Reconstruction Era Begins. Notes and Presentation (50 Slides)

Who has the authority to determine the factors for Southern re-admittance to the Union following the war? How will the nation handle the integration of 4 million freed slaves into society? Transforming modes ...

Who has the authority to determine the factors for Southern re-admittance to the Union following the war? How will the nation handle the integration of 4 million freed slaves into society? Transforming modes of production in the South Agricultural to Industrial Transforming forms of labor in the South Slave labor to free labor Lingering regional and political resentments following a costly and violent Civil War Wartime Reconstruction (1863-65) Presidential Reconstruction (1865-67) Congressional (“Radical”) Reconstruction (1867-76) Releases a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in December of 1863: Early “Radical” Republican Alternatives to Lincoln’s Plan Freedmen’s Bureau President Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Lincoln’s death promotes VP Andrew Johnson Born poor in North Carolina, moved to Tennessee as a young man Presidential Reconstruction: Johnson’s Approach to Reconstruction Reconstruction Amendments Johnson’s Dismissal of the Freedmen’s Bureau Johnson’s Battle with Congress, Grant’s BS, and the Compromise of 1877 Johnson’s leniency towards Southern opposition as well as his betrayal of freedmen Johnson v. Congress: IMPEACHMENT!!! Political compromises and the “end” of Reconstruction Many Southern states refused to accept Johnson’s meek Reconstruction proposals State governments throughout the South begin to adopt “Black Codes” Crippling to black civil rights Denied blacks the right to vote No blacks could qualify for jury duty (therefore no trial by peers) Johnson vs. Congressional Republicans (Prelude to Congressional Reconstruction) Black Codes: The Politics of Fear and the Promotion of Racial Inequality The Start of Congressional (“Radical”) Reconstruction Reconstruction Military Districts (1867) A Union general was placed in charge of each of the five territories to oversee the transition to new, “Radical”-approved state governments Each new state constitution guaranteed male black suffrage With the guaranteed voting power of ex-slaves, and the disenfranchisement of ex-Confederates, Radicals hoped to institute a “permanent revolution” in the South (something former Recon plans had failed to account for previously) Once each new state government had passed their new constitution (and also ratified the 14th amendment), that state could petition Congress for official re-admittance to the Union Military Reconstruction Guidelines Military Recon Act does not re-confiscate and redistribute Southern plantation property to ex-slaves Further entrenches the failure of the first two “Freedmen’s Bureau” acts… So much for “40 acres and a mule” – Repubs decided that if blacks had a legal vote, they could gain the land themselves Johnson countered the Radical agenda in a number of ways: Johnson vs. Radicals: The Buildup to Impeachment Every Republican in the House voted in favor of Johnson’s Impeachment Problems with Radical Reconstruction Radical Reconstruction in the South: Brief Changes in Political Structure Changes in Production: Sharecropping Southern Challenges to Radical Reconstruction The KKK was founded in Tennessee by Confederate veterans including Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1866 Originally a social club of Confederate veterans Evolved into the paramilitary arm of the Southern Democratic Party, responsible for violent reprisals Presidency of US Grant: A Study in Scandals Election of 1876 and the “Great Compromise” of 1877 The Legacy of Reconstruction “This is a White Man’s Government” by Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist. On the left is a “Five Points” Irishman, in the middle is Nathan Bedford Forrest, and on the right is Wall Street Financier and Democrat August Belmont. Standing atop a black Civil War veteran. What does Reconstruction mean? Is it the same throughout the South or does it differ from state to state? What should Reconstruction accomplish? When does the “process” of Reconstruction come to completion? Newspaper Editor Henry Grady coins the phrase “the New South” following 1877, emphasizing INDUSTRIALIZATION based on the Northern model. Also emphasized a partnership with Northern financiers and industrialists.