2) Reconstruction, 1865-1877

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The Post-War Myths

The common post-war myth was shown in Gone With the Wind. The honourable southerners were taken advantage of by a corrupt government. There were 3 aspects to this myth:

  • The noble white southerner: In the film, Ashley Wilkes says he felt bad about slavery before the war and would have abolished it on his plantation after his father died. Many southerners justfied slavery in this way, but the majority weren't sorry. They were angry and bitter. Reminders of their defeat were everywhere with the ruins and crippled men. They had also lost a lot of money. Black codes were soon adopted in the south to guarantee a workforce and they forced former slaves to sign yearly labour contracts which limited their movement.
  • The 'carpetbaggers': A group of slimy northern opportunists who went to the south to get rich. They clearly didn't belong and were only there to take advantage. But, people actually moved due to the nice weather, cheap land and with the intention of becoming farmers. Idealistic teachers also travelled there hoping to build a new society of racial equality. There were some carpetbaggers but they were also found in the north and not a big problem.
  • Ignorant freed slaves: They had no idea how to behave and were better off as slaves. The female black maids portayed them in the film. But, they didn't run wild, they just wanted freedom. They wanted to reunite their families, not work for their white masters and own land as it was the key to independence. But the southern lands stayed with the white people. Reconstruction wasn't radical enough and the black people needed empowering. The federal government wanted to help but also didn't want to antagonise the white people.
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Lincoln’s Plans

The 2 goals of reconstruction were to reconstruct the nation and reconstruct southern society. As early as 1862 (3 years before the end of the war), Lincoln began to formulate plans to bring the southern states back into the union. He created the Ten Percent Plan where 10% of voters needed to pledge loyalty to the union and pledge to abolish slavery. The voters would be given amnesty and African-Americans would also be given the vote. Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas accepted the early lenient terms.

But, Congress wanted to treat the south as a defeated place and looked down on them. So, they released the Wade-Davis bill where all voters had to pledge to the terms, not just 10%. They also wanted equality, not just freedom. Lincoln vetoed this, sparking a lot of anger and leading them to refuse the 3 states.

But, nevertheless, the 13th amendment was soon created that all southern states had to ratify before being accepted into the union. Then, the Freedman's Bureau was set up to help the former black slaves and poor white people in the south in the aftermath of the war. It provided food, housing and medical aid as well as establishing schools and offering legal assistance. But, due to a shortage of funds and personnel, it couldn't fully carry out its programmes. The civil war ended a month later, and then 2 weeks after that, Lincoln was shot. Andrew Jackson, his VP took over. He was a difficult person in a difficult time and was unsuited to sort out the re-admission of the southern states.

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Presidential Reconstruction (1865-1867)

Johnson assumed presidency when Congress wasn't in session allowing him to pass laws without them. He issued a series of proclamations in May which inaugurated the first period of reconstruction, presidential reconstruction. He pardoned all southern whites except for confederate leaders and wealthy planters, appointed provincial governers and outlined steps where the new southern governments could be created. He required that they abolish slavery, repudiate secession and abolish the confederate debt, but otherwise they were given a free hand in managing their own affairs.

He was a southerner himself and gave no role to the African-Americans in the politics of reconstruction. He assumed ordinary white yeoman farmers would replace the planters who had led the south into secession. He saw himself as the champion of the free white farmer, the little guy and didn't help previous slave-owners, plantation-owners and slaves. He was after the confederate leaders who he saw as having held him down his whole life. All the southern states accepted his lenient terms. But, when Congress came back into session, they were very angry with him and the black codes.

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Presidential Reconstruction Continued

The radical Republicans, Thadeus Stevens and Charles Sumner were very famous and saw themselves as African-American advocates. They helped to form the Civil Rights Act of 1866 that stated all people born in the US should have equal rights. This was a direct response to the black codes. But, Johnson vetoed the act. Congress has the power to override the president's veto though which requires two-thirds of Congress to agree. They managed to do this and thus created the 14th amendment. This did lead to worsening relations between Congress and Johnson though.

Not long after the 14th amendment was passed, elections followed where the radicals won. The south refused to accept the 14th amendment which led to their division into 5 military districts. The radical/congressional reconstruction now began.

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Congressional/Radical Reconstruction

The radical policies were accepted in the north as they wanted the south to be punished. They wanted to challenge the democrats by giving the African-Americans the vote as they would vote for the Republicans. In 1870, the former confederate states accepted the terms and joined the union.

African-Americans formed an overwhelming majority of the voters in the south. They called for the caste system to be eliminated and there was soon a substantial number of black representatives in the senate with many now holding offices in the south, e.g. the Mississippi Senate, 1874-1875.

Many southerners were opposed to congressional reconstruction which led to violence and the beginnings of the KKK. They didn't like carpetbaggers and new southern governments were looking to the federal government for support.

Johnson was soon impeached, and although he was later cleared, he lost his authority. So, this phase of reconstruction ended. When the 15th amendment was created, reconstruction had began to symbolise corruption of the government.

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The End of Reconstruction

A presidential election was held between Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) and Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat). For the first time in a while, the result of this election was unclear. After negotiations and the Compromise of 1877, Hayes won. The Compromise stated that the last troops had to be pulled out of the south including the federal troops who were essential for the survival of the Republican state governments in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.

The reconstruction era and the policy of bringing equality to the south came to an end in 1877. The Democrats came to power and the African-Americans had achieved freedom, but this was by no means absolute.

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