To what extent did the Thirteenth Amendment change the position of ex-slaves? Flashcards
Why did the Thirteenth Amendment occur?
• Was it just a way for Lincoln to weaken the Confederacy to win the war?
o Did not mention slaves in the areas controlled by the north
o This was 1/3 of the Confederacy including legal border states like Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware
• However, Lincoln had stated that he wanted to end slavery, but this was just to keep the US together
What was the impact of the Thirteenth Amendment?
- It wiped out $2 billion of property
- It created 4 million new freedmen in the USA
- Ended the division between free and slave states
- Congress began to break down the second-class position of BAs - could be postmen and ride in cars, but only in Washington
- At the annual meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society, William Lloyd Garrison declared that his vocation as an abolitionist had ended
Describe black migration to towns.
• There was considerable migration to towns – the black urban population tripled
o Establishment of black churches and towns
What was William T Sherman’s contribution to the economic position of ex-slaves?
• 16th January 1865 – William T Sherman issued a Special Field Order No. 15 to confiscate a strip of coastal land as federal property
o 400,000 acres
o Split into sections of 40 acres each, for ex-slaves
o Large scale distribution did not take place despite a law passed by US Congress to establish it
What were the problems with sharecropping?
• Sharecroppers had to use the local credit system to raise money for equipment and seed
o As they possessed little or no property, their crop had to be used to pay back their loans
• Plantation owners wanted to replace slaves with a system of cheap black labour that meant life was similar to before emancipation
• Southern WAs reluctant to sell land to ex-slaves
• Landowners ended up splitting plantations into smaller farms and renting them out, usually areas of 30-50 acres
• They had to pay half their crops in rent
Describe Sherman’s March to the Sea?
• Sherman’s March to the Sea 1864 from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, a large swath of territory was pillaged and destroyed by marauding bands of solders, deserters and runaway slaves
Describe the Freedman’s Bureau?
• The Freedmen’s Bureau was established 1865 by Congress to help BAs and poor WAs in the south after the civil war
o Food
o Housing
o Medical aid
o Schools
o Attempted to settle former slaves on Confederate lands confiscated during the war
Why did the Freedman’s Bureau shut down?
• However, shortage of funds, personnel, race politics and reconstruction made in not effective
1872 pressure from Southern WAs led to it closing down
What was the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction?
any former Confederate state could form a state government when 10% of those who voted in the 1860 elections took an oath of allegiance to the USA
What was Johnson’s response to Reconstruction?
- Johnson was the president of the USA and was a War Democrat
- He was staunchly anti-Confederate and disliked the plantation owning class but believed BAs were lesser and had been a slave owner himself
- Wanted to punish traitors so was supported by Radical Reconstruction
When was the general pardon to former Confederates who were willing to take an oath of allegiance to the USA?
29th May 1865
What happened after the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction?
• Johnson recognised 4 pro-union states in the former Confederacy – Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee who had accepted the 10% plan
• He then requested the other former Confederate states to hold constitutional conventions to re-establish elected governments
o But they were allowed to choose who could vote and many decided BAs couldn’t
o They also re-elected former senior confederates in high office
♣ Georgia chose US Senator Alexander Stephens who had been UP of the former confederate states
How were Radical Republicans treated by Johnson?
• Radical Republicans had been a minority, grew under Johnson but he opposed them and called them traitors. He also refused two congressional proposals which could help BAs
How did Radical Republicans come to power?
o RRs managed to get a 2/3 majority and override the presidential veto
o This is how the Fourteenth Amendment was passed
The RRs had strong support by the election of 1866 and were able to impeach Johnson 24th February 1868 and replace him with RR Benjamin Wade
