THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH, 1865 - 1877

Rebuilding the Nation Guided Reading Activity

VIRGINIA

Since the capital of Virginia, Richmond, was also the capital of the Confederacy – and because most of the fighting in the Civil War took place in Virginia – rebuilding and reconstruction of the state was a major priority of the Union following the Civil War.

TENNESSEE

Because President Andrew Johnson was originally from Tennessee, he prevented the state from experiencing the humiliation and indignity of being occupied militarily by the Union Army. Many considered this action unjust and inappropriate.

Eight (8)States had discriminatory laws.

•VIRGINIA

•NORTH CAROLINA

•SOUTH CAROLINA

•GEORGIA

•ALABAMA

•MISSISSIPPI

•LOUISIANA

•OKLAHOMA

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan is generally considered to be the most lenient plan the South could have had. Lincoln was extraordinarily compassionate, and sought the quickest reunification possible with the Southern Confederate states. When he was murdered, his plan died with him.

Abraham Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan - 1865

LINCOLN’S TEN PERCENT PLAN:

• * Ten Percent of the voters of a state must swear loyalty to the United States.

• *The new government of the state must outlaw slavery.

• *Amnesty, or a group pardon for crimes, for most Confederate soldiers.

• *No Confederate government leaders or military leaders could hold office.

The Wade-Davis Bill – This bill never became law; Lincoln refused to sign the bill into law.

THE WADE-DAVIS BILL

•* Fifty (50%) Percent of former Confederate states would have to sign a loyalty oath to the United States.

•*Anyone who voluntarily fought for the Confederacy would not be allowed to vote for delegates to a state government convention.

•* Slavery must be outlawed in the new state government.

The Freedmen’s Bureau

THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU

The first duty of the Freedman’s Bureau was to provide emergency relief to the people displaced by the Civil War – including both recently liberated slaves and Southern whites. Later, the Freedman’s Bureau would set up schools, and help to resolve disputes between whites and African-Americans in Southern states by establishing its own court system.

Freedman’s Bureau Schoolhouses

FREEDMAN’S BUREAU SCHOOLS

Most Southern towns did not have public schools prior to the Civil War, and what education was available to children took place at home. Following the Civil War, African-Americans who had gained independence sought what they had always been denied – literacy, scholarship, job training, and college educations.

The Murder of Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre – on Good Friday, April 14, 1865

JOHN WILKES BOOTH, an actor, murdered the President while he and his wife watched the play Our American Cousin, a comedy being performed at Ford’s Theatre. When Lincoln died, Andrew Johnson – a Southerner and a Democrat – became President of the United States. The rise of Johnson would lead to a bitter struggle between the President and the Radical Republican Congress for control of the Reconstruction process – a bitter struggle the Radical Republicans would win.

Difficulties Facing the South During Reconstruction

PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION – the South was devastated during the Civil War, particularly industry and transportation systems.

WOUNDED SOLDIERS – many families breadwinners had died during the war, but those who were maimed, amputees, the blind, or crippled had a difficult time working as they had before the war.

FREEDMEN – most were without property or job prospect, free though they may be.

FINANCIAL RUIN – devastated, unproductive farmland and industry meant widespread poverty in the South.