Reconstruction (1865 - 1877)
I.
New Amendments
Amendment: change to the Constitution.
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13th Amendment – Bans slavery in the United States and any of its territories.
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14th Amendment: Grants citizenship to all persons born in the U.S. and guarantees them equal
protection under the law.
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15th Amendment: Ensures all citizens the right to vote regardless of race or color or previous
condition of servitude.
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Radical Republicans believed the South should be forced with an army to ratify the 14th and
15th amendments.
II.
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Other Reconstruction Policies and Laws
Policies were harsh and created problems in the South.
Reconstruction attempted to give rights and freedom to freedmen.
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Southern military leaders could not hold office.
African Americans could hold public office.
Northern soldiers supervised the South.
Military Reconstruction Act: divided the South into military
districts. Northern soldiers were sent to enforce Reconstruction
policies.
Freedmen’s Bureau
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Created during Reconstruction.
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The country’s 1st federal relief agency.
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Established to aid former enslaved African Americans from the South.
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Gave out meals, medical supplies, and clothing.
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Set up schools for African Americans.
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Educated more than 250,000.
Civil Rights Act of 1866:
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III.
African Americans gained equal rights.
Authorized the use of federal troops for its enforcement.
Life in the South
Carpetbaggers:
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Northerners who moved to post war South to profit (make
money) from the South
Name was given because of cheap suitcase made of carpet
Southern resented Northern “carpetbaggers” who took
advantage of the South during Reconstruction.
Scalawags:
 White Southern Republicans

To be a southern republican was seen as being a traitor to the South
Black Codes: As freedmen gained their freedom and some rights, Southern states started
Black Codes to restrict black rights
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Black Codes limited the economic and physical freedoms of former slaves
Curfews (could not go out after sunset)
Vagrancy (those convicted of not working were fined for years work)
Land restrictions (could only rent homes in rural areas)
Sharecropping:
 A farming system where white planters rented individual pieces of land to freedmen in return
for a large portion of crops.
 Limited freedmen’s economic freedom.