Chapter 17
Reconstructing the
State
Political Reconstruction
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One of the major issues at the end of the war was how
the Union and the former Confederacy would be
recombined.
Lincoln was willing to pardon almost any rebel
southerner who renounced secession and accepted the
end of slavery.
In 1864, the US Congress offered a plan that would
require at least 50 percent of the former Confederates in
each state would have to take the loyalty oath.
Congress’s plan also contained guarantees of rights for
African Americans. Lincoln did not sign the Wade-Davis
Bill, which outlined Congress’s plan, so it did not become
law.
On April 14, 1865, southerner John Wilkes Booth
entered the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C., where
president and Mrs. Lincoln were watching a play, and
shot the president. He died a few hours later.
Political Reconstruction
• Vice President Andrew Johnson became
President. He moved to ratify the 13th
amendment to the US Constitution. That
amendment made it unconstitutional to be held
in involuntary servitude or in slavery.
• The legislature then passed “Black Codes”, laws
that applied specifically to freedmen. These
codes still denied freedmen the right to serve on
juries, testify against whites, vote or marry a
white person.
Congressional Reconstruction
• Many northerners believed that the Black
Codes were a way to still have slavery and
were offended by it.
• Congress passed a Civil Rights act in 1866,
guaranteeing rights to the freedmen. That
summer Congress passed the 14th
amendment, making anyone born or
naturalized in the US a citizen of the country
with certain citizenship guarantees.
The Constitutional Convention of 1867
• There was a vote for whether to have the Convention.
Voters agreed to the convention.
• Conservative whites were called carpetbaggers and the
southern whites who became republicans were scalawags.
• The new state constitution the delegates wrote was a
progressive one. One of the most important features was
the requirement that the GA legislature establish a system
of free public schools for all of GA’s children, black and
white.
• It also guaranteed African American men the right to vote
and allowed married women to control their own property.
African American Legislators
• GA’s voters approved the new constitution
and elected African Americans to both houses
of the General Assembly.
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
• The terrorist organization KKK came to GA.
• Founded by former Confederate General
Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Klan became an
organization that tried to frighten those it
considered enemies—carpetbaggers,
scalawags and African Americans.
• They would pick a target and use intimidation
and violent acts to try and defeat the
Republican party, maintain white control, and
control African Americans both in their work
and their personal lives.
• The Klan saw themselves as keeping African
Americans in their place.
Military Reconstruction Again
• Due to all the violence, the US government
reestablished military rule in GA.
• GA was pressured to ratify the 15th
amendment which guaranteed that no one
could be denied the right to vote because of
race or color.
The End of Reconstruction
• The remaining US troops left the south,
ending Reconstruction. The south once again
controlled its own politics.
Questions for Your Chapter 17 Graded
Question Sheet
•
Write on loose-leaf paper to be turned in
(see syllabus for due date)
1) One of the major issues at the end of
the war was how the Union and the
former Confederacy would be
__________.
2) Lincoln was willing to pardon almost any
rebel southerner who renounced ________
and accepted the end of slavery.
involuntary servitude or in slavery.
5) Many northerners believed that the
___________ were a way to still have slavery
and were offended by it.
6) Conservative whites were called
__________and the southern whites
who became republicans were
scalawags.
3) On April 14, 1865, southerner
______________ entered the Ford Theatre 7) GA was pressured to ratify the
in Washington, D.C., where president and
___________which guaranteed that no
Mrs. Lincoln were watching a play, and shot
one could be denied the right to vote
the president. He died a few hours later.
because of race or color.
4) Vice President Andrew Johnson became
President. He moved to ratify the
____________to the US Constitution.
That amendment made it
unconstitutional to be held in
8) The remaining US troops left the south,
ending ___________. The south once
again controlled its own politics.
Economic and Social Reconstruction
• The south’s economy was in shambles at the
end of the war.
• Most white southerners and many white
northerners did not believe that blacks and
whites were equal. Most white southerners
hoped to maintain white supremacy (white
control of government and society based on
the belief that the white race is superior to
any other race.)
The Freedmen’s Bureau
• This agency provided help to the ex-slaves as they
adjusted to their freedom and the responsibility
of providing all the necessities of life for
themselves.
• They also set rules for written contracts and wage
scales and provided hospitals for African
Americans.
• The Bureau also helped bring literacy and
education to those who had been legally denied
those benefits before the Civil War.
Agriculture
• Georgians went back to planting what they knew,
corn for food and cotton for cash.
• Plantation owners still had their land, but they
needed workers. Most freedmen had no land but
knew how to grow the crops. The two groups
needed each other.
• Another system began to emerge, tenant farming.
The tenants usually owned some agricultural
equipment and farm animals, such as mules. They
might also buy their own seed and fertilizer.
Sometimes the tenant paid a fixed amount of rent
for the use of the owner’s land.
• Some tenants paid the landowner a share of the
crop. This system was known as sharecropping.
Commerce, Industry and
Transportation
• Blacksmiths, carpenters, bakers and other
entrepreneurs supported themselves. African American
women found jobs as seamstresses and laundresses.
• Former men and women house slaves worked as paid
butlers, cooks, housekeepers, gardeners, and
coachmen.
• By 1872, the railroads had been repaired and over
seven hundred additional miles of track had been laid.
Religion Education and Culture
• Southerners who were Methodists, Baptists and
Presbyterians stayed in their separate churches after the
war.
• Churches became the first to segregate as African
Americans broke away to establish churches of their own.
• The public school system began to function after
Reconstruction. The system provided a primary education
only and had a three month school year. Those who wanted
secondary or high schools had to attend private schools.
An Evaluation of Reconstruction
• In many ways Reconstruction was a failure. In
1877, southern states were once again controlled
mainly by elite whites.
• The gains African Americans had briefly made in
voting and holding elected office were
undermined by the violence of groups like the
KKK.
• On the good side, former slaves were freed and
had churches and were able to access education.
• Segregation and equality would still be an issue
for years to come.
Questions for Your Chapter 17 Graded
Question Sheet
•
Write on loose-leaf paper to be turned in 5) Former men and women house slaves
(see syllabus for due date)
worked as paid butlers, cooks,
housekeepers, gardeners, and __________.
1) Most white southerners hoped to
maintain ___________(white control of
government and society based on the 6) By _____, the railroads had been repaired
belief that the white race is superior to
and over seven hundred additional miles
any other race.)
of track had been laid.
2) The Bureau also helped bring _______and
education to those who had been legally
public school system began to
denied those benefits before the Civil War. 7) The
function after Reconstruction. The
system provided a _______education
3) Georgians went back to planting what
only and had a three month school year.
they knew, _______for food and cotton for
Those who wanted secondary or high
cash.
schools had to attend private schools.
4) Some tenants paid the landowner a share 8) The gains African Americans had briefly
of the crop. This system was known as
made in voting and holding elected
______________.
office were undermined by the violence
of groups like the ________.