Reconstruction Amendments and Civil Rights (1865-1877)

Reconstruction Amendments (1865-1870)

• 13th Amendment (1865): Freed enslaved people.
• 14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship to African Americans.
• 15th Amendment (1870): Granted voting rights to African American men.

African American Civil Rights (1865-1877)

• Employment: African Americans faced significant difficulty finding jobs, as white employers often refused to hire them.
• Voting Rights: Despite the 15th Amendment, grandfather clauses and poll taxes still disenfranchised many African Americans, who were often impoverished.
• Presidential Opposition: President Johnson actively opposed measures improving African American rights, vetoing many legislative attempts and defunding programs like the Freedmen's Bureau.

Reconstruction Policies

• Congressional Actions: Republicans in Congress successfully overrode Johnson's vetoes on civil rights bills and implemented the Military Reconstruction Act, dividing the South into military zones.
• Key Figures: Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens were prominent opponents of Johnson's policies and strong advocates for African American rights.
• Impeachment Attempt: Johnson faced an impeachment attempt for trying to remove Edward Stanton, Secretary of War and a setback for his power.

Black Codes and Southern Resistance

• Pardons: Johnson granted pardons to many former Confederate officials, allowing them to regain power and influence.
• Black Codes: Southern states enacted Black Codes to limit African American rights, these laws formed the foundation of Jim Crow laws. These codes restricted employment, punished unemployed African Americans with forced labor, and protected perpetrators of violence against them.

African American Political Participation

• Increased Political Power: African American men registered to vote and held political offices, demonstrating significant political power, sometimes alongside "carpetbaggers" (Northerners who moved South) and "scalawags" (Southerners who supported Reconstruction).
• Northern Neglect: While African Americans in the South made strides, African American rights in the North remained largely theoretical.

Freedmen's Bureau

• Purpose: The Freedmen's Bureau was established in 1865 to provide support and aid to recently freed slaves, focusing on education and basic necessities.
• Limited Success: Despite some successes, the Bureau was underfunded by Johnson and its support for education wasn't sufficient, with a large literacy gap remaining by 1890.

Land Ownership and Economic Oppression

• Land Distribution Failure: Johnson’s pardons allowed land ownership to return to former slaveowners.
• Sharecropping System: The sharecropping system, designed in reality to maintain inequality, often trapped African Americans in cycles of debt and economic hardship.

Quality of Life and White Resentment

• Continued Challenges: Despite legal gains, significant challenges persisted (e.g., limited educational opportunities, widespread racism, and violence).
• Southern White Resistance: White Southerners fiercely resisted Reconstruction efforts, fuelled by resentment over lost power and status.

End of Reconstruction (1877)

• Compromises: The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction, as President Hayes withdrew federal troops from the South in return for Democratic acceptance of his presidency.
• Legal Setbacks: Supreme Court decisions (like the Slaughterhouse Cases) weakened constitutional protections for African Americans.
• Rise of Violence: Groups like the Ku Klux Klan used violence to undermine African American rights.

Overall Impact

• Gains: African Americans gained fundamental rights, freedoms, and opportunities.
• Losses: Despite initial gains, the loss of federal protection led to a setback, violence, and economic hardship for many African Americans.
• Failure of Reconstruction: The ultimate failure of Reconstruction stemmed from a combination of factors, including waning Northern commitment and persistent southern resistance to racial equality.