The Era of Reconstruction 1865-1877

1. The Era of Reconstruction1865-1877

2. The Civil War has just ended, and the Southern economy is in ruins. Slavery has been abolished and President Lincoln has been assassinated. Northerners and Southerners feel deep anger towards one another. • The government now has to figure out how to rebuild the nation while also recognizing the rights and citizenship of over 4 million ex-slaves.

3. 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments • 13th: Freed the slaves by outlawing the “peculiar institution of slavery” in the United States. • 14th: Gave all people born in the United States citizenship regardless of race**. • Acceptance (ratification) of this amendment was required for all Confederate states before they were allowed back into The Union. • **This amendment did NOT give citizenship to Native Americans.

4. 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments • 15th: Said suffrage (the right to vote) could not be denied based on race. • This wording is important because later U.S. courts would decide that this only protected African Americans from being discriminated against due to their race. • It did not protect African Americans from being denied the right to vote for other reasons • States would begin adding poll taxes and literacy tests to the requirements to vote so that African Americans would hopefully not be able to participate.

5. 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments • Women (like Elizabeth Cady Stanton) were outraged that “uneducated former slaves and immigrants who had never even read the Declaration of Independence would be making laws for educated white women.” • Because Native Americans were not citizens this Amendment didn’t apply to them either.

6. 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments FREE - CITIZENS - VOTE! FREE - CITIZENS - VOTE FREE - CITIZENS - VOTE

7. Major People involved in Reconstruction • President Andrew Johnson • Served as Lincoln’s Vice President and took office after Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. • Believed Reconstruction was his job, not the job of Congress. • Wanted to follow the plans outlined by President Lincoln before his death. • He was impeached by the House of Representatives but managed to make it without being removed from office by the Senate.

8. Major People involved in Reconstruction • President Ulysses S. Grant • Succeeded Johnson • Scandals in his presidency caused rifts in the republican party and weakened support for Reconstruction.

9. Social Problems of the South during Reconstruction • 4 Millions freedmen… what to do? • Slavery was terrible but at least slaves had a place to work and sleep and had food to eat. After the Civil War they had nothing. • The Freedmen’s Bureau was created by President Lincoln to help former slaves find jobs and obtain much needed shelter, food, and medical care. • Many former slaves began attending school after they were free and many moremoved around the country hoping to find long-lost family and friends who had been sold.

10. Black Codes • In order to keep former slaves “in their place” many states created new laws that mimicked slavery. • Laws required former slaves to work or be arrested for vagrancy and put to work against their will on a plantation. • Freedmen often weren’t allowed to hold jobs other than field work or as house servants. • Former slaves were forced to follow strict curfews and weren’t allowed to meet in “unsupervised” groups or carry guns.

11. Social Problems of the South during Reconstruction • Ku Klux Klan: a “secret” group that aimed at keeping blacks from getting full equality by using fear, violence, and intimidation tactics. • The Klan wanted Democrats from the South to be in charge so that former slaves would be kept powerless. • To intimidate former slaves, the KKK often burned down people’s homes, beat people (especially successful African Americans), and sometimes even lynching them on the spot for no reason.

12. Economic Problems of the US during Reconstruction • The Contract System • Former slaves got jobs (contracts) to work on plantations • Better than slavery because their families were safe and couldn’t be split up • However, workers were paid very little and were often mistreated or cheated by land owners. • Under the contract many freedmen were forced to bring their whole families to work for just one wage and often they weren’t allowed to leave the plantations without permission. • It was against the law to break contracts even if their boss was abusing them.

13. Economic Problems of the US during Reconstruction • Sharecropping and Debt • Former slaves often worked on plantations for former slave owners. • The Freedmen were in charge of planting and tending to the crops and in exchange would get a percentage of the harvest. • All the sharecropper’s supplies would have to be purchased on credit from the landowner’s store while he and his family were waiting for harvest time. • Sharecroppers didn’t usually make enough money to pay their debts (or they were cheated by the land owner) and stayed in debt, owing more and more each year. • This cycle kept them in poverty and didn’t allow them to have a life much better than when they were slaves.

14. Economic Problems of the US during Reconstruction • Panic of 1873 • Several banks ran out of money after making bad loans. • A panic soon swept the nation and banks all over the country closed. • The stock market collapsed • This caused an economic depression (low business activity and high unemployment)

15. Economic Problems of the US during Reconstruction • Panic of 1873 Cont.… • The railroad industry was hit hard by all the bank closings and many railroads were forced to close which in turn caused problems for farmers because they couldn’t ship their goods and many were financially ruined. • The depression lasted 5 years and was blamed on the Republicans so the Democrats became very popular at this time.

16. Radical Reconstruction Congress • Wanted the federal government to play an active role in reconstruction. • Demanded full and equal citizenship for African Americans. • Wanted to destroy the South’s old ruling class and turn the South into a region of small farms, free schools, respect for labor, and political equality for all.

17. Radical Reconstruction Congress • Reconstruction Acts of 1867 • Split the South into 5 districts and each district was run by the military. • Members of the ruling class prior to 1861 lost voting rights. • Stated that before a state could be readmitted to the Union it must: • Approve a new state constitution that gave the right to vote to all adult men. • Must ratify the 14th Amendment recognizing that all people born in the US were citizens and have the right to due process under the law.

18. Economic Differences of regions in the US during Reconstruction • The North was still the major manufacturing base for the United States. • The South was trying to maintain it’s former way of life growing cash crops but was struggling and would eventually become more and more industrialized.

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