Reconstruction

American Cultures

Farm Life Destroyed Low crop harvests farm animals killed Thousands of farmers killed

City Life Destroyed Cities in ruins disabled railroads banks failed merchants were bankrupt

The Effect that the Civil War had on Southern Life

The Southern People

Massive starvation The currency was worthless Slaves needed jobs and food Poor white farmers lost their jobs to freed slaves Plantation owners had to sell their land to cover

their debt

The Effect the Civil War had on Southern Life

Lincoln’s 10% plan

Jefferson’s Presidential Reconstruction Plan

Radical Republicans’ Wade Davis Bill

Different Approaches to Reconstructing the south

Any southerner who pledged loyalty to the Union

and accepted slavery as evil was granted a pardon Pardon = forgiveness (I beg your pardon)

No pardons were granted to Confederates who killed African American war prisoners or high ranking generals and government officials

Lincoln’s 10% Plan

After 10% of a southern state pledged their

oath of loyalty They create a new state constitution that

includes the 13th Amendment (abolishment of slavery)

Hold elections And join back into the Union

Lincoln did not require blacks the right to vote

Lincoln’s 10% Plan

The republicans thought it wasn’t harsh

enough punishment Why should only 10% of population be needed

to swear an oath of loyalty?

Lincoln wanted a plan that would get the country back together the fastest

Criticism of Lincoln’s Plan

(13th Amendment allows for slavery in the case of

punishment for breaking a law) Black Codes

Ridiculous laws that are impossible to follow that allow whites to put freed slaves back into slavery

Ex: “No hanging out at night, but you can hang out together during the day if the cops allow”

Ex: “Aren’t aloud to sell anything without permission from the cops”

The South’s reaction to 13th Amendment

Sharecropping

You “share” your “crops” with the owner of the land

This way you have a place to stay and you can keep any extra money you make

The ex-slave would sign a contract to work the land of the owner

It was a perpetual cycle of debt for the ex-slave, and would be forced to work the land year after year to pay the debt off (slavery!)

The South’s reaction to 13th Amendment

Lincoln is killed at Ford’s Theater

Considered by congress too forgiving, as well Granted amnesty to any southerner who

pledged an oath of loyalty to the Union High ranking southern army and government

officials had to beg for a pardon personally He granted every single personal pardon

President Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction Plan

No percentage requirement to begin forming a

new government New government had to include 13th

Amendment Returned all property (except slaves) to

southern land owners who received amnesty Amnesty = pardon which has been granted

Everyone but Texas joined the Union under this plan by 1865

President Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction Plan

Both Lincoln and Johnson repeatedly vetoed

the radical republicans’ demands for harsher punishment

Lincoln and Johnson thought they were asking for too much They demanded equal rights for African

Americans In 1866, radical republicans controlled

both houses of Congress after the congressional elections

A Drastic Change in Plans

Military occupation – Congress divided south

into 5 military districts to oversee Reconstruction Plan

Radical Republicans’ Plan – Wade Davis Bill

Majority of citizens (50% +) had to swear past

and present loyalty to Union Must swear they never took arms against the

Union New state government must abolish slavery

Radical Republicans’ Plan – Wade Davis Bill

Within this bill contained the Civil Rights Act

Citizenship to African Americans and equal protection under the law In response to black codes

Creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau Provided public schools for African Americans Medical assistance Helped freed slaves find jobs

In response to sharecropping This was vetoed by President Johnson, but the

veto was overrode by Congress

Radical Republicans’ Plan

14th Amendment –

If you were born in the US, you are a US citizen Equal Protection under the law for all citizens

The southern “black codes” are now illegal Must treat all citizens equally under the law

Radical Republicans Ratify 14th Amendment

Jim Crow Laws They create Jim Crow Laws

Racial segregation in all public facilities The whites have their schools, and

restaurants, etc. The African Americans have theirs Fair right? WRONG! – the accommodations for African

Americans were inferior to those of the whites

The South’s Answer to the 14th Amendment

No citizen can be denied the right to vote

based on race or ethnicity African Americans began to dominate the new

state governments because the whites refused to participate

Therefore, southern states became republican Republicans were pro African American rights

Radical Republicans pass the 15th Amendment

Poll Tax (have to pay money to vote) Literacy Test (have to read to vote) Grandfather Clause (if you could vote before

the Civil War, but you can’t read or pay the tax, you can vote)

All of these did not deny the right to vote based on race

KKK Voter intimidation (extremely effective)

Southern Response to 15th Amendment

The Ugly Side of Reconstruction

A secret Christian terrorist organization whose

mission was to slow the progress of African Americans during Reconstruction

White supremacy The belief that white people are superior to

people of color

Definition and Belief

Clan Raly

Still Active Today

Their goal was to scare African Americans from voting after the 15th Amendment was ratified

Voting numbers amongst southern African Americans drastically decreased

White southerners reclaimed political power

13th Amendment – abolishment of slavery

Sharecropping and black codes 14th Amendment – equal rights for all

citizens Jim Crow Laws

15th Amendment – cannot be denied the right to vote based on race Poll tax, literacy test, grandfather clause

The south had an answer for everything!

Radical Republicans’ Plan