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Lincoln's reconstruction plan indicated a pattern of leniency
1863 Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
Allowed full pardon for those who pledged allegiance to Union
Allowed reconstruction after 10% of voters took pledge
By 1864, LA and AK had Unionist governments
Lincoln hoped to shorten the war with such offers
New government also had to abolish slavery (13th Amendment)
Congress disapproved of Lincoln
Refused to seat AK an LA reps
Radicals wanted AL to demand full black male suffrage
Moderates did not trust repentant Confederates
Congress thought Lincoln overstepped his executive powers
Congress wanted to make the rules for reconstruction
They refused to recognize Lincoln's 10% Plan
Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill in July of 1864
Required 50% pledge of future loyalty before reconstruction
Oath had to swear no willing support of Confederate cause
Did not require black suffrage
Lincoln responded with a pocket veto
Congress was mad!
Lincoln said he did not want to commit to any plan yet
Lincoln was assassinated before compromise was reached
Andrew Johnson was a senator who opposed secession
He was a big racist who wished everyone could own a slave
He disliked the privileged planter class (economic jealousy)
He was not a big believer in malice toward none
AJ appointed provisional governors for Confederate states
Govs were to call constitutional conventions
Rebellious Confederate leaders were excluded from process
SO were all folks with $20,000+ in taxable property
States could reconstruct after meeting 3 conditions
Declare secession ordinances illegal
Repudiate confederate debt
Ratify 13th Amendment
States did their duty begrudgingly and with conditions
Limited suffrage to whites
Established restrictive Black Codes
AJ was satisfied, Congress was alarmed
AJ began to pardon planters who begged
Congress refused to seat reps from reconstructed states
Emancipation nullified the 3/5ths clause; S would get more power in Congress
N wanted blacks to vote as they would be loyal to N
Most did not see blacks as equals
AJ vetoed the extension of the Freedmen's Bureau
More $$ for the agency
Freedmen's bureau helped former slaves learn to read and locate relatives
Also helped former slaves find jobs and buy property
AJ also vetoed a civil rights bill
Bill would nullify black codes
Would also provide equal protection under law
Congress passed a modified FB bill, overrode other veto
First time a veto had ever been overridden
Johnson officially abandons the R party, starts national union movement
Republicans passed 14th Amendment, fearing AJ would not enforce civil rights
Provided citizenship and equal protection for former slaves
Penalized S states that did not have black male suffrage
Reduced Congressional representation
Also denied federal office to former Confederates
Johnson opposed the amendment, campaigned against it
State legislatures agreed w/ AJ
Bloody race riots ensued in LA and TN
Johnson campaigned vigorously for some politicians
Cursed and argued w/ hecklers
Seemed sectional and undignified to most
Republicans gained a 2/3rds majority in both houses
Congress reorganized the S with republican compromises
Radical Republicans wanted regeneration before Reconstruction”
Extended period of military rule
Land confiscation and redistribution
Federal aid for public schools
Rejected because it was radical and required much time
Reconstruction Act of 1867 passed over AJ veto
Reorganized union into 5 military districts
Any state allowing black suffrage would be readmitted
Republicans assumed a safe, independent black voter
Fostered a genuine spirit of democratic idealism
Congress and Johnson don't get along!
A president must break a law to be impeached
Radicals devised a law they knew AJ would break
The Tenure of Office Act passed over AJ's veto
Required Senate consent for removal of Cabinet officials
AJ planned to get rid of Sec of War Stanton
Only radical in Lincoln's leftover Cabinet
Stanton was replaced, AJ was impeached
AJ said Not my Cabinet!” and No high crime
Senate said, AJ is an obstructionist!
7 Republicans broke ranks
AJ pledged to enforce Reconstruction Acts
AJ missed conviction by 1 vote
Independence of the executive branch was preserved
AJ's opposition to Reconstruction was broken
Physical ruin and lack of investment capital ruined the S
A new labor system had to be built
Land redistribution for former slaves failed under technicalities
Sherman had given 40-acre leases to former slaves in SC
Most did not gain title and lost the land
Freedom and poverty were not a good mix for former slaves
Most settled into contract labor/sharecropping for former masters
Black codes enforced segregation, curfews, labor contracts, etc
Public schools and churches were almost always segregated
Blacks were ill-protected as voters and political agents in the S
Three groups dominated the S Republican Party
Carpetbaggers and Scalawags
Mostly businessmen
Hoped for commercial and industrial development
Poor white farmers (yeomen)
Hoped to gain political control over former planters
Faced the loss of homesteads to creditors
Newly enfranchised blacks
The vast majority of S Republicans
Hoped for education, civil rights, land, etc
Corruption and depression prevented political and economic progress
A few well-educated blacks emerged as prominent leaders (Smalls, Bruce)
Grant's failed presidency was highlighted by inconsistent enforcement of
Reconstruction and administrative corruption.
Hard-money proponents and inflationists argued over greenbacks
East businessmen favored hard money, retiring the greenbacks
West and South folks wanted to keep greenbacks in circulation
Grant favored a middle of the road, gradual retirement of greenbacks
UGrant vetoed a modest reissue of greenbacks
Sherman introduced the Specie Resumption Act (passed)
Gradual reduction of greenbacks in circulation
Resumption of specie payments by Jan 1, 1879
Seen as a deflationist bill which hurt farmers and workers
A mostly ineffective Greenback Party forms around this issue
15th Amendment ratified in 1870
Gave black men the right to vote
Feminists were disappointed
Stanton and Anthony campaigned against the 15th
Lucy Stone favored it; feminists split
The N commitment to civil rights was waning
KKK formed, effectively kept blacks from voting
KKK or Force Acts protected black voters for a time (1871-72)
Democrats became more moderate , capitalized on agrarian hostility
Grant refused to call for federal troops in election race riots
Radical Reconstruction faded along with northern concerns for civil rights
Principled radical republicans were dead or gone during the Grant Admin
Conkling and Blaine were the new R leaders
Both were seen as corrupt party operatives
Scandals also ruined R reputations
Gould and gold 1869
Credit Mobilier 1872
Whiskey Ring 1875
Belknap and bribes 1876
Liberal Republicans pushed for civil service reform
Candidate Horace Greeley was also nominated by D Party
HG dies before electoral college vote (1872)
Hayes (R) v Tilden (D) in 1876
Tilden clearly won the popular vote and probably electoral
Three states vote counts were contested (SC,FL,LA) plus one elector in OR
Congress appointed a commission to resolve the dispute
8 Rs voted for Hayes, 7 Ds voted for Tilden
Congressional R and D members negotiated a compromise
The Deal (Compromise of 1877)
Hayes (R) gets presidency
D party gets a cabinet member, RR from TX to CA and
THE END OF MILITARY RECONSTRUCTION
In exchange for a promise to uphold civil rights in the S
the S became a most unsafe place for former slaves
The federal government and Supreme Court supported S racism
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