President Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan

1. President Andrew Johnson’sReconstruction Plan Pgs. 185-187

2. Thirteenth Amendment • The 13th amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865. • On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures for approval.

3. Thirteenth Amendment • Prior to the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery remained legal only in Delaware and Kentucky; everywhere else the slaves had been freed by state action and the Emancipation Proclamation.

4. Thirteenth Amendment • The 13th amendment was passed at the end of the Civil War before the Southern states had been restored to the Union and should have easily passed the Congress. • Although the Senate passed it in April 1864, the House did not. • At that point, Lincoln took an active role to ensure passage through congress. • He insisted that passage of the 13th amendment be added to the Republican Party platform for the upcoming Presidential elections.

6. Lincoln’s Death • Lincoln did not live long enough to see the 13 amendment accepted by a majority of states and then become law. • The amendment was declared, in a proclamation of Secretary of State William Henry Seward, dated December 18, 1865, to have been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-seven of the then thirty-six states.

7. Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan • Lincoln formed a plan for allowing the Confederate States to rejoin the Union. • The plan was carried out by President Andrew Johnson. These states could only be readmitted back into the Union under three conditions: • 1) each state declare its secession illegal • 2) swear allegiance to the Union • 3) ratify the 13th amendment

8. Lincoln’s Plan = UNFAIR • Many Northern states wanted to punish the Confederate states, but Lincoln’s goal was to quickly reunite the country. • It was up to President Johnson to see that the country was reunited. • This was not an easy task!

9. Tennessee Returns to the Union • By December 1865, most Confederate states, including Tennessee, had accepted the 13th amendment. • When Tennessee asked to be allowed back into the Union in 1866, it found a new law made such a return more difficult. • Confederate states now had to also accept the 14th amendment.

10. Fourteenth Amendment • The 14th Amendment made blacks citizens of the United States and guaranteed them the same legal rights as whites. • In July of 1866, Tennessee Governor William Brownlow convinced Tennessee leaders to accept the 14th Amendment. • Under his leadership, Tennessee became a part of the Union in 1866.

11. Black Codes • Many Southern states passed new laws called Black Codes. • The black codes made it illegal for former slaves to live in certain areas and to hold certain jobs. • African Americans without jobs could be arrested or fined. • Black Codes differed from state to state.

12. Black Codes • In most states Blacks were not allowed to vote or travel freely. • They could be made to work in the fields without pay if they could not find another job.

13. Ku Klux Klan • Shortly after the war ended secret groups were formed in the South to prevent former slaves from enjoying their new found freedoms. • One such group was the Ku Klux Klan or KKK. This group disguised themselves in white robes and hoods. • Klan members broke into homes and attacked and killed former slaves. • They burned African schools and churches and punished anyone who helped former slaves. • It was a time of terror for many people.