A.P.
U.S. History Notes
Chapter 22: “The Ordeal of Reconstruction”
~
1865 – 1877 ~
I.
The
Problems of Peace
1.
After
the war, there were many questions over what to do with the free Blacks, how to
reintegrate the Southern states into the Union, what to do with Jefferson
Davis, and who would be in charge of Reconstruction.
2.
The
Southern way of life was ruined, as crops and farms were destroyed, the slaves
were now free, and the cities were bombed out, but still, some Southerners
remained defiant.
II.
Freedmen
Define Freedom
1.
At
first, the freed Blacks faced a confusing situation, as many slave owners
re-enslaved their slaves over and over again after Union troops left.
i.
Other
planters resisted emancipation through legal means, citing that emancipation
wasn’t valid until local or state courts declared it.
ii.
Some
slaves loyally stuck to their owners while others let out their pen-up
bitterness in their freedom, pillaging their former masters’ land, property,
and even whipping them.
2.
Eventually,
even resisting plantation owners had to give up their slaves, and afterwards
tens of thousands of Blacks took to the roads to find new work or look for lost
loved ones.
3.
The
church became to the focus of the Black community life in the years following
the war.
4.
Emancipation
also meant education for Blacks, but despite all the gains Blacks made, they
still faced severe discrimination and would have to wait a century before
attaining their rights.
III.
The
Freedman’s Bureau
1.
In
order to train the unskilled and unlettered freed Blacks, the Freedman’s
Bureau was set up on March 3, 1865; Union General Oliver O. Howard
headed it.
2.
The
bureau taught about 200,000 Blacks how to read, since most former slaves wanted
to narrow the literary gap between them and Whites and also read the word of
God.
3.
However,
it wasn’t as effective as it could have been, as evidenced by the further
discrimination of Blacks, and it expired in 1872 after much criticism by racist
Whites.
IV.
Johnson:
The Tailor President
1.
Andrew Johnson came from very poor and humble beginnings, and he served in Congress
for many years (he was the only Confederate Congressman not to leave Congress
when the rest of the South seceded).
2.
Feared
for his reputation of having a short temper and being a great fighter, but he
was a dogmatic champion of states’ rights and the Constitution, and he was a
Tennessean who never earned the trust of the North and never regained the
confidence of the South.
V.
Presidential
Reconstruction
1.
Since
Abraham Lincoln believed that the South had never legally withdrawn from
the Union, restoration was to be relatively simple: the southern states could
be reintegrated into the Union if and when they had 10% of its voters pledge an
oath to the Union and also acknowledge the emancipation of the slaves; it was
called the Ten Percent Plan.
2.
The
Radical Republicans feared that such a lenient plan would allow the
Southerners to re-enslave the newly freed Blacks again, so they rammed the Wade-Davis
Bill, a bill that required 50% of the states’ voters to take oaths of
allegiance and demanded stronger safeguards for emancipation than the 10% Plan,
through Congress.
i.
However,
Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill by letting it expire, and the 10% Plan stayed.
3.
It
became clear that there were now two types of Republicans: the moderates, who
shared the same views as Lincoln and the radicals, who believed the South
should be harshly punished.
4.
When
Andrew Johnson took power, the radicals thought that he would do what they
wanted, but he soon proved them wrong by basically taking Lincoln’s policy and
issuing his own Reconstruction proclamation: certain leading Confederates were
disfranchised, the Confederate debt was repudiated, and states had to ratify
the 13th Amendment.
VI.
The
Baleful Black Codes
1.
In
order to control the freed Blacks, many Southern states passed Black Codes,
laws aimed at keeping the Black population in submission; some were harsh,
others were not as harsh.
i.
Blacks
who “jumped” their labor contracts, or walked off their jobs, were subject to
penalties and fines, and their wages were generally kept very low.
ii.
The
codes forbade Blacks from serving on a jury and some even barred Blacks from
renting or leasing land, and Blacks could be punished for “idleness” by being
subjected to working on a chain gang.
2.
Making
a mockery out of the newly won freedom of the Blacks, the Black Codes made many
abolitionists wonder if the price of the Civil War was worth it, since Blacks
were hardly better after the war than before the war.
VII.
Congressional
Reconstruction
1.
In
December, 1865, when many of the Southern states came to be reintegrated into
the Union, among them were former Confederates and Democrats, and most
Republicans were disgusted to see their former enemies on hand to reclaim seats
in Congress.
2.
During
the war, without the Democrats, the Republicans had passed legislation that had
favored the North, such as the Morrill Tariff, the Pacific Railroad
Act, and the Homestead Act, so now, many Republicans didn’t want to
give the power that they had gained in the war.
3.
Northerners
now realized that the South would be stronger politically than before, since
now, Blacks counted for a whole person instead of just 3/5 of one, and
Republicans also feared that the Northern and Southern Democrats would join and
take over Congress and the White House and institute their Black Codes over the
nation, defeating all that the Civil War gained.
4.
On
December 6, 1865, President Johnson declared that the South had satisfied all
of the conditions needed, and that the Union was now restored.
VIII.
Johnson
Clashes with Congress
1.
Johnson
repeatedly vetoed Republican-passed bills, such as a bill extending the life of
the Freedman’s Bureau, and he also vetoed the Civil Rights Bill, which
conferred on blacks the privilege of American citizenship and struck at the
Black Codes.
2.
As
Republicans gained control of Congress, they overrode Johnson’s vetoes by
passing the bills over his veto through a 2/3 majority.
3.
In
the 14th Amendment, the Republicans sought to instill the
same ideas of the Civil Rights Bill: (1) All Blacks were American citizens, (2)
If a state denied citizenship to Blacks, then it’s representatives in the
Electoral College were lowered, (3) Former Confederates could not hold federal
or state office, and (4) The federal debt was guaranteed while the Confederate
one was repudiated.
4.
The
radicals were disappointed that Blacks weren’t given the right to vote, but all
Republicans agreed that states wouldn’t be accepted back into the Union unless
they ratified the 14th Amendment.
IX.
Swinging
‘Round the Circle with Johnson
1.
In
1866, Republicans would not allow Reconstruction to be carried on without the
14th Amendment, and as election time approached, Johnson wanted to
lower the amount of Republicans in Congress, so he began a series of ‘Round the
Circle speeches.
2.
However,
as he was heckled by the audience, he hurled back insults, gave “give ‘em hell”
speeches, and generally denounced the radicals, and in the process, he gave
Republicans more men in Congress than they had before—the opposite of his
original intention.
X.
Republican
Principles and Programs
1.
Now,
the Republicans had a veto-proof Congress and nearly unlimited control over
Reconstruction, but moderates and radicals still couldn’t agree.
i.
In
the Senate, the leader of the radicals was Charles Sumner, long since
recovered from his caning, and in the House, the radical leader was Thaddeus
Stevens, an old, sour man who was an unswerving friend of the Blacks.
2.
The
radicals wanted to keep the South out of the Union as long as possible and
totally change its economy, and the moderates a quicker Reconstruction, and
what happened was a compromise between the two extremes.
XI.
Reconstruction
by Sword
1.
The
Reconstruction Act of March 2, 1867 divided the South into five military
zones, temporarily disfranchised tens of thousands of former Confederates, and
laid down new guidelines for the readmission of states (Johnson had announced
the Union restored, but Congress had not yet formally agreed on this).
i.
All
states had to approve the 14th Amendment, making all Blacks
citizens.
ii.
All
states had to guarantee full suffrage of all male former slaves.
2.
The
15th Amendment, passed by Congress in 1869, gave Blacks their
right to vote.
3.
In
the case Ex parte Milligan (1866), the Supreme Court ruled that military
tribunals could not try civilians, even during wartime, if there were civil
courts available.
4.
By
1870, all of the states had complied with the standards of Reconstruction, and
in 1877, the last of the states were given their home rule back, and
Reconstruction ended.
XII.
No
Women Voters
1.
Women
suffrage advocates were disappointed by the 13th, 14th,
and 15th Amendments, since they didn’t give women full suffrage.
i.
After
all, women had gathered petitions and had helped Blacks gain their rights.
ii.
Frederick
Douglass believed in the women’s movement but believed that it was now “the
Negro’s hour.”
2.
As
a result, women advocates like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B.
Anthony campaigned against the 14th and 15th
Amendments—Amendments that inserted the word male into the Constitution
for the first time ever.
XIII.
The
Realities of Radical Reconstruction in the South
1.
Blacks
began to organize politically, and their main vehicle was the Union League.
i.
It
became a network of political clubs that educated members in their civic duties
and campaigned for Republican
candidates, and later even built Black churches and schools, represented Black
grievances, and recruited militias to protect Blacks.
2.
Black
women attended the parades and rallies of Black communities.
3.
Black
men also began to hold political offices, as men like Hiram Revels and Blanche
K. Bruce served in Congress (they represented Mississippi).
4.
Southern
Whites hated seeing their former slaves now ranking above them, and they also
hated “scalawags,” Southerners who were accused of plundering Southern
treasuries and selling out the Southerners, and “carpetbaggers,”
Northerners accused of sleazily seeking power and profit in a now-desolate
South.
5.
Note
that Southern governments were somewhat corrupted during these times.
XIV.
The
Ku Klux Klan
1.
Extremely
racist Whites who hated the Blacks founded the “Invisible Empire of the South,”
or Ku Klux Klan, in Tennessee in 1866—an organization that scared Blacks
into not voting or not seeking jobs, etc… and often resorted to violence
against the Blacks in addition to terror.
2.
This
illegal group undermined much of what abolitionists sought to do.
XV.
Johnson
Walks the Impeachment Plank
1.
Radicals
were angry with President Johnson, and they decided to try to get rid of him.
2.
In
1867, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, which provided that the
president had to secure the consent of the Senate before removing his
appointees once they had been approved by the Senate (one reason was to keep Edwin
M. Stanton, a Republican spy, in office).
3.
However,
when Johnson dismissed Stanton early in 1868, the Republicans impeached him.
XVI.
A
Not-Guilty Verdict for Johnson
1.
Johnson
was not allowed to testify by his lawyers, who argued that the Tenure of Office
Act was unconstitutional and Johnson was acting under the Constitution, not the
law.
2.
On
May 16, 1868, Johnson was acquitted of all charges by a single vote, as seven
Republican senators with consciences voted “not-guilty” (interestingly, those
seven never secured a political office against afterwards).
3.
Die-hard
radicals were infuriated by the acquittal, but many politicians feared
establishing a precedence of removing the president through impeachment.
XVII.
The
Purchase of Alaska
1.
In
1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward bought Alaska from Russia to
the United States for $7.2 million, but most of the public jeered his act as
“Seward’s Folly.”
i.
Only
later, when oil and gold were discovered, did Alaska prove to be a huge
bargain.
XVIII.
The
Heritage of Reconstruction
1.
Many
Southerners regarded Reconstruction as worse than the war itself, as they
resented the upending of their social and racial system.
2.
The
Republicans, though with good intentions, failed to improve the South, and the
fate of Blacks would remain bad for almost another century before the Civil
Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s secured Black privileges.
