1 14 2013 AMH 2020 STRUCTION 1868 1877 VIOLENCE CORRUPTION AND REDEMPTION THE OTHER SIDE OF RECON vote tion conflicting visions of how states are going to re enter the union radical republicans have the power 1865 66 one of biggest disagreements was over the Freedman brureau intended to last 1 year Goal aid and assist ex slaves in transition to freedom provide food health care rad rep believed it was too small and underfunded wanted to increase size of it and make it a permanent institution johnston didn t like this veto d it rad rep overturned presidential veto 2 3 vote required next conflict b w rep and johnson civil rights act all persons born in U S are citi zens of U S precursor for 14th amendment Johnson doesn t like this tries to veto it and tries to get states to reject it pissed off republicans even more Johnston loses credibility and politically powerless election of 1866 republican sweep of congress b c many democrats couldn t 1866 republicans in congress have all the power leads to Radical Reconstruc early 1867 republicans lead by Thateus Stevens over turned Johnston military reconstruction military oversees reconstruction Military Reconstruction Acts 1 divides South into districts 2 army carries out voter registration of freed slaves 3 all previous state constitutions signed under John ston administration would now be thrown out and new constitutions are required to guarantee black suffrage 4 after new constitution was approved by state legislature and ratify the state would have to ratify 14th amendment and then could re enter Johnston of course tries to veto congress overrides radicals in congress want to impeach Johnston congress passed an act require the approval of the senate for the removal of any gov t official who had been appointed w the senates approval Johnston claimed it unconstitutional requested removal of secretary of war but senate refused Johnston fired him anyway Johnston falls into senates trap of trying to get him to do something wrong so they could remove him every republican votes to impeach Johnston IMPEACHMENT is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity the outcome of this process may or may not result in removal from office 1 vote shy of impeachment Johnston does not run for reelection finished Lin coln s term next president GRANT goes along with congress radicals going to implement more legislation radical reconstruction starts 15th amendment citizens right to vote may not be deprived based on race color or previous condition of servitude republicans began to dominate local and state gov t of south Hiran Rhodes Revels 1st black senator 1870 1871 Blanch Bruce 1st full back in full term of U S senate P B S Pinchback 1st black governor of Louisiana 1st non white governor of a state Blacks aided by Scalawags and Carpetbaggers S southern white republicans viewed as traitors b c cooperating with AA s C northern politicians or business men activists alienated by majority of white southerners drove wedge in southern society white southerners feared S and C where going to undermine traditions in south and cause social anarchy and chaos southern whites mostly democrats form violent activist groups to intimidate blacks exacerbates situation violent reactions formation of first KKK by Nathan Bedford Forrest formed in December 1865 Forrest one of most skilled cavalry generals accused of allowing troops under his command to slaughter hundreds of blacks Klan members believed that if south was given equality world would fall apart twisted sense of preserving traditions main goals of klan intimidate S and C and Freedman then maybe southern white democrats could regain power Klan resorted to extreme violence murder rep party officials blacks one of klans favorite tactics scare people on election day Klans surrounded polling places so freed slaves and S couldn t vote successful during military reconstruction but military can t be everywhere rep in congress won t let this terrorism stand 1871 congress passed KKK Act authorized military to use whatever force needed to stop the violence by klan END OF KKK had claimed over 500 members still violence but not as much legislation worked KKK based in the south and extremely violent reason for formation of Klan persisted southerners have to find other ways of coping with social change southerners devastated by economy after defeat of confederacy white southern ers hopeless b c social order was destroyed before war poor but above AA after war equal to poor blacks in order to deal w devastation white southerners turn to the myth of the lost cause attempt by white southerners intellectual attempt about remembering the confederacy popularized by book and articles long lasting literary and cultural phe nomenon in the south by early 1900 s this myth was rooted in southern cultural life main ideas of the myth 1 confederate generals such as Robert E Lee repre sented the virtues of southern nobility 2 losses of the battlefield were inevitable due to Northern superiority and resources and manpower shows bravery and honor 3 slav ery was a benign institution and the slaves were loyal and faithful to their benevolent masters 4 the defense of states rights rather than the preservation of slavery was the primary cause of war myth of lost cause persisted way of southerners to remember history black codes laws passed by southern legislatures in the 2 3 years following im mediately after the war reaction to abolition want to put up impediments to freed slaves ex laws bared blacks the ability to testify against whites be on a jury limiting occupations not allowed to own land S C required slaves to pay a tax if they work in any other occupations besides agriculture about 100 a year black codes tied freed slaves to land development of institution of sharecropping system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land essentially a new system of slavery continue to work land until debt payed off bound to land by debt large land owners counted on this huge part of economy early 1869 reconstruction winding down smaller amount of troops in south democratic party reestablishing control of state gov t mid 1870 s democrats had taken power of almost all southern states REDEMP TION PERIOD 1873 77 southern democrats aka redeemers reentering political stage back in congress by this time all of the states of the former confederacy had been
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