Reconstruction 1865-1877

Radical Republicans & Lincoln

• Angered by Lincoln’s plan because it did not give full equality to freed slaves • Thought Lincoln’s plan was too easy on the South The Wade-Davis Bill

• Majority of adult Southern white men would have to swear allegiance to America • State Constitutional Conventions would have to: – abolish slavery – Reject Confederate war debt – Deny the vote and office holding to former CSA officers • Lincoln killed the bill by pocket veto John Wilkes Booth

shot Lincoln on April 14, 1865 Johnson’s Reconstruction

• Blamed wealthy plantation owners for the war • His plan for the Southern states: – New constitutions – Elect a new governments – Repeal secession – Cancel Confederate debts – Ratify the 13th Amendment

Black Codes • Laws passed by Southern legislatures that limited the rights of African Americans in the South • African Americans were required to sign yearly labor contracts

Johnson vs. the Radical Republicans • 1866 – Congress passed 2 bills – Freedmen’s Bureau Bill – provided food, clothing, medical care, and education for war refugees – Civil Rights Act – nullified the Black Codes by declaring freedmen full citizens with equal rights • Johnson vetoed both bills • In April, Congress overrode Johnson’s veto Fourteenth Amendment • Granted citizenship to all people born in the U.S. • No citizen could be denied the rights promised in the Constitution Military Reconstruction Act of 1867 • South was put under military rule • Southern states had to hold new elections • All male voters can vote • Barred confederacy supporters from voting • Southern states should guarantee equal rights • Ratification of the 14th amendment (1868) Former Confederate soldiers founded the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) after the American Civil War (1861-1865). The KKK used violence and intimidation to prevent blacks from voting and holding office, and to keep them segregated. Anti Klan Laws

Enforcement Act of 1870 passed to prevent any Ku Klux Klan activity from preventing anyone from voting that had the right to do so.

Johnson’s Impeachment

• Congress passed 2 laws to make sure that President Johnson would not ignore their laws – Command of the Army Act – President’s order must go through General Grant – Tenure of Office Act – Congress must approve the removal of any cabinet member

The Showdown • Johnson challenged Congress & fired Edwin Stanton • House of Representatives voted to impeach the President • The Senate failed to remove Andrew Johnson Blacks Gained the Right to Vote 15th Amendment *Became law March 1870

Why Did People Grow Tired of the Reconstruction? • Put heavy taxes on the people • Came to symbolize corruption & greed • When the military withdrew from the south, gov’ts. were taken over by white southerners → blocked Reconstruction policies • North voters really did not support racial equality • Economic downturn in 1873 drew people’s attention elsewhere Solid South

• Democrats gave the election to Hayes • He removed troops from the South & gave money to southern RRs Reconstruction Successes Failures 1. Republicans carried 1. Southerners remained out 2 main goals in poverty 2. Stimulated economy 2. State gov’ts. & KKK 3. 14th/15th Amendments denied blacks the vote 4. Freedmen’s Bureau 3. Racist attitudes 5. Tax-supported, continued. mandatory education 4. Southern economy cont’d. to emphasize agriculture 5. Did not address needs of other groups: farmers, workers, suffragettes