Lecture 1 13 15 Reconstructing America o Civil War gives way to construction 1865 76 o 2 parts Reconstructing the nation Reconstructing the body politic Who will be the citizens i e African Americans o Andrew Johnson as president southerner from Tennessee and democrat o Who will control the process o What will be the focus Presidential reconstruction o Johnson seizes control over reconstruction in 1865 Congress was out of session for six months so Johnson made all decisions o Prioritizes reunion Johnson grants pardons to all white southerners with less than 20 000 in pre war property and who were not confederate offices Grants individuals pardons to most of those exempted Nearly everyone got their property and political rights back These results troubled northerners and African Americans o Southern states re elect confederate leaders and establish Black Codes to limit the rights of emancipated African Americans Prohibit them from jobs etc Southerners wanted to recreate slavery Radical Reconstruction 1867 76 o Congress returns are end of 1865 Attempt to take control and prioritize remaking the nations citizenry o Johnson vetoes nearly every early effects to provide rights to AA o 1866 lines are drawn o Anti Johnson republicans win the big election in 1866 o Adopt the Reconstruction Act in 1867 dividing the south into military districts and replacing existing gov ts o In 1868 Johnson is replaced with union war hero Ulysses S Grant A changing World o Freedom in law 13th amendment 1865 Prohibits slavery and involuntary service th 14 amendment 1868 Confers citizenship on all people born in the us and guarantees equal protection under law th 15 amendment 1870 The right to vote not black or white women o Freedom in action African americans are left to define freedrom for themselves They do in different forms Lecture 1 15 15 Losing the Peace Redemption and the Foreclosure of Freedom Reconstruction s revolutions o Gets off to a rocky start o Sudden reversal of policies during the transition from presidential too radical reconstruction o Marred by disagreements and disputes Who would be in charge President or congress Upheaval o Rad Reconstruct Brings sweeping changes to southern life in several areas o Politically Repubs take control of many southern gov t AA participating in politics Made up the core of repub voting The leading political force in the south Several northern born citizens come to the south and take leadership roles Carpet Baggers Considered the lowest of northern society Mostly middle class business men in search of an opportunity to make fortune Most were not as they were depicted o Econonmically End of slavery leaves the south economy in flux Who will pick the cotton Many AA do not wish to work as farm laborers and prefer to establish their own land and homes Aided in various forms by the freedman s bureau Branch of the us army established by congress Provided emergency relief to both whites and blacks but mostly freed slaves Created schools o Socially Southern society had been based upon a rigid racial hierarchy AA now have rights protections and increasing power Enforcement o Reconstruction is sustained by military ossupation and significant federal investment Union troops maintain active presense in south Divided into 5 military districts Southerners do not like this Large peacetime federal programs esp the freedman s bureau o New legislative efforts in the 1870s Republican congress continues to expand federal powers Wants the fed to have the ability to change Civil Rights Act of 1875 attempts to establish social equality outlawing discrimination in public accommodations Enforcement Acts extending Presidential authority to stop voter intimidation President Grant can use the military much more effectively Promises Abandoned o Faces constant resistance both in the north and south o Starts to weaken by the mid 1870s giving way to redemption Re establishment of local control Reinstitution of white supremacy o Reconstruction ends with the presidential election of 1876 o Compromise of 1877 installs Rutherford B Hayes as pres and ends military occupation in the south very close between democrat Samuel Tilden Voter fraud o Rutherford B Hayes Did not do much or anger anyone Within a few weeks of taking power he ends military occupation in south Reconstruction is dead Promise forgotten o Until the 1960s reconstruction is largely viewed by historians as one of the worst periods in history o But not for the reasons we might expect ie white supremacy or the violence o Until 50 years ago nearly every American student learned a troubling version of history which held that Slavery was a benevolent institution Freed slaves were incapable of self government The white south was repressed by a corrupt incompetent and tyrannical gov t The redeemers were noble heroes who rescued the south from exploitation and ruin This story appeals to people DW Griffins s The Birth of a Nation Who Killed Reconstruction Southern democrats o Cling desperately to white supremacy o Engage in repeated election fraud o Win the propaganda battle o Embrace a lost cause mythology that highlights nobility of the southern war effort and casts the confederacy as the defenders of freedom against tyranny Ulysses S Grant o Lacked coherent long term policy for reconstruction Did not have a set of objectives Lead to a lot of confusion Was notoriously quiet on his opinions o His administration soon ran into ethical difficulties Credit Mobilier scandal Railroad bribes and kickbacks to politicians including the Vice Pres Skylar Coalfax The Whiskey Rings Defrauding the federal gov t of millions in revenues headed by grant s personal secretary o These compromised public trust fed the narrative of corrupt misrule and forced the repub party in the damage control The Economy o Late 1860s and early 70s marked a time of intese economic speculation and risk Mostly in railroad stock o The bubble burst in 1873 with massive economic panic o Begins the longest economic depressed of the century that lasts for the rest of the decade o Creates a political backlash and widespread public concern about the wisdom of putting money and focus into reconstruction Why worry about the south and civil rights when the economy is tanking Violence o Violence and intimidation remain frequent tactics to drive out black voters o Colfax Massacre in 1873 is among the most notorious examples o Paramilitary org like the KKK emerge and gain strength The