Out of many chapter 17 pg 413 436 The defeated south Many retreating confederate soldiers destroyed cotton so that the federal troops couldn t capture it former slaves that had fled to the union returned to the south to reconstruct as free men and women plantation owners took emancipation the hardest racism toward freed blacks became worse white southerners saw them as even more inferior major force driving and undermining reconstruction Abraham Lincoln s plan proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction of dec 1863 offered full pardon and restoration of property except for slaves to white southerners willing to swear an oath of allegiance to the US and its laws confederate military was excluded from the offer ten percent plan when 10 of a confederate states voters took the oath the group could est a state gov That had to accept the abolition of slavery Lincoln s plan angered radical republicans wanted harder punishments for the white south wade Davis bill 50 of the white male citizens had to take a loyalty oath before elections could be held 1862 Gen Ben butler transformed slaves into wage laborers that had to live on the plantation received wages food and medicine 1865 Gen William Sherman issued Special Field Order 15 that set aside Islands off GA coast and a portion of SC rice fields for settlement of freed people Each family would receive 40 acres of land a loan of mules march 1865 congress est Freedman s Bureau provided food clothing and fuel to former slaves supervised and managed all abandoned lands in the south April 14 1865 Abraham Lincoln assassinated by John booth VP Andrew Johnson TN took over Andrew Johnson and presidential reconstruction 1862 appointed by Lincoln as military governor of Tennessee 1864 nominated as VP Spring 1865 started granting amnesty and pardons to southern confederates who pledged loyalty to the union and support for emancipation Fall 1865 Congress wasn t going to let Johnson make what they saw as their decision for re entering the union Free Labor and the Radical Republican Vision Thought once the south started operating under free labor they would join the north in material wealth and progress Outraged at black codes in MI SC LA restricting the freedom of the black labor force Dec 1865 Rep majority prevented the seating of the white southerners elected under Johnsons pardons and amnesties Est Joint Committee on Reconstruction to investigate conditions in the south 1866 Congress passed 2 bills to aid African Americans Pres Johnson vetoed both but republicans override the vetoes Civil Rights Bill bestowed full citizenship on African Americans Turned over the 1857 Dred Scott decision and the black codes African Americans acquired full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens Enlarged Freedmen s Bureau Build schools and pay teachers Est courts to prosecute those charged with depriving African Americans of their civil rights June 1866 Congress passed 14th Amendment Defined national citizenship to include former slaves and prohibited the states from violating the privileges of citizens without due process of law Empowered congress to reduce the representation of any state that denied suffrage to males over 21 Congressional Reconstruction 1867 1870 and the Impeachment Crisis First reconstruction act divided south into 5 military districts subject to martial law Southern states were required to call new constitutional conventions guaranteeing African American voting rights and ratified the 14th Amendment they were eligible for readmission to the union Tenure of Office Act any office holder appointed by the President with the Senates advice and consent could not be removed until the Senate had approved a successor August 1867 Johnson tried to suspend Sec of War Edwin Stanton and replace him with General Grant while congress was adjourned Jan 1868 Senate overruled Stanton s suspension and Grant broke openly with Johnson and vacated the office Feb 24 1868 Congress voted to impeach Johnson Johnson agreed to abide by the reconstruction Acts and ended up 1 vote shy of being removed from office Election of 1868 7 former confederate states had earned readmission to the union AL AR FL LA NC SC TN Rep nominated Ulysses S Grant for President Dem nominated Horatio Seymour for Gov of NY very against emancipation Ku Klux Klan caused the Dem to have GA and LA but lost all northern support Feb 1869 15th Amendment the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged on account of race color or previous condition of servitude The remaining 5 confederate states MI GA TX VA had to ratify the 14 th and 15th Amendments to gain readmission Reconstruction was complete Feb 1870 Women Suffrage and Reconstruction Split into 2 groups American Woman Suffrage Association AWSA Moderate wanted to support the negro s in their time didn t want to jeopardize the 14 th and 15th amendment Lucy Stone Fredrick Douglass National Woman Suffrage Association NWSA Radical thought the 14th and 15th amendment were enfranchising all men and leaving women out Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony The meaning of freedom Former slaves struggled to est autonomy built on the family and the church Moving about Many newly freed slaves went away from home to find work or just explore their new freedom many returning home afterward to seek work close to family and friends African American Families Churches and Schools many tried to find long lost family couples went to military and civilian authorities and demanded to be legally married gender roles changed men had joined the army and could vote serve on juries and hold office while black women still could not men asserting their male authority insisted their wives work at home Pooled their money together to buy land and build a church Became first social institution controlled by African Americans Black Baptist or Methodist churches African American Schools spread rapidly reflecting their want for self improvement 1869 3 000 schools with 150 000 students and 3 300 teachers Teachers were already freed blacks and northern white women Freedmen s bureau also founded black colleges African Americans also raised money to build schools buy supplies and artisans volunteered their help Land and Labor After Slavery Some newly freed slaves found jobs in railroad building mining ranching or construction work while others raised subsistence crops and tended