Rebuilding the Union

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Rebuilding the Union
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Reconstruction Begins

• Reconstruction, the process of fringing the
  Confederate states back into the Union, lasted
  from 1865 to 1877.
• Pres. Lincoln wanted Southern states to quickly
  form new govts and he also wanted to pardon
  Confederate officials
• Lincoln set up the Freedmens Bureau, which
  provided schools and hospitals for A.A. . It also
  gave out clothes, food, and fuel

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• When Lincoln was killed in 1865, Vice-President
  Andrew Johnson became President.
• Johnson followed Lincolns goals
• Southern states had to ratify the Thirteenth
  Amendment, which prohibited slavery
• They also had to accept the power of the federal
  govt
• Johnson pardoned white Southerners who pledged
  loyalty to the U.S.

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Rebuilding Brings Conflict

• Some Southern states, however, refused to ratify
  the 13th Amendment and they also passed black
  codes laws that limited the freedom of former
  slaves.
• As a result of what was happening in the South,
  Congress refused to seat representatives from the
  South in 1865.

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• Congress set up a committee to study conditions
  in the South
• A group of Republicans (Radical Republicans ) in
  Congress wanted the federal govt to be active in
  changing Southern politics and society.

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The Civil Rights Act

• With the strong support of the Radical
  Republicans, Congress passed a Civil Rights Act
  in 1866
• It declared that all persons born in the U.S.
  were citizens
• It also stated that all citizens were entitled to
  equal rights regardless of their race
• President Johnson vetoed the bill

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The Fourteenth Amendment

• Congress proposed the 14th Amendment in 1866
• It stated that all people born in the U.S. were
  citizens and had the same rights
• All citizens were to be granted equal
  protection of the law.
• Johnson refused to support the amendment and so
  did every former Confederate state except
  Tennessee.

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• As a result, the two groups agreed to join forces
  and passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867.
• These acts began the period known as Radical
  Reconstruction
• They placed the South under army rule
• They required former Confederate states to ratify
  the 14th Amendment and to grant A.A. males the
  right to vote.

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The New Southern Governments

• In 1867, Southern voters chose delegates to draft
  their new state constitutions.
• About ¾ of the delegates were Republicans.
• Almost half of the Republicans were poor white
  farmers called scalawags, or scoundrels

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• Another ¼ of the Republicans were carpetbaggers
  white Northerners who had rushed to the South
  after the war.
• A.A. made up the rest of the delegates
• The new state constitutions set up public schools
  and gave the vote to all adult males, including
  A.A.

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• By 1870, voters in each former Confederate state
  had approved the constitutions
• As a result, the states were allowed back into
  the Union and to send representatives to
  Congress.

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Johnson Is Impeached

• In 1867, Congress passed the Tenure of Office
  Act, which said that the president could not fire
  Cabinet members without the Senates approval
• Nevertheless, in Feb. 1868, Johnson fired his
  secretary of war

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• As a result, the House of Rep. voted to impeach
  the pres., or formally accuse him of improper
  behavior
• The Senate, however, acquitted Johnson by one
  vote.