Rebuilding Our Country
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Rebuilding our Country Help for Freedpeople Reconstruction – 13th Amendment – Congress created the Freemen’s Bureau – Black Codes – o Aimed at freedom of movement & work o Created in defiance of the Freedman’s Bureau Civil Rights – Civil Rights Act of 1866 – Presidential Reaction Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 Radical Republicans_ o Nickname for party members _leading Congress_ o “Government should play greater role in Reconstruction” Many wanted to punish the South __Johnson_ believed Reconstruction was the _job of the president o Not the job of Congress Presidential Reconstruction President Johnson’s plan was based on Lincoln’s goals o Ratify the 13th Amendment o Take oath of allegiance to the U.S.A. o People of high stature had to personally apply for a pardon o Each state had to write a new constitution under a provisional government: declare secession illegal & abolish slavery o Promised to return property States rushed to session with a “supposed” ally in D.C. ___Congressional Reconstruction Congress proposed the 14th Amendment – Guaranteed citizenship & equal rights to black Americans Reconstruction Acts: ____must follow to rejoin ___ U.S.A. o Southern state governments declared provisional o _South broken into 5 military districts_ o Re-write constitutions guaranteeing civil rights, including suffrage o Ratify the 14th Amendment ___Presidential ______Impeachment Johnson tried to block Congressional Reconstruction Congress passed Tenure of Office Act o President cannot fire govt. employees w/o permission o Johnson suspended Sec. of War & tried to hire a new one House committee impeached the President for wrongdoing against public office o Avoided removal in the Senate by one vote The New South People from northern states came to help reconstruct the south Called Carpetbaggers o 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 o Carpetbagger was a term of contempt o Accused them of seeking to get rich or gain power Change of Agriculture Most Americans (mostly freedpeople) could not afford land o Turned to new methods of farming Tenant Farming – Sharecropping o Farmer who lacked land & necessary supplies o _Constantly in debt due to borrowing ______money & supplies Resisting Reconstruction Most northerners operated with supporters o Called “scalawags”, or “mean fellows” ______& “scalawags” o White League o ______ Republicans lost power over time The New-Old South Former Gen. Ulysses S. Grant won the 1868 Presidential election o About 500,000 freedmen voted in the South o Most freedmen supported Grant Congress passed (1869)15th Amendment – o Did not apply to WOMEN! Grant urged Congress to pass an anti-Klan bill to stop the terrorizing of African- Americans o Bill led to a more fair election in 1872 Bad Presidential 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 o Many powerful Eastern banks made bad loans, ran out of $, and shut down o Stock market temporarily closed & RR industry suffered Impact of the Panic of 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 o Republicans & Democrats claimed victory in 3 southern states o 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) o Government encouraged western settlement o Offered 160 acres of free land to anyone who agreed to live on the land for 5 years and improve it Morrill Act (1862) o Gave federal land to states to sell to fund public colleges that taught agriculture and mechanical arts Dawes Act (1887) o Encourage Native Americans to give up their traditional cultures and become farmers