In March, 1868, Congress tried to remove President Andrew Johnson from office. At that time, Congress was controlled by radical members of the Republican Party. They opposed Johnson, a Democrat Congress failed to remove Johnson. But it did succeed in getting control of efforts to rebuild the South following America's Civil War.Radical Republicans wanted to punish the South for starting the war. They also wanted to be sure new governments in the southern states would support the Republican Party.I'm Frank Oliver. Today, Doug Johnson and I tell about this reconstruction.One way radical Republicans gained support was by helping give blacks the right to vote. They knew former slaves would vote for the party which had freed them.Another way Republicans
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This prevented the majority of southern whites from voting for Democrats and against Republicans.Congress also made strong rules about what southern states had to do to re-enter the Union. It said each of the states needed a new constitution that protected the voting rights of all black men. And it said each southern state must approve an amendment to the United States Constitution that gave citizenship to blacks.The radicals did not rest with changes in the law. They also sent their supporters south to organize blacks for the Republican Party. Many southern whites hated these men from the North. They had a special name for them: carpetbaggers.The name arose because many of the northerners who went south arrived with all their possessions in a carpet handbag. Southerners also had a name for their own people who cooperated with the carpetbaggers. They called them scalawags. Neither name was …show more content…
He gave government jobs to many dishonest men, including some who were wanted for crimes in other states.The same situation existed in other state governments in the South. In Louisiana, for example, the governor was a carpetbagger from the state of Illinois. He left office after four years with one million dollars. His official pay during that time was only 32,000 dollars.The South was not the only place where public officials were dishonest.The period after the Civil War in the United States was marked by several famous incidents involving violations of the public trust. Some of these incidents took place in the North, even in the White House. They were among the worst examples of dishonesty and poor government ever to take place in American history.It also is important to note that not everyone in the south was dishonest. The new state governments did many good things.They built roads and bridges, schools and hospitals. They improved transportation and education. They loaned money to companies to build railroads. Most important, they helped give hope to former slaves. These people were struggling to create a new life in the land of their former owners.So, the record of reconstruction in
This prevented the majority of southern whites from voting for Democrats and against Republicans.Congress also made strong rules about what southern states had to do to re-enter the Union. It said each of the states needed a new constitution that protected the voting rights of all black men. And it said each southern state must approve an amendment to the United States Constitution that gave citizenship to blacks.The radicals did not rest with changes in the law. They also sent their supporters south to organize blacks for the Republican Party. Many southern whites hated these men from the North. They had a special name for them: carpetbaggers.The name arose because many of the northerners who went south arrived with all their possessions in a carpet handbag. Southerners also had a name for their own people who cooperated with the carpetbaggers. They called them scalawags. Neither name was …show more content…
He gave government jobs to many dishonest men, including some who were wanted for crimes in other states.The same situation existed in other state governments in the South. In Louisiana, for example, the governor was a carpetbagger from the state of Illinois. He left office after four years with one million dollars. His official pay during that time was only 32,000 dollars.The South was not the only place where public officials were dishonest.The period after the Civil War in the United States was marked by several famous incidents involving violations of the public trust. Some of these incidents took place in the North, even in the White House. They were among the worst examples of dishonesty and poor government ever to take place in American history.It also is important to note that not everyone in the south was dishonest. The new state governments did many good things.They built roads and bridges, schools and hospitals. They improved transportation and education. They loaned money to companies to build railroads. Most important, they helped give hope to former slaves. These people were struggling to create a new life in the land of their former owners.So, the record of reconstruction in