Essential Question: What were the positions of Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and the Radical Republicans on Reconstruction?
I. Abraham Lincoln�s plan for Reconstruction
A. Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in Dec 1863
1. Lincoln wanted to make the South�s return to the Union quick and easy
2. Offered pardon to all southern whites (except for high ranking
Confederates) who took an oath of allegiance the United States
a. Once 10 percent of a state�s white male population aged 21 or
older had taken oath, the state could be readmitted to union
b. Must recognize freedom and educate blacks
II. Radical Republicans and Reconstruction
A. Wanted to punish Southerners
B. Called for voting rights and property distribution to freed slaves
1. South was reluctant to grant blacks political rights
C. Wade-Davis Reconstruction Bill passed by Congress in July 1864
1. Congress was responsible for Reconstruction, not the President
a. Imposed more stringent loyalty requirements on southern whites
-A majority of voters must take a loyalty oath
b. Lincoln vetoed the bill
III. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction
A. Johnson�s plan
1. Opposed harsh treatment of ex Confederate & voting rights for blacks
2. Pardoned all Southerners but the highest-ranking Confederate officials
and wealthy landowners
a. Only white men who had received a pardon and taken oath
of allegiance could vote
b. Both blacks and upper-class whites could not vote
3. Southern states had to ratify 13th Amendment ending slavery
IV. The Reconstruction Acts of 1867
A. Congress implemented a plan for reconstruction
1. Divided 10 southern states into 5 military districts
a. Directed army officers to register voters for election of delegates
to write new state constitutions
b. Allowed males aged 21 and older, including blacks, to vote
c. States had to ratify 14th Amendment
-Black citizenship
B. By 1870, all the Confederate states were back in the Union
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Chapter 12: Reconstructing Society
Essential Questions: What were some of the problems that the South had to face? What were some of the challenges that African Americans had to face?
I. Conditions in Postwar South
A. Physical and Economic Conditions
1. The South had to physically rebuild their region
a. Charred buildings, demolished bridges, and neglected roads had
to be restored
b. Population was also devastated
B. Public Works Programs
1. The Republican governments built roads, bridges, schools, and railroads
a. To raise money, state governments had to raise taxes, which
slowed recovery
II. Politics in Postwar South
A. Scalawags and Carpetbaggers
1. White Southerners who joined the Republican Party were scalawags
a. Some scalawags hoped to gain political office
b. The majority were small farmers who wanted to improve
2. Carpetbaggers were Northerners who moved to the South
a. Some carpetbaggers wanted to take advantage of the South in
order to make a profit
b. Others were there to help slaves or start a legitimate business
B. African Americans as Voters
1. African Americans gained voting rights through the 15th Amendment
a. Most were eager to exercise their voting rights
III. Former Slaves Face Many Challenges
A. New-won Freedoms
1. African Americans took advantage of their new-found freedoms
a. Many moved to Southern towns and cities to find jobs
B. Education
1. Former slaves sought education
a. Public and private organizations established educational
institutions
-Some white Southerners were outraged at this idea
IV. Changes in Southern Economy
A. Sharecropping and Tenant Farming
1. Without their own land, African Americans could not grow crops
a. In the system of Sharecropping, landowners divided their land
and gave each worker a few acres to work
-At harvest time, each worker gave a share to the owner
b. In the system of tenant farming, workers would rent land and
keep all their harvest
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Chapter 12: The Collapse of Reconstruction
Essential Questions: What were the goals of the Ku Klux Klan? Why did Northern attitudes toward Reconstruction change?
I. Opposition to Reconstruction
A. The Ku Klux Klan
1. Partly designed to socially control the black population
a. Prevent black from exercising their rights
2. Main purpose was to destroy the Republican Party by terrorizing its
voters and, if necessary, murdering its leaders
a. Killed thousands of people, and burned schools, churches and
property
3. Congress passed three laws to deal with mounting southern violence
a. Interference with voting rights became a federal offense
b. Any attempt to deprive another person of civil or political rights
became a felony
II. Support for Reconstruction Fades
A. Supreme Court Decisions
1. U.S. v. Cruikshank and U.S. v. Reese (1876)
a. Court declared parts of the of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments unconstitutional
b. Court ruled that individuals could not be prosecuted for
violations of the civil and voting rights of blacks
-Civil rights were a state issue not a federal issue
2. Laws banning racial discrimination in all forms of public transportation
and public accommodations were overturned
B. Northern Support Fades
1. Northerners grew sick and tired of the African-American issue
a. They were more concerned with the economy than the rights of
former slaves
b. Northerners started to believe that that the government could not
impose moral and social changes on the South
2. In the end, Northerners retreated from the policies of Reconstruction