Reconstruction Era: 1865-1877

• Reconstruction was the era from 1865-1877 when the US government attempted to rebuild the nation after the Civil War.
• The central questions of Reconstruction were how to readmit seceding Southern states back into the Union, and who—the President or Congress—would be in charge.
• A final consideration was how to rebuild the South after four years of fighting.

Lincoln's View on Reconstruction

• Lincoln stated “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds."
• There were no constitutional guidelines on readmitting states to the Union.
• The President and Congress disagreed on the treatment of Southern states.

Lincoln's 10% Plan (1863)

• State governments would be re-established when 10% of voters in each state took a loyalty oath.
• States were required to write new state constitutions and accept emancipation, which was the 13th Amendment.
• Lincoln's position was to punish individuals but not entire states.

Radical Republicans

• Radical Republicans were a group of Republicans with significant power in Congress.
• The group wanted tougher punishment for the South and more rights and protections for freedmen.
• They rejected Lincoln's plan as too lenient on Confederate traitors.

Wade-Davis Bill

• Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill in 1864.
• It stipulated that 50% of voters would be required to take a loyalty oath to re-establish state governments.
• The bill guaranteed voting rights for black men, and banned ex-Confederate leaders from serving in government.
• Lincoln vetoed the bill, leaving no plan in place after the war's end or following Lincoln's assassination.

Andrew Johnson's Presidential Reconstruction Plan

• Andrew Johnson became president after Lincoln was assassinated.
• His plan was seen as too lenient on Confederate states, with the intention being for the South to rejoin quickly.
• Ex-Confederate states rejoined after ratifying the 13th Amendment.
• Johnson's plan did not require protections for formerly enslaved persons.
• Southern states started to pass Black Codes to keep freedmen from gaining land, jobs, and protection under the law.
• All 11 Confederate states were readmitted, and former Confederates started being elected to Congress.

Congress Responds

• Radical Republicans opposed Johnson's Reconstruction plan.
• Radical Republicans pushed for more protections for African Americans.
• The solution was the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to everyone born in the US, including the formerly enslaved.
• The 14th Amendment guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law.

President vs. Congress

• Johnson felt that the 14th Amendment would slow down Reconstruction and tried to convince states not to ratify it.
• Moderate and Radical Republicans took control of Reconstruction in 1867.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

• The Reconstruction Act of 1867 was a strict plan that protected the rights of the formerly enslaved.
• This act kept Confederate leaders from regaining power in the South.
• The South was divided into five military zones controlled by US troops.
• It required the ratification of the 14th Amendment and that black men be allowed to vote in state elections.
• Johnson vetoed the bill, but it was overturned.

Johnson's Downfall

• The Tenure of Office Act prohibited the President from removing officials without Senate approval.
• Johnson violated this act when he fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who supported Congressional Reconstruction.
• Congress used this opportunity to impeach Johnson.
• The House voted to charge Johnson.
• The Senate found Johnson not guilty by one vote.

Election of 1868

• Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) won the presidency.
• He worked alongside Congress to enforce Reconstruction.
• All ex-Confederate states were readmitted to the United States by 1870.

The Freedmen's Bureau

• Congress created the Freedmen's Bureau in March 1865.
• The Bureau provided food, shelter, and medical aid for freed slaves.
• Education was one of the Freedmen's Bureau's greatest legacies.
• Approximately 3,000 schools were established for freedmen, including several colleges.
• By 1870, an estimated 200,000 African Americans learned to read.

African American Rights during Reconstruction

• The 15th Amendment (1870) stated the right to vote could not be discriminated against on the basis of race.
• The first black politicians were elected to state and national government.
• Literacy and Education increased.
• Black families reunited, marriages were legally recognized, and people worked for their own profit.