Reconstruction: North and South Flashcards
When was the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
April 1865
Who became president after Abe Lincoln?
Vice President Andrew Johnson
Ardent
adj. having, expressive of, or characterized by intense feeling; passionate; fervent:
“an ardent vow; ardent love”
Two reasons why Lincoln invited Johnson to be his running mate in 1864
- Johnson was an ardent Unionist who blamed the slaveholding planter elite for secession and the Civil War
- Johnson was the only souther senator who refuse to embrace the Confederacy in 1861
Radical Republican’s beliefs
- Believed blacks were entitled to the same political rights and opportunities as whites.
- Believed the Confederate leaders should be punished for their roles in the Civil War.
- Believed extraordinary times called for direct intervention in State affairs and laws designed to protect the emancipated blacks.
- Believed that blacks must be given a chance to compete in a free-labor economy.
What was the Freedmen’s Bureau and when was it created?
Created in March 1865, with the goal to:
- provide former slaves with emergency supplies
- help them find employment
- help them procure land
- help them pursue educational opportunities
“Lily white” state government
government opposed to the inclusion of blacks, especially in political or social life.
When did Reconstruction officially end?
In 1877, with the withdrawal of the last federal troops from the South.
The Late Convention of Colored Men
1865 by the New York Times
Former slaves requested assistance and security from the Federal Government after they were freed.
- The freedmen believed they were entitled to protection because they helped espouse the cause of the Confederacy in time of war.
- They asked for not only military protection, but also for the Constitution to prohibit the States from making any distinction between citizens on account of race or color.
Reconstruction
rebuilding of the South after the Civil War
Ten Percent Plan
The plan that allowed a southern state to be readmitted into the Union once 10 percent of its voters (from the voter rolls for the election of 1860) swore an oath of allegiance to the Union.
- Lincoln wanted to end the war quickly and therefore this bill was lenient in order to attempt to get the south to surrender quickly.
- All southerners (except high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials) would be granted a full pardon.
- Guaranteed southerners protection of their private property - though not their slaves.
Presidential Reconstruction
While Congress was in recess Johnson began implementing his plans to quickly restore the Union, which became known as the Presidential Reconstruction.
- He returned confiscated property to white southerners
- Issued hundreds of pardons to former confederate officers and government officials.
- He undefined the Freedman’s Bureau by ordering it to return all confiscated lands to white landowners
- He appointed governors to supervise the drafting of new state constitutions and agreed to readmit each state provided it ratified the Thirteenth Amendment.
- He declared Reconstruction over at the end of 1865, hoping that it would be complete by the time Congress reconvened a few months later.
Thirteenth Amendment
Abolished slavery in the United States and provides that, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”.
The Joint Committee of Reconstruction
Established by Congress in late 1865 to challenge Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction and devise stricter requirements for readmitting southern states.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The act guaranteed citizenship to all Americans regardless of race (except in an unfortunate irony, Native Americans) and secured former slaves the right to own property, sue, testify in court, and sign legal contracts
- President Johnson vetoed this, but Radical Republicans managed to secure enough votes to override it.
- It was the first piece of congressional legislation to override state laws and protect civil liberties
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Ruled by Supreme Court in 1857
- Stated blacks were not citizens, effectively legalizing slavery
- The Civil Rights Act of 1866 reversed this ruling.
The Fourteenth Amendment
- Granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”
- Forbids states from denying any person “life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” or to “deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of its laws”
- Republicans in Congress specified southern states had to ratify this amendment before they could reenter the Union.
“Swing Around the Circle”
- President Johnson was accused of turning a blind eye to the violence that ensued all over the South.
- In response, he travelled throughout the country in which he infamously gave speeches that put the blame on Radical Republicans in Congress and lambasted Republicans, pro-war Democrats, and blacks.
- His course rhetoric hurt the Democratic Party’s credibility and persuaded many northerners to vote Republican in the congressional elections of 1866.
Radical Reconstruction
1866- 1877
- Radical Republicans gained almost complete control over policy making in Congress, both House and Senate.
The First Reconstruction Act
- Also known as: Military Reconstruction Act, or simply the Reconstruction Act.
- This bill reduced the secessionist states to little more than conquered territory, dividing them into 5 military districts, each governed by a Union general.
- Congress declared martial law in the territories, dispatching troops to keep the peace and protect former slaves
The Second Reconstruction Act
- Used to further safeguard voting rights, which placed Union troops in charge of voter registration.
lambaste
verb (used with object)
- to beat or whip severely
- to reprimand or berate harshly; censure; excoriate
martial law
the law temporarily imposed upon an area by state or national forces when civil authority has broken down
Radical Reconstruction’s Effects on Blacks
- While Radicals in Congress successfully passed rights legislation, southerners all but ignored these laws.
- The newly formed southern governments established public schools, but they were still segregated and did not receive enough funding.
- Black literacy rates improved, but marginally at best.
