HIS 122--U.S. Since 1865
Lecture Notes # 1
Reconstruction

I. War time activities
A. U.S. Government and private organizations deal with emancipation during the war

By 1863, U.S. government forced to deal with emancipation--as Union armies occupied more and more of the South, thousands of slaves sought their freedom
not all slaves immediately moved to seek freedom--most waited until they believed it was safe
many remained behind in slavery because of their families
Although government worked to abolish slavery, it never developed any consistent plan for dealing with the large number of freedpersons

part of the problem lay in question of which part of the government had control--army or treasury
adding to the confusion was a mix of businessmen, missionary groups, and freedman's societies from the North who came to the South
disagreements (between freedpersons and government officials, and between different groups in the North) over what freedom meant further compounded the problem

Responses to freed persons

Three main groups trying to deal with freed persons

Union Army
U.S. Treasury Department agents
private businessmen from the North who had gotten leases to farm land seized from southerners

these groups concerned most with getting most production out of freed persons (and in case of U.S. Army, minimizing interference to its operations)

Type of work freed persons did often resembled what they did during slavery--many still labored on plantations
The blacks were free and received pay, but little else was different--frequently what little pay they had earned was retained to pay for food, clothing, medicial help, and support for their families

Labor was forced to a large degree

Labor was labelled a public duty
Idleness and vagrancy became crimes
Military government enforced the rules requiring blacks to work
Making a profit was key issue to those in control, either in government or private concerns--cotton was big money
Not all in government or private industry were solely concerned with profit

some paid good wages for work
others attempted to provide education for the free African-Americans

Paternalistic treatment of blacks

most northerners treated free blacks with a paternalistic attitude--often treating like children
especially true behind the lines, where often only remaining freed persons were women, children, aged, and infirm

Wartime plans for bringing the Confederate states back into the Union

Lincoln's 10% plan

formally titled the Proclamation of Amnest and Reconstruction (issued Dec. 1863)
details

under this plan a minority of voters (equal to at least 10 % of those who had cast votes in the election of 1860) had to take oath of allegiance to U.S. and accept emancipation
this minority could then create a loyal state government
all Confederate govt. officials and military officers would be excluded unless they received a pardon from the president
plan also excluded African-Americans from voting

purpose

get southern Unionists to try and bring their states back into the United States--would hurt the Confederate war effort ** key point **
also help build a base for Republican party in South

Wade-Davis bill

Radical Republicans unhappy with Lincoln's 10% plan
two Radical Republicans, Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Congressman Henry Davis of Maryland, sponsor an alternative plan for Reconstruction
bill passed by Congress July 1864
details

after at least half the eligible voters took the oath of allegiance, they could elect delegates to a form a new state constitution that repealed secession and abolished secession
catch--to qualify as a voter or delegate, a southerner would have to take a second, "ironclad" oath, said voter had never voluntarily supported the Confederacy
black suffrage not considered in Wade-Davis bill

result--Lincoln pocket vetoes

By end of Civil War, there was NO true post-war plan for reconstruction--even though Lincoln had hinted of some changes in his plans during speeches in early 1865
Lincoln assassinated, Andrew Johnson steps into office
Two major problems facing U.S. government

under what conditions would former Confederate state be allowed back into the Union
determining what emancipation meant

II. Emancipation

13th Amendment (ratified in 1865)--end of slavery (Mississippi ratified 1994)
The meaning of freedom

African-Americans in South get their freedom during a period of extreme economic hardship in their region
First steps in finding freedom

family -- finding family members, marriage
where to live -- rural areas or cities
how will family make a living?

purchase their own farm
work as farm laborer
tenant farm
sharecrop

Who in family will work? Issue of women and children working
Assistance to freedpersons

Army -- only brief time following the war
Freedman's Bureau

food and clothing
legal help with contracts
medical care
education

Northern missionary societies
African-American churches

begin as southern blacks decide to create their own places to worship
provide a key leadership role in African-American community--both in politics and in helping the newly freed people become educated

Southern whites respond to emancipation

white leaders want to maintain control of the labor of the African-Americans
"black codes" passed quickly

throughout the fall of 1865 and on into 1866, southern state legislatures passed a series of laws designed to reestablish the planters' control over black workers
the backbone of all these codes were laws forbidding vagrancy--being unemployed. If person found to be a vagrant, then would face a fine or imprisonment. Person paying fine could get labor of prisoner
most of the black codes had clauses that restricted freedom of movement for African Americans
some codes forbade African-Americans from owning or renting land, some required freedpersons to take jobs only as farm laborers or domestic servants
many codes contained provisions that also made it a crime for blacks to break a contract, assemble in large numbers, or act in an insulting manner toward a white (defined very broadly)

Southern whites put many former Confederate leaders back into politics even though the law forbids them from doing so. Northern congressmen refuse to seat those returned to Congress
President Andrew Johnson's policy toward the South was to leave things as they were.
Freedmen's Bureau act and Civil Rights act of 1866

Congress passes two acts in the spring of 1866 to change the course of Reconstruction -- Freedmen's bureau Act and Civil Rights Act
Johnson vetoes both
Congress overrides veto on Civil Rights Act

Elections of 1866 give Radical Republicans control of Congress
Congress immediately passes a series of acts in early 1867 to enforce their vision of reconstruction

South divided into 5 military districts
Makes ratification of 14^th amendment prerequisite for regaining admission

III. Radical Reconstruction

State governments

during the first years after the Civil War, southern states faced the task of rebuilding their state and local governments
they did so with most established leaders disenfranchised
war-torn economies--which meant raising money for government would be difficult
had to deal with tensions caused by emancipation--as the freedpersons fought to gain a place in the political process
it was at the state and local level that Reconstruction caused so much controversy in the South

Republican Rule

generally, state constitutional conventions established a series of democratic changes

gave every adult male right to vote
permitted blacks to sue and testify in courts
however, did not establish any major economic changes

public works projects

public schools (segregated)
railroads, roads, and bridges
institutions for disabled (insane, deaf, blind, orphans)
cost of these programs expensive

high taxes, big government debt
sometimes programs badly mismanaged, causing loss of thousands of dollars
taxpayer revolt against programs
somewhat the most revolutionary aspect of Reconstruction (transfer of property through taxation)

Corruption

opponents of Republican measures labelled the whole process as corrupt
there was some corruption among officials--white and black, Republican and Democrat
most monetary problems though came through ineptitude

Struggle over control of Reconstruction

14th Amendment

had been adopted by Congress in 1866, but not yet ratified
Provisions

all persons born or naturalized in U.S. were citizens (including blacks) and no state could abridge their rights without due process of the law or deny them equal protection under the law
if a state denied suffrage to any male citizen, then its representation in Congress would be reduced proportionally
disqualified from national and state government all prewar officeholders who supported the Confederacy (Congress could overturn this by 2/3d's vote)
repudiated all Confederate war debts
specifically gave Congress power to enforce the Amendment (first time)

Readmission of southern states into the Union was premised on their ratifying this amendment
Ratified in July 1868

Impeachment crisis Elections of 1866

IV. Congressional Reconstruction

Moderate and Radical Republicans control

Congressional acts in 1867

Reconstruction Act of 1867

invalidated the states government created under Johnson (except Tennessee)
creation of 5 temporary military districts
provided that voters would write new state constitutions guaranteeing black suffrage (voters included blacks and whites not barred from voting)
blacks had to enfranchised before a state could be readmitted to Union

Refinanced the Freedmen's Bureau

helped provide relief--food and medicine (help was limited)
protection from unfair contracts
schools

Congress still had to deal with problem of suffrage and equal treatment in the courts (blacks could still not vote in most states--including those in the North)
15th Amendment

passed by Congress in Feb. 1869
prohibited a state from denying suffrage on basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude (Congress also gave itself power to enforce)
Four states which had not yet been readmitted to Union (including Georgia) were required to ratify before readmission
Ratified in 1870
Looked good--but big loopholes

did not provide guarantees for blacks to hold office
did not prohibit state from restricting suffrage on other grounds--literacy, property holding, etc.
did not provide suffrage for women

State governments

existing governments dismantled
onset of Republican party in the South
Southern blacks formed a coalition with "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags" to form the Republican part

carpetbagger--politicians who come from North (many white southerners saw them as only looking for wealth and power)
scalawag--southern whites who supported Republicans--usually former Unionists during war (seen as poor, gullible fools by upper crust whites)
uneducated mobs of African Americans (in the white view)

The Republican party held the majority in the early years of Congressional Reconstruction

disenfrancisement of 15% of the whites and 700,000 free black males gave them an overall majority of voters (and control in 5 states)
majority numbers did not reflect problems

racial tensions between blacks and whites
contradictory goals

whites who had opposed plantation rule wanted to improve their economic standing
blacks wanted land, political and legal equality, and schools
even among blacks, some division

elite leaders--political power
common blacks--land

Attacks against Reconstruction

Political attacks

Conservatives appeal to whites

on basis of money
on basis of race
gradually gained support among whites during late 1860s

Violence

Vigilante groups--many different types (Redshirts, Klan, etc.)

formed as social club in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866 (costumes, secret passwords, etc.)--Nathan Bedford Forrest early leader
when black suffrage and white disenfranchisement became a reality in 1868, Klan turned to violence
Klan targets included

black voters
white Republicans
Union League leaders
Freedmen's Bureau agents

Congressional response

Enforcement acts (1870-71), includes the KKK Act

outlawed klan violence
allowed use of federal troops and courts to arrest and prosecute Klan members
suspended writ of habeas corpus
supervised elections in the South

By 1872, Klan activity had come to an end in the South--reason, whites had regained political control

V. North loses interest in Reconstruction

Grant's presidency

war hero, elected in 1868
proved a weak president, who delegated much authority to his subordinates
Grant's subordinates got caught in numerous scandals

first term of office

Grant's brother-in-law joins attempt to corner gold market, which goes bust, losing thousands
His Vice-President gets caught in Credit Mobilier (a construction company) scandal, attempting to skim profits illegally from the Union Pacific Railroad (1871)

second term of office

despite scandal, Grant still popular and gets reelected in 1872

defeats Horace Greeley (editor of N.Y. Tribune) by a wide margin
Greeley had run as candidate backed by Democrats and Liberal Republicans (an offshoot of dissatisfied Republicans)

In 1875, Orville Babcock, Grant's personal secretary got caught taking bribes from whiskey distillers in return for allowing them to avoid paying liquor taxes
In 1876, Grant's secretary of war took bribes to sell positions as Indian agents in the west, positions that were very profitable to those who got them
Grant knew little about these scandals, and his integrity was never really questioned (although his intelligence was)

One historian has labelled this the "era of good stealings"

The northern economy

The northern economy had lurched forward in fits and starts during the years after the Civil War, with little real stability
Shrinking money supply

during war, government had issued greenbacks as currency
once war ended, questions arose as to whether they should remain in circulation
in 1869, these Greenbacks were withdrawn, and all wartime debts were to be paid in hard money (gold or silver coins)
this shrank the amount of money available, making it hard to pay credit debts, taxes, etc.

Panic of 1873

Jay Cooke, a major Philadelphia banker, had helped finance the construction of a number of railroads
When cost overruns meant a number of these lines went unfininshed, Cooke had millions of dollars of worthless bonds in his bank
it collapsed, setting of a major panic on the stock market and in the financial world (Collapse of Freedmen's Savings Bank)
Nation went into a six-year long depression
to help, the Treasury department issued a small amount of greenbacks ($26 mill.), but depression continued

Support for Reconstruction wanes

While North deals with scandals and economic problems, southerners urge the government to end Reconstruction
Northerners are tired of the wrangling and expense of maintaining the Reconstruction forces
Idealism of creating a nation where whites and blacks are treated equally (at least in politics and law) hard to keep going
Support for Reconstruction wanes in both the Congress and public
Still Congress manages to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1875--which attempted to enforce the provisions of the 14th and 15th amendments

The Supreme Court

Slaughterhouse Cases (1873)--court rules that 14th Amendment does not protect the civil rights that individuals got from being citizens of a state (only those that come from being citizens of the U.S.)--Guts the amendment
U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876)--ruled that 14th amendment only protects against abuses by the state, not against abuses by individuals (even if working for the state)--involved the murder of 30 black militiamen by whites
Court in 1883 strikes down the Enforcement Acts and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 (ironically, later courts would use those same acts to uphold rights of blacks)