“Failure is Impossible” Susan B Anthony



Reconstruction

1. Early Steps to Reunion

April 12, 1861 thru April 9, 1865 – Civil War

1863 – Lincoln proposes a mild Reconstruction Plan for readmitting Southern

states after the Civil War

1865 – Lincoln is assassinated 5 days after the end of the Civil War

1867 – Radical Reconstruction begins; Republican leaders in Congress call for

harsh measures against the South

Civil War Amendments – 13th , 14th , & 15th Amendments

13th Amendment – Abolition of Slavery

14th Amendment – Rights of Citizens ( includes ALL freedmen )

15th Amendment – Voting Rights ( for former slave males )

Presidents:

|1st |1789 |– |1797 |2 terms |George Washington – 57 |

|2nd |1797 |– |1801 |1 term |John Adams – 61 |

|3rd |1801 |– |1809 |2 terms |Thomas Jefferson – 57 |

|4th |1809 |– |1817 |2 terms |James Madison – 57 |

|5th |1817 |– |1825 |2 terms |James Monroe – 58 |

|6th |1825 |– |1829 |1 term |John Quincy Adams – 57 |

|7th |1829 |– |1837 |2 terms |Andrew Jackson – 61 |

|8th |1837 |– |1841 |1 term |Martin Van Buren – 54 |

|9th |1841 |– |1841 |Died |William Henry Harrison – 68 |

|10th |1841 |– |1845 |1 term |John Tyler –51 |

|11th |1845 |– |1849 |1 term |James K Polk – 49 |

|12th |1849 |– |1850 |Died |Zachary Taylor – 64 |

|13th |1850 |– |1853 |1 term |Millard Fillmore – 50 |

|14th |1853 |– |1857 |1 term |Franklin Pierce – 48 |

|15th |1857 |– |1861 |1 term |James Buchanan –65 |

|16th |1861 |– |1865 |2 terms |Abraham Lincoln –52, assassinated in office |

|17th |1865 |– |1869 |1 term |Andrew Johnson – 50, replaced Lincoln |

|18th |1869 |– |1877 |2 terms |Ulysses S. Grant – 47 |

Why this matters to my students in 8th grade students Today:

After the Civil War, the country had to repair the damage done by the fighting

And find a way to rebuild. While many people believe a single vote cannot possibly affect the

outcome of a presidential election, there have been some very close calls. In the presidential

elections of 1876 and 2000, the Democratic candidates, Samuel Tilden and Al Gore,

respectively, won the popular votes but lost the elections. Because the Gore-Bush race

hinged on a few hundred votes in Florida, the outcome of the election was ultimately

decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. In the Hayes-Tilden presidential race of 1876, 20

disputed votes ultimately forced the contest to be decided by an electoral commission.

That race had a profound effect: The election of Rutherford B Hayes marked the end

of Reconstruction.

freedmen – men and women who had been slaves

Reconstruction – rebuilding of the South after the Civil War

Ten Percent Plan – Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction that allowed a southern state to

form a new gov’t after 10% of its voters swore an oath of loyalty to the United States

amnesty – government pardon

Wade-Davis Bill – 1864 plan for Reconstruction that required a majority of white

men in each southern state to swear loyalty to the Union and denied the right to

vote or hold office to anyone who had volunteered to fight for the Confederacy

Freedmen’s Bureau – US government agency founded during Reconstruction to

help former slaves

Thirteenth Amendment – 1865 amendment to the US Constitution that bans

slavery throughout the nation

agrarian – related to farms and farming

conspirator – person who plans to commit secret or illegal acts with others

foundation – basis or groundwork upon which something else is built

ratify – to formally approve or express consent

turmoil – disturbance or complication

Dawes Act - 1887, Congress passed the Dawes Act, Senator Henry Dawes of

Massachusetts. The law allowed for the President to break up reservation land, which was held in common { communal} by the members of a tribe, into small allotments to be parceled out to individuals. Native Americans registered on a tribal "roll" were granted allotments of reservation land.  Creating - Indian individual ownership of land

communal – for common use and shared by ALL members of the community

At the end of the Civil War, the future looked bleak to many Southerns. Susan Dabney Smedes described the scene facing her father, once a wealthy planter:

“My father had come home to a house stripped of nearly every article of furniture and to a plantation stripped of the means of cultivating…it. A few mules and one cow were all that were left of the stock.”

Susan Dabney Smedes, Memorials of a Southern Planter

Across the South, cities and farms lay in ruins. All southerners, black or white, faced an unfamiliar new world. At the same time, a shattered nation had to face a way to become whole again.

Postwar Problems

After four years of war, both the Northerners and the Southerners, had to adjust to a changed WORLD. At the same time, a shattered Union had to find a way to become whole again.

The Victorious North

Љ despite the victory, the North faced economic problems

Љ 800,000 returning soldiers needed a JOB!

Љ factories were laying off workers…but,

Љ boom times returned quickly

Љ more Northern soldiers died than did Southern soldiers

Љ less battles in the North, less destruction of land and property

The Defeated South

Љ horses, barns, bridges, land, fields… DESTROYED

Љ too many battles on the Southside

Љ 2/3’s of the railroads… DESTROYED

Љ Columbia, Richmond, & Atlanta… LEVELED

Љ Confederate money was worthless

Љ banks closed… all deposits, savings accounts… GONE

Љ 4-million Freedmen…never owned land…could not read or write

Љ they were FREE… free to do what ?

Љ a truly defeated ex-country

¿¿ TAKS 8.30B ¿¿ List the 4 main ideas of the postwar problems…

1.________________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________________

4.________________________________________________________________________

Early Steps Toward Reconstruction

President Lincoln was worried about Reconstruction, the rebuilding of the South. He wanted to make it fairly easy for Southerners to rejoin the Union. The sooner the nation was reunited, Lincoln believed, the faster the South would be able to rebuild.

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan

Љ Ten Percent Plan for Reconstruction

Љ a ‘new’ government could be created if 10% of voters SWORE an

oath of loyalty to the United States

Љ southern states had to abolish slavery

Љ voters could elect new Congressmen/Senators to serve in the national gov’t

Љ amnesty was given to Confederates that would SWEAR loyalty to the Union

Љ amnesty would not apply to Confederate leaders

A Rival Proposal

Љ Wade-Davis Bill; a Republican alternative to the Ten Percent Plan

Љ the majority of white men had to SWEAR loyalty to the Union

Љ denied them from the right to vote or be elected to Public Office

Љ Lincoln refused to sign the Wade-Davis Bill; TOO HARSH

The Freedmen’s Bureau (FB)

Љ a gov’t agency to help former slaves

Љ passed by Congress and signed by Lincoln; 1 month before Lee’s surrender

Љ Freedmen’s Bureau gave food and clothing and HOPE for a job to former slaves

Љ provided medical care to more than 1-million poor whites

Љ most important TASK was to set up schools; teachers were volunteers

“It’ is wonderful how a people who have been so long crushed to the earth…can have so great a desire for knowledge, and such a capacity for attaining it.”

From Charlotte Forten’s, an African American volunteer, article in the Atlantic Monthly

Љ this laid the foundation for the South’s Public School System

Љ created African American colleges like Howard, Morehouse, and Fisk

Љ many African American graduates became teachers

“Here, at the stroke of the pen, was erected a government

of millions of men,--and not ordinary men, either, but black men

weakened by a peculiarly complete system of slavery, centuries old;

and now, suddenly, violently, they come into a new birthright, at a

time of war and passion, in the midst of the stricken, embittered

population of their former masters. Any man might well have

hesitated to assume charge of such work, with vast responsibilities,

indefinite powers, and limited resources…for Congress had

appropriated no money for salaries and expenses.”

W.E.B. DuBois, “The Freedmen’s Bureau”

Lincoln Is Assassinated

On April 14, 1865, just 5 days after Lee’s surrender, the President attended a play at Ford’s theatre in Warshington, D.C. A popular actor from the South, John Wilkes Booth, crept into the President’s box and shot Lincoln in the head. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth was later caught and killed in a barn outside the city.

“Now he belongs to the ages.” Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton

The New President

Vice President Andrew Johnson was now President. Johnson had represented Tennessee in Congress. When his state seceded, Johnson had remained LOYAL to the Union.

Johnson’s Plan

Љ fellow Republicans in the Congress thought new President Johnson would

support a strict Reconstruction plan; he did not

Љ Johnson’s plan called for a majority of voters, in each southern state, to pledge

loyalty to the United States

Љ each of those states had to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, banning slavery

throughout the entire nation

Љ the Emancipation Proclamation did not ban slavery in the states that remained

loyal to the Union

¿¿ TAKS 8.17B ¿¿ What was the Thirteenth Amendment ?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Congress Rebels

Љ Southern states take advantage of Johnson’s ‘mild’ plan

Љ approval of the ‘new’ southern states gov’t came in late 1865

Љ many of those elected held office for the former Confederate States of America

Љ the former vice-president of the confederacy was elected to be a Senator from

Georgia

Љ Republican were outraged; the same men that originally led the South to leave

the Union was now being elected to serve in the House and Senate

Љ no Southern states allowed African Americans to vote in the elections

Љ when the new Congress met, Republicans set up a Joint Committee on

Reconstruction

Љ the stage was set for a show down between the angry Congress and the new

President

1. Why were postwar problems more severe in the South than in the North ?

1.________________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________________

2. What early Steps were taken toward reconstruction ?

1.________________________________________________________________________

2.________________________________________________________________________

3.________________________________________________________________________

3. How did the assassination of Lincoln and the inauguration of a new president lead

to conflict ?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Setting up schools was one of the Freedmen’s Bureau’s most important tasks because the schools provided…

A. job training for almost 300,000 African Americans

B. employment for many women volunteers

C. the foundation for a public school system in the South

D. jobs as teachers for ex-soldiers

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