Challenges and Changes: Post-Civil War Reconstruction in Mississippi

1. Chapter 6 Reconstruction Transition

3. Bellwork • Predict what will happen after the end of the Civil War?

4. After the War • When the Civil War ended the state faced several great challenges • Destruction and disorder could been see all throughout the South • Couldn’t use roads or bridges (most had been destroyed during the war) • Public buildings had been burned down (Sherman’s March) • Mississippi was now facing extreme poverty • The wealth from cotton no longer existed, cotton prices fell • Both Blacks and Whites were affected • Nearly one-third of men died during the Civil War or returned home with severe injuries • Others returned home and found their farms or businesses had been destroyed or severely damaged

5. After the War • The Freedmen(former slaves) faced even greater hardships • For the first time they were free • They were homeless, uneducated, and didn’t have much except the clothes they wore • Many began looking for work roaming from town to town • Many wandered the country to demonstrate their new found freedom, some migrated North • Others searched for spouses, children, or other family members • The Civil War broke the chains of slavery, and destroyed the social order • Master and slave were no more • A new relationship between White and Black Mississippians had to be developed

7. After the War • A new relationship was difficult because of the attitudes whites and blacks held for each other • Blacks feared that whites would try to re-enslave them • Whites didn’t see blacks as free people or see them as equals • Political Rights created both fears and expectations • Freedmen looked forward to being able to vote and hold political office • Whites wondered how they would be treated by the federal government • Would they be punished for their part in the war • Would they be allowed to vote, and participate in the new government • Would the property taken from them during the war be given back

8. After the War • After Mississippi was emancipated Mississippi’s freedman regarded land, the ballot, and education as the primary means to independence • Freedmen’s Bureau • An agency created by congress to help blacks adjust to freedom and to ease some of the poverty in the South, until the Southern states could rejoin the Union • Helped former slaves with food, shelter, education, health care, and also helped them find jobs and fair wages • Freedmen believed that the bureau would sell or lease land, that had been confiscated or abandoned during the war, 800K acres, but land went back to the original owners • Without government help freedmen struggle to obtain land • Most Mississippians lost their land during the statewide crop failure of 1866 and 1867

9. It’s Your Turn Questions • Copier not working so worksheets unavaliable • Complete questions on separate sheet of paper • This will be included in classwork grade along with Ch 6 Review • Page 134

10. Presidential Reconstruction • Before war ended President Lincoln developed a plan to rebuild the south and restore southern states to the Union, his plan was Reconstruction • Reconstruction • 2 steps • All southerners, except high-ranking Confederate officials would be pardoned after taking an oath of loyalty to the Union • When 10 percent of voters in a state had taken the oath of loyalty, the state would be permitted to form a legal government and rejoin the Union (known as the 10% plan) • Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s theater,inwashington DC. • Vice President Andrew Johnson became president after Lincoln, and took responsibility of Reconstruction

11. Lincoln Is shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC on April 14, 1865

13. Presidential Reconstruction • Johnson’s plan was similar to Lincoln’s except • Johnson expanded the group of southerners who were not covered by the general pardon • Men who held high-ranking positions in the Confederate government and military and those who owned property worth more than 20,000 had to apply directly to the president for a pardon • Johnson also required that southern states write new state constitutions that abolished slavery • Under pressure from the public and congress he added more requirements for readmission. • Repeal their secession ordinances • Repudiate (void) their war debt • Ratify the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

14. Presidential Reconstruction • Reconstruction in Mississippi began in June 1865 • William L. Sharkey was named provisional (temporary)governor of Mississippi • A former slave owner who opposed secession • Was required by President Johnson to call a constitutional convention to establish a civilian government too meet all state requirements for readmission to the Union

15. Constitutional Convention of 1865 • Opened in Jackson on August 14, 1865 • Mississippi was the first state to call a convention under Johnson’s Reconstruction plan • Many believed that if Mississippi wrote a constitution that was fair to blacks and met all requirements to rejoin the Union other southern states would do the same, this didn’t happen • 100 delegates who assembled in Jackson made few changes to the state government or with relations with blacks • Most delegates were members of Mississippi’s prewar ruling class, and had opposed secession, did not want Mississippi to share any responsibilities for the abolition of slavery or want to deal with the issue of political rights for blacks

16. Constitutional Convention of 1865 • In a telegram President Johnson encouraged Sharkey to extend suffrage ( voting rights) to educated blacks and those who owned property • Delegates ignored Johnson’s advice and refused to give any voting rights to blacks • Delegates only passed resolutions voiding Mississippi’s ordinance of secession and officially accepting the abolition of slavery • Delegates did not vote on the 13th amendment or reject the state’s war debt • One thing was clear and that the delegates didn’t want black participation in Mississippi’s government

17. The Election of 1865 • Most Mississippians agreed with delegates, that they opposed equal participation in the state by blacks • Plantation owners who were facing hardships and couldn’t get workers wanted restrictions that would force blacks back into the fields • Mississippi had black Union troops occupying in parts of Mississippi • Rumors of armed conflicts between civilians and soldiers circulated widely, but proved to be false

18. The Election of 1865 • Delegates for governor • Ephraim S. Fisher of Coffeeville • Former state judge, who opposed secession, and was loyal to the Union • Benjamin G. Humphreys of Claiborne • Had opposed secession but joined the Confederates army and rose to the rank of brigadier general • William S. Patton of Lauderdale • Opposed secession, his role with the Confederacy is unknown • Major issue of the campaign was defining the specific rights that would be granted to blacks • General Humphreys won the election • Men who had served in the Confederacy won a majority of the positions • Ran on a platform opposed granting blacks suffrage and other political rights

19. Black Codes • When new legislature met, took up the issue of civil and political rights for blacks • Passed 4 acts that were known as the Black codes • Four acts that placed harsh economic and social restriction on blacks • Entitled the Civil Rights of 1865, provided two benefits, marriage between blacks, and gave blacks the right to sue in state courts • Prohibited interracial marriages, prevented blacks from testifying in court involving whites, and limited black land ownership • Blacks could own, rent, and lease land • Prohibited blacks from carrying firearms or any weapons • Blacks could be arrested, fine, or imprisonment for assembling without permission • If Blacks were arrested and couldn’t pay fine they hired out to anyone who paid the fine

20. The Black Codes • The Black Codes and Mississippi refused to ratify the 13th Amendment, troubled Freedmen and angered many northern whites • As a result Congress refused to seat Mississippi’s Congressional delegates • 1866 3 laws were passed to weaken Black Codes • Most important was the 14th Amendment, which made black full citizens of the United States • Amendment forbade states from depriving any person- Black or White- of life, liberty, or property without due process • Law also gave the power to pardon former Confederate officials to Congress (rather than to president) • Also voided the Confederate war debt

21. It’s Your Turn Questions • Page 138

22. Congressional Reconstruction • When Mississippi and several other southern states refused to ratify the 14th Amendment, congress took control of Reconstruction • The Reconstruction Act • On March 2,1867 split the South into five military districts, Mississippi was placed in the 4th district under Major General Edward O. Ord • Ord’s first task to was register all eligible voters • He organized voter registration boards in each county • Registered any adult male regardless of race, had to live in the state for one year • Of the 160,000 voters 137,000 had qualified to vote (Blacks and Whites) • Blacks formed majority voters in 32 counties in Mississippi • Whites formed majority voters in 29 counties

23. Congressional Reconstruction • The first test was during the elections of November 1867 • Mississippians were to decide whether to organize a constitutional convention and write a new constitution • The campaign was fierce, and conservative Democrats opposed the Republican Party • Republican Party • Formed in 1867 the party consisted of White Mississippians who supported Congressional Reconstruction, Northern Whites who came to the state after the war, and black leaders • Native whites who supported the Republican Party were branded (Scalawags) or turncoats • Carpetbaggers were northern whites because it was believed that they came to the state carrying their belongings in a suit-case made of carpet

24. Congressional Reconstruction • The Republican Party favored the constitutional convention and sought support of the newly enfranchised black voters • Blacks credited Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party for their freedom were eager to give their support • With the help of the black voters the Republican Party gained approval needed for the constitutional convention

25. Worksheet 1

26. The Constitution of 1868 • Convention met in Jackson 1868 • 100 delegates • 17 Blacks • 29 Native White Republicans (Scalawags) • 25 Northern Republicans (Carpetbagger) • 17 Conservative Democrats • Two resolutions came from this convention • Universal Male Suffrage • Which extended the right to vote to any male citizens of any race or color • Provided a system of free public education • Of all children between the age of 6 to 18 • Constitution also forbade discrimination in public transportation, eliminated the property qualification for voting or holding office, extended property rights to married women

27. The Constitution of 1868 • Not all Mississippians accepted the new constitution • Conservative Democrats objected the provision that disfranchised all persons who supported secession or provided aid to the Confederacy • Disfranchise is to take away the right to vote away from an individual or group • Fought against the provision that increased the governor’s power, and required former Confederates to take an oath acknowledging that all men were created equal

28. The Constitution of 1868 • When the Constitution was put to a vote in 1868 it failed • Many conservative whites refused to vote • Militant white organizations (Ku Klux Klan) used violence and intimidation to keep blacks away from the polls • November 1869 President Ulysses S. Grant resubmitted the constitution to the people of Mississippi without the provision disfranchising former Confederates and the created equal oath • Was ratified in November 1869

29. Republican Rule in Mississippi • Adoption of a new constitution marked the beginning of Republican rule in Mississippi • Republicans also won a majority of the seats in legislature • January 1870 Mississippi met the final two requirements for the readmission into the Union • Ratify the 14th and 15th Amendment • 15th Amendment guaranteed universal male suffrage • To represent the state in the U.S. Senate • Adelbert Ames • Hiram Revels (1st black to serve in the Senate) • Governor Alcorn denounced secession and pledged to be the governor of the people in his inaugural address

30. Republican Rule in Mississippi • Alcorn was popular, but white Mississippians didn’t accept his philosophy of equality • Under Alcorn’s leadership • Economy improved • Land values increased • The public school system was expanded • Laws of state were revised to make them more democratic • 1873 Ames and Alcorn ran for governor • Ames won • Ames accused Alcorn of deserting the Republican policies • Cooperating with conservative whites • Ames accused Alcorn of failing to protect blacks against the Ku Klux Klan • Ames won but the race weakened the Republican Party

31. Black Political Power • Black participation in the Republican party began with the election of seventeen black delegates to the constitutional convention of 1868 • General Ord appointed a black planter, Benjamin T. Montgomery, as justice of the peace • Montgomery may have been the first black to hold political office in Mississippi • Blacks had little experience and little education, they were capable men to did their jobs • Black Mississippians had considerable political power during Reconstruction, but never dominated state politics

32. Black Political Power • Between 1869 and 1881, blacks held a number of seats in Mississippi’s legislature • In 1873, 55 delegates were elected to the state house and 31 to the state senate • John R. Lynch and I.D. Shadd served as speaker of the house • James Lynch and James Hill was elected secretary of State in 1869 and 1873 • 1873 A.K. Davis elected Lieutenant Governor • Thomas W. Cardoza was elected state superintendent of education

33. Black Political Power • John R. Lynch • Began his political career as a justice of the peace in Natchez • Was elected as Mississippi’s only black member of Mississippi’s House of Representatives • Robert H. Wood • Became the first black mayor of a town in America, Natchez • Blanche K. Bruce • Most popular black politician during Reconstruction • Held a number of local and county offices • Sheriff, and was the first black to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate

34. Education • Major accomplishment of Mississippi’s Reconstruction was the establishment of tax supported public schools • Before the war state leaders, and wealthy planters didn’t what to support free schools • As a result only 13% of Mississippi’s white children attended school • No schools for Black or Native American children • During the war education suffered even more • In 1865 the schools run by the Freedman Bureau and private groups were operating • Education was revived in 1868 when the state legislature established free schools in each county • Were under the leadership of an elected state superintendent and county superintendents, appointed by a board of education

35. Education • State legislature gave over 1 million dollars to operate schools • Counties spent another 2 million on construction of school buildings • By 1875 public school enrollment was up to 89,000 blacks and 78,000 whites • Republicans still supported public schools after violence and criticism of school taxes

36. Improvements to higher education • Republican government improvements to higher education • It expanded the University of Mississippi in 1871 • Established Alcorn State College for blacks in Lorman • In 1877 it was changed to Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College • In 1877 Mississippi Agriculture and Mechanical College • Later renamed Mississippi State University • In 1884, Mississippi chartered the Industrial Institute and College • Now it is the Mississippi University for Women • Joined other church sponsored private colleges Whitworth College, Grenada Collegiate Institute, and Hillman College • Church and private groups continued their support for colleges in Mississippi Shaw College (Rust College), in Holly Springs, Jackson State University, Tougaloo College, and Millsaps

37. End of Republican Rule • Conservative Democrats opposed Reconstruction • Objected the presence of Union troops • Accused Republicans with corruption and wasting public funds • Claimed taxes were too high • Resisted public schools especially those for blacks • Said carpetbaggers controlled blacks • White Democrats considered themselves redeemers (white Americans who wanted to return control of state government to native whites) • Wanted to restrict political participation and overturning Republican rule

38. End of Republican Rule • The downfall of the Republican Rule began with three years of violence surrounding the election of 1875 • To endure victory for Democrats, party had to regain loyalty of white Republicans and control black voters • Threats of economic reprisals and physical abuse and the fear of becoming social outcasts in their own states convinced white republicans to join Democratic party • Economic pressure and violence were used to threatened blacks • Employers threatened jobs of black workers if they didn’t vote the way they wanted • Ku Klux Klan used intimidation and violence to prevent blacks from voting or to frighten them into voting for the Democratic candidates

39. Riots in Mississippi • December 1874, whites gathered in Warren County and forced black sheriff Peter Crosby to resign. Blacks came from throughout the county to help Crosby get his job back a riot broke out • 2 whites and 29 Blacks were killed and many more were wounded, order was finally restored by federal troops • Similar violence occurred throughout the state • Charles Caldwell a black Republican was killed in Clinton

40. End of Republican Rule • Without the help of the federal government, the white Democrats’ strategies worked • Democrats won four of the six congressional seats and 62 of the 75 seats in the state legislature • Election of 1876 led to the final blow to Reconstruction • Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden received 184 electoral votes • Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes 165 electoral votes • Congress established a commission to decide who would win, commission gave all votes to Hayes, Congress accepted the decision only after a secret compromise ended a filibuster by Southern Democrats • Democrats agreed to end the filibuster if Hayes agreed to withdraw all troops from the South

41. End of Republican Rule • Republicans continued to have some influence in state politics until 1890 • Removal of federal troops ended the last major obstacle to Democratic control of Mississippi politics • After 1875 violence, intimidation, and voter fraud drastically decreased black voting • 38% of eligible blacks voted in the governor’s election of 1881 • After Reconstruction, Democrats reversed many of the policies and actions of Republicans • Reduced Taxes • Decreased government jobs • Cut funds for public schools

42. Constitution of 1890 • Mid-1880s there was a call for a constitutional convention to replace the constitution of 1868 • Some felt that the state shouldn’t be governed by laws written by blacks and carpetbaggers • Whites from the north wanted a reapportionment of the state to provide fairer representation for the white majority counties • Redrawing the lines of voting districts • Convention meet in Jackson in August 1890 • Only Black was Isaiah T. Montgomery, even with him it didn’t prevent the convention from scheming to eliminate blacks from state politics

43. Constitution of 1890 • Section 12 • Adult males who wanted to vote had to • Register at least four months before an election • Live in the state for two years and in voting district for one year • Pay an annual $2 poll tax, • Read any section of the state constitution or understand it when read to them • Understanding clause added to the constitution as a loophole to allow illiterate whites to register to vote • It’s Your Turn Questions • Page 150

44. Chapter 6 Review • Page 152 • All Terms • All Understanding the Facts