Reconstruction (1863-1877) and Black History (1865-1900)

• Key Questions for Lincoln
  • What branch of government should control the process of Reconstruction?
    • Lincoln says the Executive aka the president; however, Congress strongly disagreed with this. Lincoln had to be careful to say that the states didn't legally secede because if they did, he would not have the power to re-enter the states into the union.
  • How do we rebuild the South after the Devastation of Civil War?
    • Who would pay the 15 billion dollars in damage?
  • How do we convert the Republican Party from a regional party to a national one?
    • Lincoln got 0 votes from the South, and in at least 10 states his name wasn't even on the ballot.
  • How do we integrate and protect newly-emancipated freedmen?
    • Freedmen were different from free blacks, and were the men that were free after the Civil war.
  • How do we bring the South back into the Union and do they need additional punishment?
    • Lincoln said that the South needed no additional punishment, "Ballast(?) towards none, and charity for all."
• Wartime Reconstruction 1863 to 1865
  • Lincoln's 10% Plan in late 1863
    • Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
    • Replace majority rule with "loyal rule" in the South
    • didn't consult Congress
    • Pardon to all (provided they took an oath of loyalty) except the highest ranking military and civilian Confederate officers
    • When 10% of the voting population in the 1860 election had taken an oath of loyalty and established a government without slavery it would recieve executive regocnition
  • 1864 "Lincoln Governments" formed in Tennessee, and parts of Louisiana and Arkansas and NE Virginia his "loyal assemblies"
    • These governments were kind of like puppet governments; they were weak and dependent on the Union army for survival.
  • Radical Republican Opposition Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
    • This group did not see eye to eye with Lincoln.
    • Lead by Senator Benjamin Wade from Ohio and Congressmen Henry W. Davis from Maryland
    • Their plan for Reconstruction
      • allow congress to run Reconstruction and punish Southern Radicals
      • required 50% of the number of 1860 voters to take an "ironclad" oath of allegiance
      • required a state constitutional convention before the election of state officials
      • deny the debt or refuse to associate with the Confederate debt
      • deny secession
      • enacted specific safeguards of freedmen's liberties
      • divide the South into military districts (put them under martial law with no rights)
      • abolish slavery
    • Two alarming radicals
      • "State Suicide" Speech by Charles Sumner
      • "Conquered Provinces" Speech by Thaddeus Stevens
  • Why Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill?
    • he wanted an amendment to end slavery forever
    • the radicals refused to seat the representatives from Tennessee, Louisiana, and Arkansas
  • The Radicals also faced the same dilemmas as Lincoln
    • They tried to let slaves vote, but many Northern states didn't even allow slaves to vote
    • The states would have the power to set the voting requirements
    • How do we get the vote of the Freedmen and the former Southern Whigs and keep the Southern Democrats from joining the Northern Copperheads
  • 13th Amendment
    • african american sufferage
    • approved in 1865
    • ratified by 3/4 states in 1865
  • Freedman's Bureau 1865
    • also known as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lads
    • gave lots of the land Sherman gained on the GA coast and mules for farming to whites and freedmen, but Johnson took this land back when he became president
    • provided immediate essentials for blacks and whites
    • Freedman Bureau agents also were wage-labor negotiators between freedman and former masters to get work done on farms
    • Northern whites came down and risked their lives to educate former slaves. Taught them how to read and write and do simple arithmetic
• Presidential Reconstruction 1865-1867
  • President Andrew Johnson
    • from Raleigh, North Carolina. He was the poorest president we have ever had.
    • Jacksonian Democrat, which was unusual because he was surrounded by Republicans in Washington DC
    • agreed with Lincoln that states had never legally left the Union
    • a Unionist
    • Unyielding and tactless, meaning he was stubborn and didn't work with anyone
    • Johnson hated slaved aristocrats. He thought to take power from the upper class and put their power in the hands of the yeoman, which would make the South a better place ("railroad thesis").
    • antislavery, but white supremacist. He hated slavery because the rich people had them. If the yeoman or lower class had slaves he would have been fine with it.
  • President Johnson's plan
    • Loyalty
      • Offered amnesty upon simple oath to all except Confederate civil and military officers and those with property of $20,000. Basically he wanted the rich people to have to kiss his ass a little before he let them vote, since he hated the upper class so much.
    • Administration
      • Provisional Unionist governor, who was appointed by Johnson to supervise calling a state constitutional convention, they would write a new state constitution that: And by 1865, all states except TX were readmitted
        • repealed the ordinance of secession
        • repudiate the Confederate debt
        • accept the 13th amendment
    • His hopes
      • Johnson hoped that Union-loving yeomen would fill the void left by disenfranchised powerful Southerners
      • Johnson hoped that the Freedmen would become a servile class
    • His failures
      • Johnson misunderstood the devotion and idolatry that yeoman and poor had for their "natural" political leaders
      • infringed on Congress's power
      • his plan was too lenient - Radicals wanted to punish the South, and Johnson's plan plan didn't punish the South for the death, misery, and costs
      • His plan threatened the Republican Party since there was no more 3/5 Compromise so more Democrats than ever. The tendency of the South to vote Democratic became known as the "Solid South"
    • Black Codes 1865-1866
      • looked good on the surface because it made it legal for blacks to marry, own property, attend school. it was done to appease the North
      • it restored pre-emancipation system of race relations
      • "Idleness Law" guaranteed stable labor supply now that blacks were emancipated
      • forced blacks to become sharecroppers
• Radical Congressional Reconstruction 1867-1877
  • Goals of the Radicals
    • Punish the south (not remorseful and poorly treating Freedmen) and get the Southern Black vote
    • Congress bars all Southern Congressional delegates
    • Joint Committee of Reconstruction created- social structure destroyed
    • In February, 1866 Johnson vetoed the Extension of the Freedman's Bureau. Many Northerners broke with Johnson after this since the Bureau was mostly concerned with education.
    • Johnson also vetoed the 1866 Bill of Civil Rights Act, which was the first civil rights act in American History.
    • Johnson's tactlessness drives moderates over to the Radicals. Congress passed both bills of Johnson's vetoes! The first in US History.
  • The 14th Amendment was the centerpiece of Radical Reconstruction Plan
    • provide black citizenship
      • This part of the amendment is used to justify illegal immigrants' children becoming citizens today, even though this was not the intent
    • state governments cannot deny anyone life, liberty, or property without due process of law
      • this was already talked about in the 5th amendment; however, this amendment specifies it towards state governments
    • all citizens shall have equal protection under the law
    • repudiated the Confederate debt
    • disqualified ex-confederate leaders from political participation (mostly restored in 1867)
    • States can have number of representatives reduced if they deny black male suffrage. This one was not enforced.
  • The 1866 Congressional Election
    • a referendum (popular vote) on Radical Reconstruction
    • Johnson made an ill-conceived propaganda tour around the country to push his plan and support those who did
      • Since Johnson can't do anything to veto the amendment, he goes on his famous "Swing around the circle" speeches begging the North not to support the amendment on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.
      • This actually ends up backfiring on him and does the opposite of what he thought it would.
    • Republicans won a 3-1 majority in both houses and gained control of every Northern State
  • The First Reconstruction Act or the Military Reconstruction Act
    • required southern states to accept the 13th and 14th amendment and black suffrage
    • all southern states refused the 14th amendment except Tennessee. This state was readmitted again and finally!
  • The remaining 10 states were forced to face the Congressional (Military) Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the South in 5 military districts
    • act authorized the military to enroll eligible black voters and begin the process of constitution making
    • voided all Johnson governments except Tennessee
    • in order to get rid of martial law each state must
      • write a new constitution, approve the 13th and 14th amendments, and provide black male suffrage
      • all states approved except for 6
      • the unapproved states had to accept the 15th amendment
        • ratified in 1870 with great difficulty, including in the North
        • The right to vote will not be denied or abridged by race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
        • Congress shall have power to enforce this article
  • Controlling President Johnson
    • Army Act: Congress reduced Johson's control over the military, especially in the South
    • Tenure of Office Act: The President could not remove any officials without Senate's consent if the position originally required Senate's approval.
      • designed to protect radical cabinet members, and maybe the President pro tempore Ben Wade would be the new US President.
      • they knew that Johnson would try and test this law
    • Impeachment
      • Johnson removed Stanton in February, 1868
      • Johnson replaced generals in the field who were more sympathetic to Radical Reconstruction
      • The House impeached him before even drawing up the charges by a vote of 126-47
    • Trial
      • 11 week trial
      • Salmon P. Chase
      • Johnson acquitted 35 to 19 (one short of required 2/3 vote thanks to Senator Ross and his desire to preserve the checks and balances).
  • Controlling the Supreme Court
    • Ex parte Merryman: Federal Court Case in which Chief Justice Taney ruled that only Congress can suspend the writ of habeas corpus. Lincoln violated that ruling when he and the army did during the war
    • In 1866 Supreme Court heard the case of Ex parte Milligan. This case further focused on Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus during the war. Taney ruled that Lincoln was not only wrong for using the military to detain trouble causers, but that civilian courts and procedures always take precedence over military tribunals and regulations.
    • To prevent "interference" Congress forbid the Supreme Court to hear cases pertaining to reconstruction. What? This is v unconstitutional!
    • Taney died and Salmon Chase was new chief justice.
    • When Ex parte McCardle was presented to court, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case
• Radical Reconstruction in the South (1867-1870)
  • The Carpet Bag Regimes: after the Confederates couldn't hold office, and the military law was over, Northern folks called carpet baggers came down to rule the South in order to get rich. Some Northerners actually wanted to help the South, but lots of them were very corrupt. They were very unpopular!
    • good: education, bridges, roads, railroads, rebuilt the South
    • bad: graft, high taxes, extravagant spending, huge debts, all of this protected by the Union Army
  • The Scalawags were native southerners that collaborated with the Carpet Baggers. For example; the Duke family. White Republicans or Southern Whigs.
  • Black Representatives from the South
    • Hiram Revels of LA was the first black in Senate (born free)
• Redeemers, Conservatives, Bourbons (1870-1890s) lots of fancy names for the "Good Old Boys"
  • How did the Democratic whites regain control of Southern Governments?
    • Ku Klux Klan
      • founded in 1865 by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Also called the "Invisible Empire of the South"
      • their goal was to stop the blacks from voting and also to intimidate them
      • they dressed up in halloween-like costume to freak the blacks out since they knew the blacks were very superstitious.
      • if a black was heard of voting, they would receive a mini coffin like thing in their mailbox.
    • The Enforcement Act 1870 gave the military permission to take down the Ku Klux Klan whenever they wanted to. Also provided that the blacks could carry a gun with them to protect themselves. The Southern Whites didn't like this at all.
    • The Amnesty Act 1872 gave back the right to vote to most confederates.
    • "The Race Card" was telling the whites that if you don't vote, you are no better than the blacks, and as a result poor white voter participation increases greatly.
    • 1875 Shotgun Policy in Mississippi was more anti Republican than anti blacks: gave rise to paramilitary groups like the Red Shirts, Rifle Clubs, and the White League. President Grant even allowed black militia in SC to stop the KKK and other groups.
    • Waning Norther Interest in Southern Blacks
      • Northern disgust with carpet bag governments
      • business men wanted harmony and peace not social and political turmoil.
      • reformers looked to other crusades and causes
      • northerners believe that southern whites and blacks must work out their prejudices by themselves
    • Compromise of 1890: Northern republicans (wanted a higher tariff), the Western Republicans (had an over-supply of silver, and wanted to keep the silver price high), and Southern Democrats (didn't want blacks to vote). They all agreed to give each other what they wanted, and in return the Lodge Voting Bill was killed, and there would be no more attempts at a black voting bill until Willie was in 1st grade!
  • The Presidential Election of 1876
    • The Democrat candidate Samuel J. Tilden of NY- 184
    • The Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio 165
    • Corrupt Election: 20 votes were in dispute, and two sets of electoral votes were received from OR, SC, LA, and FL.
    • Instead of the Supreme Court deciding who was president, they used an Electoral Commission. Corrupt bargain part 2? basically Justice David Davis basically gets to choose the president since he is the last independent on the commission. The Republicans offer him a Senator seat in exchange for voting for Hayes. Hayes wins!
  • The Compromise of 1877
    • The Democrats were extremely angry that they were cheated in the Election of 1876, so the Compromise of 1877 was made to calm the Democrats and Samuel J Tilden down.
    • The first thing that was given over to the South was lots of federal money for internal improvements. RAILROADS
    • A southerner was put on Hayes's cabinet. David M Key was promoted to Post master General
    • The North promised to withdraw the military from the South- Reconstruction is over.
• The New South (1880s-???)
  • The plantations were broken up into pieces, sometimes to pay back mortgages, pay taxes, and buy seeds and fertilizer. Now poorer whites can own land!
  • Sharecropping
    • most blacks didn't have to go far to find work, it was right there where they had been working for years already. Each family would own their own 20 acre plot of land, and they would till, plant, and harvest the land. The family then had to pay for their rent and tools they used with their crop that they got. They would go deeper and deeper into debt each year. This was called debt bondage.
  • Tenant Farmer
    • mostly poor whites than blacks were tenant farmers. Tenant farming is where you have everything you need to be a farmer except for land. Instead of sharing crop with their landowners, they paid cash to pay their rent.
  • Agricultural Developments and Diversity
    • Southerners started to spend more money on agricultural inventions and innovation. They used more fertilizer and also rotated crops.
    • Morrill Land Grant Act provided land for education. These schools taught men how to be better and smarter farmers. The first state with a land grant school was Virginia, and the school was called Virginia Polytechnic- today Virginia Tech.
  • Industrial Progress- A slow process
    • Henry W. Grady, a Georgia Yankee said "We have fallen in love with work," in order to dispel the myth that southerners were lazy. The southerners wanted northerners to come down and start businesses and innovate
    • The South had a ready labor force that would work for very little money. The textile industry became very popular. The Cone brothers came down from up North to try their hand at industrialism.
    • James Bonsack from Roanoke, Virginia invented a cigarette rolling machine and sold it to the Duke family. The Duke Family created the American Tobacco Company.
    • Mid-Florida was rediscovered. This was important because it is able to grow fruits and vegetables almost year round, while the South was becoming more industrial.
      • Gutavus Swift and Philip Armour invented a railroad car that was refrigerated that transported this produce all around the country before it went off.
• Black Southerners' Search for a Place in the New South
  • Preventing the Vote 1877 to ??
    • Black voting rate did slowly decline as a result of the KKK and other discouragement, but did not disappear because of the white who wanted to manipulate the black vote.
    • The Populist Party was a party that promised to represent the poor people, and attracted lots of blacks in the south and southwest.
    • The Democrats in the South were scared of the Populist party, so they passed the Mississippi Plan in 1890 shut off the black vote completely. It also kept poor whites from voting as well, which is where the Grandfather Clause came in in Louisiana.
    • If your grandfather could not vote on January 1, 1867, then you could not vote. This day was chosen because it was before Radical Congress Martial law was enacted (when blacks were allowed to vote).
    • Williams vs. Mississippi 1898 said that "poll tax" was legal. Never said anything about race.
    • Voting Rights of 1865 and the 24th amendment says that poll tax is now illegal.
    • In North Carolina when the Populist party began to die out, the populist party "fused" with the Republican party to give Democrats competition. Happened in lots of states, but the "fusion principle" was most famous in North Carolina.
    • In Wilmington, North Carolina, the fusion party won, and the Democrats/ Good old Boys overthrew the fusion party and established a Democratic governments. One of the only times that a political power successfully took power by force. Governor Aycock was a prominent spokesperson in the Wilmington riots for white supremacy and black disenfranchisement.
  • Racial Segregation
    • Northern Segregation Legacy (before the war)
      • Blacks in the North knew their place. There were segregated neighborhoods, jobs, bathrooms, restaurants etc.
    • Slaughterhouse Cases of 1873
      • The Supreme Court ruled that private businesses could discriminate based on race. They took a very narrow view of the 14th amendment and said that government could not discriminate, but private businesses could.
    • The Civil Rights Act of 1875
      • Northern attempt to end segregation that was declared unconstitutional, ironically enough.
    • Jim Crow Laws in Tennessee 1881
      • The Jim Crow Laws turned de facto segregation (by custom segregation) into de jure segregation (by the law segregation)
    • Plessy vs. Ferguson 1896
      • Plessy was a mixed person who tried to ride in the white section of a train. He got arrested and appealed his case, and called the Jim Crow laws into question. Albion Tourgee wrote Plessy's defense; however, the Supreme Court introduced "separate but equal" doctrine, until Brown vs Topeka Board of Education 1954.
    • Jim Crow comes from a man name Thomas Rice's minstrel show making fun of blacks in the North.