Mark Bao

Thurs 30 Oct 2008

Reconstruction Notes

Reconstruction: 1865–1877

• Lincoln’s last speech, on 11 April 1865, offered a way to approach reconstruction: everyone
had to agree, no matter what consequences agreement meant.
• everyone needs to stay united for reconstruction to happen.
• Lincoln was to be kidnapped, not killed, if the war had not ended.
• however, it did end, so John Wilkes Booth exacted revenge on him.
• new president Andrew Jackson did not remotely compare to Lincoln
• Presidential Reconstruction
• The Constitution did not have any rules dealing with secession and readmission.
• the question was if the states had completely seceded from the Union and needed to go
through the regular processes to be readmitted
• Lincoln’s Approach – the Ten Percent Plan, allowed a state to be readmitted if they had 10
percent of its people take an oath and abolish slavery
• freed slaves still had restrictions on rights
• Wade-Davis Bill – new proposal for readmission: “oath of allegiance by a majority of each
state’s adult white men, new state governments formed only by those who had never
carried arms against the Union, and permanent disfranchisement of Confederate leaders.”
• Lincoln pocket vetoed this, meaning he did not sign it before Congress ajourned.
• Johnson’s Initiative – Johnson was a slave owner, so he did not sympathize with slaves; he
hated the rich in both the south and the northeast, and “championed poor whites.”
• his reconstruction plan: pardon all that took an oath, except for Confederate officials
and wealthy planters, whom only he could pardon. “required only that they revoke
their ordinances of secession, repudiate their Confederate debts, and ratify the
Thirteenth Amendment”
• In months, all of the states were readmitted
• Problems that arose after readmission: “legislatures moved to restore slavery in all but
name” – creating the Black Codes, to try to deny them rights and make them go back to
plantations.
• New set of Congress members had 9 Confederate Congress members, the vie president of
the Confederacy, and many others – enraged Republicans
• Republicans had the majority, so they refused admission to the southern delegations;
blocked the plan
• formed a house/senate committee, the Joint Committee on Reconstruction.
• Some states tried to make loopholes on the 13th amendment, such as some states in which
violence occurred against former slaves
• Congress made Freedmen’s Bureau funded, authorized to investigate mistreatment
• leader of the Freedmen’s Bureau proposed a Civil Rights act to give the same rights to
all people of any race
• Acting on Freedom – newly freed slaves reunited families, and united themselves in
organisations.
• basis of freedom: being able to own land
• during the war, freedmen seized land owned by fleeing plantation owners
• Sherman ‘reserved’ land for freed slaves, but there was debate over the ownership
during the reconstruction
• Johnson’s reconstruction plan let Confederate people to take back their land
• Johnson ordered the restoration of land confiscated by Sherman to the owners
• The new way for planting in the South: instead of giving them food, shelter, and
clothing, give them money. less loss for plantation owners.
• the Freedmen’s Bureau agreed that this was valid
• these workers were free, but still depended on their masters
• polygamists “by virtue” as families were broken up by slavery and the slave trade
• many, however, left the plantations
• Resistance resulted in an incident where cabins were set on fire, 24 were hanged.
“murdered and beaten mounted into untold thousands”
• Congress versus President – Johnson vetoed both the 1866 Freedmen’s Bureau bill and
Trumbull’s civil rights bill
• however, the civil rights bill was enacted; first major bill to have a congress override a
presidential veto
• three days of rioting happened, and many were killed, and property destroyed
• then the Freedmen’s Bureau veto was also overridden
• Republicans wanted to make the civil rights act into an amendment, the 14th
• courts could enforce this easily, as an amendment
• Johnson wanted the states not to ratify the amendment, and moved towards being
against the Republicans
• Johnson wanted to create a new party of sorts, the National Union, with “white
Southerners, northern Democrats, and conservative Republicans” but it failed
• congressional election turned out badly for Johnson – 4-to-1 Republican
• election showed support for civil rights
• new Republican unity toward the left
• Radical republicans were the likes of abolitionists, Charles Sumner in Senate,
Thaddeus Stevens in House.
• wanted to remake southern society
• to even the radicals, the new civil rights act would be unexpectable
• 1866 victory, Republicans became radicalized, with a radical vision for the
reconstruction of the South.