1 - the weaknesses of the federal government Flashcards
How did the Civil War end?
2 April 1865 - Jefferson Davis (Confederacy leader) was told by Lee that southern forces couldn’t fight on. Davis fled and Union troops occupied Virginia. 9 April - Lee met Grant to negotiate surrender. 13 April - 26,000 troops laid down their arms and now the confederacy was dead.
What happened to Lincoln after the Civil War ended?
14 April - Lincoln went to watch a play, Booth, an actor, came and shot him in the head and he died the next day.
What was the legacy of Civil war?
Civil war was won but restoring national unity required more than military victory. 625,000 lives lost. Agriculture, trade and overseas markets were dislocated. North had economic expansion, with industrialisation and modernisation, south was damaged. South had been physically destroyed too by Union army, scars for example like the burning of Atlanta. Most of all, slavery was abolished, 3 million are free, nobody knew what consequences it would have.
What was the legacy of Lincoln?
Had enormous prestige. Developed impressive political skills in presidential authority and dealing with Congress. The nature and timing of his death made him an iconic figure, he died in the moment of victory at the height of his fame. Memory as a great man and leader. He announced Emancipation Proclamation in 1865 which granted freedom to slaves.
What was the constitution made up of?
Based on the separation of powers on a system of checks and balances to ensure no one branch could become too powerful.
Executive - White House. President, vice-president, cabinet e.g. Secretary of State.
Legislative - congress. Senate, House of Representatives
Judicial - Supreme Court. Nine justices cabinet led by the Chief Justice.
Constitution can only be altered by an amendment approved by a 2/3 majority in HOR and senate and is signed by the president.
What are the weaknesses of the federal government?
Small in scale, no large bureaucracy to implement its policies nationwide. Much political power was reserved to state governments whose local and sectional interests could obstruct congress or the presidency. Fierce resentment in the south so it’s hard to agree on reconstruction policies or to enforce it. The main political parties were divided into factions. The end of the war weakened the forces that had held rival politicians together.
Who was Andrew Johnson?
Represented Tennessee in the House and the Senate and was Governor from 1853-57. A war democrat, and Lincoln made him his vice president. He took over when Lincoln died. Widely regarded as the right man for the job. He stayed loyal to congress after Tennessee succeeded in 1861, he was the only southern senator to do this so Lincoln chose him. Supported emancipation, critic of old plantation-owning southern elite. He was a democrat with his own ideas, he wanted to carry through his own policies without depending on republican allies in congress.
What was Presidential Reconstruction?
May 1865 by Johnson. Seen by radical republicans as soft towards the south. He wanted to act quickly, 7 southern states did not have approved reconstruction governments. Johnson announced all southerners, except confederate soldiers and rich plantation owners would be pardoned if they pledged allegiance to Union. He issued 13,000 pardons. Now state conventions could set up new lawful state governments which would accept the abolition of slavery and renounce the illegal action of breaking away from the union.
What was the problems with presidential reconstruction?
Republicans opposed it, too soft. His original plan to prosecute confederate leaders for treason was dropped. Johnson wanted to purge the old plantation owners and stop them from regaining power in state governments but they were still dominated by the same southern elites. Men elected to represent the southern states were mostly former confederate politicians and military officers. All the states brought in black codes and several states refused to ratify abolishing slavery.
What are black codes?
Accepted basic rights of freed slaves such as the right to marry and to own property. But there were harsh limitations. Lots of segregation imposed, interracial marriage was prohibited. Couldn’t testify in court against whites and black people had difficulty in gaining economic freedom from plantation work. Restricted their rights.
What were the responses to Johnson’s presidential reconstruction?
Northern liberals thought he betrayed the high hopes aroused by victory in the war. He undermined the status of black people in the south and he allowed the old confederate leaders to creep back into politics. Congress convened in December 1865 and was dominated by angry republicans determined to remove black codes and remove confederate from power.
What was the problem between Congress and Johnson?
He faces four competing factions, democrats, conservative, moderate and radical republicans. There would be tension no matter now the situation was handled. Johnson was determined in his attempts to override opponents by using the veto. He drove many moderate republicans to ally with radicals.
What was Freedman’s Bureau?
Set up by Lincoln in 1865 as a part of the United States Department of War. The Bureau was meant to last for one year but the powers were renewed and expanded to provide assistance to African Americans with family issues, legal advice, improving education and employment. Operated until 1872
What did the conflict between Johnson and Congress lead to?
Johnson vetoed the Freedmen’s bureau in March 1865. Congress voted to extend it for three years so strengthen its powers.
Congress passed the civil rights act in March 1866, restating the equal rights of African Americans and authorising federal intervention to enforce them, but Johnson vetoed it too.
July 1866, Congress passed another freedmen’s bureau but Johnson vetoed it too.
Congress voted to override the veto. In April 1866, there was an alliance between moderate and radicals which pushed Congress into adopting the fourteenth amendment to secure the civil rights act, which was the most controversial of the reconstruction amendments.
What were the reconstruction amendments?
13th amendment
Abolished slavery in April 1864 shortly after Lincoln’s second inauguration. Ratified by a sufficient majority of the states in January 1865.
14th amendment
Guaranteed equal citizenship and voting rights. Proposed by Congress in April 1866, ratified in July 1868. Highly politicised attempt to build equal citizenship rights into the constitution and to penalise any states that denied the vote to male citizens. Third clause disqualified anyone from office who had supported the confederacy, thus cancelling most of the pardons issued by Johnson.
Fifteenth amendment
Prohibited federal or state governments from denying citizens the right to vote on the grounds of race, adopted in February 1869, ratified in March 1870.
