Reconstruction

Matthew McFaul
Reconstruction (1865-1877)

1. Timeline
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2. Vocabulary
__Fourteenth Amendment__- declared that anyone born in the United States is a citizen as well as provided "equal protection of the laws" and "due process of law". This provided newly freed blacks citizenship as well as federal protection.

__Fifteenth Amendment__- prohibited any state from denying a citizen's right to vote. This amendment, passed by Northern Republicans, gave freed blacks the right to vote.

__Civil Rights__- political and social rights for all. This idea became a popular topic in Congress during Reconstruction.

__Sharecropping__- Agreement between former slave and land owner where slave would work their land and receive a portion of the harvest. This was popular after the war in the South in order to fill the labor shortage but can be seen similar to slavery

__Black Codes-__ southern legislature that prohibited blacks from testyfing in court, renting money to buy land, and also placed freedmen in a form of bondage by signing work contracts. This created much debate in Congress whether or not these were to be remain in the South.

__Carpetbagger__- name for Northerners who came to the South during Reconstruction seeking economic development. These people would either invest or create new businesses to gain for the South's weak economy and fragile state.

__Freedmen's Bureau__- agency created by congress to provided food, shelter, as well as medical aid for those displaced by the war, both blacks and whites. This bureau helped many in the South during Reconstruction as well as provided education to newly freed blacks increasing the literacy rate.

__Disenfranchisement__- loss of the right to vote or hold office. This was imposed on ex-Confederate leaders as well as wealthy land owners but President Johnson despite this allowed them to return to Congress.

__Radical Republicans__- Republicans during Reconstruction that fought for equal rights for blacks. This group was a major force in the fight for Civil Rights during Reconstruction.

__Ku Klux Klan__- secret society in the South during Reconstruction that used arson and lynching to terrorize blacks. There methods of extreme violence intimidated blacks to access their newly acquired rights like voting.



3. Presidents
__ Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) __

Abraham Lincoln did not accomplish many things during Reconstruction due to his assassination on April 14, 1865, in Washington D.C. He did however have a plan that he planned to implement after the Union won the Civil. His Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, written in 1863, consisted of:

1) Full presidential pardons would be granted to most southerners who: - Took oath of allegiance to the Union as well as the U.S. Constitution  - Accepted the emancipation of the slaves  2) State government could be re-established and accepted by the United States President when at least 10% of voters in the state took the loyalty oath

This plan was never issued due to his death, but President Johnson who replaced Lincoln would create a similar plan.

__ Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) __

Andrew Johnson, the 17th president, had a very eventful time in office. Having been Lincoln’s Vice President, Johnson was left to finish his term. During his time as president, Johnson dealt with many issues regarding Reconstruction as well as a shifting support going from the North in the beginning of his presidency to the South by the end. Also, he was notable for being the first president to be impeached. **Restoration Proclamation (1865)**- disenfranchisement of all former southern leaders and officeholders as well as ex-Confederates with more than $20,000 in taxable property - Despite this, he gave presidential pardon to many of these southerners allowing them to re-enter Congress, giving the South political power **Vetoes**- Johnson vetoed bill that would assist growth of Freedmen’s Burea as well as another bill that would nullify the Black Codes **Impeachment**- Johnson violated Tenure of Office Acts (1867) by dismissing the Secretary of War, Edward Stanton, resulting in his impeachment

__ Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) __

Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th president of the United States. During his presidency, many acts were passed that gave rights to blacks in the South. Also, nearly a dozen blacks were able to serve in state legislature in the South during his presidency. In the North however, greed and corruption grew.

**Fifteenth Amendmen**t- gave the right to vote to African Americans. This would cause much controversy in the South **Civil Rights Act of 1875**- passed by Congress, prohibited segregation between whites and blacks in public places as well as prohibited courts from not allowing blacks to serve on juries. **Black Communities**- black churches and black communities emerged **Spoilsmen and Corruption**- In the North, political bosses emerged in larger cities like Boss Tweed, the head of the Democratic Party in New York City. Also, the Credit Mobilier affair occurred where Congressmen were given inside information on stocks and investments **Panic of 1873**- caused by the overbuilding of industry in the North, many businesses failed, resulted in money supply being backed by gold

4. Primary Sources
__ PS1. Lincoln: Last Public Speech, April 11, 1865 __ In this speech, Lincoln discussed Louisiana's re-entry into the Union. Louisiana at the time had already created a state constitution that outlawed slavery and also included education for freedmen. More importantly in this speech, Lincoln addressed the issue that was pressing the nation at the time, whether newly freed blacks should be aloud the vote. He stated referring to the vote, "I myself prefer that it were //now// conferred on the very intelligent, and on those who serve our cause as soldiers." This suggests that he would have given freedmen the vote due to the fact that many of them fought for the Union during the Civil War, earning them the right. He would not accomplish this due to his assassination that followed shortly after this speech, but it would eventually be finalized by the Fifteenth Amendment in 1869.

__ PS2. Lincoln: Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction __ Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction was written in 1863 and discussed Lincoln's plan of actions after the Union had won the Civil War. In his proclamation, there were two main points, the first being that presidential pardon would be give to those who took the oath of allegiance to the Union as well as the United States Constitution. The second part was that the governments of the states that seceded could be re-established and accepted by the United States President when at least 10% of voters in the state took the loyalty oath. This exact plan would never be instituted because of Lincoln's death at the beginning of Reconstruction but Johnson would have a similar proclamation.

__ PS3. Thaddeus Stevens: Argument of a Radical Republican __ Radical Republicans were the biggest party in Congress for the majority of Reconstruction. They campaigned for civil rights, specifically for freedman to gain the right to vote. Leading Radical Republicans of the time were Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens. In 1866, Stevens played a major role in the creation of the fourteenth amendment. One of Steven's most famous arguments involved land reform with freedmen. After the Civil War, Stevens argued that the land of wealthy plantation owners should be taken by the government and distributed among their former slaves. His beliefs conflicted greatly with those of Andrew Johnson and would lead to Stevens publicly support his impeachment.

5. Essential Questions
// Q1. What were the “Different Perspectives Regarding Reconstruction”? // __Northerners:__ Many northerners either did not believe in slavery or did not have a stance. The idea of abolition was introduced around the 1830s but only became a popular stance around the Civil War. The Republican party for instance did not believe in abolition until the war. From the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's political career, he stated how he thought slavery was immoral but it would be very long before it would end and would never happen all at once. Radical Republicans, who played a major role in Reconstruction, believed in emancipation of the slaves as well as Civil Rights. Contrasting the Radical Republicans, other Northerners, particularly in urban settings, feared that the newly emancipated slaves would steal their factory and wage-based jobs.

__Southerners:__ Many southerners supported slavery in the 1800s. The South's economy by the 1850s was completely dependent on slavery as the workforce behind agricultural production. Also at that point, slavery was a part of southern culture. For over one hundred years wealthy plantation owners had profited from the institution of slavery. It was regarded as common place in their culture and they fully supported what they viewed as a "positive good" It had been a common practice there for wealthy plantation owners for over 100 years so they supported the institution of slavery. Small land owners, a majority of the southern population, also supported slavery. They knew that if so many slaves were to be freed, they would have to complete for jobs/wages.

// Q2. To what extent was Reconstruction a failure? // As a whole, the failures of Reconstruction outweigh the accomplishments. It could be argued that freedman gained a great amount of rights but since they were so difficult to access in the South, Reconstruction was unsuccessful.

__Successes:__ - Union maintained- Because the Union won the war, the United States remained a whole, which would help the US eventually become a major world power - Slavery abolished- with the establishment of the thirteenth amendment, slavery was outlawed in the United States - Freedmen given citizenship- by the fourteenth amendment - Freedmen given vote- by fifteenth amendment

__ Failures: __ - Black Codes- prohibited freedmen from accessing rights such as land ownership in the South - Klu Klux Klan- The KKK as well as other secret terrorist organizations were allowed to grow in the South terrorizing and lynching freedmen to intimidate others not to vote - Southerners in Congress- ex-Confederate leaders were allowed to re-enter Congress which expanded southern power and would prevent bills that would directly effect south from being passed.

// Q3. If it was a failure, who was to blame? // __Andrew Johnson-__ Johnson is one of the main people to blame for Reconstruction's failure. One of Johnson's main issues was his re-admission of ex-Confederate leaders into Congress. As stated before, southern power grew in Congress making it more difficult for Republicans to pass bills that would help Reconstruction. His other major fault was his allowance for prejudice in the South. Johnson allowed the Black Codes to pass, limited the growth of the Freedman's Bureau, as well as did nothing to stop the Klu Klux Klan. All of these actions restricted freedmen rights leaving him to blame.

__Corrupt Northerners-__ Some Northerners during Reconstruction took advantage of the South's state for their own personal gain. Carpetbaggers as they were called were Northerners would travel to the South hoping to invest or create new business with hope of profit do to the economies collapse there. Also, spoilsmen rose in numbers. These were people that would use inside political information to make personal profit. An example of this is the Credit Mobilier Affair. Both of these groups created tension in Congress as well as between North and South contributing to Reconstruction's failure.

__Prejudice Southerners-__ Southerners prejudice to blacks during the time period are also to blame for the failure of Reconstruction. White land owners who participated in sharecropping bound freedmen into law binding contracts similar to slavery and would keep them from accessing there newly found rights. Also members of organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan terrorized freedmen in the South with the use of arson and lynching intimidating blacks not to vote. Some states passed voting regulations to stop freedmen from voting. The loopholes included things like literacy tests and proof of your ancestor's (generally grandfathers) voting rights. Both of these sets of southerners stopped freedmen for benefiting from their new rights.

// Q4. Why did Lincoln announce “malice toward none, charity for all” at the end of the war? // This quote suggests that Lincoln was not going to take sides during Reconstruction nor punish a certain group. He was however going to make decisions that would have benefited the nation as a whole. Of course we can not know for sure what he would have done during Reconstruction if he had lived, but it can be assumed that he would have done a much better job than Andrew Johnson did. Lincoln would not have punished the South because he knew they already suffered so much as a result of the war. Also, he would have not allowed prejudice to get so out of hand in the South which had lasting effects for many years to come. All in all, Lincoln would have made the best decisions for the country and not have taken sides which would have made Reconstruction a success.

6. Video
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