Reconstruction The period of Reconstruction was extremely controversial for both the North and South Many historians call the period The Second Civil War as the regions remained bitter as their wounds from the Civil War healed ID: 547686
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Political Reconstruction
ReconstructionSlide2
The period of Reconstruction was extremely controversial for both the North and South. Many historians call the period “The Second Civil War,” as the regions remained bitter as their wounds from the Civil War healed.
Many questions loomed about who would direct the process of Reconstruction. There were many more questions about what was to be done with the emancipated slaves. Though lofty in its ideals, Reconstruction did little to ameliorate the plight of African Americans, or bring the North and South to agreeable terms. It did however push the nation into the direction of equality.
Organizing PrincipleSlide3
Lincoln’s wartime conundrum:
Treaty?
Recognizes South Readmission?Strict vs. lenient
WWLD?Slide4
Lenient
General
amnesty Oath10%=statehoodOfficials of the ConfederacyNucleus of Southern Unionists (“traitors”) would make up gov’t
.
Suffrage (voting rights) for blacks?
Touchy subject
Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee
Readmitted under LincolnRadicals in Congress resistWade-Davis Bill“pocket” veto
Lincoln’s Plan (the 10% Plan)Slide5
R.I.P. Lincoln
Lincoln Assassinated:
April 14, 1865Ford’s Theater in D.C.John Wilkes BoothAndrew Johnson becomes presidentSlide6
President Johnson
Tennessee Democrat
Resented plantersRejected racial equalityPresidential Reconstruction
Lenient in practice
Amnesty for oath
$20,000 taxable property
Provisional governor
Constitutional ConventionRevoke ordinance of secession Ratify 13th amendmentRepudiate debtsSlide7
Presidential Reconstruction in Practice
All seceded states “reconstructed” under Lincoln & Johnson’s
plans by 1865“Restoration” during congressional recess
!
Congress refuses to recognize Johnson governments due to:
Reluctance to abolish slavery
Deny blacks the vote
Elected prominent ConfederatesAlexander Stephens VP of Confederacy elected to SenateSlide8
Black Codes 1865-1866
Designed to regulate
the newly freed blacks in the SouthVagrancy lawsApprehend unemployed blacksFine them for vagrancy
Hired out to private employers to satisfy the
fines
Back to the plantation
Certain states
Blacks cannot own/lease landBlacks cannot be employed outside of plantation workCould not serve on a jurySlide9
Students need to complete the following after being assigned a partner:
Annotate the laws (summarize in as few words as possible).
Complete the questions under O(rigin) and P(urpose) on the OPVL handout.
Black CodesSlide10
Federal Government’s Response
Congress
Extends the life of the Freedman’s BureauWidens their powers Passed the First Civil Rights Act (1866)Black citizenship—strikes at Black CodesJohnson resists
Vetoes (twice)
Congress overrides
Midterm Elections—1866
Campaigns for candidatesSlide11
The Fourteenth Amendment 1866
Defines American citizenship
Equal protection of the lawsImposed penalties on states that denied male suffrageImposed a 2/3s pardon on former confederates/sympathizers State readmission contingent on ratificationSlide12
The Congressional Plan (Radical Reconstruction)
Led by Thaddeus
Stevens (PA) and Charles Sumner (MA)Congress passes Reconstruction Acts (1867)
Details
5 military districts
Register qualified voters
Constitutions—black
suffrage (voting rights)Adopt 14th amendment1868—6 states readmitted VA, TX, & MS—1869-70Also had to ratify
15th Amendment
Could not deny the vote based on “race, color, or…condition of servitude”
Black votes give 1868 election to U.S. GrantSlide13Slide14
Johnson’s Impeachment
Johnson was an
impediment to ReconstructionRefused to implement Congressional PlanRadicals wanted him removedTenure of Office ActDismissal of Stanton=impeachment
Impeachment trial
Spring 1868
35-19 (one short of 2/3s) Slide15