Reconstruction of the South

Reconstruction Amendments

• 13th Amendment—Abolished slavery• 14th Amendment—insured rights of citizens,

especially freed slaves.• 15th Amendment—gave all male citizens the

right to vote

Lincoln’s Plan—10% Plan

• Generous and forgiving to the South• For Southern state to be readmitted to the

Union, 10% of the voting population had to swear allegiance to the Union.

• President Johnson’s Plan—Presidential Reconstruction—was very similar to Lincoln’s and also forgiving to the South.

Congressional Reconstruction—Radical Reconstruction—Reconstruction Act of 1867

• Proposed by Congressional Republicans, known as Radicals, who wanted to punish the South for slavery and the war.

• Not as forgiving, intended to punish South• With the exception of Tennessee, which had already

ratified the 14th Amendment, the former Confederate States would be administered by the Army as 5 military districts.

• Southern States would not be readmitted to the Union until ratification of the 14th Amendment

Congressional Reconstruction—Radical Reconstruction—Reconstruction Act of 1867

• Black citizens must be granted the right to vote.• Former Confederate officials could not hold public

office.• Fearing that President Johnson would not enforce the

Reconstruction Act, Congress passed several laws to limit his power.

• When Johnson violated one of those laws, the House of Representatives voted to impeach him.

• He was tried by the Senate and found not guilty by one vote.

Black Codes

• Passed during Reconstruction by Southern governments.

• Made blacks second-class citizens.• 14th and 15th amendments attempted to

correct the restrictions of the Black Codes.

Carpetbaggers and Scalawags

• Carpetbaggers– People who came from the North to do business

in the South during Reconstruction– Named for their cheap carpet bag suitcases

• Scalawags– Southerners who supported Reconstruction and

the Republican Party.

Ku Klux Klan

• Used terrorism and violence to intimidate blacks and other minorities

• Wanted to remove from power the people in Reconstruction governments who were giving rights to blacks.

• White hooded robes, cross burnings, lynchings

Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)

• Grant was a weak political leader who depended on his advisers

• These advisers were inexperienced and/or corrupt

• His presidency is remembered for bribery and corrupt business dealings, especially in the building of the transcontinental railroad.

End of Reconstruction

• Eventually the desire to punish the South faded, even among Radicals.

• In the Presidential election of 1876 the results were disputed between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden.

• To settle the dispute, a commission was appointed; Republicans controlled the commission and awarded the election to Hayes.

• To keep peace, Democrats agreed to accept the Compromise of 1877.

• As part of the compromise, Hayes became president and all federal troops left the South, ending Reconstruction.

The New South

• Refers to the organization of the South after the Civil War and end of slavery.

• Many farmers became Sharecroppers—who received a share of the crop at harvest as payment for their work on a planter’s land.

• Some farmers were Tenant farmers—who paid to rent the land.

Politics in the New South• During Reconstruction, Republicans, including many blacks, were elected to

public office in the South• With the end of Reconstruction, white Southern Democrats reclaimed control

of state governments.• The South became solidly Democratic—giving it the nickname “Solid South”.• The white Southern Democrats took steps to restrict the rights of former

slaves, including Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws.– Black Codes—laws which made blacks second-class citizens; they could not own

weapons, meet together after sundown, or marry whites.– Jim Crow Laws—required separate black and white facilities in restaurants,

hospitals, schools, and street cars; these laws also imposed literacy tests and poll taxes to keep blacks from voting despite the 15th Amendment.

• These laws were supported by the Supreme Court and remained in effect until the 1950s

• The KKK also continued to be active during this time period.

Industrialization in the New South

• After the Civil War, the South rebuilt its destroyed industries and started new ones.

• Southern industry and cities did grow during this time.

Black Cultural Structures in the New South

• Helped them survive hard times and discrimination.

• Schools• Family• Churches– First black church—African Methodist Episcopal

Church (AME Church)