Reconstruction1865-1877

Section 1

“Reconstruction Plans”

The Reconstruction Battle Begins

Reconstruction – The rebuilding after the Civil War. Lincoln wanted a moderate policy that would

reconcile the South with the Union instead of punishing it for treason. Amnesty – pardon

The South would gain 15 seats in the House of Representatives.

Thaddeus Stevens – A radical Republican who did not want to reconcile with the South. “revolutionize Southern institutions, habits, and manners.”

The Reconstruction Battle Begins

Radical Republicans – A group of Republicans who opposed Lincoln’s plan to bring the South back into the Union. Wanted to prevent Confederate leaders from

returning to power after the war. Wanted the Republican Party to become powerful

in the South. Wanted the federal government to help African

Americans gain political equality by guaranteeing their right to vote in the South.

The Reconstruction Battle Begins

Many Radical Republicans were abolitionists before the war.

Wade-Davis Bill – A plan for Reconstruction drawn up as an alternative to Lincoln’s plan.

Pocket Veto – The rejection of a bill by the president by leaving the bill unsigned until after Congress adjourns.

The Reconstruction Battle Begins Freedmen - Freed African Americans. Freedmen’s Bureau – Bureau established by

Congress to help freed African Americans adjust to their new freedom.

Some believed the freedmen should be given confiscated Confederate land, while others felt it went against an individuals property rights. Congress refused to support land confiscation.

Johnson Takes Office Black Codes – a series of laws passed by

Southern legislatures, which severely limited African Americans’ rights in the South.

Civil Rights Act – 1866 law that granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States except Native Americans.

Fourteenth Amendment – Amendment to the Constitution that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

Radical Republicans Take Control

Military Reconstruction Act – Law passed by Congress that divided the Confederacy into five military districts.

Tenure of Office Act – Law that required the Senate to approve the removal of any government official whose appointment had required the Senate’s consent.

Impeach – To bring charges of a crime against a government official.

Republican Rule in the South Carpetbagger – Name given to Northern

whites who moved to the South after the war and supported Republicans. Many had moved to the South to educate whites

and African Americans. Scalawag – Name given by former

Confederates to Southern whites who supported Republican Reconstruction of the South.

Republican Rule in the South Thousands of African Americans took part in

governing the South. Most of the first elected were educated in the

South. Joseph Rainey – First African American

elected to the House of Representatives. Hiram Revels – African American elected to

the Senate. Even though African Americans took part in

the government, they did not control it.

Republican Rule in the South The Republican party took power because

poor whites supported it. Republican governments in the South

repealed the black codes. They set up state hospitals and institutions;

rebuilt roads, railroads, and bridges. Many of the officials were corrupt and

accepted bribes. Graft – Gaining money illegally through politics.

African American Communities

Ways that African Americans improved their lives: Gained political rights Received an education Established churches Other kinds of organizations

Drama societies Trading Associations

Southern ResistanceMany Southern whites resented African

Americans.The goal of the Ku Klux Klan was to

drive out the Union troops and carpetbaggers and to have the Democratic party control the South.

Southern Resistance In 1870 and 1871 Congress passed

three Enforcement Acts. One act made it a federal crime to interfere

with a citizens right to vote. The second act placed federal elections under the supervision of federal marshals.

Ku Klux Klan Act – Law that outlawed the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Grant Administration “Sin Tax” – Tax on alcohol and tobacco. Horace Greeley – Newspaper publisher and

1872 presidential candidate for the Liberal Republicans.

“Whiskey Ring” – A scandal in which government officials and distillers cheated the government out of millions of dollars by filing false tax reports.

Panic of 1873 – An economic crisis.

Reconstruction Ends Compromise of 1877 – The method used to reach

an outcome in the 1876 presidential election. Tenant Farmers – Farmers who paid rent for the

land they farmed. Sharecroppers – Farmers who paid a share of

their crops to cover their rent and the equipment they needed.

Furnishing Merchant – Country stores and local suppliers who provided sharecroppers with their supplies.

A “New South” ArisesCrop Liens – Allowed merchants to take

sharecroppers’ crops if sharecroppers could not pay their debt.

Debt Peonage – A condition that trapped sharecroppers on the land because they could not make enough money to pay off their debts and leave.

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