THE AGONY OF RECONSTRUCTION America Past and Present

THE AGONY OF RECONSTRUCTION America: Past and Present Chapter 16

The President Versus Congress The North split on reconstructing the South n White House seeks speedy Reconstruction with minimum changes in the South n Congress seeks slower Reconstruction, demands protection for freedmen n

Wartime Reconstruction Lincoln announces lenient policy in 1863 n Congress resents Lincoln’s effort to control n Congressmen seek to condition readmission to Union on black suffrage n Congress mistrusts white Southerners n

Andrew Johnson at the Helm Republicans initially support Southern Democrat Johnson as enemy of planter class n Johnson, Republicans split on Reconstruction n Johnson instructs Southern conventions to n – – – declare secession illegal repudiate Confederate debt ratify the Thirteenth Amendment

Johnson, the Conventions, and Congress Southern conventions reluctantly carry out Johnson’s orders n Conventions pass “Black Codes” n Johnson approves conventions’ actions n Congress condemns conventions n

Congress Takes the Initiative Congress insists on black suffrage n Mixed motives n – – – Republicans expect to get black vote Ideological commitment to equal rights Fear that South would fall under great planter control without black suffrage

Johnson Breaks with Republicans n 1866 --Johnson vetoes two bills – – Extension of Freedmen’s Bureau Civil rights bill to overturn Black Codes Republicans pass Fourteenth Amendment n Johnson’s National Union party runs against Republican congressmen in elections n Elections of 1866 strengthen Republicans n

Congressional Reconstruction Plan Enacted South under military rule until black suffrage fully secured n Split over duration of federal protection n – – n Radicals recognize need for long period Most wish military occupation to be short Assumption: black suffrage sufficient to empower freedmen to protect themselves

The Impeachment Crisis Johnson moves to obstruct Reconstruction n February, 1868 --Congress impeaches n Senate refuses to convict Johnson n Radical Republicans seen as subversive of Constitution, lose public support n

Reconstruction in the South n Three contending interests in South – – – n Southern whites seek to keep newly-freed blacks inferior Northern whites seek to make money or to "civilize" the region Blacks seek equality Decline of federal interest in Reconstruction permits triumph of reaction and racism

Social and Economic Adjustments: Labor Ex-slaves wish to work their own land n Federal government sometimes grants land n Land reverts to white owners under Johnson n Slaveowners try to impose contract labor n Blacks insist on sharecropping n Sharecropping soon becomes peonage n

Social and Economic Adjustments: Segregation South increasingly segregated after War n Some African-Americans' prefer their own churches, schools n Most segregation imposed to keep African. Americans in an inferior social position n

Political Reconstruction in the South n 1867 --Southern Republican party organized – – – Businesspeople want government aid White farmers want protection from creditors Blacks form majority of party, want social and political equality Republican coalition unstable n Republicans break up when whites leave n

Southern Republican Rule Republicans improve public education, welfare, and transportation n Republican state legislatures corrupt n – – Whites control most Radical state governments African-Americans given blame for corruption

The Age of Grant Enormous problems 1868 -1876 n Grant’s weak principles contribute to failure n

Rise of the Money Question Grant elected 1868, 1872 as war hero n Panic of 1873 raises “the money question” n – – Debtors seek inflationary monetary policy by continuing circulation of "greenbacks" Creditors, intellectuals support hard money 1875 --government commits to hard money n 1876 --Greenback party formed, makes gains in congressional races n

Retreat from Reconstruction 1869 --15 th Amendment passed n 1870 s--Congress tries to suppress Ku Klux Klan, other Southern terrorist groups n By 1876 Republicans control only South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida n Northern support for military action wanes n

Spoilsmen Versus Reformers Rumors of corruption during Grant's first term discredit Republicans n 1872 --Grant wins reelection over Liberal Republican, Democrat Horace Greeley n Grant’s second term rocked by scandal n

Reunion and the New South North and South reconcile after 1877 n Terms of reconciliation n – – African-Americans stripped of political gains Big business interests favored over small farmer

The Compromise of 1877 Election of 1876 disputed n Special Congressional commission gives disputed vote to Rutherford B. Hayes n Southern Democrats accept on two conditions n – – n Guarantee of federal aid to the South Removal of all remaining federal troops Hayes’ agreement ends Reconstruction

The New Southern "Redeemers" favor commerce, manufacturing over agriculture n Gain power by doctrine of white supremacy n Redeemers seek to make South a modern, industrial society n

Redeemer Regimes Welcome Northern investment, control of the Southern economy n Neglect problems of small farmers n Begin process of legal segregation n Work to deny voting rights to blacks n

The Cost of Sectional Reunion Redeemer Democrats systematically exclude black voters n Lynching— 187 blacks lynched yearly 18891899 n U. S. Supreme Court decisions gut Reconstruction Amendments 1875 -1896 n “Reunion” accomplished as North tacitly acquiesces in Southern discrimination n