Warm-up 9/5/2011

What do you think the daily responsibilities of President are? Make a list of what you think

these responsibilities might be.

What do you think the responsibilities of Lincoln were as the Civil War comes to an end?

Do you think it would be more challenging then being the President today?

The Thirteenth Amendment

The abolishment of slavery in the United States.

This was important because originally the emancipation proclamation only freed slaves in the confederate sates.

Wartime reconstruction

Lincoln battled with congress during the civil war to decide how to handle the South.

Lincoln would develop the Ten Percent Plan: If ten percent of an occupied territory took an oath of allegiance they could begin to set-up a loyal government.

The plan worked in some states but congress refused to seat elected members.

Radical Republican’s Vision of Reconstruction.

• The Radical Republicans were lead by Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania and Charles Sumner of Massachusetts.

• Their view was not to reconcile with the south or as Steven’s put it “Revolutionize Southern institutions, habitats and manners.”

• The Radical’s three goals were 1.Prevent the leaders of the Confederacy from returning to power

after the war.2. The Republican party to become the powerful institution in the

South.3.They wanted the federal to help African Americans achieve Political

equality by guaranteeing their right to vote.

Wade Davis Bill

Many in congress believed that South had forfeited its right to be part of the union and congress would decide how they would come back in.

Congress passes the Wade Davis Bill: Stated that if 50 percent of a state swore loyalty their state could be re admitted but only those 50 could vote.

Lincoln vetoed this bill worried that it punished the south.

Southern Crisis

• While This discussion is taking place what is the state of the South?

• The Economy has collapsed• Hundreds of thousands were unemployed and

homeless• Thousands of African Americans known as

freedmen ran to Union soldiers for aid.• What do you do with the currently freed slaves?

End Result

The debate clearly ends with Lincoln’s AssassinationThough Historians believe Lincoln would have

eventually compromised.What problems does the country face with Andrew

Johnson as President?

Creation of the Freedman’s Bureau

• General Sherman set aside abandoned plantations as a place for Freedmen

• 40,000 African Americans across half a million acres of land

• As a necessity Congress Establishes the Freedman’s Bureau

• As part of the military they would feed and cloth the refugees of the war. As Well as help to establish labor contracts.

Johnson takes office

• Lincoln’s Assassination would drastically change the politics of reconstruction

• Johnson had been a southern democrat before the Civil War. He stayed loyal to the north when his home state of Tennessee seceded

• Johnson Attempted to bring in the same ideas that Lincoln did to reconstruction

The Johnson Presidency

Johnson was from Tennessee and the only senator not to join his peers in succession.

Johnson began to place states under provisional governors chosen by prominent southerners.

These governors were in charge of putting together constitutional conventions

These conventions were suppose to:Make Succession illegal, and ratify the thirteenth

amendment.

Tension forms between Johnson and Congress

Johnson began to allow states to enter, pardoning many form southern leaders as they came humbled to him.

The southern states began to restrict the suffrage rights of freed slaves.

This worried Republicans

Johnson V The Radicals

• The South Followed many of the Presidents demands and began to elect members of congress. Some of which were former Confederate officers and politicians

• Including Alexander Stevens former Vice President of the confederacy

• As a mostly republican congress returned from a recess they were angered by Johnson’s actions

Black Codes

• By allowing former confederate leaders to take office Johnson inadvertently lead to the limiting of the rights of freed slaves

• The Black Codes developed in the south tended to keep African American rights close to the same rights as when they were slaves.

More on black codes.

Unemployment was viewed as a criminal action

The south attempted to segregate African Americans from whites

African Americans could not hold property.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

• As a means to counter the black codes congress passed the Civil Rights act of 1866.

• It granted citizenship to all person born in the U.S. except Native Americans.

Which would make it illegal to discriminate against freedman

Fourteenth AmendmentThis Amendment would give equal rights to under the

law to all Americans

It gave citizenship to all American born or naturalized within the U.S.

The states could not deny these citizens life liberty or property.

During the coming election Johnson would only weaken himself by opposing the Amendment

Fourteenth Amendment

• Granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

• No State could deprive any person of life liberty or property.

• Some southern politicians actually supported this amendment due to the growing violence in the south.

Republican’s struggle

• Republican’s knew that they could override any veto that the President put forth since they had the votes.

• They were still worried though that Johnson could slow down their plans on reconstructing the south by refusing to uphold laws.

• Two laws are passed to try and deal with this.• The first known as The Command of the Army Act • which stated that all orders from the President go

through the headquarters of the general of the army which was Grant( Who was a republican at the time)

The Tenure of Office act and Johnson’s impeachment

• The Tenure of office act required the Senate to approve the removal of any government

• Johnson would test this act by removing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton who supported programs put together by Republicans.

• Within three days the house voted to impeach Johnson for refusing to uphold the Tenure of Office Act.

• The Senate was one vote shy of impeachment. Johnson would finish his term quietly and not run for reelection.

Military Reconstruction

• In 1867 congress passed the military reconstruction act.

• The act split the former confederacy into five districts. A general from the union army would be put in charge of each district.

• Former confederate states had to call to order a constitutional convention. The result was that all new state constitutions had to give the right to vote to all adult male citizens.

Republicans take control

• With union troops supporting the freed slave populace Grant was able to win six southern states and most of the North.

• Clearly giving republicans control in the country.

The Fifteenth Amendment

• Once the Republicans had retaken power by electing grant they would continue their reconstruction plans by passing the 15th amendment

Results of the fifteenth amendment

The amendment gave to the right to vote , and the right could not be denied based on race creed or previous servitude.

Southern Transformation

• As the republicans take control we see more Northerners move into the south.

• They were referred to as carpetbaggers, because some arrived with suit cases made from cheap carpet.

• These people were seen as con men and swindlers. Some did take advantage of the south. Others were simply seeking opportunities that did not exist in the north.

40 acres and a mule.

The freedmen’s bureau promised to help put land in the hands of Freedmen.They promised that every freedmen could work 40 acres for three years and at the end the freedmen could buy the land

The laws for such a program were never passed quickly ending the policy.

Southerners V. Southerners

• Besides anger towards carpetbaggers southerners they were also angry at some southerners who would work with Republicans

• They were known as scalawags • Mixed group that made up the scalawags. They

were small planters that did not want plantation owners to regain control. As well as former Whigs who did not like being aprt of the southern Democrats.

Share cropping

African Americans cotinued to try and farm their own land.

They reached an agreement with for plantations owners to farm land for share of the crops.

In time most African Americans fell into debt

Incidents that lead to increased Racism

• The Fifteenth Amendment lead to an increasing number of Freedmen organizing politically

• Many of those involved were those who were educated before the Civil War

• Many had lived in the North and fought in the Union Army.

• Former slaves began to serve throughout government

The African American Community in the South

• Churches became the center of African American communities.

• Churches sponsored different community events: Festivals, Picnics , schools, and political events

• Religion had always played a big role in the lives of African Americans, and once slavery had ended they began to build their own churches.

Southern Education

• Reconstruction governments began to build comprehensive public school systems in the south.

• By 1876 40% of African American children were enrolled in school

• Eventually a number of academies were established that would become a network of Amfrican American Colleges.

Political Result

By 1870 Politicians like Senator Blanche K. Bruce and Representative Hiram R. Revels become the first African Americans elected to the senate.

Revels was elected to a seat in Mississippi that was once held by Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Origins of the Ku Klux Klan

• Though these changes were occurring in African American Society they would face intense discrimination

• Southerners were angry at Northern Republicans but had no way to strike back at them.

• The Klu Klux Klan started in Tennessee and was based around the goal of driving out carpet baggers and intimidating African Americans

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Ku Klux Klan Act

• The Klan grew throughout the south and began to drive out members of the Freedmen’s Bureau as well as terrorizing republican supporters

• Grant was outraged by these actions and pushed congress to pass three different acts to stop the Klan

• Under these acts U.S. Marshals started to bring clan members to justice but only a few were actually found guilty in the court of Law.

Brandenburg V. Ohio

• Clarence Brandenburg, a Ku Klux Klan leader in rural Ohio, contacted a reporter at a Cincinnati television station and invited him to come and cover a KKK rally in Hamilton County in the summer of 1964.Portions of the rally were filmed, showing several men in robes and hoods, some carrying firearms, first burning a cross and then making speeches. These speeches dealt with seeking revenge against African Americans and people of Jewish descent, and announced plans for a march on Washington to take place on the Fourth of July

Panic of 1873

Aside from the Scandal a serious economic recession occurred during Grant’s administration.

A series of bad Railroad investments forced a number of Railroad companies to go bankrupt.After which people began to fear investing their money into projects.Small banks collapsed, stocks fell, business closed, and unemployment was on the rise.

Election of 1877

The election that followed Grant’s presidency was full controversy

The Democratic nominee Samuel Tilden essentially tied Republican nominee Rutherford B. Hayes.

Due to the fact that Hayes one by only one electoral vote. (well within a margin of error)

Compromise of 1877

A committee of 15 was appointed by congress to solve the election issue.The compromise that lead to election of Hayes was incredibly controversial. Ther Republican party would remove union troops from the South in exchange for Hayes to become President.

(Clearly this would effect the rights of African Americans)

Debt Peonage

The idea that African Americans could pay off their farming debt by working for white land owners until their debt was paid for.

These contracts essentially made African Americans slaves again.