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MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW

Rebuilding the Union TERMS & NAMESRadical

Republicans

Reconstruction

Freedmen’s Bureau

Andrew Johnson

black codes

civil rights

FourteenthAmendment

Reconstruction BeginsAfter the Civil War ended in 1865, the South faced the challenge ofbuilding a new society not based on slavery. The process the federal gov-ernment used to readmit the Confederate states to the Union is knownas Reconstruction. Reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877.

In his Second Inaugural Address, in March 1865, Lincoln promisedto reunify the nation “with malice [harm] toward none, with charity forall.” Lincoln’s plan included pardoning Confederate officials. It alsocalled for allowing the Confederate states to quickly form new govern-ments and send representatives to Congress.

To assist former slaves, the president established the Freedmen’s Bureau.This federal agency set up schools and hospitals for African Americans anddistributed clothes, food, and fuel throughout the South.

When Lincoln was killed in April 1865, Vice-President AndrewJohnson became president. Johnson was a Democrat. The Republicans

ONE AMERICAN’S STORYAfter the Civil War, Pennsylvania congressman

Thaddeus Stevens became a leader of the Radical

Republicans. This group of congressmen favored

using federal power to create a new order in the

South and to promote full citizenship for freed

African Americans.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

The whole fabric of southern society must be changed. . . . If the South is ever to be made a safeRepublic let her lands be cultivated by the toil of the owners, or the free labor of intelligent citizens.

Thaddeus Stevens, quoted in The Era ofReconstruction by Kenneth Stampp

In this section, you will learn how political

leaders battled over how to bring the Southern

states back into the Union. Thaddeus Stevensaddresses Congress.

Rebuilding the Union

During Reconstruction, the presidentand Congress fought over how torebuild the South.

Reconstruction was an importantstep in the African-American strugglefor civil rights.

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had put him on the ticket in 1864 to help win support inthe nation’s border states. Johnson was a former slave-holder and, unlike Lincoln, a stubborn, unyielding man.

Johnson believed that Reconstruction was the job ofthe president, not Congress. His policies were based onLincoln’s goals. He insisted that the new state govern-ments ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, which pro-hibited slavery. He also insisted that they accept thesupreme power of the federal government.

Johnson offered amnesty, or official pardon, to mostwhite Southerners. He promised to return their prop-erty. In return, they had to pledge loyalty to the UnitedStates. At first, the large plantation owners, top militaryofficers, and ex-Confederate leaders were not includedin this offer. But they, too, eventually won amnesty.

Rebuilding Brings ConflictAs the Southern states rebuilt, they set up new stategovernments that seemed very much like the old ones.Some states flatly refused to ratify the ThirteenthAmendment. “This is a white man’s government,” saidthe governor of South Carolina, “and intended for whitemen only.”

The Southern states passed laws, known as blackcodes, which limited the freedom of former slaves. InMississippi, for instance, one law said that AfricanAmericans had to have written proof of employment.Anyone without such proof could be put to work on aplantation. African Americans were forbidden to meetin unsupervised groups or carry guns. Because of such

laws, many people in the North suspected that white Southerners weretrying to bring back the “old South.”

When Congress met in December 1865, its members refused to seatrepresentatives from the South. Many of these Southern representativeshad been Confederate leaders only months before.

Under the Constitution, Congress has the right to decide whether itsmembers are qualified to hold office. So instead of admitting theSoutherners, Congress set up a committee to study conditions in theSouth and decide whether the Southern states should be represented. Bytaking such action, Congress let the president know that it planned toplay a role in Reconstruction.

Republicans outnumbered Democrats in both houses of Congress.Most Republicans were moderates who believed that the federal gov-ernment should stay out of the affairs of individuals and the states.

The Radical Republicans, however, wanted the federal government toplay an active role in remaking Southern politics and society. Led byThaddeus Stevens and Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner, the

518 CHAPTER 18

BackgroundNot all Confed-erate leaderswere pardoned.Former Confed-erate presidentJefferson Davis,for example, was imprisonedfor two yearsawaiting trial fortreason. But hewas never tried.

ANDREW JOHNSON

1808–1875

Andrew Johnson was a self-educated man whose strong willled to trouble with Congress.

As a former slaveholder fromTennessee, Johnson called for a mild program for bringing the South back into the Union. In particular, he let states decidewhether to give voting rights to freed African Americans.

Johnson’s policies led to abreak with the RadicalRepublicans in Congress and,finally, to his impeachment trial(see page 521).

Why might Johnson havechosen not to punish the South? A. Analyzing

Causes Whatwas the mainreason Southernstates passedblack codes?A. Answer Theywanted to returnformer slaves totheir low positionin society.

Vocabularymoderates: peo-ple opposed toextreme views

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group also demanded full and equal citizenship for African Americans.Their aim was to destroy the South’s old ruling class and turn the regioninto a place of small farms, free schools, respect for labor, and politicalequality for all citizens.

The Civil Rights ActUrged on by the Radicals, Congress passed a bill promoting civilrights—those rights granted to all citizens. The Civil Rights Act of1866 declared that all persons born in the United States (except NativeAmericans) were citizens. It also stated that all citizens were entitled toequal rights regardless of their race.

Republicans were shocked when President Johnson vetoed the bill.Johnson argued that federal protection of civil rights would lead“towards centralization” of the national government. He also insistedthat making African Americans full citizens would “operate against thewhite race.” Congress voted to override Johnson’s veto. That is, two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate voted for the bill afterthe president’s veto, and the bill became law.

The Fourteenth AmendmentRepublicans were not satisfied with passing laws that ensured equalrights. They wanted equality to be protected by the Constitution itself.To achieve this goal, Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment in1866. It stated that all people born in the United States were citizens andhad the same rights. All citizens were to be granted “equal protection ofthe laws.” However, the amendment did not establish black suffrage.Instead, it declared that any state that kept African Americans from vot-ing would lose representatives in Congress. This meant that the Southernstates would have less power if they did not grant black men the vote.

Johnson refused to support the amendment. So did every formerConfederate state except Tennessee. This rejection outraged both mod-erate and Radical Republicans. As a result, the two groups agreed to joinforces and passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. The passage of these

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Radical Republicanspose for a formalportrait. Standing(left to right): James F. Wilson,George S. Boutwell,and John A. Logan.Seated: Benjamin F.Butler, ThaddeusStevens, ThomasWilliams, and JohnA. Bingham.

B. MakingInferences Howdid theFourteenthAmendmentencourage statesto give AfricanAmericans thevote?B. Answer It gavethe states fewerrepresentatives in Congress ifthey kept AfricanAmericans fromvoting.

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acts began a period known as Radical Reconstruction. From this pointon, Congress controlled Reconstruction.

One of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the South into fivemilitary districts, each run by an army commander. Members of the rul-ing class before the war lost their voting rights. The law also stated thatbefore the Southern states could reenter the Union, they would have todo two things:

1. They must approve new state constitutions that gave the vote toall adult men, including African Americans.

2. They must ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.

The New Southern GovernmentsIn 1867, Southern voters chose delegates to draft their new state consti-tutions. About three-fourths of the delegates were Republicans. Abouthalf of the Republicans were poor white farmers. Angry at planters forstarting what they called the “rich man’s war,” these delegates were calledscalawags (scoundrels) for going along with Radical Reconstruction.

Another one-fourth of the Republican delegateswere known as carpetbaggers—white Northernerswho had rushed to the South after the war. ManySoutherners accused them, often unfairly, of seekingonly to get rich or gain political power.

African Americans made up the rest of the Republicandelegates. Of these, half had been free before the war.Most were ministers, teachers, or skilled workers. About80 percent of them could read.

The new constitutions written bythese delegates set up public schoolsand gave the vote to all adult males.By 1870, voters in all the Southernstates had approved their new consti-tutions. As a result, the formerConfederate states were let back intothe Union and allowed to send repre-sentatives to Congress.

During Reconstruction, more than600 African Americans served in statelegislatures throughout the South, and14 of the new U.S. congressmen fromthe South were African Americans.Two African Americans served asU.S. senators during this time. Onewas Hiram Revels of Mississippi, aminister in the African MethodistEpiscopal Church. He had recruitedAfrican Americans to fight for theUnion during the Civil War.

BackgroundCarpetbaggerswere said to haveheaded south carrying only acheap suitcase,known as a carpetbag.

C. Answer SeveralAfrican Americanswere elected toCongress, whilehundreds gainedseats in state legislatures.

C. Finding MainIdeas What political gains did AfricanAmericansmake duringReconstruction?

BackgroundAttempts tosecure votingrights for AfricanAmericans appliedonly to men.Women were notallowed to voteuntil 1919.

His First Vote, an 1868 oil paint-ing by Thomas WatermanWood, shows a new African-American voter.

How do you think the manfelt about voting?

520

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Johnson Is ImpeachedPresident Johnson fought against many ofCongress’s reform efforts during RadicalReconstruction. For instance, he chosepeople friendly to ex-Confederates toserve as military commanders in theSouth. The conflict between Johnson andCongress soon brought a showdown.

In 1867, Congress passed the Tenureof Office Act, which prohibited the president from firing governmentofficials without the Senate’s approval. In February 1868, Johnson firedhis secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, over disagreements aboutReconstruction. Three days later, the House of Representatives voted toimpeach the president. This means that the House formally accused himof improper conduct while in office. By removing Johnson from office,they hoped to strengthen Congress’s role in Reconstruction.

The case moved to the Senate for a trial. After several weeks of testi-mony, the senators prepared to vote. George Julian, a 20-year congressmanfrom Indiana, recalled the tension in the air.

A VOICE FROM THE PAST

The galleries were packed, and an indescribable anxiety was written onevery face. Some of the members of the House near me grew pale and sickunder the burden of suspense. Such stillness prevailed that the breathing inthe galleries could be heard at the announcement of each Senator’s voice.

George Julian, quoted in Grand Inquests

In the end, President Johnson was acquitted by a single vote. But muchwork remained to be done in rebuilding the South. In the next section, youwill learn how African Americans in the South worked to improve their lives.

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2. Taking NotesUse a diagram to review theevents that led to Johnson’simpeachment.

Which event seems mostimportant and why?

3. Main Ideasa. What was Lincoln’sReconstruction plan?

b. How did whiteSoutherners plan to restorethe “old South”?

c. What impact did theReconstruction Acts of 1867have on the South?

4. Critical ThinkingEvaluating Do you thinkthe House was justified inimpeaching PresidentJohnson? Why or why not?

THINK ABOUT• the clash over

Reconstruction policies• Congress’s motives for

impeaching Johnson

1. Terms & NamesExplain the

significance of:• Radical Republicans• Reconstruction• Freedmen’s Bureau• Andrew Johnson• black codes• civil rights• Fourteenth

Amendment

Section Assessment

ACTIVITY OPTIONS

TECHNOLOGYSPEECH

Research an African American who served in Congress during Reconstruction.Design his Internet home page, or make a speech about his accomplishments.

1

This is a ticket to the 1868impeachment trial of PresidentJohnson.

D. DrawingConclusions Whydid Congressdecide to impeachPresidentJohnson? D. AnswerCongress believedthat Johnson stoodin the way of itsReconstructionplans.

Vocabularyacquitted: clearedof a charge

Event 3 Event 4

Event 2Event 1

CLASSZONE .COMINTERNET ACTIVITY

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