Reconstruction and the New
South
Chapter 15
Ryan Lafler
General Information
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How to do Well In This Tutorial For
The Test
• Ask “What effect did this have on society? Why was this
important?”- Know the Big Picture (Main Themes of the
Chapters)
• Identify and focus on the major themes
• Ask Questions, participate in the discussion
• Take Notes During This Tutorial*
• Understand important vocabulary and make connections to
the cause and effect of events
• Make connections between primary source documents and
your historical knowledge
• Glance over the textbook at home
Addressing The Main Themes
1) What Effects did Reconstruction have on society for African
Americans…what did Reconstruction enable blacks to do?
2) Understand the measures taken by Radical Republicans in
Congress to address the issue of African Americans and the
readmission of former Confederate States to the Union
3) What actions did the South take to undermine the position
of free African Americans?
4) Why was Reconstruction abandoned- how did African
Americans live within the “New South”?
5) Understand that by 1870, many Radical Republicans
transitioned to siding with Democrats…know why?
6) Understand the Presidential Administrations of Lincoln,
Johnson, and Grant and their views/policies
Key Points of the Chapter
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Reconstruction was viewed differently between Northerners and
Southerners: Northerners defended it as a way preventing restoration of
Antebellum Southern Society without federal troop intervention, while
Southerners viewed it as revenge inflicted upon them by the “destructive”
North
Reconstruction was a small, important first step in the effort by former
slaves to secure property rights, civil rights, and economic power
Reconstruction came to an end in 1876 (with Election of Rutherford B.
Hayes) because of a lack of political will to fight for it in the North, as
well as organized (and sometimes violent resistance) to fight
Reconstruction by the South
Reconstruction helped African Americans create institutions and legal
precedents that they carried with them into the 20th century which
became basis for later efforts to win freedom and equality
Events Immediately After the Civil
War
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620,000 soldiers died within the Civil War- 258,000 Southerners (20% of white
adult male population) died and lost the War which spurs the “Lost Cause” and
the romantization of the Antebellum “Old South”
4 Million Southern black men and women emerged out of bondage- many
freedmen unemployed and actively roaming from town to town to search for their
relatives and for job opportunities
North was split on how to deal with former Confederate States- some Northern
Radical Republicans wanted disenfranchisement of Southern whites and giving
suffrage to all former slaves, while Conservatives wanted quick readmission of
states back into Union
Reconstruction was implemented, Lincoln sides with Moderates (Republicans
who were uncommitted to either Conservative or Radical views) and
Conservatives in the Republican Party to quickly readmit Southern states back
into the Union
Nation was faced with differing views of Freedom (Southern VS African American
views on freedom)
Lincoln the Leader
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Lincoln was faced with reintegrating a newly-freed black population with a rebellious
Southern population
Lincoln offers 10% Plan (which sides with Conservatives in Republican Party)
– Granted amnesty to white Southerners who pledged allegiance to Union; when
10% of voters undertook the oath, the state was allowed to reestablish its
government
– Lincoln was able to “kick the slavery can down the road” by not determining fate of
freedmen within U.S. and instead chose rapid reunification
Radical Republicans in Congress surprised by Lincoln’s Conservative stance on
Reconstruction and propose the Wade-Davis Bill
– Majority of white males in Southern states had to pledge allegiance to Union (unlike
Lincoln’s 10%) and swear an “Ironclad Oath” to never seceded from U.S. ever again
– Wade-Davis Bill was pocket-vetoed by Lincoln (angered Radical Republcans)
Assassination of Lincoln happens on April 14th, 1865 causing militant Republicans to
blame a Southern Conspiracy for his death: effectively ending Lincoln’s quick
Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson become President, and was hostile to freed slaves and vetoed any
plans to give them civil equality and enfrachisement
Johnson’s “Restoration”
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Johnson’s Reconstruction (“Restoration”) consisted of his wanting of planter
aristocrats “bowing before him” and he proposed measures similar to WadeDavis Bill
Johnson vetoed expanding the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Civil Rights Act
(declared blacks as citizens of United States and gave federal govt. power to
intervene in state affairs to protect rights of citizens), but Congress overrode
Johnson’s vetoes on both bills
Radical Republican controlled Congress looked for a way to impeach Johnson, so
they passed the Tenure of Office Act (president could not remove public officers
from their positions) and Command of the Army Act (Johnson had to issue orders
through General- could NOT directly control the army)
– Radical Republicans seized opportunity to pounce on Johnson when he removed
Stanton from Secretary of War position- breach of Tenure of Office Act
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Radical Republicans in Congress impeached Johnson, but Johnson was acquitted
and he was not removed from the presidency
Congress Takes Charge
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Known as “Congressional Reconstruction” or “Radical” Reconstruction
Black Codes were heavily emerging throughout the South and Republican-controlled
Congress passed Civil Rights Act and expansion of Freedmen’s Bureau to diminish the
power of the Black Codes
Radical Republican-controlled Congress passed 3 Reconstruction Bills (Johnson vetoed
them but was overruled on all 3 bills) that combined former Confederate states into 5
military districts to be administered by military commanders until voters were
registered and prepared new state constitutions (had to include provisions for black
suffrage)
– These provisions happened after the Race Riots (in Memphis and New Orleans
during 1866)
– State legislature had to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment as well as allow black
suffrage to gain readmission to the U.S.
– State legislatures also had to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment (government could
not deny suffrage to any citizen)
Congress tried to removed Johnson from office, but they fails and Republicans
nominate Grant in Election 1868
*All of this occurred under Johnson’s Presidency- Power was truly held in hands
of Congress
Congress Takes Charge (Cont.)
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After the passing of the 14th and 15th Amendments, blacks register to be voters,
declare themselves Republican, and elect black politicians to state legislatures
(blacks still had small amount of representation in comparison to their large
population)
Radical Republicans also take steps to limit the power of the Supreme Court
through preventing the Supreme Court from having any authority within
Reconstruction governments in South, and could not overrule Congress without a
2/3rds vote
The “New South” and African
Americans
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African Americans organize “colored conventions” (what Southern whites called
them) and elected black politicians to state legislatures (white Southerners feared
“Negro Rule”)
Reconstruction led to new debts that had been unheard of in states (because of
all the new federal programs), and once Reconstruction ended, corruption and
debts within state governments continued to increase
Segregation within education occurred within the “New South”- Freedmen’s
Bureau schools were open to both blacks and whites, but rarely did any whites
attend these schools
Most blacks were relegated as tenants following the system of “Sharecropping”
(since land was kept out of possession of blacks, many blacks just worked for lowwages cultivating landlord’s crops as tenants or grew their own crops where
landlord took share of profit): sharecropping took place of former plantations
The “Sharecropping” System
The “Sharecropping” System
“Carpet Baggers” and “Scalawags”
The Grant Presidency
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Grant entered White House with no political experience and ushered in the Era of
“Grantism” which favored the “Spoils System” for those who supported him
By 1872, Liberal Republicans (and Democrats) offered Horace Greeley to go up
against Grant- effort to remove Grant from office was unsuccessful and Grant
won huge amount of Electoral Votes and majority of Popular Vote
Corruption and scandals plagued Grant Administration (Credit Mobilier offered
stock to their construction company after bilking Union Pacific to Congressman
who became part of Grant’s administration)
Panic of 1873 occurs… America undergoes a huge economic Depression and the
Greenback Question emerges
–Greenbackers advocated for ¨soft currency¨ and inflating the market (which
would allow for an adjustment of wages and prices and boost economic
growth by stimulating markets)
–Grant and Republicans want ¨hard currency¨ and they attempt to crush the
Greenback Movement by passing the Specie Resumption Act which allowed
for bonds to be redeemed with new certificates pegged to the price of gold
The Abandonment of
Reconstruction
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By 1872, all but a handful of Southern whites had gained back their suffrage, and
saw that they “redeem” their states by undermining Republican blacks
– Ku Klux Klan formed to intimidate and prevent blacks from participating in
Elections and discouraging black political power (many White Southerners saw
paramilitary organizations such as the Klan as “patriotic”)
Congress passed 2 Enforcement Acts (a.k.a. the Ku Klux Klan Acts) which
authorized President to use military to protect civil rights and suspend habeas
corpus
– President Grant used these powers to declare South Carolina a “state of
lawlessness” and sent in federal troops to occupy and arrest Klan members
Radical Republicans abandoned their formerly supportive positions of African
Americans and began calling themselves Liberals after Fifteenth Amendment
was passed (believed that since blacks had right to vote, their campaign was over)
North embraced Theory of Social Darwinism (the strong survive, the weak die
out) and believed unemployed whites in North and blacks in South were misfits
to society and suspended many federal programs that supported these people
Here Comes the Compromise
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Election of 1876 saw Republicans nominate Union officer and governor
Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrats nominate New York Governor Samuel J.
Tilden
– Tilden carried large areas of the South and several Northern states
– Tilden was suspected to be the president (Democrat victory), until electoral
votes in Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina (20 E.V.) were disputed
– Decision went to Congress- Special Committee was formed that included 5
Senators, 5 representatives, and 5 Supreme Court Justices
– Court Delegation included 2 Democrats, 2 Republicans, and 1 Independent
(who had a tendency to lean to the Republicans)
– Special Joint Committee went straight along party lines (8:7) votes for Hayes
as President- Congress accepts this proposal
– Democratic senators threaten a filibuster (long speech to halt a vote in
Congress) so Democrats and Republicans meet and form the Compromise of
1877
Here Comes the Compromise
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Southerners (Democrats) dropped their Doctrine of States´ Rights in favor of
federal aid to kickstart economic growth within the South (remeber, South wants
to industrialize)
– Compromise included provisions for Hayes to have at least 1 Southerner
in his Cabinet, provide generous internal improvements for the South, and
provide federal aid for Texas and Pacific Railroad
– Compromise would also remove Federal troops from the South...also
removed Republican Reconstruction Governments in each Souther State
•Hayes referred to as ¨HIs Fraudulency¨ in the South- Hayes attempted to
counter this image but it was too late to silence his critics (he even promised one
term as president, but that didn silence critics)
The Legacy of the “New South”
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By 1877, almost the entire Southern state governments had been “redeemed” by
Democrat politicians (known as “Redeemers” by supporters, “Bourbons” by
critics)- “Redeemers” combined a commitment to “home rule” and “social
conservatism” (hold on to traditions) to fuel economic development
Bourbon governments proclaimed that Reconstruction “Regimes” were corrupt
and severely cut programs and services enacted by Republican-controlled govts.
Henry Grady proclaimed that the “New South” had to “out-Yankee the Yankees”
and industrialize (South created factories in textile manufacturing, tobaccoprocessing, and iron/steel industries)
Economic growth of the “New South” spurred need for equal transportation
railroad systems (expanded widths of tracks) to the North and created necessity
of a recruit-able labor force (which was mostly filled by women working in mill
factories)-wages were low and work hours were extremely long
– Southerners did not offer many employment opportunities for African
Americans, and those who were employed had to work brutal jobs for the
lowest-paying jobs
The Legacy of the ¨New South¨
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¨New South Creed¨ did not only belong to whites, some blacks managed to
elevate themselves to the middle class and establish businesses or enter
professions
Most middle class blacks made more modest gains by becoming lawyers, doctors,
nurses, or teachers serving members of their own race
Booker T. Washington urged other blacks to work for economic equality NOT civil
equality
– Atlanta Compromise proposed by Booker T. Washington that stated
blacks should attend schools and get well-rounded education to demonstrate
that they were prepared for rights of citizenship
Reconstruction and the New
South
Chapter 15
Ryan Lafler