Chapter 19 Notes

Planning Reconstruction
● South economy and society in ruins
● Reconstruction was era from 1865 to 1877 which southern states rebuilt and readmitted
into union
● Lincoln’s first plan to bring back the south was each southern state had to take an oath
of loyalty to union, when 10% of voters in state had taken oath they could form a new
constitution that banned slavery and could send representatives to congress
● Lincoln didn’t want to punish south
● In 1864 Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee set up new governments under lincoln’s
plan but congress didn’t accept the new states
● Some members of congress thought lincoln’s plan was to easy on south, and created the
radical republicans
● Radicals had lots of control cause they had influence over republicans which controlled
congress
● July 1864, Wade-Davis Bill stated that a state must meet these: majority of state’s white
male adults had to pledge loyalty to union, only white males who hadn’t fought against
union could vote for delegates to a state constitutional convention, new constitutions
banned slavery
● Lincoln didn’t like the harshness and vetoed
● Lincoln and congress established Freedmen’s Bureau March 1865 to help African
Americans adjust to new life
● April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln
● Andrew Johnson became president and forgave most southerners who swore loyalty to
union
● Only didn’t allow confederate leaders to humiliate them
● Johnson thought only white men should rebuild the south
● By end of 1865 all former confederate states except texas has set up new governments
under johnson’s plan
The Radicals take control
● Radical republicans were not willing to readmit southern states on easy terms
● 1866 Black codes passed
● Black codes limited rights of freedmen and allowed whites to take advantage of blacks
● Congress passed bill in 1866 to freedmen’s bureau that gave new powers including
setting up special courts to try person’s charged with violating african americans’ rights
● Civil rights act of 1866 gave federal government power to get involved in state affairs to
protect african americans’ rights
● Johnson vetoed both bills saying federal government was exceeding its authority
 ● Republicans overrode both vetoes and gave up hope on compromising with president
● 14th amendment stated that african americans could become citizens and couldn’t be
taken away from any other law
● State could lose representation in congress if state barred any adult male citizen from
voting
● Another part was no state could take away protection of the laws “without due process of
law”
● Congress required southern states to ratify 14th amendment before rejoining
● First reconstruction act divided 10 defiant states into 5 military districts
● Each district governed by an army general until new state governments were formed
● State also had to submit new state constitution to congress to approve and guarantee
african american men right to vote
● By 1870 all except or mississippi, virginia, and texas has been readmitted
● Tenure of office act: president couldn’t remove government officials without senate’s
approval
● Congress wanted to protect Secretary of Way Edwin Stanton who was in charge of the
military and supporter of radical reconstruction
● August 1967 when congress wasn’t in session johnson suspended stanton
● When congress refused to approve suspension johnson fired stanton and also appointed
people the radical republicans opposed to command some of military districts in south
● Johnson found not guilty and did little to interfere with congress’s reconstruction plans
● Ulysses S. Grant won election of 1868 and it showed voters still supported radical
reconstruction
● 1869 15th amendment passed and said government can’t deny right to vote to any male
citizen because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”
● Republicans thought their job was done because african americans could vote, and they
could also protect themselves from unfair treatment from white people
The south during reconstruction
● Republicans controlled south during reconstruction
● For a short time african americans held majority in the lower house of the south carolina
legislature
● Hiram Revels was the first african american senator
● Some southern white supported republican party, they were pro-union business leaders
and farmers who hadn’t owned slaves
● Scalawags, meaning worthless rascal, didn’t like prounion
● Carpetbaggers were northern whites that moved to the south
● Many southerners were suspicious of the north’s intentions, because some were looking
to take advantage of the south, but most actually wanted to help rebuild
● Southerners accused reconstruction government of corruptions
● No evidence that corruption in south was greater than north
● Improvement of infrastructure cost money, and taxes raised money so many property
owners lost land, causing hardships and resentment
 ● Most southern whites refused to rent land to freed people, south owners refused them
credit, and employers didn’t want to hire them
● The KKK used fear and violence to deny rights of freedmen
● White southerners after refused to testify against those who attacked african americans
and their white supporters
● African americans built own schools and many northerners came down to teach
● Northerns set up academies in south which later grew into a network of colleges and
universities for african americans
● Few states had few laws requiring school to be integrated, and where there was laws
weren’t enforced
● Many people had no choice but to farmland owned by someone else
● Sharecropping system was where landowners lended land to farmers and sharecroppers
gavea percentage of crops to land owner
● Often times the cut was unfair leaving the sharecropper to almost nothing
● Grant had little experience in politics but won elections of 1868 and 1872
● Crisis rsoe when powerful banking firm of Jay Cooke and company declared bankruptcy
● Triggered wave of panic known as Panic of 1873 that set off depression that lasted much
of the decade
The post-reconstruction era
● Depression and scandals in Grant administration hurt republican party
● 1874 democrats won control of HOR and made gains in senate
● Cost radicals much of their power
● Southern democrats got help from groups such as KKK
● Democrats who came to power in south called themselves redeemers
● Republicans chose Rutherford B. Hayes as their candidate for election of 1876 because
he held moderate views on reconstruction and hopen he would appeal to voters in both
north and south
● Hayes ran against Samuel Tilden, close election and neither got majority votes
● Mainly cause confusing election returns from 3 southern states
● Republicans insisted that many voters in these states favored hayes
● Congress named a commission to decide which candidate should receive the disputed
electoral votes and they recommended all to hayes
● Hayes won by 1 electoral vote
● Republicans pledged to withdraw troops out of south to ensure congress accepted this
outcome
● 1880s southerners convinced that their region must develop industrial economy, argued
that they lost war because the north’s industry was better
● Henry Grady said “out-yankee the yankees” and build a “new south”
● New south would have industries based on coal, iron, tobacco, cotton, and lumber
● Southerners would create new economy by embracing spirit of hard work and regional
pride
● American Tobacco company controlled nearly all tobacco manufacturing in country
● By 1890 south produced almost 20% of nation’s iron and steel
● South possessed a cheap and reliable supply of labor
● Agriculture remained south’s main economic activity
● Supporters of new south hoped to promote small, profitable farms that grew on variety of
crops instead of just cotton
● Many landowners held on to their large estates. And when estates divided much land
went to sharecropping and tenant farming. Neither was profitable
● Debt caused cause poor farmers used credit to buy supplies and merchants who
provided credit charged high prices. Farmers’ debts rose
● To repay debts farmers turned to cotton, more cotton lower cotton price. This led them to
plant even more cotton
● Growth of sharecropping and heavy reliance on cotton prevent improvements in the
condition of southern farmers
● 15th amendment said no one can deny someone to vote cause of race
● Southerners created a poll tax and many african americans couldn’t afford the tax
● Another way was literacy tests to read parts of the constitution, many african americans
couldn’t because they had little education
● Poll taxes and literacy tests kept some whites from voting, but some states passed
grandfather clauses which allowed people to vote if their father or grandfather voted
before reconstruction
● Jim Crow laws required african americans and whites to be separated in almost every
public case
● In 1896 Plessy v ferguson court ruled that segregation was legal as long as african
americans had access to public places equal to those of whites
● Southern states spent much more money on facilities for whites than african americans
● Lynching happened to african americans
● Formerly enslaved people began to leave south during reconstruction and called
themselves “exodusters”
● More than 20k african americans migrated to kansas
● Some became soldiers
● Men were called “buffalo soldiers” by the apache and cheyenne
● Reconstruction was success and failure
● Rebuilt its economy but remained agricultural and economically poor
● WEB Du Bois said “the slave went free; stood for a brief moment in the sun; then moved
back again toward slavery”