Reconstruction for Former Slaves

LIFE OF SLAVES AFTER THE CIVIL WAR

A Freedman's School for freed slaves.

 During Reconstruction, the 15th Amendment was passed and gave  African Americans the right to vote. Though few could read or write, almost 90% of qualified African Americans exercised their new right. After Reconstruction, many former slaves had to decide what they would do without land, a job, or money. Most had little to no education and limited skills outside of farming. Many former slaves took advantage of their new ability to travel by leaving their plantations and moving to larger Southern cities in search of jobs or to find family members that they had been separated from. The Freedmen's Bureau also helped former slaves find their lost family members, though a lot of the time they families were never reconnected.

  After Reconstruction, many freed slaves also sought education because it was formerly illegal. Now, many private and public organizations, like the Freedmen's Bureau, assisted African Americans in forming educational institutions. As well as schools, African Americans founded and built their own churches and volunteer programs. For example, they established trade associations, political organizations, and drama groups that provided financial and emotional support for their members as well as offered leadership roles within the community.

“RADICAL” OR “MILITARY”  RECONSTRUCTION
      
  The period of time after the Civil War when Lincoln tried to rebuild the nation after the Civil War was known as the Reconstruction. Lincoln decided to make the South’s re-entry into the Union as easy and quick as possible. However, some Radical Republicans, like Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens wanted to the political power of Southern slaveholders. They also wanted African Americans to have full citizenship and the right to vote. This was “radical” at the time because no other country that abolished slavery had also given the former slaves the right to vote. Another example of reconstruction that was considered radical at the time was the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law forbade states from making laws, such as black codes, that discriminated or restricted African American lives.

  Besides slavery, Reconstruction also affected the military. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 split former Confederate states into districts that were headed by Union officers. The districts, including African Americans, would then vote on the new state constitution. This ensured that all people had an equal say.

Members of the Ku Klux Klan.

MILITARY RULE IN SOUTH
   
  The military rule started with Johnson but it was Grant that really cracked down on the south. The Ku Klux Klan was trying to prevent African Americans from progressing politically and economically. One example of military rule was the enforcement act of 1870 and 1871 in response to the Ku Klux Klan. One act would allow for supervision of voting in the south by the government and the other act allows for military troops to be in any place the Klan was active. Even though the Klan's activities decreased in the 1870s, they were still able to limit the political and civil  of African Americans. 

PRESIDENTIAL RECONSTRUCTION

President Grant.

  During the "presidential reconstruction" slaves were still having their rights limited. Individual states would make it near impossible for a slave to register to vote. Businesses were also making them sign contracts where they would work for a certain amount of time and if the slaves did get a job they were not paid well. During the reconstruction Mississippi and South Carolina had enacted black codes in 1865 that restricted African Americans lives. Soon after Mississippi and South Carolina enforced the black codes, other southern states soon followed.

LIFE FOR FREEDMEN AFTER RECONSTRUCTION

Georgia newspaper announces the abolishment of slavery.

  The Reconstruction era did not bring about much change. The Ku Klux Klan discriminated against blacks for their race. However, by the time the period ended, African Americans had founded colleges that they were able to attend. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments were also passed, which gave them freedom and allowed them to participate in government.

Presidential Reconstruction

President Johnson vs. President Grant

The Goals, Achievements, and Failures during Reconstruction





Johnson's Impeachment

17th U.S. President Andrew Johnson

Johnson was ineffective because he was not carrying out his constitutional obligation to enforce the Reconstruction Act. Also he removed military officers who enforced the act. The Radicals looked for ways to impeach Johnson.

President Johnson's goals for reconstruction were that Southern states would be split into five military districts and that Blacks would be free, but with limited citizenship rights.

Johnson's achievements and failures include his decision to endow Southern states with the authority to re-form their own governments led to the return of Confederate leaders to positions of power and was deeply unpopular among Radical Republicans in Congress. He also opposed the Fourteenth Amendment giving citizenship to African-American males. Lastly, he Purchased Alaska from Russia through the negotiations of Secretary of State William Seward.



Johnson's Ticket to Impeachment Trial

The impeachment of President Andrew Johnson was the result of political conflict and the rupture of ideologies in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It arose from uncompromised beliefs and a contest for power in a nation struggling with reunification. Johnson was impeached in 1868 for violation of Tenure of Office Act.



18th U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant

With Grant's election the Republican party saw how much the African Americans I packed the election and helped Grant win. This led to Grant making the Fifteenth amendment which stated that states could not keep anyone from voting because of their race or color.

Grant was determined to follow Lincoln's policy of reconciliation with the South rather than one of retribution or appeasement. He also wanted to make sure that the federal government preserved the sacrifices of the war by sustaining a strong Union while at the same time protecting the newly freed slaves and preventing former unreconstructed Confederates from regaining power in the South.

Grant was effective in quelling the violence by the Ku Klux Klan he was not overly aggressive in his use of power. Mostly, however, the Klan reduced its violence on its own due to the success it was having in restoring white power to the South. They were achieving what they wanted so they no longer had as much of a “need” for violence. Eventually this faded when Grant was challenged for presidency due to his limited political experience and poor decision making. Grant won the election but the Republican unity was severely broken down resulting in the Radicals struggle to impose their Reconstruction plan on the south.

These presidents can be evaluated based on the effect that they had on the Ku Klux Klan, unity of the Republican party, and the way that they handled the issues going on during their presidency.

 



Political, Social, and Economic Changes

Reconstruction Video Timeline

Reconstruction Video Timeline

This timeline is a brief overview of all of the major events of Reconstruction from the end of the Civil War in April 1865 to the end of Reconstruction with the inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877.

Creators: Rafael Aguilar, Lou Larmoyeux, Patrick Madden

Radical Republicans Of The Reconstruction Era

During the Civil War, which took so many American lives, a new type of republican had evolved. The Republican Party which formed in the 1850's was comprised of people of the old Whig party and most northerners. The Republican Party attracted many abolitionists. Led by Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania the Radicals wanted to destroy the political owner of former slaveholders. they especially wanted to make African-Americans citizens and 

give them the right to vote. This was an extremely radical idea. no other country that had abolished slavery had ever given former slaves the right to vote. they believed in harsh punishments for the South and were angered by Lincoln's lenient attitude towards the South. Led by Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, the Radicals wanted to destroy the political power of former slaveholders. Most of all, they wanted African Americans to be given full citizenship and the right to vote. In 1865, the idea of African-American suffrage was truly radical; no other country that had abolished slavery had given former slaves the vote. When the 39th Congress convened in December 1865, the Radical Republican legislators, led by 

Thaddeus Stevens, disputed Johnson’s claim that Reconstruction was complete. Many of them believed that the Southern states were not much different from the way they had been before the war. As a result, Congress refused to admit the newly elected Southern legislators.Ways they tried to accomplish there goals- At the same time, moderate Republicans pushed for new laws to remedy weaknesses they saw in Johnson’s plan. In February 1866, Congress voted to continue and enlarge the Freedmen’s Bureau. The bureau, established by Congress in the last month of the war, assisted former slaves and poor whites in the South by distributing clothing and food. In addition, the Freedmen’s Bureau set up more than 40 hospitals, approximately 4,000 schools, 61 industrial institutes, and 74 teacher-training centers.

Main leaders of Radical Republicans- Led by Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Representative Thaddeus Stevens.

Positives of the Radical Republican's views- led to impeachment of Johnson, reconstruction act of 1867, and joining forces with the moderates

Negatives of the Radical Republican's views-  both the Freedmen’s Bureau Act and the Civil Rights Act were failed as president Johnson vetoed both. By rejecting the two acts, Johnson alienated the moderate Republicans who were trying to improve his Reconstruction plan. He also angered the Radicals by appearing to support Southerners who denied African Americans their full rights. Johnson had not been in office a year when presidential Reconstruction ground to a halt.

Link below if the Tellegami does not play.

https://tellagami.com/gami/OE2IJH/

Southern Response to Reconstruction

Reconstruction in the south after the northʼs long awaited abolishment of slavery following the Civil War was harder to accomplish as slave owners were reluctant to give up the foundation and basis of their economy. At first, former slave owners resisted greatly and wanted to maintain their old ways, keeping African Americans from exercising their rights. Following these feelings came the black codes (enacted in 1865-1866). The black codes prohibited blacks from doing certain things such as traveling without permits and testifying against whites. The old confederates lost political rights as well because the Union wanted to vote for a leader that would positively improve reconstruction. After the black codes were founded, a radical group known as the KKK began terrorizing the country. The KKK were created out of hatred against blacks and constantly attacked and injured blacks and their families as well.(See image #1 and #2)In the midst of this debacle were people called scalawags and carpetbaggers. Scalawags were the southern whites who supported reconstruction which included the republican party after the civil war. Carpetbaggers were northerners who would move to the south after the civil war.(See image #3)This constant resistance eventually lead to an era of segregation that lasted up into the 1970s was fueled by people who thought that blacks were not equal to whites. Throughout this dramatic reconstruction period, compromises were difficult to find and progress and success was hard to achieve.

Image #1

Image #2

Image #3