1 Reconstruction I 1855 1867 Key Terms Secession Special Field Order 15 Freedman s Bureau Radical Republicans Who what when where why this is important I A Civil War Recap 1 Secession December 1860 right before start of Civil War state of SC voted to secede from US because of slavery Lincoln was elected president in November 1860 and South Carolinians used election to say president would free slaves in all states which was never ever said by him himself Within two months six other states in the Deep South joined SC in leaving the US where the population of black slaves is higher than white people In April of 1861 one of the forts occupied by US sits in Charleston SC but the 7 states had formed their own country called Confederate States The confederate states shot at northerners in Charleston As result Civil War begins Significance of secession beginning process of American Civil War 2 War 1861 1865 600 000 people die from North and South North has much more access to guns and weapons Population North 27 million South 9 million 3 million which were slaves The north having more bodies to fight was an advantage over the south North also had 90 percent of all the railroads New York Massachusetts etc gave them access to more finances as well South had to fight on their homeland had a stronger military tradition more experience which helped even out playing field for a little bit Maryland Kentucky Missouri Delaware all legally maintained slavery while also remaining in the US but fought with the North and not the South 3 Emancipation Lincoln decided in January 1863 to issue the emancipation proclamation which freed slaved in only Confederate held territories Does not free slaves in Maryland Kentucky Missouri Delaware does not apply to them Lincoln does not say anything to them just because they are on the border and does not want to lose more states 4 Surrender and Lincoln s Assassination April 1865 has become clear that the South is going to lose running out of people money weapons so they had to surrender or all would die They surrender North wins and in winning the North brings all the states back home and the process of rebuilding begins Six days after south signs paper to come back to states Lincoln is assassinated Andrew Johnson in April goes from being vice president to president which happens to be from Tennessee which was part of the Confederacy The perception remains that Johnson is an enemy in charge II The End of Slavery What is Freedom 1 Thirteenth Amendment amendment change to constitution Officially passed in January of 1865 Southern states were not initially involved in the change of the constitution This amendment says slavery is outlawed everywhere in the US In order for Confederate states to come back to US they had to agree to the 13th amendment Legally slavery in ended but now the problem is where are the old slaves going to live eat for dinner etc The moment the amended is passed this issues and questions are created 2 Special Field Order 15 Potential answer to all these big problems Northern general William T Sherman is burning south to ground and in January 1865 during Civil War ends up in Georgia and South Carolina along the coast When Sherman comes through the south he basically is claiming those places for US which become US territory When faced with problem of African Americans coming up to him he asks them what they want and what they need which implies they are equal have a value and can comprehend their own best interest Former slaves say they need land to solve the answers to their problems Land can provide them food make money from their crops which is their entire key to their future The property from the slave owners is now given to the former slaves 40 acres of land is divided upon the slaves per family in addition a mule for the plow Sherman giving the 40 acres and a mule is called Special Field Order 15 technically lasts until the world ends and only applies to those on the coast of Georgia and South Carolina Significance somebody tried to solve these problems and answer these question but it has a time limit and a location limit On one hand it shows us one potential step in solving this but also limitations of this order 3 Sharecropping An economic and social system in the South beginning after the Civil War that basically sets up the relationship between whites and blacks moving forward after slavery Former slaves will sign a one year contract with white land owners to work for them Most former slaves ended up right where they were the former owner let them rent a chunk of land in exchange for half of their crop the second half the workers get to keep Since the workers do not have money seeds or anything needed they then have to ask former slave owner for supplies and end up having to in return give more crops Legally the former slave owners could send debt collectors after the African Americans since they owe them crops III Johnson vs Radical Republicans 1 Johnson s Plan Andrew Johnson now president belongs to Republican Party He has a vision of how the country should come back together He wants it to happen as easily as possible for the south Does not want to get into the nitty gritty but rather sweep it under the rug Wants to hug it out and move on a Wants to issue pardons for every southerner who takes a loyalty oath Wipe the slate clean as long as they take an oath to stay loyal to US forever They can get their land back this way but never can own slaves again can vote again b Writing of new state constitution Each state had to write new state constitution but whites only could write it Makes white folks feel better about the situation Whatever can be written except for slavery is legal c Freedmen s Bureau 2 Freedmen s Bureau Federal agency created by Johnson in 1865 to address the problems of newly freed slaves Designed to provide financial aid for the old sick poor disabled set up schools and hospitals specifically for African Americans and recognizes that newly freed slaves might need some help in the court system Previously it was ran by all whites Suppose to be there so African Americans have someone to stick up for them Should last for about 1 year The 1 year actually ends up lasting 5 years from 1865 1870 Significance Try to help the African Americans in society but separates them from the whites At its peak there were about 1000 people employed to help 3 million African Americans 3 Radical Republicans Republicans who are