Reconstruction
How did the assassination of Abraham Lincoln affect Reconstruction?
At the end of the Civil War two very different plans for reconstructing the nation
were offered. Had Lincoln lived perhaps history would have different. The
assassination of Lincoln, however, left the vulnerable Andrew Johnson, a
Southerner and former slave owner with no college education, President. Could
he live up to Lincoln's ideals? Would he be allowed the opportunity? That is the
question.
After the Civil War congress was controlled by a group called the "Radical
Republicans." Lincoln was able to control them and had proposed a plan for
reconstruction that looked to treating the South more like a lost brother returning
home. Lincoln looked to reconstruction as a time of healing. The Radical
Republicans, however, looked at reconstruction as an opportunity to teach the
South a lesson and to punish them. In 1866 Congress passed the Wade-Davis
Bill which called for rather draconian Reconstruction measures. Lincoln vetoed
the bill but the debate raged.
Lincoln would have been able to control the Radical Republicans; at least that is
the conventional wisdom. Lincoln's death, however, left a void in leadership. The
new President, Andrew Johnson, was a southerner. As you can imagine this
bitter irony was not lost on the Radical Republicans who hated him even before
he was President. Johnson proposed a plan similar to Lincoln's. Suffice it to say,
congress was not amused. The relationship between Lincoln and Congress
soured quickly.
Immediately following the Civil War, Southern states passed numerous laws
restricting the rights of Blacks. They were known as the "Black codes".
Mississippi, for example, barred interracial marriages. The punishment for such
an act was death. Another code restricted the area in which Blacks could live. For
example, Blacks could not own or rent land outside of an incorporated town. The
purpose of this code was to undermine the efforts of the federal government in
giving forty acres of land to former slaves. Many large plantations in the South
were confiscated or abandoned. Much of this land was parceled out to slaves in
forty acre allotments.
These actions by Southern states angered congress. Led by the "Radical
Republicans", congress passed sweeping legislation during the Reconstruction
years. Congressmen Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens led the fight and
first passed an act to establish the Freedmen's Bureau. Its purpose was to
provide education and training for Blacks in their transition from slavery to
freedom. Despite the best efforts of President Andrew Johnson to stop all
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legislation assisting Blacks, several significant bills were passed. With martial law
in force in the South, congress could do virtually anything it wanted to. The
rebellious states could not vote on the measures before congress, and there
were enough votes to override President Johnson's vetoes.
The year following the Civil War, congress passed the Civil Rights act of 1866. It
was subsequently vetoed by Andrew Johnson. Congress, however, overrode his
veto and immediately passed the 14th Amendment due in part to Johnson's
resistance. The purpose of both measures involved the rights of persons born or
naturalized in the United States, "All persons born or naturalized in the United
States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;
nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws." With exception to Tennessee, all Southern states refused to ratify
the amendment.
Congress than passed the Reconstruction Act, which prohibited these states
from participating in Congress until they passed the measure and revised their
own state constitutions. Passage of this amendment and the Reconstruction Act
met with violent opposition. Despite the presence of the military, Whites went on
a rampage killing, beating, burning, and destroying any Blacks they could find.
Blacks were lynched by the hundreds. In 1870, another Civil Rights Act was
passed, and was immediately followed by the 15th Amendment - "the right of
citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of race, color or previous conditions of
servitude."
Clearly the discord between Johnson and the Radical Republicans made
Johnson an ineffective President and strengthened the power of Congress. In
18668 Congress impeached Johnson for violating a law called the Tenure of
Office Act which forbade the President from firing a member of the Cabinet.
Johnson was not convicted but clearly he was a lame duck President.
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How successful was reconstruction in dealing with the economic and
social problems of freedmen?
The end of the Civil War and the Reconstruction of the South attempted to
address some of the social concerns of the freed slaves but in reality could do
very little to make blacks economically and politically equal to whites. In fact,
there was never any intention of making blacks equal. The results of slavery and
lingering racism were devastating.
I. Reconstruction
A. What economic problems did newly freed slaves face?
1. They had no education and could not read or write as a result of the
Slave Codes.
2. Job opportunities were extremely limited.
3. Often the only skills a freed slave had been in farming and even then
they usually only knew how to do the manual labor, not the actual running
of a farm.
4. Freed slaves had no money, clothing, etc.
B. What types of jobs did freedmen take?
1. Sharecropping - Many freed slaves remained on their plantations and
worked as sharecroppers. In this arrangement landowners (former
plantation owners) also had no money to hire workers so what they would
do is allow a freed slave to work the land and give a portion of the harvest
to the landowner. The portion was usually quite high and it was difficult for
the freeman to save enough to sell on his own. In theory a sharecropper
could save enough money to buy some mules and eventually rent the land
but this was rare.
2. Tenant Farming - Some sharecroppers actually made enough to begin
renting the land. This was known as tenant farming. Certainly this was
better than 'cropping but they still struggled to make ends meet.
C. Who do you think they could turn to find some relief from this emotional
burden??
1. Growth of black Methodist and Baptist Churches - had Evangelical
roots. Used spiritual song and gospel; they were the forerunner of
Southern Baptist churches. AME - African Methodist Episcopal Church
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sent missionaries to the south immediately after the war. Membership
increased from 70,000 to 390,000.
D. What needed to be done to help blacks reenter society?
1. Freedmen's Bureau - created as a part of the Reconstruction Act, it was
a Federal agency designed to provide food, clothes and shelter for freed
slaves and whites in need.
2. Education - black and white school teachers came south and began to
teach the freed slaves. Booker T. Washington said "It was a whole race
going to school. Few were too young and none were too old."
E. How successful was reconstruction in creating real economic freedom?
1. Not very much. Many called sharecropping and tenant farming
economic slavery because it still kept freedmen subservient to whites and
at their whim.
F. What would be the ultimate level of achievement for a freedman?
1. Election to the government - sixteen blacks elected to Congress, 2
senators and 14 reps. Hiram Revels, a Senator, took Jefferson Davis' spot
from Mississippi the other Senator from Mississippi was also black, a
former slave who has escaped from Virginia before the war - Blanche
Bruce.
G. How do you think most southerners reacted to reconstruction?
1. Supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the
White Camelia were formed. Some originally warned blacks not to vote,
and then turned violent.
H. How did groups like the Klan effect reconstruction?
1. Southerners may have had to live with blacks but they sure didn't like it
and they sure were not going to treat them as equals. What came to exist
in the south was a segregated society or one where the races are
separated. This was not originally law (though it later came to be) and is
thus referred to as de facto segregation or segregation by the fact that it
exists.
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This cartoon by the famous Thomas Nast was published in Harper's Weekly in
1874. It shows how white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan worked to
keep freed slaves in politically and economically deprived conditions. Look at the
inscriptions at the top of the cartoon. It says "The Union as It Was" and "This Is a
White Man's Government." The KKK wanted to keep Blacks out of government
and prevent them from voting.
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To what extent did Reconstruction create political equality for freedmen?
Above we discussed the effectiveness of reconstruction in dealing with the
problems faced by freedmen. We specifically discussed whether or not
reconstruction brought about economic equality. We determined that instead,
freedmen were faced with economic slavery. Now we will examine the how
effective reconstruction was in bringing about political equality…
The road towards political equality runs due south...and there is a road block in
the middle!
A. If you were a southerner what laws would you pass to deal with freedmen?
1. Southerners fearing Black political power passed a series of laws in
each state called Black Codes. Black Codes enforced in Southern States
during Reconstruction prevented freed slaves from exercising many rights.
2. Here is an edited example of one of the Black Codes:
The Black Codes
Now that the slaves have become emancipated, it is necessary to pass
regulations that preserve public order. These regulations must also preserve the
comfort and correct behavior of the former slaves. Therefore, the following rules
have been adopted with the approval of the United States military authorities who
have commanded this area.
1) Every Negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person or
former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of that Negro.
2) No public meetings or congregations of Negroes shall be allowed after sunset.
Such public meetings may be held during the day with the permission of the local
captain in charge of the area.
3) No Negro shall be permitted to preach or otherwise speak out to
congregations of colored people without special permission in writing from the
government.
4) Negroes may legally marry, own property and sue and be sued in a court of
law.
5) Negroes may not serve on juries.
6) A Negro may not testify against a white person in a Court of Law.
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7) It shall be illegal for a Negro or a person of Negro descent to marry a white
person.
8) No Negro shall be permitted outside in public after sundown without
permission in writing from the government. A Negro conducting business for a
white person may do so but only under the direct supervision of his employer.
9) No Negro shall sell, trade, or exchange merchandise within this area without
the special written permission of his employer.
10) No Negro who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry firearms
or any kind or weapons of any type without the special written permission of his
employers.
B. How do you think the Radical Republicans reacted to the Black Codes?
1. They were outraged.
2. The Black Codes clearly did two things. It created a political situation
tantamount to slavery and it also placed the same southerners in political
power that had power before the war!
C. How did the Radical Republicans attempt to create political equality for
freedmen?
1. Passage of the Reconstruction Amendments
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13th - Ended Slavery
14th - Equal protection under the law, no state may deprive
any person of life, liberty and property without due process
of law.
15th - Gave blacks right to vote.
D. How do you think the South responded to these amendments?
1. Refused to ratify 14th amendment.
2. Amendment was passed after the First Reconstruction Act which
created military districts and mandated that the state constitutions
include suffrage for blacks. The Act also mandated that states must
ratify the 14th amendment before being readmitted to the Union.
E. Who helped run Southern governments after the reconstruction acts threw out
the old Southern leaders?
1. Scalawags (means scoundrel) -White southerners who joined the
Republican Party. There were mixed motivations. Some wanted
rapid industrialization, some opposed slavery and secession, some
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were selfish office seekers who used blacks to gain elective office
by stuffing ballot boxes etc.
2. Carpetbaggers (from pictures of all belongings rolled in a carpet
carried on their shoulders.)-Northerners who moved South. There
were again various motives to support reconstruction. Some were
teachers and clergy who really wanted to help former slaves, some
were Union soldiers who preferred a warm climate, some were
entrepreneurs, and some were dishonest profit seekers.
3. Scalawags and Carpetbaggers both took political power away from
blacks because they were the ones to fill the void in political
leadership, not blacks as had been intended.
In the end freed slaves did not receive the political equality they sought. The
black codes created segregation by law, known as de jure segregation to go
along with existing de facto segregation. The south quickly became a divided
society, and it placed the black family at the bottom of the economic, social and
political heap.
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What happened to freedmen after reconstruction came to an end?
Reconstruction ended in 1877 because of a variety of reasons. Regardless of the
reasons, the end of Reconstruction also signaled an end to whatever forward
progress blacks were going to make. The success of Reconstruction had been
ineffective at best, now, with the Conservative Southern governments back in
control of the South a downward spiral would begin.
The End of Reconstruction
A. Reconstruction began in 1865, how do you think Northerners felt about it by
1877?
1. Northerners were tired of reconstruction after twelve long years. In
the beginning it had been a great social adventure. Many had been
convinced that they were doing a very good, important thing. By
1877 many felt that they would never accomplish the social good
that they sought to accomplish. The general feeling was that the
south might never really change.
2. Northerners were also increasingly upset at the fact that the
northern military had to occupy the south. We wanted our soldiers
home.
B. How do you think the Depression of 1873 affected Northern effort at
Reconstruction?
1. The north could no longer afford the costs of reconstruction.
C. How did the scandals of the Grant administration affect the next election?
1. Ulysses S. Grant, the military hero of the Civil War had been swept into
office after the Johnson Administration. Unfortunately his administration,
as well as his personal life, was ripped with scandal. Grant, an alcoholic,
was unable to police his own cabinet and scandals began to emerge.
In what became known as the Credit Mobilier scandal key Republican
congressman and members of the administration had arranged for the
Credit Mobilier holding company to received government land and money
to build a railroad out west. In return these men received bribes. The
railroad was never built and the scandal showed America how little control
Grant actually had.
2. After eight years of the scandalous Grant administration and his rather
uninspiring leadership the Republican Party began to lose influence. The
once hated Democrats again gained national recognition. One party rule
ended and two party rule returned.
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D. How did the election of 1876 affect reconstruction?
1. In the election of 1876 Democrats realized they had an opportunity to
regain political power and prestige, in fact many thought they had a good
chance of winning the presidency with the right candidate. The
Republicans ran Rutherford B. Hayes and the Democrats ran a New
Yorker, Sam Tilden.
2. Tilden carried the popular vote by 250,000 votes. He also had a lead in
the electoral vote 184 to 165. He needed 185 to win and 20 votes were in
dispute. Tilden only needed one of the twenty votes to win. If Hayes
received all twenty he would win
3. The fate of those 20 votes and the election were placed in the hands of
a committee of 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats who ended up cutting a
deal that gave Hayes the votes and the Presidency. Had the election been
honest Tilden would have won.
a. The deal was that military forces had to leave those states thus
ending reconstruction.
b. The federal government had to build a railroad from Texas to
California, building money; waterway improvements and a
conservative in the Cabinet were also part of the deal.
E. Once Conservative Democrats were back in control, what types of laws do
you think they would pass?
1. Literacy Tests - The democrats passed voter qualification laws that mandated
that a person had to read in order to vote. Most Blacks were asked to read the
constitution. Considering that most had been slaves, and were uneducated, they
could not pass the test. This took away the rights of blacks to vote.
2. Poll Taxes - The democrats passed voter qualification laws that mandated that
a person had to pay a two dollar tax in order to vote. This was a lot of money for
a newly freed slave and most could not afford it.
3. Grandfather clause - The democrats passed voter qualification laws that
mandated that a person could only vote if their grandfather had been eligible to
vote and had been a citizen. Since most slaves' grandfathers had also been
slaves they did not qualify to vote under these laws.
These laws were specifically designed to take away the political power of Blacks
by taking away their right to vote granted in the 15th amendment. This is known
as attempting to disenfranchise the Blacks. The word franchise means "the
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right to vote" (as does suffrage). To disenfranchise means "to take away the
right to vote.
4. Jim Crow Laws - These were laws passed to separate Blacks from Whites.
This process was known as segregation. Jim Crow laws created separate
facilities throughout the south for Blacks and Whites.
a. The creation of segregation by law is called de jure segregation (segregation
by law).
b. The other type of segregation that existed in the south was called de facto
segregation or segregation by the fact that it exists--socially, not legally
sanctioned.
Clearly reconstruction had not met the goal of bringing about racial equality.
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How was legalized segregation created in the south?
When reconstruction came to an end in 1877 southerners wanted more tan
anything else to rid themselves of what they felt was the "Black problem." Years
of slavery had left an entrenched racism. Reconstruction had not taught
southerners that Blacks were equals. In fact, the very notion was abhorrent to
southerners. Now that reconstruction was over southerners had to find a way to
limit the political power of blacks and place themselves back in power. They also
wanted nothing to do with Blacks and began to pass laws that would ensure
white social, economic and political power.
The creation of a divided society.
A. How did White southerners remove the political power of Blacks?
1. As discussed in the last lesson, whites passed a series of voter
qualification laws such as:
a. Poll Taxes
b. Literacy Tests
c. Grandfather Clause
2. All of these laws served to disenfranchise blacks. (If you don't know the
word disenfranchise look it up in the last lesson's notes.)
B. How did white southerners justify these laws?
1. According to the constitution laws regarding voter qualifications were a
reserved power left up to the states. Therefore southern states could pass
laws that went around the 15th amendment.
C. How did Whites separate Blacks from Whites?
1. The passed a series of laws making it illegal for Blacks and Whites to
share the same schools, trains, etc. These were called Jim Crow Laws.
2. Here are some examples of the Jim Crow laws in Alabama.
No person or corporation shall require any white female nurse to nurse in wards
or rooms in hospitals, either public or private, in which Negro men are placed.
The conductor of each passenger train is authorized and required to assign each
passenger to the car or the division of the car, when it is divided by a partition,
designated for the race to which such passenger belongs.
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Every employer of white or Negro males shall provide for such white or Negro
males reasonably accessible and separate toilet facilities.
D. What happened when the Jim Crow Laws were challenged? (Plessey v
Ferguson)
1. Blacks felt that the Jim Crow laws violated the 14th amendment that provided
equal protection under the law.
2. Homer Plessey, a member of a citizens group protesting the Jim Crow laws
that created segregation in the south, was arrested for violating the law that
forced Blacks to ride in separate train cars. Plessey claimed that the laws
violated the 14th amendment to the Constitution that said that all citizens were to
receive "equal protection under the law." The state argued that Plessey and other
Blacks did receive equal treatment, just separate.
3. Plessey's conviction of a violation of Jim Crow laws has upheld by the Court.
The Court ruled that the 14th amendment said that Blacks did not have the right
to the same facilities, just equal facilities. By ruling this way the court created the
doctrine of "separate but equal."
Here are excerpts from the decision:
Laws permitting, and even requiring, their separation (of Blacks and Whites) in
places where they are liable to be brought into contact do not necessarily imply
the inferiority of either race to the other, and have been generally, if not
universally, recognized as within the competency of the state legislatures in the
exercise of their police power. The most common instance of this is connected
with the establishment of separate schools for white and colored children, which
has been held to be a valid exercise of the legislative power even by courts of
States where the political rights of the colored race have been longest and most
earnestly enforced.
We think the enforced separation of the races... neither abridges the privileges or
immunities of the colored man, deprives him of his property without due process
of law, nor denies him the equal protection of the laws within the meaning of the
Fourteenth Amendment.
– Justice Henry Brown, Majority Opinion, Plessey v Ferguson, 1896.
4. This ruling set the stage for 58 years of de jure segregation until overturned
by Brown v The Board of Education, Topeka Kansas in 1959.
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