Rebuilding the South

8th Grade- U.S. History

Standards Focus8.11.3 Means: Explain the freedoms of and restrictions on African Americans after the Civil War.

Matters: Reconstruction policies initially helped freedpeople, but restrictions on their rights soon became common.

*Students will examine why President Lincoln and Congress differed in their views about Reconstruction after the entire unit is over.

War destroyed Richmond, Virginia, once the proud capital of the Confederacy.

Anthem of Liberty, 1962 by Richard Storrs Willis

Word Wall

• Reconstruction• Ten Percent Plan• Thirteenth Amendment• Freedmen’s Bureau• Andrew Johnson

*What vocabulary words can you use to describe what’s going on in this picture?

Reconstruction

• After the civil War ended in 1865, the U.S. government faced the problem of dealing with the defeated southern states.

• The nation dealt with the challenges of Reconstruction, the process of readmitting the former Confederate states to the Union.

• It lasted from 1865 to 1877. • This video link is about Reconstruction:

Reconstruction

• What problems did places such as Charleston, South Carolina have to face during Reconstruction?

Ten Percent Plan

• President Abraham Lincoln wanted to reunite the nation as quickly and painlessly as possible.

• He had proposed a plan for readmitting the southern states even before the war ended called the Ten Percent Plan.

• It offered southerners, amnesty, or official pardon, for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion.

Ten Percent Plan• To receive amnesty,

southerners had to do two things:

1) The had to swear an oath of loyalty to the United States2) The also had to agree that slavery was illegal.

• Once 10 percent of voters in a

state made these pledges, they could form a new government.

Thirteenth Amendment

• On January 31, 1865, at President Lincoln’s urging, Congress proposed the Thirteenth Amendment.

• This amendment made slavery illegal throughout the United States.

• Not all abolitionists agree that their work was done. Frederick Douglass insisted that “slavery is not abolished unit the black man has the ballot. (vote).”

Thirteenth Amendment

• Short video clip of Frederick Douglass’ biography.

• Need to Know: Frederick Douglass• How does his previous quote relate to his

biography? • Can you think of other leaders, or revolutions

with a cause to get voting rights? (hint: 19th amendment)

Thirteenth Amendment

Freedmen’s Bureau

• In 1865 Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau, an agency providing relief not only for freedpeople and certain poor people, but white refugees as well.

• The bureau was used to distribute food to the poor and to provide education and legal help for freedpeople.

• It also played an important role in establishing more schools in the South.

Freedmen’s Bureau

• What role did the Freedmen’s Bureau play during Reconstruction?

• Schools?•Work? •Medical services? •Abandoned land?

The Assassination of President Lincoln

• On the evening of April 14, 1865, President Lincoln and his wife attended a play at Ford’s theater in Washington, D.C. During the play, John Wilkes Booth, a southerner who opposed Lincoln’s policies, sneaked into the president’s theater box and shot him.

History Channel: Lincoln's Assassination

President Andrew Johnson

• Lincoln was rushed to a boardinghouse across the street, where he died early the next morning.

• Vice President Andrew Jackson was sworn into office quickly.

• Reconstruction had now become his responsibility. He would have to win the trust of a nation shocked at their leader’s death.

President Andrew Johnson

• What do you think would’ve happened if President Abraham Lincoln lived?

• How did President Andrew Jackson’s views support, or oppose late President Lincoln’s ideas for Reconstruction?

Assignment

• Students will work in pairs to fill out the document attached. Here is a sample.

• Critical Thinking: Fill out the chart below.

Problems Solutions

Them!

Text Reference

• The information found in this presentation was taken from:

• Deverell, W. & White, D. (2006). United States History: Independence to 1914. Holt, Rinehart and Winston; Austin, Texas.