ico — ee a va No) ca) 4 1 Listen on MyHistoryLab Chapter 15 CHAPTER OBJECTIVE Demonstrate an understanding of the devel- ‘opment and decline of Reconstruction. FEDERAL RECONSTRUCTION POLICY alan the pol ical dovelopmert of federal Recansinucton poy. ‘THE IMPACT OF RECONSTRUCTION ‘lan tha inpart of Pecans on Arear-Amercan fifa inthe Sout TERROR, APATHY, AND THE CREATION OF ‘THE SEGREGATED SOUTH “alae the reasons Recansructn endo andthe imeact of Redemption ‘Tris popsiar picture, drawn by A. Wad for Harpers Weekly In November 1867, ustated the prime meaning of Reconstruction fo many AfcarrAmercan, whether former saves o former Soldfers Inthe Union arny The end of slavery brought—for the moment~thetight vote brated as others had done. Houston H, Holloway, a slave sold three times before his 20th birthday recalled the day emancipation came to Georgia: “I felt like a bird out of a cage....The week passed off in a blaze of glory” Six weeks later, Holloway and his wile celebrated the bitth ofa new baby and “received my free born son into the world” For some former slaves, nothing mattered more than getting away from their old plantations. They moved short distances to be with friends and family or great distances to Louisiana, Indian Territory, or the North. For others, the news that they could now be wage-earning employees on the same plantations where they had previously worked without pay was the best “option available, Whatever their situation and regardless oftheir previous status, emancipation changed every aspect of life for all people of the United States. After January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation made the Union Army an army of liberation for slaves during the war itself. Many slaves did not wait for the Union army to arrive. When Joseph Davis fled the plantation that he and his brother Jefferson Davis owned at Davis Bend ‘on the Mississippi River in 1862, slaves took over the property and begat FE or those who had been enslaved it was a day of freedom. ‘They cele- 446 Part V Expansion, Separation, and a New Union, 1844-1877 PEELE EEE SSS eee eo ee ee aaa aleteeeeeeceeeearonning it themselves, much to the surprise of General Grant who arrived at Davis Bend with the Union army in 1863. Even for those still in slavery throughout the war, word passed quickly. In Mississippi, while the war was still far away, one slave responded to a planter’s greeting “Howdy, Uncle” with an angry “Call me Mister.” Other slaves refused to work unless they were paid or simply left, often in search of family members, sometimes just because, for the first time in theie lives, they could. In the aftermath of the Civil War, women and men who had been considered the property of others found that they could buy property. They could refuse to work for people who only recently had coerced their labor. ‘They could travel without the hated passes from white masters. Sometimes they were reunited with family ‘members from whom they had long been separated. People for whom literacy had been illegal now learned to read and write, They became teachers, started their own schools, and opened colleges and universities. Slaves and free blacks who had never dreamed of voting became voters and officeholders, members of state legislatures, and members of the United States Congress. They passed laws creating a system of public education and dreamed of better days ahead. The story of the era known as Reconstruction, its high hopes and its violent and tragic ending, is the focus of this chapter. FEDERAL RECONSTRUCTION POLICY Explain the pol Reconstruction 3 dovolopment of fede In December 1864, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts thought Lincoln had agreed that former Confederate states must grant al citizens the same right to vote as whites (which meant the right of males to vote) to be readmitted to the Union, But while Lincoln had come to believe that blacks who fought in the Union army had won the right to vote, he also believed that the Constitution gave states the right to determine who voted and he did not yet seem ready, as far as anyone knew, to interfere. ‘When Lincoln died in April 1865, his own party was divided on the question of the vote for African-Americans and on how best to handle the readmission of the Confederate states within the nation, With the war just ending, the majority of Republicans, in and out of Congress, were still moderates. Many had begun the Civil War with the intention only to save the Union and had been won over in the course of the war to believing that the end of the war had to mean the end of slavery, Still, that revised intention was just a single goal they were not committed to voting rights or the award of land for newly freed African-Americans. Other Republicans who were coming to be known as Radical Republicans—often called simply “the radicals”—in Congress were determined that the North's victory in the Civil War meant that the country should give formerly enslaved people not only their freedom but also the right to vote and to hold office. In addition, they believed the country should provide land to those who had previously worked other people's land as their slaves. In other words, formerly enslaved people should be given all the rights of white Americans, ‘A similar kind of split existed over the proper ways to readmit states to the Union. Lincoln and many other Republicans had argued throughout the war that the Southern states had never left the United States; after all, preserving the Union had been the initial reason that the North went to war in 1861. If the Southern states hhad never lef, there was little to do at war’s end but for them to conduct elections for local and national office and resume their place in the nation, Others, however, especially the Radical Republicans, argued that after 4 years of fighting against the Union, the states of the former Confederacy were effectively out of the country and 1865 Lp des, Andrew ohnsonbeces presen Lastetes tthe Gl WarinCameron ny tes President nso amnouncesplans for Peden contin “mete Emancipation anounced infeas Ther mend ated ake an ore ners 1866 figs Act pase ovr onsonsyto | 1e67 —etcangessoalccnscton | pased | 86s Hoses satdtinpnhner dest eset de eso ee hese sateen ee intheSecte Forte Averett 169 Uys S.Ganctnaugedas 18h Preside ofthe Unie Stats 1870 FientnAmendnentates Fistferement ctpased by Congress | US.eparmento ste ated enfoe Rectan aus 1871 allan pase Congres | ae US.trmptopsseieisana stato eum epulicn egste | 1873 Cola Lovina Massacre | ‘Spee Cour deco inthe ‘Stouhtshuse Celta reach of ‘re Foaenth Amendnent 1876 Ganordas$ 00 uoopsto en Okan ‘retunfpaican governor wars ivi ighsAcof 1875 1876 ted Stes Cstank 1877 ther Hyena et Slow endingofRewastracten Radical Republicans {shifting group of Republican congressmen, \who favored abolishing slavery and advocated full rights for former slaves inthe South ‘Watch on MyHistoryLab Video The Meaning of Freedom Read on MyHistoryLab Document When Historfans Disagree: Understanding Reconstruction Chapter 15 Reconstruction 447 162 183183 American Voices Jourdon Anderson, Letter to Colonel P. H. Anderson, 1865 fterJourdon Anderson andhiswife Mandy were freed from slavery [on a Tennessee plantation belonging to Colonel. H. Anderson, they moved north and settled in Dayton, Ohio. A year lave, with the war over and the Confederate army disbanded, Colonel Anderson rote ta his former slaves asking them to return as employees Jourdan Anderson responded to his former master ‘As to my freedom, which you say | can have, there Is nothing, ‘tobe gained on that score, as | got my ftee-papers in 1864 from ‘the Provost Marshall-General of the Department at Nashville, Mandy says she would be afraid to go back without some proof that you are sincerely disposed to treat us fairly and justly—and ‘we have concluded to test your sincerity by asking you to send Us our wages for the time we served you. This will make us forget, and forgive old scores, and rely on your justice and friendship in the future, I served you faithfully for thirty-two years and Mandy twenty years. At $25 a month for me, and $2 a week for Mandy, ur earnings would amount to $11,680. Add to this the inter est for the time our wages has been kept and deduct what you paid for our clothing and three dactors visits to me and paling a tooth for Mandy, and the balance will show what we are In jus- tice entitled to...f you fail to pay us for faithful labors in the past ve can have little feith In your promises in the future, We trust the good Maker has opened your eyes to the wrongs which you ‘and your fathers have done to me and my fathers, In making us toil for generations without recompense. Here I craw my wages every Saturday night, but in Tennessee there was never any pay day for the negroes any more than for the horses and cows, Surely there will be a day of reckoning for those who defraud the laborer of is hire Jourdon Anderson PS, ~Say hovidy to George Carter, and thank him for taking the plstol from you when you were shooting at me. Sour: oh Cv Sith Blak es Fe acoso, 1865177 Gna: Usivesty Press oF nid, 1997, pp.<-4 Thinking Critically 1, Documentary Analysis ‘What exemples can you find in the document of Jourdon Anderson's sense of humor? 2. Historical Interpretation ‘Why would Colonel Anerson invite Jourcion Anderson back +o work on the plantation where he had been a slave? How cdo you think the former slave owner responded to this fetter from Jourdon Anderson? Freedmen's Bureau ‘Agency established by Congress in March 1865 to provide socal, educational, and ‘economic services as wall as advice and protection to former saves, could be readmitted only after some period in which the federal government sought to reconstruct state governments to ensure that those who led the rebellion—traitors, as the radicals always called them—wonld not lead the new state governments and that the full civil rights of African-Americans would be ensured, The difference of opinion ‘was significant, and compromise was not easy. ‘While Lincoln pondered the question of the vote and argued that the debate over the term readmission was 2 distraction from the work at hand, he did take another step that would have far-reaching significance in what was to come. Lincoln proposed establishing a federal Bureau of Freedmen, Refugees and Abandoned Lands. The Freedmen’s Bureau, as it came to be known, would last longer and do more than Lincoln ever imagined when he signed the legislation authorizing it in March 1865. Lincoln placed great faith in the new government established in Louisiana after ‘the Union victories there. ‘Ihe new legislature pledged loyalty to the Union, created a public school system, and after it was proposed ratified the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery. Ithad not, however, granted former slaves the right to vote. Lincoln pondered the question of whether Louisiana could be brought into proper practical relation with the Union sooner by sustaining, or by discarding, her new state govern- ‘ment. His own answer was clear: he believed that the Louisiana government could eventually extend the vote and would provide a model of transition back into the ‘Union for other Confederate states. The more radical members of Congress did not ‘want to give Louisiana full rights asa state until ithad guarinteed that blacks would be siven the right to vote, They blocked counting Louisiana’ electoral votes in the 1864 clection and the seating ofthe states new senators. They would soon do more. 448 Part V Expansion, Separation, and aNew Union, 1844-187, Eases SEREELELeLHSEREEREEL ELH GSEEEELEL LH SERECLELgERSEELELELC SECC HEgCEEELCLC Leg HegEELEL CLC tegEeLL Coo‘The post-Civil War era is often described as including three distinct time Presidential Reconstruction periods. The first period is refered to as Presidential Reconstruction in 1865-65, Nemedentothe mesa pest Cul a dren President Johnson sought to etuin states to thelr prewar satus with only the Toso the eat etun ful gs 0 jnstitution of slavery being abolished. The next period is known as the more radical the former Confederate states, Gongressional Reconstruction (sometimes Radical Reconstruction), which began as shen Congress began to challenge Johnson in 1867 and generally continued through Congressional Reconstruction the end of Grant’s two terms in 1877. The last period, known as “Redemption” (by Se Pe anaicae — iis defenders but not by those who lost rights in the process), began with the election “rnrgled Reconstruction era poly. | 45. ‘of Rutherford B. Hayes in November 1876 and involved the withdrawal of federal Sometimes its also known as Radical H troops ftom the South as well as the return of white-only governments. That last Reconstruction. period culminated in the 1890s with the virtual disenfranchisement of all blacks im ggemption the South. ‘term used by opponents of Reconstruction ‘Although this typical chronology is far too simplistic, it does provide an accurate forthe ain which the federal government framework for the reconstruction process, The reality of the process was miich more _endeditsinvolvementin Souther aa 2nd complex. Many factions battled from 1865 well into the 1880s and 1890s. Johnson southern whites took contral of state govern yas challenged even ducing his first years in office. Congressional Reconstruction "e"anéendedackpolietrahss had many ups and downs, Grant generally agreed with the Congressional radicals, a oni ae eee cutieaierate nunens (QOS Serre sought to transform the former Confederacy into a racially integrated region with Reports on Conditions In the equal rights, Nevertheless, in every year between 1867 and 1877, those who sought Postwar South, 1865 a radical Reconstruction of the South met resistance, often very effective resistance the South and a growing inclination of Northerners to look the other way as they grew tired of the effort. Pethaps most important, the end of Reconstruction did not come all at once, It was a long process involving defeats and successes throughout the country, e Read on MyHistoryLab Document A Former Slave Seeks the Help of the Freedmen's Bureau, 1866 ¢ hon ee “This istration fom Harpers Weel shows agents of the Freedmens Bureau trying to setlea dpe between white and black Southerners The Freedmen’ Bureau tcokan active role nthe ives of ctizens Inaway thatthe federal government had never done before, managing dsputes, organizing schools, nd “ensuring pole rights for ecently enanchsed Afcan-Amercans, Chapter 15 Reconstruction 449 aera TSWatch on MyHistoryLab Video Presidential Reconstruction The Presidential Reconstruction of Andrew Johnson, 1865-1866 ‘When Andrew Johnson became president on April 15, 1865, he had served as vice president for only 6 weeks. Even so, he came to the presidency with far more experience than Lincoln had in 1861. Like Lincoln, Johnson grew up in poverty, but he hhad risen in ‘Tennessee politics from a city alderman to member ofthe stat legislature, to Congress, to two terms as governor to the U.S, Senate. When Tennessee seceded from the Union in 1861, Johnson—apart ftom any other Senator from a Confederate State—stayed loyal to the Union and stayed in the Senate, He had long seen himsele ‘asa spokesman for the “honest yeomen’ of Tennessee, and he hated what he called the state’s “papered, bloated...slaveocracy” During the Civil War, Johnson served with distinction as military governor of Tennessee in those parts of the state where the Union army had taken control. When. the Republicans met in 1864 to nominate Lincoln for a second term, incumbent Vice President Hannibal Hamlin offered litle to the ticket; his home state of Maine vas sure to go Republican and he had played virtually no role inthe war, The choice af Johnson as Lincolris xunning mate—a border state senator and governor—might add essential votes. Although two previous vice presidents had succeeded to the presidency, no one expected it to happen again. ‘When Johnson became president after Lincoln died, many ef those known as the Radical Republicans in Congress embraced him. These so-called radicals wanted to be sure that the end of the Civil War did not bring merely a return to a version of the prewar status quo minus slavery but, instead, wanted the whole South to be “reconstructed” to assure economic, educational, and political equality forthe former slaves. The radicals were often a minority in the Congress and the country, where ‘many were willing to accept second-class status for former slaves, but the radicals had the clearest agenda for what they wanted to see happen, and every act of postwar Southern resistanice tended to strengthen theit hand, In 1864, Johnson had said, “Treason must be made odious, and traitors must be punished and impoverished.” And he repeated similar views to members of Congress who met with him right after Lincoln’s assassination, Ohio Senator Benjamin F, Wade said, “By the Gods, there will be no trouble now in running the government.” Another was overheard saying, “Telieve, that the Almighty continued Mr. Lincoln in office as long as he was useful, and then substituted a better man to finish the work.” ‘When Johnson announced his plans for Reconstruction on May 29, 1865, there ‘was widespread disappointment. Johnson supported the Thirteenth Amendment, already passed by Congress and ratified by several states, and insisted that support for the amendment be a condition for the readmission of any Confederate state to the union, But Johnéon refused to go beyond that, He made it clear that he hed Tittle interest in political rights for former slaves. In contrast to his earlier claims, Johnson declared a full amnesty and pardon for most of those who had taken part in the rebellion as long as they were willing to pledge loyalty to the Union and support the end of slavery. The amnesty included restoration of all Jand taken by the Union ‘army. There were exceptions to Johnson’s amnesty, however. Major Confederate officials and individuals who owned more than $20,000 in taxable property had to seek individual presidential pardons. ‘At first glance, the policy seemed tough on the South or at least on the former slaveholders of the South—perhaps tougher than Lincoln would have been—and consistent with Johnson’s pledge to keep slaveholders “out in the cold.” But soon, ‘many wondered how many individual presidential pardons would be granted as they realized that Johnson was granting many more than they had expected. Blacks, though now free, seemed destined to be excluded from most of the rights of citizenship in the Johnson plan. If former slaveholders were to be given back their land, what land would there be for former slaves? Illinois Congressmen Elihu B. Washburne said, *[ have grounds to fear President Johnson may hold almost wnconquerable prejudices against the African race.” 450. Part Expansion, Separation, and a New Union, 1844-1877 Pere reer ere Peer eee ere eee erence aWhile the Redical Republicans in Congress were terribly disappointed, many southern whites were delighted at the opportunity to create a “white man’s government,” if they accepted the end of slavery. Under Johnson’s plan, former Confederate states were readmitted as soon as they ratified the Thirteenth “Amendment, and the new state governments that were quickly organized in the South were recognized by Johnson as the legitimate government of these states, {Gince most Republicans continued to insist that the rebellious states had never [eft the Union, there was no official way or time for them to be readmitted.) Once recognized, these state governments, dominated by many of the same people who had been in power before the Civil War, began passing laws strictly limiting black rights, most of all the right fo vote. In addition, hunting, fishing, free grazing of livestock, which whites all assumed were their rights and which some slaves had enjoyed, were now declared illegal for blacks in a series of what were known as Black Codes, passed by states across the South, beginning with Mississippi's code passed in November 1865. One part of the Mississippi code said: Allfreedmen, free negroes and mulattces in the State, over the age of eighteen, found on the sécond Monday in January, 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found unlaveful assembling themselves together, sither in the day or nit time, and all white persons assembling with freeémen, Free negroes or mulattoes, or unusually associating, .on terms of equality. shall be deemed vagrants. In many states, Black Codes either made itilegal for an African-American to own ‘gun of taxed guns at high rates. In cities, new urban police forces, like the one in Mississippi in 1865, were designed to “keep good order and discipline amongst the negro population.” Police patrols not only enforced the law but also aften terrorized blacks, especially those who refused to sign long-term labor contracts with former slave masters. Any former slave who ran away from a labor contract could be either arrested and returned to the plantation holding that contract or sentenced to @ chain gang to pay off the fine for running away. African-Americans in Louisiana noted how similar the contracts were to slavery and how similar the new police were to the old slave patrols. They also asked “why men who but a few months since were in armed rebellion against the government should now have atms putin their hands.” Johnson's amnesty, especially his expectation that these states would reassume all the tights of any other state, made these oppressive developments almost inevitable. nal Radical Reconstruction, 1867-1869 ‘The new Congress that was elected with Lincoln in November 1864 did not assemble ‘until December 1865—8 months after his death. This Congress had an overwhelming Republican majority, including many who had become disillusioned with Johnson by the time they met, especially as they saw what was happening in the states that had 40 recently been at war with the Union. The new president, they thought, was cleatly siding with the former slaveholders rather than the former slaves “Those in Congress most unhappy with Johnson, the Radical Republicans, were led by Charles Sumner in the Senate and Thaddeus Stevens in the House. Stevens told the House, “The whole fabric of southern society must be changed, and never can it be done if this opportunity is los.” For Stevens, the core values of the Republican Party remained, as the party’s campaign slogan said, “free labor” by “free men” who carned their livelihoods by the sweat of their own brows, But with Johnson moving quickly to recognize the new state governments in the old Confederacy and those governments passing rigid Black Codes, the moment seemed to be quickly slipping sway. Johnson focused on the Constitutional clause giving each state the right to set up its own government and arrangements for voting, Stevens and the radicals focused ‘on a different part of the Constitution, the clause guaranteeing each state a republican form of government, Congres: Read on MyHistoryLab Document Mississippi Black. Code, 1865 Black Codes Laws passed by states and municipalities ‘denying mary rights of citizenship to free blacks and to controt black labor, maby, and employment. Read on MyHistoryLab (G) [B8) document The Colores People of South Carolina Protest the “Black Codes” 1865 Pennsyvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens ‘wanted Reconstrction to mean thorough reordering of Suthem society in which former slaves would receive land and guaranteed voting rights from te federal government. Chapter 15 Reconstruction 451 w2 183 cama TEED,1865, a majority probably sil had reservations about black voting rights. Even so, neatly all were disappointed at Johnson's easy amnesty of so many former Confederate leader, and the way Souther states were coming back into the Union with their old leaders in power, They discredited Johnson’s version of Reconstruction because the results reser. bled the antebellum South in far too many ways, In particular, the fact that 58 members of the Confederate Congress, six Confederate cabinet officers, and the vice president of the Confederacy were all elected to Congress in 1865 and 1866 symbolized the failure, of Johnson’s policy to bring about meaningful change, However, the Constitution also gave Congress its own specific ways of asserting its authority. Soon after convening in December 1865, Congress created a Joint Committee on Reconstruction. Moderate Senator William Pitt Fessenden of Maine was appointed chair, and most of the radicals, including Stevens, were excluded. Nevertheless, Congress undermined presidential Reconstruction by refusing to seat the Congressional delegates from the former Confederate states, even though Johnson considered those states to be fully restored to the Union, (Johnson's use of “restora ‘ion” rather than “reconstruction” irked many in Congress who wanted to see at east sotue change rather than restoring states to the place they had held in 1860.) Despite Johnson's insistence that the states hed a right to be represented in Congress, the real ity was thet the Constitution made each house of Congress sole judge of the qualifica- tions ofits members, and neither house was ready to seat former Confederate leaders Senator Ben Wade demanded that no Souther state be given a vote in Congress until African-Americans had the right to vote in that state, Others called for the creation of territorial governments in the former Confederate states, which would be under the control of Congress so that both voting rights and land redistribution could be assured. But Congress itself was divided, and action beyond rejecting the delegates from the South was hard to come by. Even legislation to give blacks in the District of Columbia the right to vote—something Congress clearly had authority to do—could not make it through both houses, especially after a December 1865 referendum of white voters in the District rejected black voting rights 6,951 to 35. Early in 1866, Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull proposed two new pieces of legislation. Unlike the more radical Republicans, Trumbull still maintained a good ‘working relationship with Johnson and worried about the federal government exceed- ing its authority. But given developments in the South, Trumbull felt Congress had . the authority—even the duty—to protect the rights of newly freed Affican-Americans under the Thirteenth Amendment, which included language giving Congress the power to pass laws to enforce the amendment. First, Trumbull proposed extending the life of the Freedmen's Bureau. When Lincoln signed the legislation creating the Bureau, it was envisioned as a 1-year transitional body. However, through late 1865 and early 1866, the Freedmen’s | g ‘Most of the Republicans in Congress were not as radical as Stevens or Surnner. iy ____-.ill Bureau was the key federal agency distributing food to former slaves, supporting the «establishment of schools, and in some cases, even helping former slaves gain their own land. After consulting with the head of the bureau, General O. O. Howard, Trumbull became convinced that its work would take many years and proposed extending it to 1870, He also proposed giving it new authority to ensure that blacks had al “civil rights belonging to white persons” and giving bureau agents the authority to press | changes against state officials who denied those rights. | Read on MyHistoryLab ‘Trumbull then proposed the far-reaching Civil Rights Bill of 1866 that defined | Document The Civil Rights all persons born in the United States (except Indians) as citizens, permanently ‘Act of 1866 ending the Dred Scott distinctions between whites and blacks, Although the bill was silent on the issue of voting, given that many of the citizens it refereed to—women and children, for example—could not vote, it explicitly guaranteed rights to make contracts, bring lawsuits, and have the equal benefit ofthe laws without regard to race. | ‘The law declared that such provisions were “fundamental rights belonging to every man as a free man.” It also authorized federal authorities to prosecute violations in 452. PartV Expansion, Separation, and a New Union, 1844-1877ing to thelr white-dominated ways, ‘Both of Trumbull’ bills would have appeared redicala year or two earlier, utin 1866, hey were sen as moderate proposals from a moderate Senator, and everyone expected ‘cath sailing for them, Then, after they passed Congress easly, President Johnson ‘eoed both bill, He called the Freedmen's Bureau an “immense patronage” system that Tpoveded the constitutional authority ofthe federal government, and he characterized the Roaster rece cul ‘gui rights bill an as unwarranted “concentration of all legislative powers in the national i a Government.” In his veto of the Civil Rights bill, Johnson also went out of his way to say : that giving blacks citizenship rights was wrong and that “the distinction of race and color isby the Bill made to operate in fvor ofthe colored and againstthe white race.” ‘The vetoes ended congressional efforts to work with the president on Reconstruction, Trumbull atacked the president, Senator William Pitt Fessenden, up to then considered a moderate, predicted that Johnson would “veto every other bill we pass” Johnson was prepared to do just that. He wanted to court Northern Democrats Jind Southern whites in his bid for a second term. Congress passed both pieces of legislation over Johnson's vetoes and began to use a veto-proof two-thirds majority to pass similar legislation inspite of presidentiel opposition, The era of presidentia-led Reconstruction was fast coming to an end. ‘After passing Trumbull's two major bills over the president's veto inthe spring of 13866, Congress proposed another amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Amendments to the Constitution proposed in Congress are not subject to a presidental veto, although three-fourths of the stat legislatures need to agree to them, So in 1866, Congress set out to put the Civl Rights law into the Constitution itself, Agreement to do so came quickly, however, agreement on the other provisions of the amendment came much more slow/y. Congress was not yet ready to give all blac males the same voting rights that all white rales had, but Sumner and some other radicals would never support an amendment that did not guarantee such rights. When their opposition was combined with the Democratic minority who did not want any new rights inscribed in the Constitution, crafting the amendment became a major hurdle. Many members of Congress wanted to punish any state that withheld the vote from black males, but they did not want to punish those states-currentlyall of them—that withheld the vote from women or those states—including several inthe North—that made it hard fr recent immigrants to vote ‘All of these issues led to months of wrangling, but the compromise that emerged asthe Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing rights of citizenship to former slaves and others born or naturalized inthe United States was nevertheless significant, “The key provision of the Fourteenth Amendment said: federal courts, significant provision since Souther state courts were quickly revert- i | Read on MyHistorytab | 455 Decument President i: All persons bora or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are cizens ofthe United States and ofthe State wherein they reside, No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens ofthe United States; nor shall any State deprive any person off, Uberty or property, without due process of avs nor ‘deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection ofthe laws. Other clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment stated changes drastically different from the ‘Three-Fifth’s dause and other previously accepted parts of the Constitution. ‘They included language saying that any state that limited the voting rights of male inhabitants of a state would have its representation in Congress reduced, that any person who had held federal office and then participated in rebellion against the government could not agein hold office, and that Confederate debts were null and void as far asthe federal government was concerned. Bath houses of Congress finally passed the amendment ini June 1866 and sent it to the states for ratification. Just as Johnson had refused to recognize a state as having returned to the Union until it ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, Congress now refused to seat the members ofthe Hiouse or Senate elected by a state unt the state had Chapter 15 Reconstruction 453 |r TTTratified the Fourteenth Amendment, The amendment was popular in the North ana many in the South were anxious to return to Congress, so approval om the required three-quarters ofthe states came quickly and the amendment was ratified in July 1868, ‘When Congress reconvened in December 1866, the majority of Republicens ies hhad no interest in working with Johnson. While the president called for immediate restoration of the “now unrepresented States" to Congress, Congress decided that, in fact, the states of the former Confederacy needed to be governed directly from Washington until “some indefinite future time.” Some said that Congress was raising the bar after earlier requiring only assent to the Fourteenth Amendment, but the ‘majority in Congress were no longer in any mood to compromise, View on MyHistoryLab ‘In January 1867, Congress quickly passed a law—over presidential veto—giving Closer Look The FistVote black males in the District of Columbia the right to vote. Since the district was directly controlled by Congress, they could pass such a law even though the Fifteenth ‘Amendment, giving all black males the same voting rights as white males, was not yet contemplated. Corigressional leaders then turned to more far-reaching legislation. ‘They passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which declared all Southern state governments already recognized by Johnson—to be inoperative and divided the former Confederate states into five military districts, ordering the military to oversee the writing of new constitutions that would guarantee universal male suffrage (see Map 15-1). Only after these new constitutions were in place, and after a state had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, would Congress admit its representatives to Congress ‘The president protested that the Reconstruction Act was, “the death-knell of civil | liberty.” African-Americans in the South, however, embraced the opportunity to participate in the political process. In addition to registering to vote and participating in constitution writing, blacks struck for higher pay in Charleston, Savannah; Mobile, Richmond, and New Orleans. Blacks in Richmond demanded integrated horse-drawn Union Leagues streetcars. Across the South, they created Union Leagues that became a base for polit: Inthe South, Republian Party organization ical action and mutual support. The leagues offered opportunities to gain experience led by Afcan~Americans, which becatmesn in the political process or, as one former slave said, “We just went there, and we talked ee eee a littl, made speeches on one question and another.” Former slaves became political leaders. By 1867, James H Jones, the former “body servant’ to Jefferson Davis, was & featured speaker at Republican meetings across the South. 153. The Final Break—Johnson’s Impeachment By 1867, President Johnson hed become virtually irrelevant to federal Reconstruction policy. Congress passed lav, the president vetoed them, and Congress passed them over the president’ veto, But the Freedman’ Bureau vas under the control of the president even if he vetoed the bill that kept it going, The creation of military districts in the South also gave the president significant powers as commander-in-chief, even though he had opposed creating them. Some in Congress began to consider removing Johnson in carly 1867, but they ‘were ina minority, Instead, Congress passed a number of laws that most hoped would ‘keep Reconstruction moving in spite ofthe president. One law required all presiden- tial orders to the military to pass through the army chief, General Grant, before going to commanders in the field, Grant was known to side with Congress, and this strategy seemed like an important safeguard and a significant limitation of Johnson's power. Congress also passed the Tenure of Office Act, which said that any person whose appointment required the Senate's consent, namely, members of the cabinet and ambassadors, could be replaced only when the Senate approved a successor, The goal of the act was to ensure that Secretary of War Stanton, who had been appointed by Lincoln and who took a tough stance on Reconstruction, stayed in office. “These Congressional actions might have worked had Johnson been willing to play = passive role, but Johnson could be stubborn, proud, and self focused. Hisloyal Secretary | cof the Navy Gideon Welles said, “He has no confidantes and seeks none.” As a result, 454 Part Expansion, Separation, and a New Union, 1844-1877 Boe eee eee eee cee eee ace eee eee Coe cee cee cee cc cee eee eee ceaaceon lt Sah 1851877 eatin sor nie Sash Tne nse near en, 15 i csctes snes creceatin Pearce 1 theese erecustieertlsrservae germ a, 1574) apt i al byan TE3 ey osoe) [Efintingovereen atop rer losin et aty ty ema rrr, 808 (a ecrarcin gore stupas yen ison Wet Vey se ire mnay ose ty Roonecin de 187 IAP 15-1 Southern Military Districts. Having lst ll fath in President Johnsonsleadership the Congress in 1867 created ve mia strict to govern he sats the former Confederacy until new state constaions ‘guaranteed the Fats Including voting rights of Aican-Americans wor putin place unlike Lincoln, Johnson was often dut of touch with congressional thinking, These traits set the stage for an even more serious collision between the president and the Congress. ‘While Congress took charge of Reconstruction, Johnson became convinced that he had public opinion on his side and began to encourage opponents of Reconstruction, in the North and South, He also removed several ofthe tougher military commanders in the South and replaced them with officers who were willing to let events take their ‘own course, which meant letting former Confederates take control of local govern- ‘ments and use their power to undermine black rights. Then in February 1868, after the Senate refused Johnson's request to remove Stanton, the president, in violation of ‘the Tenure of Office act, fired him, It was clear challenge to congressional authority, ‘Under the U.S. Constitution, a president can be removed only for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” terms the Constitution does not define, But the procedure for Impeachment is clear. The House of Representatives is required to act as a sort of Grand Jury, deciding whether or not o bring charges, called impeachment, against the president. Then the Senate, with the Chief Justice ofthe Supreme Court presiding, acts asa jury to hear and vote on the charges. Only with a Senate vote to convict can a president be removed from office. Led by Thaddeus Stevens, the House, with every Republican voting positively, agreed on a long list of charges, most having to do with Johnson's violation of the ‘Tenure of Office Act but also a charge saying that the president had tried to bring Congress “into disgrace.” However, the trial in the Senate did not go as well for the radicals. Removing a president was very setious business, and it was unclear that EB View on tiytistonrtab ‘Map Congressional Reconstruction Chapter 15 Reconstruction 455Johnson's obstructionism met the level ofa “high crime.” It was also not éleer thatthe ‘Tenure of Office Act was constitutional, Johnson claimed that he meant the fring of Stanton to be tested in the Supreme Court, IfJohnson were removed, then Senator Ben Wade, president pro tem of the Senate, would become president since there was no vice president, and many who disliked Johnson also disliked Wace. When the Senate finally voted in mid-May of 1868, Johnson survived by one vote, Johnson could serve ‘out his term in relative peace, although his chances for the Democratic nomination and reelection were slim. The Right to Vote—Grant’s Election and the Fifteenth Amendment After Johnson’ impeachment was resolved, both parties turned to selecting nominees for the presidential election in the fll of 1868, For the Republicans, the choice was easy. Ulysses S, Grant as commander of the army had supported the Republicans in Congress on the issues of Reconstruction; his own attitudes on race bad been significantly reshaped by the courage shown by black troops during the Civil War, and hae was the nation’s war hero. The Republicans easily nominated him along with the Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax of Indiana as his running mate, Grant ran on a cautious platform that nevertheless embraced extending voting rights to former slaves, His slogan was, “Let Us Have Peace” Democrats were divided on issues of personality, on their opposition to Congressional Reconstruction, and on fiscal policies—whether to continue to authorize the printing of money, or "greenbucks,” based on the federal promise to pay. After 21 ballots in which a number of candidates, including Andrew Johnson, failed to win the nomination, they chose former New York Governor Horatio Seymour, who had flirted with supporting the Confederacy during the war and who had called protesters in the New York Draft Riot “my friends.” For vice president, they nominated a former Union general from Missouri, Francis Blair, who called for an ‘end to Reconstruction, which he called the rule of “a semi-barbarous race of blacks.” ‘While neither party articulated a fully developed economic policy the lines between the parties were drawn on the issues of race. August Belmont, one of the nation’s lead ‘ng bankers, sid thet, in the 1868 election, financial matters paled in comparison with black voting rights, In November, Grant carried most of the North and the parts of the South under federal control, including North and South Carolina and Alabama, Seymour's home state of New York, along with Nev Jersey, Georgia, and Louisiana favored Seymout. ‘The state governments in Florida, Mississippi, and Texas had not yet. ‘been recognized, and those states did not vote Grant won 53 percent of the popular vote but an overwhelming 73 percent ofthe electoral vote for an easy victory. With Grant about to become president, Republicans in Congress moved quickly on the issue of voting rights. In February 1869, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment, which stated: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged. by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, In alittle less than a year, by February 1870, the required three-fourths of the states ratified the amendment and the right of former slaves, and other citizens, including the children of Chinese immigrants—who were citizens but had also been denied the right to vote—had been inscribed in the Constitation. ‘As powerful asthe language of the Fifteenth Amendment i, it lacked some word- ing that many had wanted to include, The radicals had wanted the amendment to state that neither the right to vote nor the right to hold office could be abridged. But others feared that several Northern states, including California with its large Chinese population, might reject the amendment if the right of nonwhite people to hold office were included, Many also hed wanted wording to prohibit the many tricks that some 456 Part Expansion, Separation, and a New Union, 1844-187 pussHorpors ei cared mony lustotion ofthe changes happening Inthe South to Northern audiences ‘Tstssue of aly 1968 showed the enthusiasm ith which Afcan-Ameticans, mary of whom had een {loves only feu yoors before, were aking to elector! polities. Southern governments were already using to limit the black vote, including literacy tests that could be manipulated to exclude whoever the test giver wanted excluded, or tests related to property or education, Supporters of the amendment, however, worried that they would lose too much Northern support if they included such clauses, Massachusetts and Connecticat used literacy tests to limit voting by fore born citizens, while Pennsylvania and Rhode Island hed property or tax qualifications for voting, and no one wanted to risk losing the support of those states. As a result, important safeguards were not included. ‘Many women, eapecially the most prominent leaders of the women’s rights movement, were deeply disappointed and angered by the Fifteenth Amendment, ‘Women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner ‘Truth had labored long and hard in support of abolition and the Union cause, and now they saw women’s right to vote ignored, Frederick Douglass was an advocate of women’s rights in addition to African-American rights, but in 1869, he precipitated ¢ long and painful, though temporary, break with Anthony and Stanton over the Fifteenth ‘Amendment. Douglass argued for one step at a time, guaranteeing black men the ‘same rights as white men, and then guaranteeing women of all races the right to vote. Douglass said, “Ihold that women, as well as men, have the right to vote, and my heart and my voice go with the movement to extend suffrage to women.” ‘these were not just words, In the decade before and after battles around the Fifteenth Amendment, Douglass actively campaigned for women’s right to vole. But between 1865 and 1870, Douglass was willing to compromise to achieve his immediate goal The compromise that Douglass proposed brought a shaxp rebuke from the former slave and abolitionist Sojourner Truth, In 1867, atthe height ofthe debate, Truth gave hher own passionate response to Douglass. She sad that she, too, had been born a slave and rejoiced that “They have got their liberty—so much good luck to have slavery Read on MyHistoryLab Document The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constizution Ce Chapter 15 Reconstruction 457partly destroyed; not entirely, I want it root and branch destroyed.” For Truth, root and branch meant the vote forall. Partial justice would not do, “and if colored men get their rights, and not colored women theirs, you see the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before.” In spite of compromises and disappointments, many hailed the Fifteenth Amendment as completing the work of abolition. As late as 1868, free blacks could vote in only eight Northern states. In 1870, by law, black men could vote everywhere in the United States, William Lloyd Garrison celebrated “this wonderful, quite sudden ‘ransformation...from the auction-block to the ballot-box.” While there was already clear evidence of the many steps—by law and by violence—that would be taken to deny most blacks the right to vote for most ofthe next century, in 1870, there was also grounds for very real optimism. 153} Guick Review Compare Presidential Reconstruction and Congressionel Reconstruction ‘What ere the most significant diferences between the two plans? Given these Aifferences, was the tension betwoon them inevitable? ‘THE IMPACT OF RECONSTRUCTION fein ane Sou In he early years of Reconstruction, many of the Souths former leaders returned to power. ‘Only one Southern offical was ried for treason and executed—Henry Wirz, commander ‘of the infamgtus Andersonville prison where so many Union soldiers died. Jefferson Davis was imprisoned for 2 years but then was freed and retired to write his memoirs. Many other Confederate leaders quickly declared theie loyalty to the Union after the war's end, received a pardon from Johnson, and resumed leadership in their states. Within a year of announcing his plan to exclude the wealthy and the political leaders of the Confederacy from the original amnesty conditions Johnson had granted 7,000 individual pardons, The prewar status quo seemed tobe returning in the Southern states. ‘Then Congress took over Reconstruction, and everything changed. In state legislatures, local sheriff’ offices, and | school boards, former slaves, Northern abolitionists, end Southern Unionists took power under the banner of the Republican Party or local Union Leagues. 4 radical remaking of the South began in the late 1860s and continued into the 1870s. In January 1870, the Mississippi state legislature elected Hiram R. Revels to the United States Senate, Revels was the first African-American ever elected to the Senate. ‘The legislature that elected Revels included 40 blacks and 100 whites—hardly @ Black-dominated body. He was elected, ironically to fil Jefferson Davis’ former seat, Jeft vacant since Davis departed in 1861 Revels was born free in Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1827. Like many of the African-American political leaders during Reconstruction, he was a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, serving as a pastor in Baltimore, Maryland, when the Civil War began, Revels organized two all-black regiments and served as their chaplain, At the war's end, Revels went with his unit to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and then moved to Natchez, He was not initially a candidate for the Senate, but his lack of ambition for the post made him a perfect compromise candidate. Senator Garrett Davis of Kentucky challenged the right of an African-American to be scated in the Senate, But Revels's key defender, James Nye of Nevada, told his colleagues, “In 1861 from this hall departed two senators who were representing here the state of Mississippi: one of them who went defiantly was Jefferson Davis,” For Nye, and eventually for a majority in the Senate, nothing was a more fitting symbol of the | Voting in the South | | | 458 Part Expansion, Separation and a New Union, 1804-1877 | Be ee eee IS eee eeFram fevels the rat African-American senator (lef ss wi sicof the fistbacks elected tothe House of Representatives representing Alabama lara, South Caoina thee represantatves), an Georgi, ‘outcome of the Civil War than the seating of an Aftican-American in the place of the former president of the Confederacy. “Mississippt later sent Blanche K. Bruce to the Senate in 1874, Bruce was born a lave, but he attended Oberlin College and established himself as a planter in Mississippl in 1868. Unlike Revels, he worked his way up the political adder, serving as the sergeant-at-arms of the Mississippi state senate, assessor and sheriff of Bolivar ‘County, and a member of the Board of Levee Commissioners of the Mississippi River. Navigation on the Mississippi was a major concern of his during his U.S. Senate tence, as was opposition to Chinese exclusion, Bruce was the last African-American to serve in the Senate until Edward Brooke was elected from Massachusetts in 1966. ‘More African Americans were elected to the House, Twenty-two blacks served {in Congress during Reconstruction, including 13 who had been born slaves, Between 1871 and 1873, South Carolina had three Aftican-Americans in the House-—Joseph. H. Rainey, Robert B. Eliott, and Robert G. DeLarge. In the same sessions, Benjamin §, Turner represented Alabama; Josiah T. Walls, Florida; and Joseph Long, Georgia. Rainey served three terms in the House during which time he played an important role in arguing for the first major federal aid to education bill that was considered, although defeated, in Congress. ‘Reconstruction state governments, with black and white leadership, expanded the zight to vote, abolishing restrictions that had existed for black and poor white voters. In addition, newly formulated state constitutions created public school systems and internal improvements designed to bring the South into the modern world, It was « heady time, yet not an easy one. Schools for Freedom Northern whites who came to the South with the Union army were amazed by the thirst for literacy demonstrated by former slaves, A member of an education society in North Carolina said, “he thought a school-house would be the first proof of their independence” Booker T. Washington, a well-known African-American Chapter 15 Reconstruction 459 BA He ee eer