APStudent.com IX. Reconstruction No peace treaty signed at the surrender of Appomattox -- a peace treaty would have recognized the Confederacy as a legitimate government Lincoln had two goals in Reconstruction Reincorporate the South into the Union No punishment No aid Acting as if there hadn't been a war Not recognize the Conferacy as ever having existed Congress wanted both punishment and aid for South Thaddeus Stevens (Penn.) and Charles Sumner (Mass.) Radical Republicans / Radical Reconstructionists Freedman's Bureau Created to deal with former slaves Distributed food, set up schools Helped Blacks find jobs and get land Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan 1. General amnesty (except for high-ranking officials of Confederate government) 2. Southern states could regain their state governments if 10% of voters took loyalty oath Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee were recaptured by the Union and qualified for the 10% plan before the end of the war, but Congress refused to seat their representatives Wade-Davis Act Congress' response to Lincoln (it was vetoed) 1. State could only be readmitted if majority of male population took loyalty oath 2. State would have to adopt new constitution abolishing slavery and disenfranchising Confederate officers and government officials 3. New state constitution would have to be adopted by a state convention made up of people who had never born arms against the U.S. Lincoln assassinated - April 15, 1865 Andrew Johnson took over Restoration Plan (Andrew Johnson's Plan) 1. Loyalty oath for majority of male population 2. State must repeal the law by which state withdrew from the Union 3. State must abolish slavery and ratify 13th Amendment 4. U.S. would repudiate (refuse to pay) the Confederate war debt By end of 1865, all southern states had qualified under Johnson's Plan, but Congress still refused to seat their representatives Congress created Committee on Reconstruction South had passed "Black Codes" Limited rights of Blacks Legal equivalent of slavery Radical Congress passed Civil Rights Act Said Blacks couldn't be treated unequally Authorized the federal government to use force to enforce it 14th Amendment gave equal rights and due process to Blacks Not all of North (Kentucky & Delaware) ratified 14th Amendment immediately 1866 - race riots in South Congress decided it was time to come up with a reconstruction program Congress' Reconstruction Plan 1. State must ratify 14th Amendment (only Tennessee ratified immediately) 2. South divided into five military districts, in which the only people who could vote were black men and white men who had never participated in the rebellion 3. Those voters had to elect constitutional convention to write a new constitution guaranteeing Blacks the right to vote 1868 - Eight states qualified and were readmitted (only 3 states left) 1869 - Virginia and Texas readmitted 1870 - Mississippi readmitted Last state to be readmitted Mississippi also had to ratify 15th Amendment Suffragettes opposed 15th Amendment because it did not give voting rights to women Radical Congress disapproved of Johnson Johnson did not use army to support reconstruction Johnson removed civil servants who were too helpful to Congress & reconstruction Tenure of Office Act Impeachment of Johnson (failed by 1 vote) Radical Congress angry at Supreme Court Supreme Court declared use of military tribunals to try ex-Confederates unconstitutional Congress tried to restrict Supreme Court's power Supreme Court decided not to hear any more cases about Reconstruction Both sides backed down Blacks in Southern government Blacks served in state legislatures No Blacks served as state governors Blacks only once held majority in state legislature (South Carolina) Some Black officials well-educated, others were field-hands with no education Reconstruction changed school system in South Land redistrubution would have split confiscated plantations among slaves Never happened, partly because Johnson prevented it Sharecropping Farms rented to Blacks Supplies sold on credit at inflated prices When crop came in, it went towards paying off debt Crop never enough to cover debt, which just increased each year Kept Blacks poor Election of 1868 - Ulysses Grant (Rep.) vs. Horatio Seymore (Dem.) Grant's cabinet Grant rewarded all of his friends with offices Many turned out to be corrupt or incompetent Because of Tenure of Office Act, Grant couldn't remove them "Credit Mobilier" scam - the "credit mobilier" bank took bribes from railroad companies and funneled them to Congress Panic of 1873 - paper currency issued during Civil War caused inflation 1879 - Specie Resumption Act Put country back on the gold standard Paper money became worthless 1867 - Sec. of State William Seward purchased Alaska By 1872, most white males had regained right to vote, Southern states returned to much how they had been before Reconstruction Election of 1876 - Rutherford B. Hayes (Rep.) vs. Samuel Tilden (Dem.) Votes for four Southern states disputed House of Representatives created special electoral commission to decide election Commission was supposed to be neutral, but 8 of the 15 were Republicans Hayes won election, Republicans agreed to end reconstruction to pacify Democrats Known as the "Compromise of 1877" Fun Fact! Because of the Compromise of 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes was known as "His Fraudulency" or "Old 8 to 7" As reconstruction ended, South returned to conservative policies "Redeemers"/"Bourbons" Conservative, Antibellum-style Southern politicians "Jim Crow" laws (1880s) Instituted by Southern governments Segregated whites and blacks Blacks' right to vote was restricted: Poll taxes (most Southern blacks were poor) Grandfather clauses Literacy tests Supreme Court upheld "Jim Crow" laws Reconstruction led South to industrialize (although they didn't quite catch up to North)