Reconstruction

Reconstruction 5-1

5-1.1 

Summarize the aims of Reconstruction, including the effects of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Southern resistance to the rights of freedmen, and agenda of the Radical Republicans

Reconstruction- Vocabulary 

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Reconstruction - A period during which the South had to rebuild. Black Codes – Replaced Slave Codes. Kept freedmen in positions of inferiority. Abraham Lincoln – President of the US. Assassinated in Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth. Andrew Johnson – Vice President; became President when Lincoln was assassinated.

Notes 

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Abraham Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union and end the Civil War quickly. He wanted an easy Reconstruction so the South would surrender . He was assassinated (murdered) and Reconstruction policy changed within a year. Andrew Johnson wanted to humiliate (embarrass) the southern elite. He forced Southerners to ask for a presidential pardon .Allowed Southern states to form new state governments. Southerners wanted the war to end, but did not want society to change. Would recognize an end to slavery, but would not grant rights to freedmen. Passed the Black Codes. Were violent and threatening to former slaves.

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Congress wanted freedmen to actually be free. Would not allow Confederates in Congress, and extended the Freedmen’s Bureau so it would protect against the Black Codes . Passed the 14th Amendment. Southern African Americans wanted to strengthen their families & communities, establish networks of churches, have equal citizenship (including land and education) and have independence in their working lives. After Lincoln’s assassination, Reconstruction policies changed and were not as easy. Southerners probably would not have had to ask for pardons from Lincoln.

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Reconstruction Powerpoint

5-1.2 

Explain the effects of Reconstruction, including new rights under the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments; the actions of the Freedmen’s Bureau; an the move from a plantation system to sharecropping.

Vocabulary 

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13th Amendment – abolished slavery 14th Amendment- former slaves treated equally 1868 15th Amendment-all races the right to vote 1870

Vocabulary    

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South-did not agree with Reconstruction plan North-did not like Johnson-thought he was too easy on the South Jim Crow laws- enforced segregation (separation of whites and blacks) Freedmen’s Bureau- Organization that provided former slaves with food, shelter, healthcare, education, jobs Scalawags- Southerners who wanted to get rid of slavery; considered traitors in the South Carpetbaggers-moved to South and took advantage of poor economy by opening businesses Sharecropping- rented land from sharecroppers and paid for things with crop

Notes: 5-1.2 Amendments 

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These Amendments were written to end slavery and protect the rights of the newly freed slaves. The 13th Amendment freed slaves everywhere in the US . Recognized the rights of all Americans to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as promised in the Declaration of Independence. Therefore, during this time, the rights of African Americans were protected by the federal government. The 14th Amendment recognized the citizenship of all Americans. It also recognized the rights of all citizens to “due process of law” and “equal protection of the laws.” Affected all African Americans, not just those in the South. Also lessened the power of states that did not recognize the right of citizens to vote; however, this was not effective, and led to the 15th Amendment.

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The 15th Amendment gave all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of “race, creed, or previous condition of servitude.” Southern states had to write new constitutions that allowed African Americans to vote . As a result, African Americans were allowed to vote and hold political office. These amendments were only effective if Republicans had control of the state governments, or if federal troops were able to protect the rights of African Americans. Most Southerners refused to sell land to African Americans, even if they could pay for it. Economic rights and independence of freedmen were limited, even during Reconstruction. After Reconstruction, there was no protection for rights of African Americans.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Carpetbaggers

Scalawags

Organization that provided former slaves with food, shelter, healthcare, education, jobs

Northerners who moved to the South, opened businesses to make $

Southerners who supported Reconstruction

CRITCISM-Southern plantation owners -KKK

CRITICISM-Southerners b/c Carpetbaggers took away jobs and workers

CRITICISM-Southerners b/c they supported the government

Amendment 13

What rights and privileges were extended by each amendment? To whom were rights and privileges extended by each amendment? What rights and privileges were denied by each amendment? To whom were rights and privileges extended by each amendment? To whom were rights and privileges denied?

Amendment 14

Amendment 15

5-1.3 

Explain the purpose and motivations of subversive groups during Reconstruction and their rise to power after the withdrawal of federal troops from the South

Vocabulary 

5.1-3

KKK-Ku Klux Klan-opposed rights of African-Americans

1. Discriminatory Groups Notes 

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During Reconstruction, many discriminatory groups developed to intimidate the freedmen. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a terrorist group that used violence to keep African Americans from exercising the rights they had been granted under the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The KKK wanted whites to regain control of the state governments.

2. Ku Klux Klan (KKK)  

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The KKK intimidated blacks by lynching them and burning crosses. Because of the KKK, the election of 1876 was so full of fraud that the H.of Rep. had to agree to the Compromise of 1877: Democratic politicians agreed to support the Republican candidate in exchange for the removal of all troops from the South This was the end of Reconstruction and Blacks were abandoned by the federal gov’t.

3. Jim Crow Laws 

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During Reconstruction, many discriminatory groups developed to intimidate the freedmen. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a terrorist group that used violence to keep African Americans from exercising the rights they had been granted under the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. The KKK wanted whites to regain control of the state governments.

4. Segregation  

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Segregation: the act of keeping groups of people separated. Segregation violated the equal protection part of the 14th amendment; however, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Plessy v Ferguson that separate facilities were legal as long as these facilities were equal. The “separate-but-equal” idea made the Jim Crow laws legal in the South for the next 6 decades. The “separate” part of the phrase was enforced, while the “equal” part was ignored.

5. Laws limiting the 15th Amendment 

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Laws established a literacy test African Americans had to pass in order to be able to vote; all voters had to read a passage from the Constitution. However, whites were not required to pass the test. A poll tax made it harder for poor farmers to pay, so many could not vote. A “grandfather clause” meant that if your grandfather voted, you could as well; this kept many African Americans from voting because their grandfathers had not been given that right.

6. Discrimination in the North 

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Northern states were not as discriminatory as in the South, but there was still discrimination there. In the North, neighborhoods were racially separated, blacks were last hired, first fired, and Blacks had little political power.

5-1.4 

Compare the political, economic, and social effects of Reconstruction on different populations in the South and in other regions of the United States.

Effects on Rich Southerners 1.

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The southern elite wanted to quickly get rich again off of cotton production and thus keep their high social position and political power. As a result of losing their slave work force and a lack of cash to hire free workers, Southern planters were forced to find another way to work their land, entering into sharecropping relationships with freedmen. Some Southern land owners complained that under Reconstruction, they would lose their land due to high taxes. Few did, however. Most landowners continued to own their land and be the social elite of the South. They had economic control over the sharecroppers and they got political power back after Reconstruction ended.

Standard 5-1.4 Economic and Social Effects of the Reconstruction Period on: Economic Effects

Social Effect

Southern Landowners

Some landowners lost their land because of higher Taxes. Landowners who still owned their land had economic control over sharecroppers.

Most landowners continued to own their land and be the Social elite. Landowners regained political control.

African Americans

They were often denied the right to own land. Worked as sharecroppers. Economically dependent on the landowner for land and credit

They moved away from the plantations, thus they gained some Social independence.

Poor Southern Whites

They were also economically dependent on landowners for land and credit. Entered into sharecropping or tenant farming. They were in constant debt and poverty.

Were allowed to have some political voice for the first time. They were called scalawags by southern elite. They remained in social inferiority.

Northerners

Some came as missionaries and entrepreneurs. They helped to educate the freedmen and rebuild the economy of the south.

Some moved to the South to take advantage of the South. They were called Carpetbaggers.

Sharecropping

Southern planters were forced to find another way to work their land, so they entered into sharecropping with the freedmen and poor whites.

Most landowners remained the elite, while the sharecroppers now had social independence but they still remained dependent on the landowners.

Effects on African Americans 1.

2. 3. 4. 5.

Most freedmen tried hard to reestablish family connections and provide the basic necessities of life for their families. Most businessmen wanted to have a cheap labor system with high productivity. Consequently, freedmen were not given the opportunity to own land. However, they were willing to enter into sharecropping agreements. They moved away from the Big House to the plot of land they would work. They refused to work in work gangs or have their wives and children work the fields from sun up to sun down as they had been forced to do under slavery.

Effects on African Americans 6.

Thus African Americans did get some social freedom, although they remained economically dependent on the landowners for land and credit.

7.

Many sought the opportunity to attend school and to worship as they pleased.

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They voted and elected African Americans and white Republicans who supported their interests to political offices.

Effects on Poor Southern Whites 1. 2.

3. 4.

For poor whites, the Reconstruction period allowed some to have a political voice for the first time. Because they cooperated with the Republican government in the South, poor whites were called ‘scalawags’ by the Southern elite and stayed in a low social position. Some poor whites entered into sharecropping or tenant farming relationships with landowners. Like African-American sharecroppers, they were economically dependent on the land owner for land and credit. These poor farmers needed cash advances on the crop in order to feed their families while they waited for the harvest. Often money from the harvest did not cover the debt, or the farmer needed to borrow again the next year in order to provide for his family. This kept the sharecropper in constant debt and poverty and kept him from moving or changing crops.

Effects on Northerners: Carpetbaggers Some Northerners moved to the South during Reconstruction. 2. Southerners accused these Northerners of taking advantage of the South, devastated by the war, and called them “carpetbaggers.” This insulting name suggested that they had packed all of their belongings in a carpetbag and come south to line their own pockets. 3. However, most of the Northern migrants came as missionaries and entrepreneurs to help to educate the freedmen and rebuild the economy of the South. 1.

Southern Change from Farms to Factories 

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After Reconstruction ended (during the last two decades of the 19th century), the southern economy began to move from farms to factories. Entrepreneurs began to build textile factories in the South. When prices for cotton fell due to worldwide overproduction and decreased demand, farmers couldn’t make as much money. Cotton depleted the soil and the boll weevil devastated cotton crops and forced more farmers from the land. Textile factories attracted white workers from the farms. However, most jobs at the mills were denied to African American workers.

Civil War and Reconstruction Timeline 1860-1877Find dates and rewrite in sequential order Civil War Lincoln’s Assassination Lincoln’s Election Lincoln’s Plan AJ takes over AJ’s Plan 13th Amendment 14th Amendment 15th Amendment KKK AJ’s Impeachment Trial End of Reconstruction