ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND SLAVERY Did not go to war against the South in 1860 to abolish slavery –His...
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Transcript of ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND SLAVERY Did not go to war against the South in 1860 to abolish slavery –His...
ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND SLAVERY
• Did not go to war against the South in 1860 to abolish slavery– His primary goal was to preserve the
Union• However, average northern soldiers
and northern public opinion did see abolition of slavery as a major goal of the war
• In addition, the freeing of slaves would deprive the South of valuable manpower in both military and civilian areas and thus cripple the Southern war effort
• For both emotional and practical reasons, the demand for the abolition of slavery grew in the North while the war was still going on
LINCOLN ACTS
• Lincoln responded to public opinion by issuing Emancipation Proclamation in 1863– Freed all slaves in
Union-occupied Southern territory
• Also had Congress ratify the 13th Amendment in early 1865– Officially abolished
slavery in the U.S.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
• Abolition of slavery and military defeat of South raised new questions– What to do with freed
slaves?• Should they be made
full-fledged citizens or made a dependent class, free but not equal?
– What to do with defeated white southerners?
• They had technically committed treason
• Should they be treated as traitors or forgiven?
TEN PERCENT PLAN• Since Lincoln had always
believed the prime purpose of the war had been to preserve the Union, he thought that, now that it was over, all effort should be made to restoring the Union and ending the bitterness and hatred of war years– Wanted to be lenient on the
defeated South– Favored letting them
reconstitute their state governments and pardoning all former Confederates except the highest leaders
• Embodied his lenient position in the so-called Ten Percent Plan
PROBLEM• Many Northerners did not like the
Ten Percent Plan– Every Southern state contained
thousands of people who opposed the Confederacy--Unionists
• Northerners wanted to reward Unionists and punish Rebels
• Were afraid ex-Rebels would take revenge on Unionists as soon as they had the chance
– Would also try to re-establish slavery and might even start a new civil war once they had regained strength
NORTHERN OPINION
• Many Northerners did not want the South admitted as a full member of the Union as quickly or easily as Lincoln did– Wanted the South to go through a period of reconstruction
first• A trial period in which the North would essentially control
the South in order to make sure Southerners were sincere about re-establishing their loyalty to the Union before allowing Southern states to become free and equal members of the U.S.
WADE-DAVIS BILL• Congress thought Ten Percent
plan was too lenient and passed its own alternative, the Wade-Davis Bill– Made it difficult for southern
states to organize new state governments
• Majority of adult white makes had to swear oath of allegiance to Union first
– Full citizenship denied to any man who had willingly served the Confederacy
• Lincoln vetoed the bill and, in response, Congress refused to implement Ten Percent Plan– Result was stalemate
CATASTROPHE
• Congress and Lincoln still locked in stalemate when the war ended (4-9-65) and Lincoln was murdered five days later
• If Lincoln had lived, he probably would have found a solution– A master politician who
would have found some sort of compromise
– Too smart and too ambitious to continue a fight if he knew he was going to lose
– But now he was dead
ANDREW JOHNSON• New president, Andrew Johnson,
was well-intentioned but less intelligent, flexible, and willing to compromise than Lincoln
• Started off on wrong foot when he announced his own policy while Congress was in recess– As lenient as Ten Percent Plan– Pardoned all ex-Confederates as
soon as they swore oath to support the Union
– Created procedures to set up new Southern state governments and allow Southern states to re-enter Union
– Hoped lenient measures would heal wounds of the Civil War
TROUBLE
• When pardoned southerners went to polls in late 1865 to elect their new state governments, they often selected men who had been high Confederate officials– This upset
Northerners– Wanted some
assurance that the South would not try to leave Union again, but these actions did not give them any high hopes
BLACK CODES
• Johnson did not make any provisions for freed slaves– Left their future up to
new southern state governments
• New southern state governments had no desire to help ex-slaves become equal citizens– All passed laws that
discriminated against ex-slaves
– Called the “Black Codes”
BAD NEWS• Prohibited blacks from
testifying against whites in court
• Prohibited blacks from serving on juries
• Prohibited marriage between whites and blacks
• Banned blacks from mixing with whites in public facilities
• If a black person was arrested for vagrancy, they were hired out to whites and forced to work until their fines and court costs were paid off– Their labor was auctioned
off to the highest bidder
NORTHERN RESPONSE• Northern Congressmen interpreted Black
Codes as an effort to restore slavery in the South– Realized that Emancipation
Proclamation and 13th Amendment were not enough
– Blacks had to given the right to vote and hold public office so that laws like the Black Codes could not be passed in the future
• Most Republicans were moderates and did not want to fight Johnson and split the party over this issue– Hoped that they would be able to reason
and compromise with him and thus modify his reconstruction program with his cooperation
RADICAL REPUBLICANS• Johnson refused to compromise
– Thereby strengthening the radical wing of Congressional Republicans and gave them the ammunition they needed to try to dump Johnson and impose their own Reconstruction program
• Radical Republicans were a minority in Congress but they included some very able men– Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of PA– Hated the South, blamed the entire
Civil War on southern slaveowners, and were devoted to establishing Negro equality
– Dedicated to restructuring southern society by confiscating the property of southern slaveowners and redistributing it to ex-slaves
14TH AMENDMENT• Congress passed 2 bills to protect
Negro rights in the South– Johnson vetoed both bills
• Not because he was a racist but because he believed Reconstruction policy should be a presidential, not a Congressional, power
– Congress over-rode both• Johnson’s stubbornness gave
Radical control of Congress– Passed 14th Amendment
• Gave blacks equal rights and pressured southern states to give blacks full voting rights
– Northern states ratified amendment but only one southern state did
RECONSTRUCTION ACT OF MARCH 2, 1867
• Since 14th amendment was the foundation for all future Reconstruction policies, Radicals realized that southern states had to be convinced to ratify it– Passed Reconstruction Act of March 2, 1867 to do this– Dissolved all state governments in South and divided
region into 5 military districts• Each under the control of military commander
charged with preserving order and protecting the rights of ALL persons
– To remove itself from this situation, a southern state had to ratify the 14th Amendment and set up a state government that granted full equality and voting rights to blacks
DECISION TO DUMP JOHNSON• Congress also passed laws to
reduce Johnson’s ability to hinder enforcement of its Reconstruction policy– Such as prohibiting him
from firing an federal official with prior Congressional approval
• Johnson still had enough power to get in the way and he did so as much as possible– It was at this point that
Radicals made up their mind to impeach him and get rid of him once and for all
JOHNSON IN TROUBLE• Johnson had not committee a
“high crime or misdemeanor”– But he had displayed an
incredible lack of political judgment
• He then began to fire federal officials friendly to the Radicals– In direct violation of the law
Congress had just passed– Gave Radicals real charge to
use to impeach him• This and 10 other
trumped up charges were presented to and approved by the House
IMPEACHMENT
• Impeachment trial held in Senate from March 13-May 16, 1868– Vote very close in the end
• 35 guilty/19 not guilty• One vote short of necessary
2/3s majority to impeach• Johnson hung on to his job but it
didn’t matter any more– U.S.S. Grant got Republican
presidential nomination • Making Johnson a lame-duck
for the remaining 9 months of his term
• Grant and Republicans swept the country in November 1868
RECONSTRUCTION IN THE SOUTH
• 20,000 troops stationed in the South– Tended to stay in the
background but their presence was intensely resented by white southerners
– Role was generally positive• Protected Unionists and
blacks when they voted– Without army, ex-
Confederates would have prevented both from voting
CARPETBAGGERS AND SCALAWAGS
• Most blacks and Unionists voted for Republicans– Often for “Carpetbaggers”
(white Northerners who had moved to the South) or “Scalawags” (former white Unionists)
– Contrary to myth, most were honest and sincere men who truly wanted to help the ex-slave
• Not the corrupt and vicious politicians that white racist legend has portrayed them to be
RECONSTRUCTION STATE GOVERNMENTS
• State governments set up by Republicans all aimed at overthrowing white supremacy in the South– All gave blacks the right to vote– Many reapportioned legislative
districts to give blacks better representation
– Property qualifications for voting and holding office were abolished
– Black Codes were abolished– Institutions for caring for the
sick, disabled, insane, and destitute were set up
– Most set up integrated public schools
GOOD BUT HATED• Some elected Republican officials in the
South were black– Most were white Scalawags or
carpetbaggers• Most southern state administrations
were liberal and aimed at guaranteeing equality and education for all and helping the unfortunate– Earned undying animosity of former
conservative white planter elite• Hated every aspect of
Reconstruction• Hated coalition of blacks, Unionists
and northern Republicans • Resented aid to the poor• Especially hated policy of equal
rights for blacks
BIG OBSTACLE
• Former white planter elite exploited racism of poor, white southerners to undermine Reconstruction and destroy Republicans
• Powerful current of racism was the major and, in the end, insurmountable obstacle that southern Republicans faced in trying to win over poor white voters– Who might have otherwise
sympathized with Radical Republican policies
DANGEROUS TURN• White Republicans were
socially ostracized• Republican businesses were
boycotted• White Republicans could not
rent houses, hotel rooms, or even boarding house rooms
• Whites employed intimidation and violence to prevent blacks from voting
• “uppity” blacks were beaten up and sometimes killed
• Black leaders were threatened with assassination attempts and mob violence
KKK
• Secret terrorist organizations were formed to terrorize blacks and control their votes
– Such as the Ku Klux Klan
• Public opinion was generally on the side of these organizations
– White juries routinely found them not guilty
• Even when the crime was murder
LIBERAL REPUBLICANS• Conservative Southern whites,
rallying around the Democratic Party, gradually overturned Reconstruction– At the same time, the federal
government was doing less and less to protect southern Republicans
• National Republican Party had split over Reconstruction policy– “Liberal Republicans” argued
that continued support for Negro rights in the South against powerful white opposition was costing the party more than it was worth
• Favored backing off from Reconstruction
RETREAT
• Throughout the North, many people had come to believe by 1875 that the country as a whole would be better off if the government gave up trying to impose Reconstruction on an unwilling South– In general, the Republican
Party and Northerners gradually retreated from their commitment to black equality
• Abandoned all efforts to defend equal rights
ELECTION OF 1876
• Democrat Samuel J. Tilden vs Republican Rutherford B. Hayes– Very close election– 184 electoral college
votes for Tilden and 165 for Hayes
– But 20 electoral college votes (19 of which were from the South) were in dispute and claimed by both candidates
• If Hayes could get firm control of them, he would win, 185 to 184
COMPROMISE OF 1877
Hayes made deal with southern politicians for 20
disputed votes
In exchange for votes, he would
remove all federal troops from the
South, given several key cabinet
posts to southerners, and
promote and finance railroad
projects than would benefit
southern agriculture
As a result of this deal, Hayes got his 20 votes and became president
END OF RECONSTRUCTION
• Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction in the South once and for all– Remaining white Republicans
and all blacks were now at the mercy of racist Democratic local and state governments
• Also created so-called “Solid South”– Region overwhelmingly voted
Democratic in every election until the late 1960s
• Even after Democratic Party changed its attitude towards race
CONCLUSION• As a result of the Compromise of
1877, South was also given a free hand to deal with blacks and other local issues with little federal interference– Result of this would be
lynching, “Jim Crow” laws, segregated public facilities and schools, poll taxes, and all the other racist laws that the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s/1960s finally eliminated
• The failure of Reconstruction and the Compromise of 1877 established the characteristics that the South would retain for the next 100 years– And most of them were
negative