01 09 2013 The Rise of the Republican Party and Early Reconstruction 1854 1865 Third Party System 1854 1890s Important issues during this period included Growth of National Government Modernization and growth of industry Abolition of slavery and then race relations Trade protectionism Political electoral Realignment A significant lasting change in the arrangement of political forces a sharp change in issues or a shift in the regional and demographic bases of power of the two parties Political realignments generally result in a new political power structure that lasts for decades Kansas Nebraska Act 1854 Introduced by democratic leadership Created territories of Kansas and Nebraska Repealed Compromise of 1820 which had made it illegal to have slaves in those territories Allowed citizens of new territories to decide if they wanted slavery or not Result Contributed to realignment and rise of the republican party with an anti slavery movement o Causes Whig Party to collapse The Whig Party coalition of anti slavery and pro slavery people Kansas Nebraska act caused many pro slavery Whigs move to democratic party Even caused anti slavery people to leave Republican Party going into 1860s becomes northern based exclusively anti slavery party Put forward a vision of modernization the US like the Whigs Emphasize free labor individuals can bargain for wages move from business to business Emphasize free homesteads and better race relations Trade and Protectionism protect domestic industry against foreign competition by putting up barriers to foreign trade such as taxes and tariffs on foreign imports o Tariff tax on either imported or exported goods often used to generate revenue and or protect domestic industries The north has many of the factories so this will benefit them self interest it motivates them Democratic Party becomes southern based pro slavery Proponents of Free Trade competing with Europe for cotton Europe doesn t want to buy cotton from the South because of tariffs South loses Tariff revenue funded about 90 of the federal budget between 1850 and 1860 Without tariffs the government wouldn t have functioned at this time Election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln elected 1861 Civil War began Democrats started to leave US government Republicans were trying to reshape American Government over in DC Passing of moral tariff in 1861 replaced the low tariffs that had been passed by democrats with higher tariffs benefits domestic producers and hurts foreign buyers o Resulted in more powerful federal government Proposed idea of federal income tax passed in 1861 3 flat tax on everyone o Helps federal government and republicans earn more money for the war to buy horses pay soldiers buy weapons Questionable if the north could have won the civil war without everything republicans did o Expired shortly after the war until 1913 Proposed that the US government take control of monetary system o Came up with national paper currency o 1861 passed legislation that allowed government to print off paper currency o everything was backed by gold you could exchange the paper for gold if you wanted o they printed way too many demand notes paper currency than they had gold for o legal tender notes doesn t say on demand on it so it isn t backed up by anything but the word of the federal government added the word legal tender You had to accept them if you were a merchant first form of fiat currency Fiat Money money declared by a government to be legal tender fiat money does not have a value in its own right Demand notes and Legal Tender Notes became known as green backs Value plummeted because there was so many prices of goods rose inflation Reconstruction Counterfeiting became a problem by the end of the civil war about a third of the money circulating was counterfeit Many advocates of reconstruction wanted implement trade in the South destroy the Old South Plantation o Outcome not as successful as they hoped Presidential Reconstruction Lincoln and Johnson o Lincoln did not want the North and South to hate each other after the war o Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Southern states which were occupied by Northern military forces Did not outlaw slavery o Reconstruction Amendments 13th 14th 15th Settled question of slavery enlarged powers of federal government promoted political equality 13th amendment outlawed slavery o 10th amendment the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution nor prohibited by it to the states are reserved to the states respectively or to the people o Lincoln s 10 plan Full pardon to rebels willing to renounce secession and accept emancipation of slaves Pardon would restore all property except slaves and full political rights When 10 of a state s voting population took an oath of allegiance to the U S state would be able to organize a new government Radical Republicans wanted southern states to resemble a much more egalitarian society like that of the north did not believe that Lincoln s plan would produce this outcome o Thaddeus Stevens a leading Radical Republican devoted his life to ending slavery and punishing the south active on underground railroad supported of a larger more active federal government thought government should control currency o Benjamin Butler radical from Mass in charge of Occupy New Orleans was hated by everyone there created an order that women of the south would be treated like prostitutes April 14 1865 Lincoln shot by Booth Andrew Johnson becomes president o Tennessee democrat o Wanted to destroy Planter class o Doesn t care anything about freeing the slaves just wants to punish his Elite enemies in the South o Freedman s Bureau created by Lincoln goal was to aid in assisting ex slaves in their transition to freedom Radical republicans thought it was too small underfunded Johnson wanted to get rid of it vetoed it Congress overturned his veto o Civil Rights act of 1866 all person s born in the U S were citizens of the U S 14th amendment Johnson doesn t like this either lost all credibility he once had with congress Election of 1866 republicans have 3 1 majority in congress Leads Radical reconstruction radical republicans are going to take over and reconstruct the south 1867 republicans in congress led by Thaddeus Stevens overturn Johnson o military reconstruction use military in the South to oversee the reconstruction process Military Reconstruction Acts Violence Corruption and Redemption 01 09 2013 1868 1877 The Other Side of Reconstruction
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