AMENDMENT
13th 14th 15th
YEAR RATIFIED
1865 1867 1870
WHO IT WAS RATIFIED UNDER
President Lincoln
Congress (even though Johnson vetoed
it)
President Grant
DETAILS
•Banned slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime•Necessary because the emancipation proclamation did not free all slaves
•All citizens were granted “equal protection of the laws”•It defined a citizen as “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” •It did not include Native Americans•It forbade states to “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”•If a state denied any male citizen who was 21 years old (or older) the right to vote, that state would have its representation in Congress reduced
•It forbade any state to deny any citizen the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous servitude.”•It did not apply to Native Americans or women
Lincoln and Reconstruction
“with malice [harm] towards none, charity for all” – Lincoln
- Confederate officials pardoned (forgiven of their crimes)
- Freedmen’s Bureau established
Government agency set up to help former slaves who wanted to learn to read and write and set up their own communities
Freedmen’s Bureau
Ex-slaves and poor whites were aided by the federal governmentGave them clothing and foodHelped them to look for jobsProvided medical care for over 1
million peopleSet up schools – first funding of all
black colleges (Howard University)
Freedmen’s Bureau
With Johnson in charge…
- Promised to return Confederate property in exchange for pledging loyalty to the United States
- Southern states set up new state gov’ts – many refused to ratify 13th amendment
- Southern states pass “black codes” which limit freedoms of former slaves and criminalize African-American life
Black Codes
Excerpts from Codes of Mississippi: African-Americans …
must have written proof of employment at all times
are forbidden to meet in unsupervised groups cannot carry any form of weapon
OR RISK INCARCERATION! (prison confinement and labor)
Civil Rights Act 1866 All persons born in the United
States were citizens (except Native Americans) But not Native Americans…
Stated all citizens were entitled to equal rights (regardless of race)
Johnson vetoes and Congress overrides
Proposed 14th amendment but hit resistance by South and president
RADICAL RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION 1867RECONSTRUCTION 1867
*Divided South into 5 military military districtsdistricts
*Planter class lost right to vote
Before Southern states could re-enter union they must:
1) Ratify 14th amendment (citizenship)
2) Allow African-American men to vote (15th amendment)
3) Disband state governments and write new state constitutions
Military DistrictsMilitary Districts
What was not done?
Land reform! Suggestion of 40
acres and a mule (Sherman) never realized
Why is economic independence so important?
Most of the new delegates writing southern state constitutions were Republican poor white farmersnicknamed Scalawags (scoundrels)for going along with the “radical” plan
Carpetbaggers: People who headed South carrying only a cheap suitcase, known as a “carpetbag”
Some African-American delegates as well
Johnson fights back and so does Congress! Tenure of Office Act – prohibited
Johnson from firing government officials without approval from Senate
1868 – Johnson fires Secretary of War Stanton over disagreements
Leads to impeachment hearings against Johnson – acquitted by a single vote!
Think about it…
How does your plan compare to what the actual Congress voted to do during the Reconstruction period?
Evaluate their decisions – was enough done?