Free At Last Flashcards
how many states succeeded from the union and when
11
1860-1
when was the emancipation proclamation and where
September 1862 - battle of Antietam
what was the emancipation proclamation
all slaves in the confederate states are now free
how many died in the American civil war
620 000
13th amendment to the constitution what and date
December 1865
ended slavery = 4 million a/a freed
14th amendment to the constitution what and date
July 1968
all citizens equal protection under the law + defined citizen
15th amendment to the constitution what and date
February 1870
guaranteed male citizens right to vote (but was later overcome by poll tax, literacy tests and grandfather clauses)
dred scott case
1857
a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen
couldn’t in federal court
federal government had no power to regulate slavery
14th amendment undid this
what was the position of freed slaves (4 topics to consider)
Freedman's bureau Representation Sharecropping Economic Education
Freedman’s bureau
1865 - 1872
meant to assist freedmen in the south
spent $5million on education
meant to role out 40 acres and a mule policy but only 2000 families acquired the land - failed as had 858,000 acres of abandoned land to give
undermanned and underfunded - never more than 900 people working for it
representation
ok 2 senators 16 in house of representatives 1000 held local posts but gerrymandering black codes (poll tax, grandfather clauses, literacy tests)
sharecropping
a/a farms piece of land and in payment white land owner took a proportion of the crop
also loans taken by a/a to cover costs of equipment
left freedmen in large amounts of debt, often in a worse position than they had been in slavery
1870 - only around 30,000 a/a owned land
economic position
very poor as southern economy in disarray after civil war
eg: 1864 98% of exports from the union, 2% from the confederacy
also union 300,000 cotton bales, confederacy produced a negligible amount as had been destroyed by the civil war
but some small success stories eg Isaac Myers founded a co-operative in Baltimore 1865, raised $10,000 and bought a shipyard employing 300 a/a
education
1830s = anti-literacy laws forbade free and enslaved black people from becoming literate
freedman’s bureau opened 1000 schools across the south for black pupils
problem of many advances a/a made after civil war
not sustainable
when reconstruction ended so did most of the money
Presidential Reconstruction when and who
April - December 1865
Under President Johnson
presidential reconstruction what happened
Johnson tried to quickly restore the union
had to accept end of slavery / 13th amendment and reject the confederacy then back in the union
black codes were allowed
Johnson vetoed freedman’s bureau bill, civil rights bill but was overridden by congress
lost the support of radical republicans
how did radical reconstruction start and what happened
14th amendment was blocked by southern states
congress started its own reconstruction program
military reconstruction act
what did the military reconstruction act result in
no southern state had a legal government (apart from Tennessee)
put under military command
couldn’t send representatives to congress
disqualified ex-confederates from office
had to draw up new constitutions allowing all adult males to vote + 14th amendment
what did radical reconstruction do for a/a
given representation
in south 700,000 a/a registered to vote vs 600,000 white
white backlash, which groups
KKK
White league
Knights of White Camellia
KKK
set up by Forrest 1866
membership of around half a million across the south
lynching
autumn 1870 - Tuskegee, Alabama nearly every black church and school house burnt down
Force Acts largely destroyed them
The White League
military arm of the democratic party
capitalised on yellow fever outbreak = removal of federal troops = battle of liberty place
Knights of White Camellia
caused the single biggest loss of a/a in reconstruction
Colfax massacre
280 a/a killed
1875 civil rights act
aimed to prevent discrimination in public places
supreme court ruled unconstitutional 1883
how did reconstruction come to an end
Democrats regained control of the south & by 1875 only Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina had Republican controlled state governments
1872 amnesty act
1875 Grant says public were tired of annual autumnal outbreaks in the south
1873 economic downturn
1876 election result
1876 election result
Tilden (D) vs Hayes (R)
Hayes sought southern support by taking an anti-reconstruction position
tilden won popular vote by Hayes got electoral college 185 to 184
when did reconstruction officially end
1877 with the inauguration of Rutherford Hayes
