The Ku Klux Klan

Multiple secret white organizations sprang up all over the South in protest against Radical regimes The most notorious of these groups was the Invisible Empire of the South (aka- KKK)
Founded in Tennessee in 1866 Claimed to be the ghosts of Confederate soldiers returning to exact revenge upon scalawags, carpetbaggers, and Freedmen

The Ku Klux Klan

Effectiveness Whites and blacks avoided the polls Those who attempted to vote were flogged, mutilated, or even murdered In one Louisiana parish (county) in 1868, the whites in two days killed or wounded 200 victims
25 of which were found half-buried in the woods

A refuge for a number of bandits and cutthroats

Force Acts, 1870 and 1871

Federal troops were able to stamp out much of the KKK, but a little too late as their intimidation had worked
Many of the outlawed societies continued their tactics in the guise of dancing clubs, missionary societies, and rifle clubs

For decades after the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments, Southern whites openly defied the aspects of each
Wholesale disfranchisement of the blacks was achieved by intimidation, fraud, and trickery Southern whites resorted to literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses to keep Freedmen from voting

Johnson Impeached
Radical Republicans had had enough of President Johnsons shtick and sought to remove him from office Under existing law the president pro tempore of the Senate (Bluff Ben Wade of Ohio) would become president of the United States if Johnson were to be removed
Unscrupulous and rabidly radical

Johnson Impeached
1867- Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act
Required the president to secure the consent of the Senate before he could remove his appointees once they had been approved by that body Purpose was to keep secretary of war Edwin Stanton on the cabinet
Secretly serving as a spy and informer for the Radicals in Congress

Johnson Impeached
1868- Johnson dismissed Stanton from his position as secretary of war
The House immediately voted to impeach Johnson for high crimes and misdemeanors Johnson was charged with violating the Tenure of Office Act

The trial moved to the Senate where evidence was heard against the President
Intense public interest followed the announcement of the impeachment trial and 1,000 tickets were sold to the event

Johnson Impeached
Johnsons lawyers argued that the Tenure of Office Act was unconstitutional and that the President had dismissed Stanton to create a test case for the Supreme Court House prosecutors Benjamin Butler and Thaddeus Stevens had a difficult time building a compelling case May 16, 1868- voting commenced for the removal of the President, but came up one vote short of the necessary 2/3rds majority

Impeachment Trial Results

Fears of a destabilizing precedent played a role in the outcome
Had Johnson been impeached it would have gravely weakened one of the three branches of government

Johnson was clearly guilty of bad speeches, bad judgment, and bad temper, but not of high crimes and misdemeanors

The US Purchases Alaska

One area of success for the Johnson administration was one of foreign relations 1867- Russia was looking to sell Alaska as they had extended themselves too far into North America Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty with Russia that transferred ownership of Alaska to the US for $7.2 million
Seward was hounded by others in the administration for the mistake they named Sewards Folly, Sewards Icebox, Frigidia, Walrussia, and Sewards Polar Bear Garden

Alaska panned out to be profitable in the long run

Abundant in furs, fish, gold, oil, and natural gas

The Legacy of Reconstruction

Many Southerners looked upon Reconstruction as more devastating than the war itself
Left a festering scar that would take generations to heal

They resented the upending of their social and racial system, political empowerment of blacks, and the insult of federal intervention in their local affairs Reconstruction conferred only fleeting benefits on the blacks and virtually extinguished the Republican party in the South for nearly 100 years
aka- The Solid South

The Legacy of Reconstruction

Deep-seated racism, ingrained American resistance to tampering with property rights, and rigid loyalty to the principle of local selfgovernment, combined with spreading indifference in the North to the plight of the blacks, formed too formidable an obstacle Despite the good intentions by Republicans, the Old South was in many ways more resurrected than reconstructed

The Legacy of Reconstruction

Addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution Federal government established its authority over the states Segregation Migration of Freedmen to other parts of the country
Although not on a grand scale until the 20th century