Presidential Reconstruction
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=444
General Information
Source:
NBC News
Resource Type:
Creator:
N/A
Copyright:
Event Date:
Air/Publish Date:
1865 - 1866
01/12/2007
Copyright Date:
Clip Length
Video MiniDocumentary
NBCUniversal Media,
LLC.
2007
00:02:30
Description
Abraham Lincoln's successor, Vice President Andrew Johnson, was an immediate disappointment to
Lincoln supporters who wanted to protect the rights of newly freed blacks.
Keywords
Presidential Reconstruction, Andrew Johnson, Congressional Reconstruction, Abraham Lincoln, Radical
Reconstruction, Reconstruction, Confederates, Planter Aristocracy, Former Slaveholders, Black Codes,
Radical Republicans, Blacks, Civil Rights, Poor Southerners, Racism
Citation
MLA
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 1 of 3
"Presidential Reconstruction." NBC News. NBCUniversal Media. 12 Jan. 2007. NBC Learn. Web. 24
March 2015
APA
2007, January 12. Presidential Reconstruction. [Television series episode]. NBC News. Retrieved from
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=444
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
"Presidential Reconstruction" NBC News, New York, NY: NBC Universal, 01/12/2007. Accessed Tue
Mar 24 2015 from NBC Learn: https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=444
Transcript
Presidential Reconstruction
NARRATOR: On April 15th, 1865, Vice President Andrew Johnson stepped into the very large shoes of
Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated. Johnson quickly distinguished himself from his predecessor.
Professor ERIC FONER (Columbia University): He was stubborn, deeply racist, inflexible, had no real
sense of public opinion, public sentiment, and no real interest in the status of African-Americans once
they had become free. So, basically, Johnson implements a plan of reconstruction, which puts control of
the southern states back into the hands of the white population.
NARRATOR: To the dismay of Lincoln’s supporters, Johnson’s plan allowed the South to keep the same
people in power who had ruled their state governments during the Civil War. It also included the return of
property seized in the war to Southern landowners. Those Southern states that pledged a loyalty oath were
allowed to rejoin the Union. Originally a poor Southerner himself, Johnson wanted to empower other poor
Southerners.
FONER: Johnson thinks that loyal, poor whites are gonna take over in the South like him. He was from
Tennessee, he wasn't a Northerner. He had been military governor of Tennessee. He was a poor white,
originally. He didn't like the plantation owners. He eventually comes to accept the end of slavery, but he's
deeply racist. He's mostly fighting the planters, who he hated all the way through his career.
NARRATOR: He might have intended to punish the planter aristocracy and landowners, but Johnson’s
plan ended up restoring much of their power.
FONER: The planters and the old Confederates basically get back into control of the Southern
governments under Johnson's plan. And, they pass laws, the so-called "Black Codes," meant to force the
emancipated slaves back to work on the plantations in a condition not all that different from slavery. They
give them almost no rights whatsoever. And this leads to a tremendous reaction in the North against
Johnson's plan. Because they say, "Look, we may not totally believe in Black equality. But, we fought a
war. We're not gonna let them be put back into slavery now."
NARRATOR: Johnson’s refusal to protect the rights of newly freed blacks infuriated the moderates and
radicals of the Republican Party. When the Republicans gained the majority of both houses in 1866, they
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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had renewed vigor to secure the rights of blacks, the movement would be called “Radical
Reconstruction.”
© 2008-2015 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Page 3 of 3