Untitled Quiz

The Ordeal of Reconstruction

• The massive economic devastation of the Southern states following the Civil War impacted cities, railroads, and infrastructure.
• Cities like Richmond, Columbia, and Charleston were reduced to ruins, with empty and rotting buildings.
• Economic activity halted, factories were destroyed or idled, and farmlands lay fallow.
• Property values collapsed and Confederate bonds were worthless.
• There was no investment capital to restart business enterprise.
• The system of slave labor was gone, and the wealth held in enslaved labor was lost, totaling roughly $4 billion.
• Businesses built around cotton, tobacco, sugar, rice, and hemp were severely impacted and needed decades to recover.
• Freed slaves were displaced and disoriented, without familiar resources or capital.

Reconstructing the Nation

• Contrast between the North's prosperity and the South's devastation.
• Republican Party's legislative agenda focused on tariffs, westward land settlement, and banking reform.
• The National Banking Act, Homestead Act, and the first transcontinental railroad were significant achievements.
• The priorities of Reconstruction shifted towards treating the South as occupied territory or reintegrating the former Confederate states as quickly as possible.
• Disagreement between the North and the South on the appropriate treatment of Confederate leaders and citizens.
• Lincoln's plan emphasized leniency and a moderate approach to reintegrating the South.
• Key question of whether the Confederate states were still in the Union or had truly seceded.
• Johnson's veto of the Freedman's Bureau and Civil Rights Act contributed to this division in the Reconstruction process.

Johnson's Presidency

• Johnson prioritized the South’s reintegration but was unpopular with some in Congress.
• His Reconstruction plan focused on restoring state governments with 10% voter support.
• Congress opposed Johnson’s approach to Reconstruction as inadequate and radical Republicans sought greater change.
• Impeachment proceedings against Johnson were initiated and considered.
• The Reconstruction Acts were passed to overrule Johnson's vetoes.
• Grant’s election influenced Reconstruction legislation’s focus.
• Congressional oversight of Reconstruction shifted the focus to the federal government.

End of Reconstruction

• The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction and withdrew federal troops, leading to a contested election and widespread political compromise.
• The withdrawal of federal troops allowed the South to return to its former way of life, leading to the resurgence of white supremacist groups and racial tensions.
• Economic and political turmoil were accompanied by the end of Reconstruction.
• Reconstruction was ultimately an unfinished project, with lasting effects and legacy that spanned many decades.