Reconstruction 18631877

1
Reconstruction (1863-1877)
What was Reconstruction? What did Reconstruction
mean in 1863 1877?
2
Basic Question

• Was secession illegal?
• Was the Constitution a compact among peoples of
  different political societies, as peoples of the
  several states?
• Had the colonies as a union thrown off the
  dependence and in turn made the states?
• Members of the Congress (including the 1st and
  2nd Continental Congresses) were present as
  agents of existing political societies and thus
  the political societies of the states existed
  prior to the adoption of either the Articles of
  Confederation or the Constitution.
• No one had ever questioned the right of a state
  to secede prior to the debate concerning the
  secession of the southern states and
  reconstruction.

3
What did Reconstruction Mean?

• Originally it meant simply reunification.
• By the end of the war it had come to mean a
  fundament reconstruction of the South.
• Reconstruct Southern political life
• Reconstruct Southern economic life
• Reconstruct Southern social life

4
Central Questions of Reconstruction

• On what terms should Southern states be
  readmitted?
• Should Congress or the President establish those
  terms?
• What system of labor should replace plantation
  slavery?
• (slavery had been, first and foremost, a system
  of labor)
• What should be the place of blacks in the
  political, economic, and social life of the South
  and the nation?

5
Groups in Conflict

• 1. President v. Congress
• 2. Republicans v. Southern Democrats
• 3. Radical Republicans v. Moderate Republicans
• 4. Blacks v. Whites
• (Blacks were not passive bystanders)
• Each group had their own answers to the questions
  posed by Reconstruction

6
Phases of Reconstruction

• 1. Rehearsal for Reconstruction (1863 - 1865)
• 2. Presidential Reconstruction (1865 - 1867)
• 3. Congressional Reconstruction (1867 - 1877)
• (also known as Radical Reconstruction)

7
Proclamation of Amnesty and ReconstructionThe
Ten Percent Plan (Dec, 1863)

• Full pardon for those who took an oath of
  allegiance
• Restored property (except slaves)
• Prominent military civilian leaders excluded
• Became known as the Ten percent Plan because
• When those taking oath 10 of voters in 1860,
  could establish a new state government
• Reconstructed state governments had to accept
  abolition
• As soon as first two were complied with, states
  could be readmitted

8
The Radical Republican Response

• Wanted tougher stance toward Confederates
• Saw Reconstruction as a chance to fundamentally
  transform Southern society
• Refused to seat new reps from Arkansas
  Louisiana
• Passed Wade-Davis Bill
• Required 50 loyalty oath
• Oath was much stricter than Lincolns (called the
  Ironclad Oath)
• Bill was pocket vetoed by Lincoln - felt it would
  damage his efforts to win over moderates (in both
  camps)

9
End of the Confederacy

• April 9, 1865 - Lee surrenders to Grant in
  Virginia
• April 14, 1865 - Lincoln assassinated in
  Washington DC
• April 26, 1865 - Johnston surrenders to Sherman
  in North Carolina
• May 4, 1865 Taylor surrenders to Canby in
  Alabama
• May 10, 1865 - Davis captured while fleeing to
  Texas
• May 12 13, 1865 Battle at Palmetto Ranch in
  South Texas
• May 26, 1865 Buckner (for Smith) surrenders to
  Canby in Trans-Mississippi
• June 23, 1865 following Winchester Colbert of
  the Chickasaws and P.P. Pitchlynn of the
  Choctaws, Stand Watie of the Cherokees surrenders
  to Matthews in Indian Territory

10
Andrew Johnsons Restoration Plan

• Wanted to restore the Union as quickly as
  possible
• Blamed individuals (specifically planter elite),
  not states for secession
• Spring, 1865 - granted amnesty and pardon to
  Confederates who took loyalty oath and supported
  emancipation
• Confederate officers wealthy landowners had to
  apply for Presidential pardon - freely granted
• States must hold constitutional conventions
• Delegates elected by those who took oath or were
  pardoned (only whites could participate)
• New constitutions must
• a) repudiate secession
• b) Acknowledge abolition
• c) Void state war debts

11
Civil Rights Act of 1866

• 1. Bestowed full citizen ship on
  African-Americans
• 2. Overturned black codes
• 3. Overturned 1857 Dred Scott decision

12
AMENDMENT XIV(Ratified July 9, 1868)

• Defined citizens as ALL natural born or
  naturalized persons.
• Set Congressional Representation based on number
  of citizens.
• Made former Confederates ineligible to hold
  office.
• Made debt caused by suppressing insurrection or
  rebellion legal while those incurred by the
  southern states incurred in aid of insurrection
  or rebellion against the United States illegal
  and void.

13
AMENDMENT XIV(Ratified July 9, 1868)

• Designed to incorporate reconstruction principals
  in Constitution
• Was a specific response to Johnsons policies
• Made passage of amendment part of 1866
  Congressional campaign

14
Doom of Johnsons Plan

• By 1867 Republicans controlled both Houses of
  Congress
• Completely controlled the Northern States
• Were not only prepared but were capable of
  directly challenging the president and seizing
  control of Reconstruction

15
First Reconstruction Act (March, 1867)

• Divided the South into 5 military districts
• Established martial law
• Required new state constitutional conventions
• Elected by universal manhood suffrage
• Had to guarantee voting rights to
  African-Americans
• Had to ratify 14th amendment
• Supporting legislation
• Invalidated provisional governments created under
  Johnsons plan
• Military to conduct voter registration
• Required strict loyalty oath

16
The Impeachment Crisis

• Johnson tries to impede Radical Reconstruction
• February, 1868--Congress impeaches
• Uses Tenure Act as an excuse
• Real cause is differences over Reconstruction
• Senate refuses to convict Johnson
• Radical Republicans seen as subversive of
  Constitution, lose publics support

17
The Election of 1868

• lt Horatio Seymour
• Northern Democrat

Ulysses S. Grant gt Republican
18
Democratic Party Campaign Poster from 1868
19
Early Members of theKu Klux Klan (c. 1866)
20
AMENDMENT XV(Ratified February 3, 1870)

• SECTION 1 The right of citizens of the United
  States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by
  the United States or by any State on account of
  race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

21
A SOUTHERN VIEW OF RECONSTRUCTION
22
Election of 1876

• Rutherford B. Hayes
• Republican

Samuel J. Tilden Democrat
Peter Cooper Greenback
23
Election of 1876

• Contested States
• Florida
• Louisiana
• South Carolina
• Oregon

24
Compromise of 1877

• Democrats agreed that Hayes would be president
• Republicans agreed to allocate more federal money
  for Southern internal improvements
• Republicans agreed that federal government would
  not intervene in Southern affairs
• Republicans agreed to appoint 1 Democrat to
  cabinet