Reconstruction Era and Amendments Quiz

Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

• Spanning from 1865 to 1877, this era followed the American Civil War.
• Also known as the period of rebuilding the nation after the war.
• Marked by significant political and social changes, including efforts to reintegrate Southern states into the Union, and address the status of formerly enslaved people.

Amendments (AKS 36 a-e)

• 13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery in the United States. Freed all enslaved people and in US territories. Initially, President Johnson advocated for quick reintegration of Southern states, but Congress disagreed, wanting further actions by these states.

• 14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., and ensured equal protection under the law. Tennessee at first approved, but Congress demanded other Southern states approve before they were readmitted to the Union.

• 15th Amendment (1870): Ensured voting rights for all male citizens regardless of race. This amendment prohibited denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude.

Reconstruction Plans and Figures

• Presidential Reconstruction: President Lincoln's initial plan for lenient reintegration of former Confederate states. Included requirements such as loyalty oaths and new state constitutions. However, he was assassinated before implementing this fully. Johnson took over and continued in similar terms, but his approach was later opposed by Congress.
• Congressional Reconstruction: Congress, disagreeing with President Johnson's approach, took a more punitive and demanding approach to reintegrate former Confederate states. Military involvement and enforcement of Amendments became key. They imposed conditions that required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment before reentry into the Union. Implemented a Reconstruction Act creating military districts, effectively placing certain states under federal control.
• Significant figures - Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S Grant.

Reconstruction Issues and Events

• Ku Klux Klan (KKK): A white supremacist terrorist group emerged as the Reconstruction era progressed. The KKK used violence and intimidation as a way to oppose black advancement. Efforts to establish their social control challenged the efforts of Reconstruction in the South.
• Black Codes: Designed to restrict rights to formerly enslaved people, aiming to control labor, and enforce social hierarchy. These were implemented by Southern states, generating conflict with the federal government and triggering Congressional action via the 14th Amendment.
• Sharecropping and Tenant Farming: Post-war economic systems in the South. Former landowners and former enslaved people participated in labor, but these systems often left sharecroppers and tenant farmers in a cycle of debt to landowners. Cotton production remained vital, but under new forms of labor relations.
• Removal of Black Legislators: In Georgia, and other Southern states, black officials were expelled from their positions in the State legislature in part due to the political and social conflicts of the time.
• Camilla Massacre: An event in which the KKK, and others, allegedly attacked hundreds of black marchers, resulted in violence, and intimidation.

Economic Impacts

• Continued struggle: Despite physical infrastructure rebuilding, Georgia's economic system was challenged. The reliance on cotton alongside new labor systems led to challenges, including high debt issues for farmers and sharecroppers.
• Textile industry growth: Northern textile manufacturing investments expanded in the South, leading to the development of textile mill industries. These factories, however, contributed to the already existing issue of racial and socioeconomic inequality.

Reconstruction's End

• 1870s and 1876 election: The election of 1876 was intensely disputed, finally resulting in Rutherford Hayes being declared President, with terms related to military withdrawal from many Southern states. This effectively marked the end of the Reconstruction era.