richmond, virginia—street in the burned district
TRANSCRIPT
Richmond, Virginia—Street in the burned district
Questions your group needs to address:
1.What do you do with (now) former prisoners of war? Discuss this from both the Northern & Southern perspectives.2.What do you do with former Confederate Generals?3.What do you do with the states that seceded from the Union?4.How do you solve financial debt?5.What do you do with former slaves that are now free men?
The national debate over Reconstruction centered on three main issues:
1. What were the terms under which the defeated Confederate states should be allowed to reenter the Union? What demands, if any, should be made upon them before they reenter? Should Congress or the president establish the terms?
2. Should anyone be punished for the rebellion and to what extent?
3. To what degree should the national government assist the newly freed slaves (often referred to as freedmen) in participating in the political and social life of the South?
RECONSTRUCTION
President Lincoln Congress
Radical Republicans vs. moderate Republicans
President Johnson
RECONSTRUCTION PLANS
Thomas Nast's Original "The Union Christmas" Civil War PrintThis is probably the most touching and moving Abraham Lincoln print to come out of the Civil War era. The leaf was printed on December 31, 1864, and Thomas Nast was the artist. The print shows Mr. Lincoln standing at the door, inviting the Southern Rebels to come in from the cold and snow, and rejoin the union.
A large banquet table has been prepared, and the table has empty chairs labeled Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and so forth. The print has a large banner that reads, "The Union Christmas Dinner, Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men." The print has four insets, one showing Robert E. Lee offering his surrender to Grant (something that did happen a few months later. The second inset is captioned, "Lay Down your Arms and You Will be Welcome", which shows Rebel Soldiers being welcomed back into the Union. The third inset presents the Rebels as the prodigal son returning home, and the forth inset shows a soldier bowing down to accept a pardon from Lady Liberty.
For all the pain and all the loss of the Civil War, we see by the end of 1864, there were signs of hope. Nast creates this image of hope by showing a country tired of war, and willing to invite their former countrymen to once again sit at the table of fellowship and Union. Within three months of this image being made, Mr. Lincoln was dead, assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. However, Nast's vision of a country once again united did come to pass.
•Lincoln’s _____________plan: In it all southerners, except high-ranking Confederate officials, could get a full pardon and restoration of rights after taking an oath, pledging loyalty to the Union and accepting the end of slavery. When ten percent of the 1860 voting population had taken this oath, citizens could vote in elections that would create new state governments and new state constitutions. After that the state would once again be eligible for representation in Congress and readmitted to the Union.
Group of abolitionist American politicians that proposed harsh policies towards Confederates during the Reconstruction Era.
Most well known Radicals:
Senator Charles Sumner
Pennsylvania Representative _______________________
RADICAL REPUBLICANS
Senator Benjamin Wade
THADDEAS STEVENS ON RECONSTRUCTION
The President assumes, what no one doubts, that the late rebel States have lost their constitutional relations to
the Union, and are incapable of representation in Congress, except by permission of the Government. It matters
but little, with this admission, whether you call them States out of the Union, and now conquered territories, or
assert that because the Constitution forbids them to do what they did do, that they are therefore only dead as to
all national and political action, and will remain so until the Government shall breathe into them the breath of life
anew and permit them to occupy their former position. In other words, that they are not out of the Union, but are
only dead carcasses lying within the Union. In either case, it is very plain that it requires the action of Congress to
enable them to form a State government and send representatives to Congress. Nobody, I believe, pretends that
with their old constitutions and frames of government they can be permitted to claim their old rights under the
Constitution. They have torn their constitutional States into atoms, and built on their foundations fabrics of a
totally different character. Dead men cannot raise themselves. Dead States cannot restore their existence "as it
was." Whose especial duty is it to do it? In whom does the Constitution place the power? Not in the judicial
branch of Government, for it only adjudicates and does not prescribe laws. Not in the Executive, for he only
executes and cannot make laws. Not in the Commander-in-Chief of the armies, for he can only hold them under
military rule until the sovereign legislative power of the conqueror shall give them law. Unless the law of nations is
a dead letter, the late war between two acknowledged belligerents severed their original compacts and broke all
the ties that bound them together. The future condition of the conquered power depends on the will of the
conqueror. They must come in as new states or remain as conquered provinces. Congress . . . is the only power
that can act in the matter.
• Lincoln wanted to restore national unity (speedy)– March 5, 1865 “With
Malice toward None…”
• Issued Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (Dec. 1863):– Would give a _________
___________ to all southerners (except high-ranking Confederate leaders) who would:
• Restoration of rights and property
• swear allegiance to the Constitution
• accept emancipation
– After _____% of the citizens of a southern state took that oath, the state would be readmitted.
Believed southerners should be punished harshly.
Proposed the Wade-Davis Bill (July 4, 1864): The South could set up government according to the following terms:
Governor appt. by Pres. & approved by Congress
At least _______ of voters in a conquered state take oath of allegiance.
Ex-Confederates would be banned from drafting new state constitutions (IRONCLAD OATH).
State constitutions must __________ slavery and grant citizenship/voting rights to freedmen
Passed Congress on July 2, 1864.
Lincoln did not sign the bill: “southern states should be able to choose between both plans”
PunishForgive
13th Amendment: Abolished Slavery
• After debating the amendment, the Senate passed it on April 8, 1864, by a vote of 38 to 6.
• Although they initially rejected the amendment, the House of Representatives passed it on January 31, 1865, by a vote of 119 to 56.
• President Abraham Lincoln then submitted the proposed amendment to the states for _______________.
• Secretary of State William Henry Seward issued a statement verifying the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 18, 1865.
Assassination of April 14, 1865: President Lincoln was assassinated while attending a performance of Our American Cousin at __________ Theater in Washington, D.C. The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, escaped with a broken leg, but he was shot later. Lincoln was succeeded by his vice president, Andrew Johnson.
_________________________: He was a Southern sympathizer during the Civil War, who plotted with six fellow-conspirators to assassinate Union leaders. On Apr. 14, 1865, he shot President Lincoln during a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. He escaped, but was later shot and killed.
_____________________ (1819-1892)1 O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,
2 The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won, 3 The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, 4 While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring; 5 But O heart! heart! heart! 6 O the bleeding drops of red, 7 Where on the deck my Captain lies, 8 Fallen cold and dead. 9 O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; 10 Rise up -- for you the flag is flung -- for you the bugle trills, 11 For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths -- for you the shores a-crowding, 12 For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; 13 Here Captain! dear father! 14 This arm beneath your head! 15 It is some dream that on the deck, 16 You've fallen cold and dead.
17 My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still, 18 My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will, 19 The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done, 20 From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; 21 Exult O shores, and ring O bells! 22 But I with mournful tread, 23 Walk the deck my Captain lies, 24 Fallen cold and dead.
O Captain! My Captain!
Johnson Becomes President (April 1865)
• Began life as a poor ____________
• Owned 5 slaves until 1862 (Tenn. Rebels)
• Racist: “…inferior to the white man in point of intellect…better calculated in physical structure to undergo drudgery and hardship.”
• Democratic Senator (Tenn.)
• Only _________________ Senator to support the Union (held aristocratic planter class responsible for secession)
• Becomes Pres. In April 1865; Congress not due in session until December
Johnson’s Plan
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or
any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Pardoned many ex-_______________ (14,000)
Returned confiscated land to ex-Confederates.
Set easy terms for readmission to the Union
1. States had to ____________their acts of secession (South Carolina and Georgia)
2. States had to abolish slavery (ratify13th Amendment)
3. States had to refuse to pay Confederate government debts (this was intended to punish southerners who had financed the war)
Why did many Americans consider President Johnson’s plan unfair?
• It allowed former Confederates to go unpunished.
• It allowed former Confederates to take office and control state legislatures
• It allowed for these new state governments to enact _________ _________ that restricted the rights of freedmen.
• It led to ex-Confederates getting elected to Fed. Govt. (Elections of 1865)– 15 of 80 Senators and House of Reps had served in Confederate
Army (10 were generals)– Another 16 had served in judicial and civil posts– Another 9 had served in the Confederate Congress– Alexander Stephens had served as VP of the Confederacy
Congress continues to Act _________ _________
• Was created in March 1865 to aid the millions of southerners left homeless and hungry by the war.
• Distributed millions of free __________ to black and white refugees
• Set up hospitals
• Brought thousands of white southerners back onto farms to make a living again.
• Served as an ________________ agency
• Operated schools (By 1869, hundreds of schools for African Americans had been established in the South)– Built schools and provided teachers to give blacks the education they had been
denied under slavery– Helped establish colleges for black students, including Howard University,
Hampton Institute, Atlanta University, and Fisk University
Roles of the Freedmen’s Bureau:
•Distribute food and clothing
•Served as an employment agency
•Set up hospitals and schools
•African American Universities: Atlanta, Howard, Fisk
Freedmen’s School
Johnson Vetoes Bill
• In February 1866 Congress passed the Freedman’s Bureau Bill to extend the life of the agency
• Surprisingly, Johnson ______________ the bill, citing constitutional and financial reasons:
– “It was never intended that the Freedmen should be fed, clothed, educated, and sheltered by the United States.”
– Johnson disagreed with allowing the Bureau to deal with cases involving discrimination or infringement of civil rights---(claimed this should be left to the courts)
Congress (Republicans) Vs. Johnson
• Republican-dominated Congress refused to seat the southern representatives.
• In early 1866, Congress began hearings on conditions in the South.
• Witness after witness presented evidence of postwar violence– African Americans recounted stories of murder
and the burning of____________, homes, and schools
• A move was made by Republicans to extend the life of the Freedman’s Bureau
Result: Former Confederates Enact Black Codes
• Resembled pre-Civil War slave codes– i.e. Mississippi only substituted the word
“freedman” for “slave”
• Varied from state to state
• Aimed to prevent African Americans from achieving social, political, and _________ equality
Freedmen’s School Burns Memphis (1866)
Race Riots
• May 1, 1866 two carriages collided on the streets of Memphis
– Police officers arrested the black driver but not the white driver
– Blacks protested; white mob gathered
– Led to a 3-day riot in which white rioters (mainly police officers and firefighters) killed 46 African Americans and burned 12 schools and 4 churches
Examples of Black Codes• African Americans could not hold _____________ unless whites
were present
• Forbade them to __________ without __________, own guns, attend schools with whites, sit on juries, etc…
• Reestablished white control over labor– Forced African Americans to return to the fields…
• Some states required blacks to only work as servants; • Some states required blacks to pay taxes to work in other
occupations.
– Several states required blacks to sign long-term labor contracts (those who refused could be arrested)
– Apprenticeship laws: Most states allowed judges to bind black children to white employers if they deemed the parents unable to support them (thousands of black children worked for planters)
PRESIDENT JOHNSON’S RECONSTRUCTION PLAN
FORMER CONFEDERATES ENACT BLACK CODES
EFFECTS OF CODES ON AFRICAN AMERICANS● Tried to deprive freed people of equality● Re-established white control over African American labor
BENEFITS TO FORMER CONFEDERATES● Blanket pardon for most rebels● Easy terms of readmission to the Union;: states had to nullify their acts of secession, abolish slavery, and refuse to pay war debts
EFFECTS OF PRESIDENT JOHNSON’S RECONSTRUCTION PLAN ON FORMER
CONFEDERATES AND THE EFFECTS OF THE BLACK CODES ON FREEDPEOPLE
Congress Passes ______ ______Bill
• First Civil Rights law in nation’s history
• Declared that everyone __________ in the U.S. was a citizen with full civil rights; however, it still did NOT guarantee voting rights
• This law was written to overturn the 1857 Dred __________ ruling and to nullify the recently enacted black codes.
• “If the President vetoes the Civil Rights Bill, we shall be obliged to draw our swords.”
--Ohio senator
Not this Time!
• Johnson vetoes the bill, arguing that it would centralize power in the federal government.
• This veto eroded any support he had had in Congress—Moderates and Radicals unite:
Congress __________ the veto of the Civil Rights Act.
Congress passed a new Freedman’s Bureau Bill, overriding Johnson’s veto yet again.
Help is on the way!!!
_______________Northern Republicans who moved South during Reconstruction
RECONSTRUCTION ACT OF 1867
2. ____________- Name given to southerners who now backed
reconstruction and helped with the rebuilding process
3. The Freedmen Bureau – agency developed to help the
homeless and the hungry
More Helpful Ideas:
4.Joint Committee of 15 established by Congress to
examine successes and failures of reconstruction
5._______________ Act – divided the South into 5 military districts
The Fourteenth Amendment (Ratified 1868)
• Congress attempted to answer all of Johnson’s Constitutional objections to the Civil Rights Bill with the 14th Amendment: 1. Required states to extend equal citizenship to
African Americans and all people “born or naturalized in the U.S.”
2. It denied states the right to deprive anyone of “life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”
3. It promised all citizens the “equal protection of the laws.”
Fourteenth Amendment (Cont’d)
• DID NOT GUARANTEE AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS
• It did, however, reduce the representation of any state that did not allow its adult male citizens to vote.– The more African American men who were not allowed to vote, the
fewer representatives that state could send to Congress
• If the Southern states accepted this amendment, they could enter the Union: TENNESSEE
• Johnson campaigned heavily against this amendment.
Events causing Conflict b/w Johnson & Senate
1.Vetoes Freedmen’s Bureau Bill
2.Vetoes Civil Rights Bill of 1866 which declared every one born in U.S. a full citizen with civil rights
3. 14th Amendment - Granted rights of citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S.
Denied states the right to deprive anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process
At the same time the Reconstruction Acts were passed, the Tenure of Office Act is passed to limit the power of the President. The Also passed the Command of the Army Act to prevent the president from issuing military orders except through the commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant. (Who could not be removed without the approval of the Senate).
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Reasons House impeached Johnson Reasons Senate Acquitted Johnson
Articles 1-8: Charged Johnson with illegally violating the ______________ ________________ – prohibited the President from removing any appointed govt. official without Senate approval
Article 9: Accused Johnson of violating the Command of the Army Act – required Johnson to issue all military orders through the General of the Army instead of dealing directly with military governors in the South
Article 10-11: Accused Johnson of making “inflammatory and scandalous speeches.”
• Weak case against Johnson
• Failure to prove that Johnson was guilty of “bribery, treason, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”
• Personal dislike of potential presidential successor (Benjamin Wade)
• Fear that impeachment would weaken future presidents and threaten checks and balances
Main Reason for Impeachment:
Violated Tenure of Office Act
(Senate must approve the removal of an official) Johnson challenged this by firing
Secretary of War – Edward Stanton
Article II Section 4Conviction of treason, bribery, and any
other high crime or misdemeanor
Step #1 – The ____________ charges president with crime by majority vote
Step # 2 – Certain House members act as lawyers and prosecute the president and the ___________ acts as the jury and listens to charges while the _________ __________ of the Supreme Court (Salmon P. Chase) acts as judge
Step # 3 – Senate votes – if 2/3rds vote guilty the president is removed from office
______________________: This act was passed in Congress with nearly unanimous Republican support in March 1866, and it attempted to redress the issue of slavery by defining all persons born in the nation as citizens. It also specified the rights of citizens, the right to sue, make contracts, give evidence in court, hold, convey, and inherit property.
_________________Amendment: The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1865. It prohibited "slavery or involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." This amendment guaranteed freedom for African Americans.
_________________ Amendment: The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868. It said that no state can make or enforce any law which "deprives any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Also, states could not "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
_________________ Amendment: Secretary of State Hamilton Fish ratified the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of United States on March 30, 1870. This amendment explicitly forbid denial of the right to vote for citizens "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Post Civil War
The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan:secret terrorist organization formed by
6 ex-confederates soldiers
The Grand Wizard: (Head of the Klan) Nathan Bedford____________
Led murders on Republicans – killing many whites and blacks that sided with the Republican Party
Klansmen burned schools, homes, churches
These events led to the
_________________Acts (document):designed to help protect against the KKK
KKK 3 Main Objectives: During Reconstruction
1.Prevent Blacks from voting
2.Destroy Republican Party
3.Frighten African Americans political leaders
Strange Fruithttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFIficim0ds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjfGcRM35xg&feature=related
Emmitt Till by Bob Dylan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
Martin Luther King "I have a dream"
Committee on Public InformationIt was headed by George Creel. The purpose of this committee was to mobilize people's minds for war, both in America and abroad. Tried to get the entire U.S. public to support U.S. involvement in WWI. Creel's organization, employed some 150,000 workers at home and oversees. He proved that words were indeed weapons.
George Creel Journalist who was responsible for selling America on WWI and was head of the Committee on Public Information. He was also responsible for selling the world on Wilsonian war aims.
suspension of habeas corpus: Writs of habeas corpus are court orders requiring that the a cause of imprisonment be demonstrated before a person is jailed. This basic civil liberty was suspended by both Lincoln and Davis during the war to deal with dissent. Lincoln used it to intimidate border states into rejecting secession.
A fine line?
Remember the article about the arrest of editors of newspapers as a result of the violation of the suspension during the Civil War.
Office of Censorship, Office of War Information: Roosevelt wanted public opinion to be positive during the war, and in 1941, he established the Office of Censorship. It examined all written documents, including works of publishers and broadcasters, as well as all letters going overseas, in order to maintain the positive public opinion in America.
Ex parte Milligan: Ex parte Milligan was an 1866 Supreme Court limiting the authority of martial law and the suspension of habeas corpus in times of war. In this case, the court declared that "martial law can never exist where the courts are open in the proper and unobstructed exercise of their jurisdiction."
Civil Rights violations - It was illegal then, why isn’t it illegal in the future?
Examples of “Jim Crow” laws:
1. All voters had to pay a two-dollar poll tax ( voting tax) when they registered to vote2. Voters had to pass a test to prove their ability to read and understand documents such as
the state and federal constitutions or the Declaration of Independence to register.3. Voters were required to own land or property to register.4. Blacks were denied the use of public parks, beaches, and picnic areas.5. Blacks and whites could not go to school together.
Education Separate schools shall be maintained for the children of the white and colored races. Mississippi
Lunch Counters No persons, firms, or corporations, who or which furnish meals topassengers at station restaurants or station eating houses, in times limited by common carriersof said passengers, shall furnish said meals to white and colored passengers in the same room,or at the same table, or at the same counter. South Carolina
Teaching Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution wheremembers of the white and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instructionshall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in anysum not less than ten dollars ($10.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense.Oklahoma
Civil Rights violations - It was illegal then, why isn’t it illegal in the future?
literacy tests, poll tax: Literacy tests were given to blacks with the idea that they would be denied the right to vote since most could not read. The poll tax prevented African-Americans from voting by requiring all voters to pay a tax, which blacks could not afford. In 1966, the poll tax was outlawed in all elections.
Literacy tests: Passed by Congress in 1917 in order to restrict immigration, the law enlarged the group of immigrants that could be excluded from the United States. Literacy tests were imposed on all immigrants, and any immigrant who could not pass the tests was not allowed entry into the U.S.
To Secure These Rights: The 1946 Committee on Civil Rights dramatized the inequities of life in the South and under the Jim Crow laws. It called for an end to racial discrimination and segregation, and was called "an American charter of human freedom," by President Truman.
desegregation of the armed forces, 1948: Truman ended segregation in the army to provide support during World War II to ensure victory. He was the first president to deal with the legislative civil rights since the implementation of Reconstruction and fought for many other civil rights acts but was denied.
"separate but equal": Enacted because of the inferiority complex given to blacks, it set forth an attempt to liberalize without losing control. The Supreme Court said that it had no place in schools, so it ordered the desegregation of schools, navy yards and veteran hospitals.
•BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION OF TOPEKA: The Supreme Court reversed Plessy v. Ferguson in 1954 by ruling in favor of the desegregation of schools. The court held that "separate but equal" violated the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and was unconstitutional. Refusing to force the white south to accept the ruling, defiance toward the law sprang up. Many southerners saw it as "an abuse of judiciary power."
Felon voting bans were adopted by states in the late 1860’s and 1870’s as the 15th Amendment was extending voting rights to African Americans. States with larger nonwhite prison populations were more likely to ban convicted felons from voting than states where more whites were in the prison population. States with more white prisoners in the 20th century were subsequently more likely to soften or repeal these laws than states with higher African-American prison po9lulations. Southern states have been significantly less likely to repeal laws that prevent ex-felons from ever voting again.
SOURCE: State and Local Politics Institutions and Reform, Todd Donovan, Christopher Z. Mooney, Daniel A. Smith
Civil Rights Act,1957: Eisenhower passed this bill to establish a permanent commission on civil rights with investigative powers but it did not guarantee a ballot for blacks. It was the first civil-rights bill to be enacted after Reconstruction which was supported by most non-southern whites.
Civil Rights Act, 1960: Eisenhower passed this bill to appease strong southern resistance and only slightly strengthened the first measures provisions. Neither act was able to empower federal officials to register the right to vote for African-Americans and was not effective.
Twenty-fourth Amendment: The 24th Amendment, adopted in 1964, gave voting rights to every American citizen, regardless of their race or religion. It also prohibited the use of the poll tax or any tax that denied the vote. The amendment gave Congress the power to enforce it with legislation.
CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964, public accommodations section of the act: Passed under the Johnson administration, this act outlawed segregation in public areas and granted the federal government power to fight black disfranchisement. The act also created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to prevent discrimination in the work place. This act was the strongest civil rights legislation since Reconstruction and invalidated the Southern Caste System.
VOTING RIGHTS ACT, 1965: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed as a Great Society program under the Johnson administration. It prohibited the use of literacy tests as a part of the voter registration process which were initially used as a method to control immigration to the United States during the 1920s. The act enabled federal examiners to register anyone who qualified in the South, giving the power of the vote to underrepresented minorities.
Civil Rights Act, 1968: The Civil Rights Act of 1968 barred discrimination in housing sales or rentals. This act was a part of a series of new legislation that encouraged desegregation of blacks in America. The act was a key piece of legislation which ensured blacks more equal rights.