Reconstruction & the SouthSS8H6cSS8H6c

Analyze the impact of Reconstruction on Georgia and other southern states emphasizing Freedmen’s Bureau, sharecropping and tenant farming, Reconstruction plans, 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the constitution, Henry McNeal Turner and black legislators, and the Ku Klux Klan

After the War Georgia and the rest of the former CSA lay in

ruins Houses badly run down or destroyed Railroad tracks twisted; bridges burned Cotton mills & factories closed or burned People were starving Many banks were closed

Confederacy war debt of $700 million Georgia in debt for $20 million

The Freedmen Thousands of freedmen

(former slaves) faced great hardships Most had just the clothes on

their backs

New relationships had to be formed between whites & former slaves Blacks fearful of re-

enslavement Whites unable to accept former

slaves as equals

The Freedmen’s Bureau Original purpose: to help both

former slaves & poor whites recover after the war Offered food, clothing & other

necessities Focus changed to the “freedmen”

Focus on education + education programs

4,000 primary schools 64 industrial schools 74 teacher-training institutes

Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Clark College

Reconstruction Lincoln wanted to rebuild the

South & restore the southern states to the Union as quickly as quickly and easily as possible and easily as possible (10% Plan)(10% Plan)

Two step process1) All southerners (except high-

ranking civil & military leaders) would be pardoned after taking oath of allegiance to the U.S.

2) When 10% of voters in each state took the oath, state would be allowed to form a legal government & rejoin the union

Typical oath of loyalty Citizens would pledge loyalty

to the US Government, and would follow/accept all laws passed during the Civil War, including the 13th Amendment

Wade-Davis Bill (1864) Confederate states that seceded

should be treated like a conquered country Lincoln saw this as an

attempt to punish the south & refused to sign it in to law Proved that Congress and

many northerners wanted to punish the south

Assassination of President Lincoln Famous actor & southern

sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln as he and his wife attend a play at Ford’s Theater

Lincoln shot behind the left ear at the exact moment of the loudest part of the play allows Booth to escape fairly easily Lincoln’s injury shortly

discovered and he is taken across the street to a boarding house where he dies the next morning

Booth is cornered and shot in a farmhouse 2 weeks later

Does more harm than good to the south Lincoln no longer

around to protect the south from Radical Republicans who sought to punish the south

Ford’s Theater & the place where Lincoln died

John Wilkes Booth

Lincoln & Johnson

Andrew Johnson becomes President Johnson the Vice

President, and a former Democrat from North Carolina, becomes the President following Lincoln’s assassination

He is responsible for seeing through Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction He uses Lincoln’s plan

but adds a few of his own ideas Expanded the groups

of Southerners who would receive a pardon

Congress works with Johnson at first but begins to worry that the rights of the freedmen will be taken away by him.

Johnson reluctantly agrees to add more requirements1) Southern states had to

approve the 13th Amendment 2) Southern states had to nullify

their ordinances of secession3) Southern states had to

promise not to repay people/institution that helped finance the Confederacy

Thirteenth Amendment Outlawed slavery Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude,

except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

Reconstruction in Georgia Pres. Johnson appoints

Provisional Governors to each southern state James Johnson, former anti-

secession state congressman appointed Georgia’s Governor

States must re-write constitutions and submit to President for approval before a new Governor could be elected

Constitutional Convention of 1865

Ratification of 13th Amendment

Georgia readmitted to the Union Elect 2 U.S. Senators:

Alexander Stephens & Herschel Johnson

General Assembly votes to extend (limited) civil rights to the freedmen Black Codes

Black Codes 13th Amendment abolishes slavery,

but not discrimination Most Southern states pass “Black

Codes”—laws limiting political and civil rights of former slaves Controlled types of employment Whipping as a punishment Labor periods: sunrise to sunset 6

days a week Imprisonment of jobless blacks Cannot vote or serve on a jury Interracial marriages prohibited

The Radical Republicans in Congress were FURIOUS and take control of Reconstruction from Pres. Johnson and Johnson is ALMOST removed from office…oops!

14th Amendment – Congressional reaction to the Black Codes

Congress passes the 14th Amendment …No State shall make or

enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United Stats; nor shall any State dprive 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.

All southern states (except Tennessee) refuse to sign

Reconstruction started over basically with these states being removed from the Union and occupied by the military

These states had to sign the 14th amendment, write a NEW constitution, and allow ALL men to vote Some former Confederate solders

were not allowed to vote, but all former slaves were.

When all of this was done, Georgia was re-admitted.

Carpetbaggers & Scalawags and the Constitutional Convention of 1867

Georgians voted for/against constitutional convention & delegates at capital in Milledgeville First time that African American

males voted in Georgia 169 delegates elected

12 were conservative whites 9 were Carpetbaggers (northerners

who moved south after the war) 36 were African Americans Most were scalawags (southerners

who supported the Republicans)

African Americans were denied rooms at Milledgeville hotels Gen. Pope orders that the

convention be moved to Atlanta Leads to the city becoming the

permanent capital Many accomplishments

New constitution gives civil rights to all citizens

Free public education for all children

Allowed married women to control their own property (1st state to do so)

New constitution approved in April 1868 & Rufus Bullock elected Gov. GA readmitted to the Union

Cartoons depicting Carpetbaggers

Elected Blacks expelled from the General Assembly, the KKK and Reconstruction (again!)

29 African Americans, including Henry McNeal Turner (leader of the black legislators) were elected to the General Assembly in 1868 All were expelled from the

G.A. on the grounds that while the GA Constitution gave blacks the right to vote, it did not specifically give them the right to hold office

At the same time, the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) became a force in GA Kuklos in Greek = circle Klan = family/friends

The KKK began in Tenn. as a social club for returning soldiers, but quickly changed to a force of terror

Terrorized and intimidated African Americans to keep them from voting Numerous reports of

beatings, whippings and murders

Pressure also put on whites to support Democratic candidates

Hostilities between whites & blacks high, and many conflicts begin Gov. Bullock appeals to

Washington for help

Elected Blacks expelled from the General Assembly, the KKK and Reconstruction (again!)

U.S. Congress passes the Georgia Act in 1869 GA under military rule again

(re-Reconstruction) through Gen. Alfred Terry & Gov. Bullock allowed to be provisional Governor

GA must ratify 15th Amendment in order to rejoin Union 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 condition of servitude.

GA readmitted to Union (for the last time) in July 1870 Only after:

Ratifying 15th Amendment Reinstating African American

General Assembly members

Democrats regained both houses of the General Assembly Governor Bullock (R) resigned

rather than being impeached Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871

Militia members were sent out to arrest KKK members leads to the decline of the KKK

The KKK in Georgia In response to the Leo Frank

case, the KKK is revived in Georgia Klansmen meet on top of

Stone Mountain in 1915 and light a cross on fire to signify that the Klan is back in Georgia

Economic Reconstruction: Sharecropping

Planters & Farmers needed laborers

Former slaves & landless whites needed jobs

Sharecropping Landowners provide

Land A house Farming tools & animals,

seed and fertilizers Workers give landowners a

share of the harvest

Until workers sold their crops, owners often let them have food, medicine, clothing and supplies at high prices on credit

Credit was their undoing Many often did not make

enough to cover credit & new needs; and many were taken advantage of by dishonest landowners Most had little hope of being

able to save enough to buy their own land and equipment Legal slavery?

Economic Reconstruction: Tenant Farming Tenant Farming similar to Sharecropping

Tenants usually owned some agricultural equipment & farm animals

They bought their own seed and fertilizer At the end of the year, tenant farmers either paid the

landowner a set amount of cash or an agreed-upon share of the crop Some even made a small profit

Both systems still allowed landowners to keep their farms in operation without having to spend money for labor

Not so good for the landowners Even though it seemed as if landowners were

profiting without risk through sharecropping & tenant farming, this wasn’t the case Many did not have the tools, seeds, fertilizers,

etc., so they took out loans, with the crops as the backing Crops often were not profitable enough to pay off the

interest on the loans Over-planting had a devastating effect on the soil and

therefore on crops The poor get poorer…

Growth of Business, Industry, Railroads & Shipping. Atlanta rises from the ashes like the great Phoenix

Resurgens = rise again 1847 = first charter 1865 = beginning of reconstruction