. 40,000 former slaves got land. Southern Homestead Act: 1866—This gave blacks preferential access to homestead grants from the public lands in the South. Upper South: By 1890, one in 3 black farmers in the Upper South owned his own land; one in five did in the South overall. In Virginia, 45% of Blacks owned their own farms. Mixed Success: Black farms struggled to survive, as the South was in the economic doldrums and they lacked capital to exploit modern methods. Why no mass redistribution? Most Americans believed in self- improvement and worshiped private property as a principle; they believed government should not intervene in the economy; land could only be confiscated for public use, not to switch it between private owners. Tenant Farming and Farm Labor: Most blacks eventually either became tenant farmers or worked as contract labor on the farms. Sharecroppers rented land from white plantation owners, paying their rent in a cut of the crop. Most ended up heavily in debt and trapped. Migration: Internal: Many blacks simply moved into the more marginal farming zones inside the South in search of land or work to their tastes, especially early on. Urban: Many others moved to the cities to find work, having to work as unskilled labor. By 1870, the black populations of Southern cities surged. They received poor wages but loved their freedom. Religion: Black Churches: Increasingly, distinctly black churches arose in the post-war period. Education and Organization: Black Churches became the focus of education and self-organization in the black community, spawning many other forms of societies. Defense of Black Rights: Black churches were a focus of resistance to oppression and defense of the rights of the black community.

The Lincoln Plan: State Status: States were treated as having ceased to function; they had become federal territories. Ten Percent Plan: To be readmitted with full rights, at least ten percent of voters had to swear allegiance to the Constitution Ban Slavery: And they had to ban slavery. Minimal Reconstruction: Lincoln essentially intended to reintegrate the old states with relatively minimal changes to the old status quo. We can only speculate on how he might have responded to Southern resistance.

The Johnson Plan (1865-1867): Rebellion, Not Suicide: Johnson argued that the states were not dead, but only sleeping. They could be readmitted as soon as they elected new congressmen, restored order, and ratified the Thirteenth Amendment Free Pardon: Johnson would pardon any Confederate who swore allegiance to the United States, and would restore any confiscated property. Southerners who had held prominent positions or had more than 20,000 dollars of taxable property ($278,171.82 in 2008 dollars) had to petition the president directly. No Concern for Black Civil Rights: Johnson didn’t care what happened to the ex-slaves, now that slavery was dead. Promotion of Poor Whites: Johnson hoped to promote the old free farmers and poor whites to keep down the old planter class.

Southern Resistance: Stubborn: The South was stubborn, and its leadership too stupid to take a good deal when they saw it. Many balked at passing the Thirteenth amendment, and elections sent ex-Confederates to office. Black Codes: Furthermore, the new legislatures now revised slave codes into Black Codes, intended to crush the freed blacks and keep them in near-slavery. Blacks were forced into work whether they wanted it or not and could be arrested if they didn't have a job. They couldn't own guns or sit on juries.

Congress Responds: December 1865: Half of Congress is made up of Radical Republicans, who respond to this with the desire to hammer down Southern resistance. Congress’ Desires: To gain readmission, a state had to: Extend Suffrage to Blacks Protect Civil Rights of Ex-Slaves The Whites had to acknowledge these civil rights Moderates take Command: Radicals were unable to agree on a plan; moderates took the lead. Civil Rights Act of 1866: Everyone born in the US is a citizen. Citizens had these rights: “to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, and give evidence, inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property, and to full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property, as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, and penalties, and to none other, any law, statute, ordinance, regulation, or custom, to the contrary notwithstanding.” (Section 1 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866). Those who denied these rights to former slaves could be convicted of a misdemeanor and faced a fine up to 1000 dollars and imprisonment up to one year. The law authorized the use of military forces or militia to enforce the law. First law passed over a Presidential Veto. Some disputed whether Congress could define citizenship, so the Fourteenth Amendment was passed to be sure of that. Fourteenth Amendment: Everyone born in the USA is a citizen of the USA and their home state. “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Any state which blocks non-rebels from voting will lose representation in Congress in proportion to the denial. No one can hold federal office who had taken an oath of allegiance to the US, then rebelled against it. Neither the USA nor any State would pay back debts or obligations incurred to support rebellion against the USA or any claims of loss with regard to slaves. The 1866 Election: Johnson’s Tour: President Johnson went on an extensive speaking tour against the Fourteenth Amendment. This effectively declared war on Congress. Johnson Fails: He was a lousy public speaker; Southern intransigence made the North angry, and the Republicans now held over a 2/3rds majority in Congress. The Democrats were crushed. Congressional Reconstruction Begins: The Radical Republicans now took command and began dictating events to their own liking.

Congressional Reconstruction, 1867-1870 Military Reconstruction Act: Passed in 1867 over Johnson’s Veto, this divided the South into five military districts, each commanded by a general, who had authority to hold elections and determine who could vote. They barred ex- Confederates and those who held office before the Civil War. The remaining whites and blacks now elected constitutional conventions that had to guarantee universal manhood suffrage and pass the fourteenth amendment. They could then be readmitted. Tenure of Office Act: Intended to crush Johnson by keeping officeholders he didn’t like in office—it took Senate consent for him to fire the major officeholders. (It remained law until 1887) Impeachment of Johnson: Johnson violated the Tenure of Office Act by trying to fire Secretary of War Stanton and appoint a new Secretary of War. His goal was to be able to control the major generals appointed under Military Reconstruction. The House approved the charges, but impeachment was defeated in the Senate by 1 vote (7 Republicans voted against it.) While it failed by one vote, it marked the utter end of Johnson as any sort of effective president. Ultimately, though, it strengthened the moderates. 1868: Moderate Ulysses S. Grant became president, Republicans continued to hold a majority. Republicans “waved the bloody shirt” to rouse patriotic votes. Black support for Grant put him in office. Grant took 52.66% of the Popular Vote and won 214-80 Electoral Votes. Grant took 7 out of 12 Southern states allowed to vote and 18 out of 21 Northern. Fifteenth Amendment: 1869. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” (Gender, Property and literacy tests were potentially permissible, however...) Many feminists were disappointed that discrimination by gender was still allowed. Grant's Management Style: Grant basically laid out basic directives and largely left his cabinet officers to address those without a lot of central direction. Unfortunately, this left some of his poorer choices free to defraud the government or just screw up. Further, he tried to leave major policy decisions to Congress, but Congress lacked strong leadership to dictate coherent policies. The result was a nation adrift. Reformers vs. 'Regulars': Some Republicans wanted a return to small government and to attack corruption; others wanted to expand federal power to promote economic growth and protect civil rights. The latter also tended to be very strongly partisan and somewhat corrupt. Grant gradually came to side more with the 'Regulars', who would later be known as the 'Stalwarts'. This would lead to the 1872 'Liberal Republican' revolt (see further below)

Reconstruction Under Attack

The Southern Republican Alliance Poor Whites and Blacks: The Republicans tried to build an alliance of small white farmers and blacks to take over the South. Southern white Republicans would later be tarred with the name ‘Scaliwag’. Southern Whites: A mixture of yeoman farmers who wanted debt relief / good roads / public schools, and urban merchants, who wanted economic opportunity and support. Northern Whites: ‘Carpetbaggers’: They were small in number, never more than 2% of the population, but economic opportunity drew them South. They tended to be strong supporters of black civil rights and economic reforms. This could put them at conflict with the free farmers. Southern Blacks: The largest constituency. In Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina, they made up a majority of eligible voters. They formed clubs based on the Northern Republican clubs—The Union Leagues. Mobilization: They mobilized blacks on a large scale==In 1867, 90% of eligible black voters voted. Hundreds of blacks came to hold state office. Measures: Black voters supported debt relief and public education. Expansion of State Government: Southern Republicans greatly expanded the role of State Government, probably eased by the grown state power during the war. Debt and Stay Laws (Laws which suspended debt collection or otherwise tried to help people deal with debts.) Building Projects Public Education Child Support Legal Aid Medical Assistance

Higher Taxes and Corruption: Unfortunately, these projects required higher taxes and risked more public corruption by officials, which weakened the Southern Republicans.

Counter-Reconstruction: Racism: The key to the collapse of Reconstruction was the persistence of racism in the South. Ultimately, this destroyed Southern Republicanism and ensured that any measures to protect blacks would have to be shoved down the South’s throat. When the Northern will to keep shoving stopped, Reconstruction ended. This was facilitated by Northern racism, which eventually led the bulk of the North to accept Southern claims of black incompetence to wield power. Overcoming Class: The most important aspect was that racism overcame class boundaries, convincing poor whites to chain themselves to the leadership of the old planter elite once more. Violence: One of the keys to the resurgence of the old elites was white violence against blacks. Groups like the Klu Klux Klan used force to intimidate blacks into not voting and giving in to white authority. Founded in 1866, the Klan was unleashing violence by the 1867 elections. Counter-Violence: Republican governors fought back with special police forces and congress sought to suppress the violence with the Enforcement Act of 1870 and the Klu Klux Klan Act of 1871. “Between 1870 and 1871 Congress passed the Enforcement Acts -- criminal codes that protected blacks' right to vote, hold office, serve on juries, and receive equal protection of laws. If the states failed to act, the laws allowed the federal government to intervene. The target of the acts was the Ku Klux Klan, whose members were murdering many blacks and some whites because they voted, held office, or were involved with schools.” (“The Enforcement Acts” in http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_enforce.html) Amos Ackerman, Grant's Attorney General, broke the Klan, sending hundreds to jail and fining thousands; many others fled into hiding. By 1872, the Klan was broken. Failure of Northern Will: The biggest factor was the failure of Northern Will. Northerners increasingly turned to other problems. Corruption: Corruption was a major problem of 1870s politics, and many Americans came to distrust political processes because of it. Some blamed black voters for it. This was unfair; every part of the country was FILTHY with corruption. Racism: Many in the North were as racist as the South and this was the heyday of science supporting racial theories. These theories asserted Blacks were innately inferior to whites and could never change or become any better. Anti-Immigration: Many Northerners became preoccupied with bashing immigrants, who they viewed as inferior too. New Political Issues: Fiscal Responsibility Many Democrats and some Republicans wanted to reduce taxes and government expenditures and start trying to pay down the National Debt. Tariffs Farmers wanted low tariffs on industry, high on farm goods. Industrialists wanted the opposite. Grant supported high tariffs to protect industry and to provide money for an expansive government. Hard Money The US had issued paper money during the Civil War and many now called for a return to specie—gold and silver coins. Grant backed Hard Money agitation, and in 1875, he signed a law to require converting all paper money to gold and silver coins by 1879.

Liberal Republican Insurgency: Republican Reform: Many Republicans feared government had grown too large and corrupt. They staged a revolt in 1872, which split the Republican Party. Platform: Civil Service Reform (Put an end to political appointments and institute a civil service exam system) Tariff Reductions ( Intended to reduce the amount of money the government had to waste) End of Federal Grants to Railroads (Unfair and tending to lead to bribes, kickbacks, and corruptions) Amnesty for Southern Whites (Allow all ex-confederates to return to power.) Southern Self-Government (Abandon Reconstruction.) 1872: The Liberal Republicans allied with the Democrats to run Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune. (He lost control of it during the election, however.) Greeley was a poor campaigner, and often a fool in public. Grant took 55.58% of the Popular Vote and 286 to 66 EV. He took 10 of 16 Southern and all 22 Northern and Western states. Greeley dropped dead shortly after the election.

The Final Collapse of Reconstruction: ‘Redemption’, 1874-7 ‘Redeemers’: Southern Democrats now launched their big push, seeing themselves as saving the South from misrule and racial corruption. Violence: They now openly used violence to back a Democratic resurgence in the South. By 1875, all but South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana had fallen into their hands. Civil Rights Act of 1875: Sought to prohibit discrimination in public accommodations. Not a very effective response to the violence. Ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court in 1883. Grant’s Paralysis: Grant took little effective action; his administration was racked by scandals and troubles. 1869: Black Friday. James Fisk and Jay Gould try to corner the gold market, by exploiting their influence over Grant's brother to keep Grant from intervening, though in the end, Grant intervened. 1874: Sanborn Incident. The Secretary of the Treasury hired a private citizen, John Sanborn, to collect unpaid taxes. Secretary Richardson and Sanborn split half the uncollected taxes between them. 1875: Whiskey Ring. Whiskey distillers were bribing Treasury officials to evade 12-14 million dollars worth of taxes until caught by the new Secretary of the Treasury, Benjamin Bristow. Orville Babcock, Grant's secretary, was indicted but ultimately exonerated, but this didn't help Grant's reputation. 1876: Indian Trading Post Ring. Secretary of War William Belknap and two of his cronies were caught by Congress in his involvement in extorting money from the manager of an Indian trading post to the tune of 3000 dollars a year. He resigned to avoid impeachment. Indian Wars: The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 triggered a massive influx of miners in violation of the Second Treaty of Fort Laramie. The result was the eruption of war with the Sioux from 1876 to 1877. While Grant was still president, the massive disaster, the Battle of the Little Big Horn (June 25, 1876) took place in which the Sioux crushed the 7th Cavalry Regiment under General Custer. This was a distraction in the final stages of Reconstruction. The Election of 1876 Tilden vs. Hayes: Samuel Tilden, the Democrat, probably won the election for real. (He took at least 50.92% of the Popular vote, and probably won the election by a narrow electoral majority) However, Southern Republican governments in three states (Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana) tampered with election results to give the election to Hayes by one electoral vote, 185-184, feeling justified by Democratic party violence. Compromise of 1877: Allowed Hayes to take office in return for Republicans abandoning any effort at control of the South. This marked the end of reconstruction.

The Lost Cause and the Southern Memory of Reconstruction The Lost Cause: Southerners came to glorify the Confederacy and to remember the antebellum south as a paradise of benevolent slaveowners and happy slaves and free white farmers. They also managed to force the view of reconstruction as a nightmare on the historical establishment. Survival of Segregation: Wide acceptance of this enabled Southern discrimination against blacks to last until the 1950s and 60s, when it began to unravel. Sharecropping: Most blacks ended up as tenant farmers, paying their rent with a share of their crops, perpetually in debt. Slaughterhouse Cases (1873): In 1869, the State of Louisiana consolidated all slaughterhouses near New Orleans into a single corporation in order to move operations for the good of the city's health. 400 butchers sued the new monopoly. Their lawyer, former Supreme Court Justice John A. Campbell invoked the due process, privileges and immunities, and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, arguing that the butchers had been stripped of their property rights and the right to “sustain their lives through labor” by the state without due process. The Supreme Court shot them down, arguing that the amendment privileges and immunities clause only applied to the rights of US Citizenship—the right of transit between states, safety on the high seas, the ability to run for federal office, etc. This rendered the fourteenth amendment mostly meaningless for protecting the former slaves. The judges also argued the state had followed due process-the law was enacted legitimately. United States vs. Cruikshank (1876): Members of the 'White League', who had slaughtered hundreds of blacks in the Colfax Massacre of 1873 were put on trial under the Enforcement Act of 1870. The Supreme Court threw out the Enforcement and Ku Klux Klan Acts, arguing that 14th amendment 'Due Process' and 'Equal Protection' clauses only applied to state actions, not private actions. As a result, you could use federal power to block a state which used violence to block voting, but not against private individuals. This gutted the Enforcement and Klu Klux Klan Acts.. Gutting of Protections: The protections given to Civil rights were basically gutted by the Supreme Court, leaving Southern blacks largely defenseless.