Reconstruction Before Flashcards
In December 1865, the first constitutional amendment in 60 years was ratified by 2/3 of the states. What did the Thirteenth Amendment do?
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime.
What was Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan?
Lincoln proposed that for a state to be readmitted to the Union, it had to fulfill two requirements;
1) agree to abolish slavery
2) 10% of the total number of voters from 1860 had to take an oath of future loyalty to the United States.
By 1863, the states of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana fulfilled Lincoln’s requirements and applied for readmission.
Define:
Radical Republicans
Vehement Abolitionists, the Radical Republicans favored harsh treatment for the former Confederacy, and advocated strong protections for newly freed blacks, such as the Freedman’s Bureau.
Radical Republicans opposed the more moderate stances towards the Confederacy, advocated by Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.
In 1863, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee had fulfilled the requirements of Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan, and applied for readmission to the Union. Their application was denied in Congress. Why?
The Radical Republicans, who controlled Congress, thought that Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan was too lenient, and denied the three applications for readmission.
What did the Wade-Davis Bill (1864) require regarding the readmission of former Confederate States?
The Wade Davis Bill required that, in order to be readmitted, 50% of a former Confederate states’ voters had to take the Ironclad Oath, swearing that they had never taken up arms against the Union, nor supported the Confederacy. Effectively, the Bill sought to keep ex-Confederates from voting and controlling the readmitted states.
How did Abraham Lincoln react to the harsh terms of the Wade-Davis Bill (1864)?
Lincoln exercised a pocket veto over the Wade-Davis Bill (meaning that he neither approved nor vetoed it formally, instead letting the Congressional term expire).
Lincoln opposed the bill’s harsh Ironclad Oath, which required swearing that one had never taken up arms against the Union, nor given aid to the Confederacy. Lincoln preferred that Southerners swear an oath of future loyalty.
How did President Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan differ from Lincoln’s?
In addition to Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan, Johnson proposed three further requirements for readmitted states; a.) ratification the Thirteenth Amendment, b.) repudiation of Confederate debts, c.) renunciation of secession.
Much as Lincoln’s plan had, Johnson’s plan angered Radical Republicans in Congress, who felt it was too lenient on the former Confederate states.
Define:
Black Codes
During 1865, legislatures in the former Confederate States passed Black Codes, which were laws that prohibited blacks from:
- borrowing money to purchase land
- renting land
- testifying against whites in court
- serving on juries when a white defendant was on trial
- enforcing a form of semi-bondage by deeming many freedman as vagrants and forcing them to work
Define:
Sharecropping
Under sharecropping, a landowner provided land, seed, and and needed farm implements to poor black and white farmers in exchange for a portion of the harvested crop (usually 50%).
Although sharecropping gave poor farmers access to land, it allowed for little upward mobility.
By late 1865, all 11 of the former Confederate states had met the lenient requirements of Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan, and sent representatives to Congress. How did Congress react?
Congress, and especially the Radical Republicans, were furious, especially since none of the new state constitutions extended voting rights to blacks, and had established Black Codes. Further, many of the elected Congressmen were former Confederate leaders, including Alexander Stephens, the Confederate Vice-President.
What was the “Swing Around the Circle?”
The “Swing Around the Circle” was the nickname given to President Johnson’s speaking tour in 1866. Johnson sought public support for his lenient Reconstruction policies and denounced Radical Republicans.
What was the result of the 1866 Congressional Elections?
Radical Republicans were swept into office, ensuring that a hard line would continue to be maintained against the former Confederate states.
Johnson’s attempts to persuade the public to support his lenient policy in his “Swing Around the Circle” tour, failed. For the remainder of his Presidency, Johnson would face staunch Congressional opposition.
In response to the South’s Black Codes, Congress passed the first _____ _____ Act in 1866.
Civil Rights
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 deemed that blacks were citizens, directly contradicting the Dred Scott decision. Concerned that the Supreme Court would deem the Act unconstitutional, its terms were later embodied in the Fourteenth Amendment.
President Johnson vetoed the bill, further angering Republicans in Congress.
What did the Fourteenth Amendment establish?
Adopted in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment:
- defined citizenship to include all persons born or naturalized in the United States
- extended the Constitution to the States, meaning that States could no longer violate rights embodied in the Constitution
- repudiated Confederate debt
- barred former Confederates from holding elective office
What prompted Congress to pass the Military Reconstruction Act in 1866?
Due to Southern opposition, the Fourteenth Amendment initially failed to be ratified by the requisite 2/3 of the states. After the 1866 election, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Act, which designated 10 of the 11 former Confederate States as military districts under military control. Johnson vetoed the Act
The Military Reconstruction Act held that to be readmitted, states must adopt the Fourteenth Amendment, and provide for black voting rights.
The 11th state was Tennessee, which had ratified the 14th Amendment.
