3.04 and 3.05
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- The Ku Klux Klan
- Some whites advocated violence against freed blacks -most notorious group to use such tactics -a secretive organization whose members often dressed in hooded white robes -used violence, murder, and threats to intimidate blacks and those who favor giving Afr. Amer. equal rights -practiced lynchings and other acts of violence throughout remainder of 19th and much of 20th century
- Military Reconstruction
- In response to white efforts to undermine Reconstruction, the fed. govt est. military rule over the former confederate states -these military govts sought to make sure each state instituted laws passed by Congress -left a bitter taste in the mouths of most southerners
- Texas v. White
- same year -Supreme Court ruled that the fed. govt had the authority to oversee the reconstructing of sthn. state govts. -decision served to expand the pwrs of the central govt & est. that from then on, the authority of the fed. govt would take precedence over that of the states -as a result, sthn. states could no longer appeal to the 10th Amendment of the Constitution (which states that those rights not delegated to the federal govt are reserved for the states) to claim states right outweigh fed. laws
- Black codes
- After Johnson took office and before Congress could intervene with its own plan for Reconstruction, many Southern states passed black codes- laws to keep African Americans subordinate to whites by restricting the rights of freed slaves Ex- blacks could not meet together after sunset, own weapons, rent property anywhere other than rural areas (this kept them working on plantations) -blacks convicted of vagrancy (not working) could be whipped or sold for a year's labor -basically continued the practice of slavery -Congress ultimately passed the 14th Amendment & the Civil Rights Act of 1866
- The 15th Amendment
- Grant's admin. Also saw this last major piece of Reconstruction legislation; ratified in 1870 - guaranteed that no citizen may be denied the right to vote "by the United States or any other state on the account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude" - great impact in the South by guaranteeing Afr. Amer. the right to vote
- Election of 1876 & the End of Reconstruction
- Because of the bad economy and the many scandals Surrounding Pres. Grant, the Dems. hoped that their Candidate, Samuel Tilden, could win the election -Reps. Nominated governor of Ohio, Rutherford B. Hayes, -Tilden received almost 300,000 more popular votes than Hayes, but the election was contested b/c officials disputed the results in some states -Congress appointed an electoral commission to settle the controversy Compromise of 1877- Dems. Agreed to Hayes being Pres. and Republicans agreed to end Reconstruction -in addition, sthn. states received fed. money, more power to govern themselves, and a promise to withdraw fed. troops -This decision brought an end to Reconstruction and began the era of the Solid South- refers to the fact that, for nearly a century after Reconstruction, sthnrs. remained distrustful of the Rep. Party and "solidly" supported Democratic candidates
- Opposition to 10% Plan
- Radical Republicans, led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner wanted harsher punishment on the South -advocated full citizenship (including right to vote) for all African Americans -favored punishment and harsh terms for the South -passed Wade-Davis Bill in 1864:
- THE PLIGHT OF AFRICAN AMERICANS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR
- 13th Amendment freed the slaves -Now African Americans in the South had to adjust to life after slavery -1865- Congress created The Freedmen's Bureau -1st federal relief agency in US history -served to provide clothing, medical attention, meals, education, and even some land to freed blacks and some poorer whites Pres. Johnson felt the Freedmen's Bureau overstepped fed. pwrs. allowed under the Constitution -he opposed the organization and originally vetoed the act establishing it -lacking strong support, it was disbande in 1869
- Bitterness Grows in the South
- many grew bitter towards Union and those who profited from Reconstruction Carpetbaggers- northerners who had come to the South to do business -many were former Union officers, but others were teachers, ministers, lawyers, etc. -Sthners. Despised them b/c they saw them as taking advantage of Sthn. Suffering for their own economic gain -called "carpet baggers" b/c it was said that they had stuffed some clothes into a carpetbag and rushed south to take money Scalawags- southerners, often Republicans, who supported Reconstruction -Sthn. Newspapers often published their names to make sure that they suffered at the hands of southern citizens and groups like the Ku Klux Klan
- Jim Crow Laws
- With end of Reconstruction, sthn. states began passing these laws- required blacks and whites to use separate public facilities -many states also tried to avoid upholding the 15th Amendment by requiring citizens to pass literacy tests or pay poll taxes in order to vote -since most Afr. Amer. in the South tended to be poor & uneducated, the new laws prevented many of them from voting -in order to keep laws from hindering poor and illiterate whites, some states instituted grandfather clauses- exempted citizens from restrictions on voting they, or their ancestors, had voted in previous elections or served in the conf. military -since these conditions only applied to whites, allowed poor and illiterate whites to vote while excluding Afr. Amers.
- Civil Rights Act of 1866
- created federal guarantees of civil rights and superseded any state laws that limited them Johnson vetoed the act
- ABRAHAM LINCOLN
- Ten Percent Plan "Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction" 1. southern states could set up a new government when 10% of voters took an oath of loyalty to the Union 2. If the state's Constitution abolished slavery and provided education for African-Americans, the state would regain congressional representation 3. grant pardons to former Confederates and considered compensating them for lost property 4. did not guarantee social or political equality for African-Americans
- Wade-Davis Bill
- 1. required that a majority of state's pre-war voters swear loyalty to the Union before restoration could begin 2. demanded African-American equality -Lincoln pocket vetoed the bill and it did not go into effect
- CONGRESS
- Congressional Reconstruction/ Radical Reconstruction Congress overrode Johnson's veto and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 became law 1. 14th Amendment (guaranteed equality under the law for all citizens) 2. Military Reconstruction Act of 1867:divided the 10 southern states that had not been readmitted into 5 military districts governed by former Union generals. -in each state, voters were to elect delegates to write a new Constitution that guaranteed suffrage for African-American men -once the state ratified the 14th Amendment, they could reenter the Union 14th Amendment ratified 1868
- Sharecroppers and tenant farmers
- Afr. Amer. had freedom but had no land or money -In order to survive many turned to sharecropping¬- practice by which a family farmed a portion of a landowner's land in return for housing and a share of the crop -many fell victim to dishonest landowners who subjected them to a subtle form of slavery If a sharecropper was fortunate, he might save enough money to try tenant farming- paid rent to farm the land and owned the crops they grew - not as much at the mercy of white landowners as much as sharecroppers - both systems kept African Americans working white-owned land
- ANDREW JOHNSON
- sympathetic to the south Presidential Reconstruction: 1. pardons and restoration fo land to Confederates who swore allegiance 2. each state had to ratify the 13th Amendment and draft a Constitution that abolished slavery 3. failed to offer African-Americans citizenship
- Johnson's Impeachment
- - Johnson tried to fire Sect. of War Edwin Stanton, who had been appointed by Lincoln, because he was closely tied to Radical Rep. - This violated the Tenure in Office Act, which limited the Pres.'s power to hire & fire govt officials - Led by Rad. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens, Cong. Voted to impeach (charge with wrongdoing in order to remove from office) the pres. of US. - Senate voted to spare Johnson's presidency by just one vote
- The Grant Administration
- Although Johnson had survived impeachment, even his own party would not support him in 1868 -Instead the nation elected Rep. Ulysses S. Grant -Generally viewed as a good person, he was a poor judge of character who surrounded himself with dishonest men -not long before the administration was riddled with corruption EX- Whiskey Ring- a scheme by internal revenue (tax) collectors and whiskey distillers to cheat the govt out of tax money (among those indicted was Grant's own private sect.)
- Issues of Reconstruction
- 1. how to rejoin southern states to the union 2. how to rebuild the southern economy 3. what rights African-Americans will have