Unit 5: Topic 10 - Reconstruction Flashcards
What was Lincoln’s Presidential Reconstruction Plan?
Presidential Reconstruction (1863-1866): Lincoln
- After the Civil War, Southern infrastructure and local and city governments needed to be rebuilt.
- The states had to be readmitted to the Union and legislators needed to be elected.
- Lincoln’s 10% plan: States could be readmitted if 10% of citizens pledged loyalty to the U.S. and recognized the end of slavery, Congress tries to pass the Wade-Davis Bill to implement 50% loyalty requirement, but it was never signed by Lincoln.
- 13th Amendment: Nationally outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude except in punishment for a crime. This was in addition to the Emancipation Proclamation which only freed slaves in Confederate states.
What was Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction Plan?
Presidential Reconstruction (1863-1866): Johnson
- Andrew Johnson became President after Lincoln’s assassination
- Required Confederate states to uphold the 13th Amendment, swear loyalty, and pay off war debt
- Allowed states to re-write state constitutions, hold elections, and send representatives to Washington
- Allowed pardon to wealthy confederate leaders and troops that directly asked to regain what they lost in the South
How did Congress react to Johnson’s policies of Reconstruction?
Congressional Reconstruction (1866-1877): Congress
- Was against Johnson’s policies because it focused on the wealthy and didn’t protect the rights of freed slaves
- Civil Rights Act of 1866: Affirmed citizenship, especially to black people, and gave citizens equal protection by the law
- 14th Amendment: Confirmed rights of citizenship and granted all American citizens equal protection under the law
- Reconstruction Act of 1867: Divided South into 5 military districts, stated that for readmission, states must adopt the 14th amendment and protect voting rights of African American men
What are the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments?
13th Amendment: Abolished slavery but allowed use of it as a punishment for crime
14th Amendment: Granted citizenship to those born in the US and gave American citizens equal protection under the law
15th Amendment: Gave voting rights to citizens of any race despite previous condition of servitude, but didn’t include gender or other qualifications
What were the debates over the rights of African Americans, women, and other minorities?
The 14th Amendment included persons born or naturalized, so it protected immigrants that could be naturalized as a citizens after 5 years of US residence. Many weren’t in favor of the amendment because it granted citizenship without the right to vote.
The 14th and 15th Amendments didn’t include women despite the wording of “persons.” Minor v. Happersett (1875) acknowledged women were citizens but not all citizens were voters.
Why was there division over the 14th and 15th Amendments during the women’s rights movement?
The women’s rights movement sought equal rights, opportunities, and greater freedom for women. Women’s rights advocates like Elizabeth C. Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, part of the National Woman Suffrage Association, were against the 15th Amendment because it didn’t recognize the right of women to vote despite the 14th Amendment affirming new rights for women. Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, part of the American Woman Suffrage Association, were disappointed over the amendment but argued the importance of supporting federal Reconstruction efforts while arguing for women’s suffrage on the state level.
Who were the Radical Republicans?
Radical Republicans:
- Led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner
- Believed in equality for women and African Americans
- In favor of continuing Southern Reconstruction to do more to help Black southerners
- Feared Southern Democrats taking control of Congress
What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?
Freedmen’s Bureau:
- Offered assistance to former slaves and protected their citizenship
- Provided emergency food, housing, medical supplies
- Expansion of education and and establishment of black colleges like Howard University
What political opportunities did Reconstruction open up to former slaves?
Political opportunities for former slaves:
- Allowed former slaves to become government representatives
- Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce were the first two Black senators
How did the South resist the new rights of former slaves?
Southern Resistance:
- White supremacists and the KKK threatened progress of former slaves with violence and lynchings.
- They also targeted “carpetbaggers” – northerners who came to the South in order to benefit from Reconstruction programs.
- “Scalawags,” Southern whites who sided with Republicans, were also targets of white supremacists
- President Johnson opposed equal rights for fear of an “Africanized” society
Why was President Johnson impeached?
President Johnson vetoed Reconstruction legislation that Congress had passed to protect the rights of those who were freed from slavery. This made him an enemy of the “Radical Republicans” in Congress.
When he later fired Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War who opposed his lenient Reconstruction policies, the Radical Republicans found that he violated the Tenure of Office Act because he didn’t have approval from the Senate. With such tension, Johnson was impeached (formally charged) but he ultimately wasn’t convicted (removed from office). The Senate was only one vote short of reaching the required two-thirds majority in favor of his removal.
What is meant by the North’s “waning resolve”?
North’s waning resolve:
- The North couldn’t keep pressuring the South to continue Reconstruction
- Panic of 1873: Financial panic that began from speculation in the railroad industry, railroad and banks in the North begin to run out of money and close
- As the financial panic continued in the North, there was less interest in continuing Reconstruction in the South
