Download - 4. reconstruction era
Reconstruction: refers to the period following the Civil War when the southern states were rebuilt and new political gains emerged for African Americans.
Reconstruction Era(1867-1877)
Problems following the Civil War
Northern States Lost largest number of
soldiers Factories closed Government canceled
work orders Returning soldiers
needed jobs
Southern States Cities in ruins Money worthless Bitter feeling Bridges and Railroad
destroyed Farmland was burned Lost political influence
Ruins in Richmond Ruins of Haxall's Flour Mill in Richmond, Virginia. When Union forces entered the Confederate capital on April 3, 1865, they found much
of the city destroyed by fire.
Savannah house destroyed by Union soldiers
Plans for Reconstruction
Three plans had emerged at the conclusion of the Civil War to help rebuild the southern states:
Lincoln’s Plan (Ten Percent)
Johnson’s Plan Radical Republicans
(Congressional Reconstruction Act of 1867)
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan
Goal: achieve a complete and unified Union peaceful nation instead of a fighting one
Main Ideas: (1) all southerners, except high-ranking Confederate
political and military officials, would be pardoned and regain citizenship when they took an oath to support the Constitution and the emancipation of slaves
(2) when ten percent of the voters in a state took this oath they could establish a legal government that would be recognized by the President
* Wanted to take it easy on southern states* Battled with Congress
Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln would never see his plan take action: On the evening of April
14, 1865, while attending a special performance of the comedy, "Our American Cousin,“ at Ford’s Theater, President Abraham Lincoln was shot
The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, a disgruntled actor
Johnson’s Plan
Vice President Andrew Johnson became President following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination
Agreed with Lincoln’s Plan, however Johnson’s Plan was stricter
Ideas: Pardons would be granted to those taking a loyalty of oath
to uphold the Constitution No pardons would be available to high Confederate
officials A state needed to abolish slavery before being readmitted A state was required to repeal its secession ordinance
before being readmitted.
Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson
Congress wanted harsher terms for Reconstruction
President Andrew Johnson disagreed with congressional views on Reconstruction
Congress determined that President Andrew Johnson had violated the recent Tenure of Office Act and prompted the Republican-controlled House to impeach the president
The Senate fell short of their impeachment process by one vote, however Johnson’s political influence was gone
Radical Republicans
Congressional Military Reconstruction Act of 1867
Ideas: Organized the south into five military districts The states had to have a military leader from the north No state could return to civilian rule and be readmitted
to the Union until white and black voters framed a constitution that guaranteed suffrage to African Americans and ratified the Fourteenth Amendment.
Act banned confederate leaders from voting, and any who didn't pledge their allegiance to the U.S.
Five Military Districts
JIM CROW LAWS
Any law passed with the intention of keeping Blacks and Whites segregated
1830- first law passed in Massachusetts which allowed railroad companies to segregate train cars
Jim Crow Laws
Poll Tax – Must pay to vote.Literacy Test – Must pass a test to vote.Grandfather Clause – If your grandfather
could not vote then you can not.
Plessy v Ferguson
Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal in the United States
“separate-but-equal”
Booker T Washington
Born as a slave in 1856
studied at Hampton University 1872
Founded Tuskegee Institute in 1881
W.E.B.DuBois
First African American to earn PhD from Harvard
Founded Niagara Movement
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
N.A.A.C.P.Fought for the rights of African Americans