Reconstruction America - PowerPoint Presentation

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Reconstruction AmericaSlide2

Reconstruction: An Introduction

What is “Reconstruction?”

What challenges would exist? Slide3
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Lincoln’s plan

April 8

th

, 1865:

April 14

th

, 1865:

That means:

The basic idea: Slide6

Reconstruction Begins

Lincoln’s Plan: The Specifics

10% Plan:

Once 10% of a state’s citizens pledged loyalty to the U.S. that state could begin the reconstruction process.

Never believed the South had actually seceded:

he believed they were just in rebellion

BUT

THEN…he is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth and his vice president, Andrew Johnson takes over Slide7

Johnson Takes Over

His plan is in existence:

April 1865- January 1867

Ideas he continues from Lincoln:

Wants to go easy on the South

Abolition of slavery

His own ideas:

States would have to pay their own war debt

States had to ratify 13

th

Amendment (abolishes slavery)

Pardon some generals and confederate officialsSlide8

But Many problems in the south remain…

Prior to the Civil War

Slavery

Agricultural Economy

Uneven distribution of wealth

Social hierarchy

Wealthy Planters

Landowners

Poor whites

Slaves

During Reconstruction

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

Agricultural Economy

Uneven distribution of wealth

Social hierarchy

Rich whites

Poor whites

BlacksSlide9
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Sharecropping And Tenant farming

Sharecropping:

was when a former slave signed on to work for a landowner in exchange for part of the crop at harvest time. Then they would always owe more in housing and food then they made off the crop, so the would have to stay and sign another contract because they were in debt.

Tenant Farming:

a step up from sharecropping because they rent their own parcel of land from the landowner but still they remain in debt

Why it was a problem:

because it looks just like slavery and the blacks are always tied to the landSlide11
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Racism in the South

Growth of the

KKK- the KKK is started during Reconstruction

Main goal:

to prevent African Americans from voting

Why did they exist at this point?

Slavery had always made African Americans beneath whites in society- now that slavery is gone, African Americans are equal in society to poor whites. Slide13
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Racism in the South

Black Codes:

Any law that was only for African Americans

Jim Crow Laws:

segregation (separation) laws in the southSlide15

Congress steps in

Congress argues:

Johnson failed his job in creating a Reconstruction plan that would change the South

Led by:

Thaddeus and Charles Sumner, the Republicans in Congress are going to write their own Reconstruction Plan

Reconstruction Acts of 1866

: Congress takes over Reconstruction with this law- major parts include: making sure the South pay’s for their part

of the Civil War- THEY WANT REVENGE ON THE SOUTH

Johnson’s Response:

vetoes the Reconstruction Acts, but Congress overrides the veto and so this new Reconstruction plan goes into effectSlide16

A Comparison of the Plans…

Presidential Reconstruction

Lincoln

:

10%

Never believed south seceded

Johnson:

States had to pay own war debt

Ratify the 13 Amendment

Pardoned some generals

Radical Republicans (Congressional)

Shared with Lincoln:

Not pardon any generals or officials

Shared with Johnson:

Believed the South seceded

OWN IDEAS:

Divided the sout

h into 5 military districts

Each district was led by a major general

Ratify the 14

th

AmendmentSlide17

Successes of Reconstruction

Reunification: all the states end up rejoining the United States by the end of Reconstruction

Civil Rights Amendments

13

th

:

abolishes slavery (gets rid of slavery)

14

th

:

make African Americans citizens

15

th

:

give African American men the right to vote

Public

Schools established for all Americans (public school is a free education)Slide18

Failures of Reconstruction

Violations in the South of ALL the Civil Rights Amendments

13

th

:

abolition of slavery

Sharecropping and tenant farming

14

th

:

make African Americans citizens

Black codes and Jim Crow laws

15

th

:

African American men can vote

KKK

Poll Taxes- pay to be able to vote

Literacy tests- prove that you could read and write in order vote

Grandfather clauses- said that if your ancestor couldn’t vote by January 1

st

1865, neither could you. PROBLEM: NO African American had been given the right to vote by January 1

st

, 1865Slide19

Failures of Reconstruction

Poverty in South

Division of country by political parties

North:

Republican

South:

Democrat-majority of the South

3 groups of Republican voters in the South:

Carpetbaggers-Northerners who move South

Scalawags- Native born Southerners who are Republican

Blacks- make up the largest group of Republicans in the SouthSlide20

Johnson as President

Democrat from Tennessee:

Congress didn’t trust him

Key Vetoes:

Civil Rights Act, Reconstruction Acts, and the Freedman’s Bureau (an agency that was set up to help the African Americans after the war)

Impeached for:

violating the Tenure of Office Act- removed a member of his cabinet with Congress’s approval- only one vote short of removing Johnson from officeSlide21

Public Opinion of Johnson…Slide22

Ulysses S. Grant Takes over…

Problems:

America is still divided during Reconstruction

Uses the spoils system:

to appoint his cabinet and other officials- led to a lot of corruption during his presidency.

Whiskey Ring- members of Grant’s cabinet accepting bribes to allow companies to not pay the whiskey excise tax

Credit

Mobilier

- members of Grant’s cabinet accepting bribes when credit

mobilier

was overcharging the U.S. government

Biggest success came with the Enforcement Acts:

limit the activity of KKK during Grant’s termSlide23

The End of Reconstruction

Election of 1876:

an election between Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) and Samuel Tilden (Democrat)- the results are unclear….Tilden got more votes BUT he didn’t get the amount required by the Constitution to be named president. The decision goes to the House of Representatives

Hayes-Tilden Compromise:

Democrats in Congress allowed Hayes to be named president as long as Hayes agreed to remove all troops from

the South. Slide24

Final thoughts

Which reconstruction plan do you think was the best?

Do you think that things would have been different if Lincoln hadn’t of died?

What do you think the WORST part about

Reconstruction was?

What questions do you still have?