The Civil War/Reconstruction Era was a wild a crazy time period in American History! The Civil War comes to an end, the 13th, 14, and 15th Amendment pass, Lincoln is assassinated, the South is destroyed, the country is divided, the KKK is founded, and segregation spreads! Now does that sound like a crazy time or what!
After reading through the information make sure to check out the Reconstruction Quizzes at the bottom!
After reading through the information make sure to check out the Reconstruction Quizzes at the bottom!
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Assassination of LincolnWith the war ending Abe Lincoln had hopes of a peaceful and orderly reconstruction. His major goal was to repair the Union quickly and peacefully Yet with his untimely death the reality of that happening was not that likely. Instead his death sent shock waves throughout America.
Learn More: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/kids/history-kids/abraham-lincoln-kids/ |
Reconstruction was a 12 year period that lasted from 1865-1877. Reconstruction was the time period in which the states of the South needed to be brought back into the Union. Many cities, farms, and factories needed to be rebuilt since they had been damaged by the war. In a short period of time 4 million former slaves were free and needed to find a place in society thus changing the economy and society off the South forever.
Learn More: http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/122/recon/reconframe.html
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Cost of War! The Need to Rebuild the United States!
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The cost of war was devastating thousands died, many more were injured, and even more were angry! The South was destroyed and it needed to rebuild farms, factories, cities, and society.
While you might not think this to be that challenging! Could you forgive that quickly and go back to being a loyal citizen and voter of the United States? With the Union seeing the end of the Civil War they started to have discussions about how to reunify the United States. With no clear plan in mind one could assume their were many opinions on the topic. President Lincoln wanted a peaceful plan to simply reunite the Union however there were many others who felt the South should be punished. The death of Lincoln threw any chance for a peaceful reunification out of the window. |
Plans for Reunification
Abraham Lincoln
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Andrew Johnson
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Radical Republicans
•Divided the South in 5 military districts and required them to live under military rule •Southern States had to get rid of their Constitutions and make new ones. •Southern states were required to grant the vote to African Americans in order to be to be readmitted to the Union. •Had to accept 14th amendment which gave Blacks their full citizenship. •Some Confederacy members were barred from voting for a time period. |
Creation of the Freedmens Bureau
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Following the Civil War freed slaves were in desperate conditions, and in a short period of time over 4 million people were granted their freedom. The majority of freed slaves lived in the Southern US and were known as Freedmen. They also came with no education, money, land or tools. So the most important issue the federal government needed to address was the need for food and other basic survival needs. This need lead to the creation of the Freedmens Bureau.
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Freedmans Bureau vs. Klu Klux Klan
This program was created by President Lincoln before his death and was established in order to help freed slaves and poor Whites transition to life after the war. Initially the program was extremely successful and the South saw many new Black voters come to the polls as well as hold office. They also worked to open over 4,000 schools, 100 hospitals, get people to work, and serve justice for all. Yet with the death of the President and the expansion of the Black Codes and KKK the program was weakened and eventually collapsed in 1872.
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Under the leadership of Andrew Johnson many White southerns were able to maintain parts of their old life. In large part they were able to do this with the passage of the Black Codes! Which limited the activities of the newly freed people. Some of the laws prevented them from owning land, guns, having curfews, etc...
As the Whites gained power in the South it weakened the intention of the Freedman's Bureau and the KKK grew in power and worked to keep them on top and to destroy the Freedman's Bureau. |
Black Codes increase throughout the South!
Black Codes were state laws that restricted the rights of Black citizens. Most of the Whites in the South and even the North at this time were not willing to simply accept freed slaves as equals. Most commonly they moved to block voting rights and access to work. The Black Codes were very successfully at deterring Blacks from participating in society. Even though the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed and banned Black Codes they continued to exist in an unspoken manner, even though the Federal government had the right to enforce the laws with Federal Troops.
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Changes to the Constitution
13th Amendment
1865 Neither Slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist in the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
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14th Amendment
1868 All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privleges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.
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15th Amendment
1870 The right of citizens of the United States to vote shallot be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
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Northerners take advantage of the South
Some Northers moved into the South following the Civil War in order to take advantage of the South. They were hated by Southerners and known as Carpetbaggers. The reason they were called carpetbaggers was because they they often carried cheap bags made of carpet cloth and they often acted in a very corrupt way. The men often bought farms unfairly and rigged elections by making fake promises to the newly freedmen. The efforts of the Carpetbaggers greatly damaged the efforts towards equality.
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Reconstruction comes to an End!
As time progressed and Johnson and the Radical Republicans kept butting heads. the policy of each side was greatly weakened. The Freedman's Bureau could not maintain the level of funding or support necessary, to stay in place and fight the growing power of the KKK, thus leading them to collapse. Many of the Radical Republicans held Johnson responsible for the South's continued resistance. As a result Congress impeaches Andrew Johnson yet is saved from dismissal by one vote. While saved from being kicked out of office he remained powerless till the end of his term yet the Democratic presence in the South continued to grow.
By 1876 only 3 states remained under Republican control. The election of 1876 between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden was essentially a tie, in order to avoid another conflict. The two sides made a deal. The South would recognize Hayes as president if they would pull troops out, and give Democratic control back to the South This essentially make the end of an era in which the federal government would protect ex-slaves and monitor the business of the South. Soon after the election the South was controlled by the Democrats and along with that came de jure segregation. Which threatened Black voting rights, enforced segregation, ignored the new amendments, and used violence to maintain Democratic superiority in the South. In 1890 the rulings of the South were challenged in the court case Plessy vs. Ferguson which questioned states ability to enforce and mandate segregation. The supreme court however supported states rights and said separate but legal facilities are legal and do not break the 14th amendment. This one pivotal court case reinforced segregation and the topic was not again fully addressed until the 1960s which is almost 100 years.
By 1876 only 3 states remained under Republican control. The election of 1876 between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden was essentially a tie, in order to avoid another conflict. The two sides made a deal. The South would recognize Hayes as president if they would pull troops out, and give Democratic control back to the South This essentially make the end of an era in which the federal government would protect ex-slaves and monitor the business of the South. Soon after the election the South was controlled by the Democrats and along with that came de jure segregation. Which threatened Black voting rights, enforced segregation, ignored the new amendments, and used violence to maintain Democratic superiority in the South. In 1890 the rulings of the South were challenged in the court case Plessy vs. Ferguson which questioned states ability to enforce and mandate segregation. The supreme court however supported states rights and said separate but legal facilities are legal and do not break the 14th amendment. This one pivotal court case reinforced segregation and the topic was not again fully addressed until the 1960s which is almost 100 years.
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Following Reconstruction-
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jim_crow_.pdf | |
File Size: | 104 kb |
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Some AP quizzes to test your knowledge!- Take the tests and send me a screen shot of your scores!!!
http://www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/USQuizzes/Reconstruction1.htm
http://www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/USQuizzes/Reconstruction2.htm
http://www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/Quizzes5-6/Reconstruction5.htm
http://college.cengage.com/history/us/boyer/enduring_vision/4e/students/ace/index.html
http://www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/USQuizzes/Reconstruction1.htm
http://www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/USQuizzes/Reconstruction2.htm
http://www.historyteacher.net/USProjects/Quizzes5-6/Reconstruction5.htm
http://college.cengage.com/history/us/boyer/enduring_vision/4e/students/ace/index.html