HIST206 Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction Lincoln s 10 Plan 02 13 2013 o If 10 of eligible voters white men over 21 in those three states voted in favor of being readmitted into the united states then those states should be readmitted into the Union Confiscation Act 1862 o First of a series of acts o Authorized the Union to seize rebel property o All slaves who fought for the Confederate military were freed Freedman s Bureau Civil Rights Act Radical Reconstruction Topics 14th Amendment see below 15th Amendment see below Reconstruction Acts see below Lincoln s entire presidency was defined by the Civil War He didn t believe in permanent separation of states TN AK LA fell before the other confederate states o Lincoln had a plan to reintroduce them the 10 Plan Congress disagreed with Lincoln s plan They wanted a harsher punishment They wanted the Wade Davis Act which states that instead of 10 of the eligible voters 50 of the voters would have to vote in favor of being readmitted Also the voters that went to the poll had to take the iron clad oath which stated that succession from the Union was wrong that they had been mistaken and they never should have done so Lincoln vetoed this there weren t sufficient votes in congress to override the veto April 14 1865 Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth Andrew Johnson the VP became president o He was also supposed to be assassinated along with Stewart secretary of state but the man who was supposed to shoot Johnson was nervous He went to the bar and wandered off drunk into the street and passed out o Johnson was a democrat he was chosen by Lincoln to show balance He was also a Southerner o When Johnson becomes president the republicans in congress thought Johnson would be more on their side than Lincoln had been o Always angry about wealthy elite Southerners Thought they had misled the majority of white southerners to take part in the Civil War Johnson was in favor of Confiscation Act 1862 Defeated lands lands belonging to the southern white elite would be confiscated by the federal government without compensation and it would be distributed by the federal government as they saw fit Lincoln thought this was too harsh but Johnson thought it was a meaningful way of punishment 13th amendment bans slavery Southern states began to enact the black codes to get around the 13th amendment They were a series of laws regulated the rights and behavior of African Americans within the states One had to do with employment Every black adult within the state had to have a legal work contract Failure to have such a contract would result in imprisonment o If you were in prison for not having a work contract and you were bailed out by someone you would have to work for that person without compensation until your bail was paid off Also regulated how people could gather what property people could own forbid interracial marriage Tried to keep African Americans as close to slavery as possible without calling it slavery Congress passed a few bills In 1865 was the Freedman s Bureau o This was to be a federal agency to help the freed men o It would provide basic education first aid medical care promise to reunite families that may have been split up o It was to be a bridge from slavery to freedom o Johnson vetoed this saying it was unconstitutional in his mind Johnson took a very strict view of the constitution o Congress overcame this veto but it was underfunded and didn t live up to its full promise Provided some services but wasn t a clean bridge to freedom In 1866 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act o Promised legal equality between blacks and whites o Johnson vetoes this because there is no reason for the federal government to medal in such affairs The constitution does not provide for that o Congress overcame this veto and it became law Congress was getting the sense that they judged Johnson incorrectly They now thought he was no friend of major reconstruction 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 Congress drafted the 14th Amendment Addressed Johnsons constitution concerns Ratified in 1868 Stated o Everyone born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen of the United States o No state shall make any law which shall abridge the privileges of immunities of these citizens o Cant deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process of law nor deny any person with jurisdiction equal protection under the law Clarifies that all people are equal Lays the groundwork for future action In order to make this stick the Radicals also proposed and had ratified by the states the 15th Amendment Ratified of 1870 States o The right of citizens of the US to vote should not be denied or abridged by the United States of by any state on account of race color or previous condition of servitude o Former male slaves over the age of 21 as citizens of the United States can now vote as American Citizens Reconstruction Acts Passed 1867 Said that the South was to be divided into 5 military districts to be occupied by the army of the United States They could function as individual states but they would not be readmitted into the United States until the legislatures of those states passed both the 14th and 15th Amendments 2 3 of Congress of states are needed to amend this President Johnson is essentially removed from this process In 1867 Congress moves to impeach Johnson His impeachment comes about by him firing his secretary of war Edwin Stanton o He believed in the punishment of the South o Johnson saw him as a political threat Congress had recently passed the Tenure in Office Act o States that the President needed to seek the advice of the Senate in appointing members of his cabinet and needed to seek the advice of Senate in changing members of his cabinet Congress decides to impeach Johnson over this for abuse of power o He is brought to trial in the Senate o Chief Justice is in charge and members of the Senate are the jury o He falls one vote short of being removed from office This is the same time when the Ku Klux Klan was formed Bent on holding on to former powers that they had Wanted to keep African Americans from the polls and from holding office The beginning of a whole new tension but also a time of beginning for a reconstruction process Began immediately after the assassination of Lincoln 02 13 2013 Economical