As-History: The Reconstruction

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What was the Reconstruction?

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The reconstruction happened between 1865-1876.It has many different stages. Some stages were good for African Americans, Other stages were bad for African Americans and hindered their rights considerable.

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What are the key questions about the reconstruction?

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How do we bring the south back into the union?

How do we rebuild the south after its destruction during the war?

How do we integrate and protect newly-emancipated black freedman?

What branch of government should control the process of reconstruction?

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Wartime Reconstruction

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President Lincoln's Plan: Proclamation of Amnesty and reconstruction (December 8th, 1863). Replace majority rule with "loyal rule" in the south. Pardon to all but the highest ranking military and civilian confederate officers. when 10% of the voting population in the 1860 election had taken an oath of loyalty and established a government, it would be recognized.

13th Amendment (see amendments flashcards)

Freedmen's bureau (1865): Bureau of refuees, freedmens, and abandoned lands. Many former northern abolitionists risked their lives to help southern freedmen. Called "carpetbaggers" by southern democrats.

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Presidential Reconstruction: President Andrew Johnson

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Johnson was a Democrat (Lincoln was a republican), White Supremacist, agreed with Lincoln that states had never legally left the union.

President Johnson's Plan (10%+): Offered amnesty upon simple oath to all except confederate civil and military officers and those with property over $20,000. In new constitutions, they must accept minimum conditions repudiating slavery, succession and state debts. Named provisional governors in confederate states and called them to oversee elections for constitutional conventions.

What effects did this plan have: 1. Disenfranchised certain leading confederates. 2, Pardoned planter aristocrats brought them back to political power to control state organisations. 3, republicans were outraged that planter elite were back in power in the south.

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Presidential reconstruction: Growing Northern Alarm

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Many southern states constitutions fell short of minimum requirements. Johnson granted 13,500 special pardons. Revival of southern defiance. This defiance lead to the black codes (card below).

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Presidential Reconstruction: Black Codes

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Southern states enacted their own black codes in 1865 and 1866. Some of the codes actually helped African American Civil Rights. They granted freedom, the right to buy and own property, marry, contracts and testify in court.

However, the primary purpose of the black codes are to restrict blacks labour and activity. Some states limited the type of property that blacks could own, while virtually all the former confederate states passed strict vagrancy and labour contract laws. They also passed "antienticement" measures designed to punish anyone who offered higher wages to black labourers already under contacts. Blacks who broke labour contracts were subject to arrest, beating and forced labour, and apprenticeships laws forced many minors into unpaid labour for white planters.
Passed by a political system in which blacks effectively had no voice, the black codes were enforced by all-white police and state militia forces across the south.

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Presidential Reconstruction: Congress breaks with the president

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Congress bars southern congressional delegates.
Joint committee on reconstruction created. February 1866, the president vetoed the freedmen's bureau bill.
March 1866 Johnson vetoed the 1866 civil rights act.
Congress passed both bills over Johnson's vetoes which was first time in U.S history.

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Radical (congressional) Reconstruction:

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14th Amendments (see Amendments cards)

Republicans take control!!!!!!! Republicans won a 3-1 majority in both houses and gained control of every northern state.

Radical Plan for Readmission: Civil authorities in the territories were subject to military supervision. There were new state constitutions, including black suffrage and ratification of the 13th and 14th amendments (see amendments cards). These must be accepted to be part of the government. In March 1867, congress passed an act that authorized the military to enrol eligible black voters abd begin the process of constitution making.

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Radical (congressional) Reconstruction: Reconstruction acts of 1867

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Military Reconstruction act: Restarts Reconstruction in the 10 Southern states that refused to ratify the 14th amendment. Divided the 10 "unreconstructed states" into 5 military districts.

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Radical (congressional) Reconstruction: President Johnson's impeachment (different Johnson!)

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Johnson removed Stanton in February 1868.

Johnson replaced generals in the field who were more sympathetic to radical reconstruction.

The house impeached him on February 24th before even drawing up the charges by a vote of 125 - 47!

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The Redemption: Legal Challenges to the 14th + 15th amendments

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The Slaughterhouse cases (1873): The court offered a narrow definition of the 14th amendment. It distinguished between national and state citizenship. It gave the states primary authority over citizens' rights. Therefore, the courts weakened civil rights enforcement

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The Redemption: Legal Challenges to the 14th + 15th amendments

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U,S vs. Reese (1876); The court restricted congressional power to enforce the KKK act. The court ruled that the STATE alone could confer voting rights on individuals. The 15th amendment did NOT guarantee a citizen's right to vote, but just listed certain impermissible grounds to deny suffrage. Therefore, a path lay open for southern states to disenfranchise blacks for supposedly non-racial reason (like lack of education, lack of property, etc.).

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The Redemption: Legal Challenges to the 14th + 15th amendments

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U.S vs Cruickshank (1876): LA white supremacists accused of attacking a meeting of blacks and were convicted under the 1870 enforcement acts. The court held that the 14th amendment extended the federal power to protect civil rights only in cases involving discrimination by states. Therefore, discrimination by individuals or groups were not covered.

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The Redemption: Legal Challenges to the 14th + 15th amendments

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Civil rights cases (1883): The court declared the 1875 civil rights act unconstitutional. The court held that the 14th amendment gave congress the power to outlaw discriminations by the states, but not by private individuals. Black people must no longer "be the special favourites of the laws." Therefore, this marked the end of federal attempts to protect African American rights until well into the 20s.