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Chapter 15: "What is Freedom?" Reconstruction, 1865-1877 January, 1865: General William T.

Sherman issued Special Field Order 15 By the end of 1865, Congress had parceled over 500,000 acres to over 10,000 families mostly along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts- "40 acres and a mule" Section 1: The Meaning of Freedom Postwar status of freedmen was required govt. intervention "Freedom was interpreted differently by ex-slaves, southern whites, and northerners Freedmen desired: land ownership education political power equal rights Postwar phenomenon: freedmen seeking their loved ones Independent black churches proliferated 1865; Congress created the Freedmen's Bureau Issue of "free labor" was controversial- Union armies imposed conditions upon the conquered South; planters resented it, and freedmen felt restricted by the labor codes Some sharecroppers were forced into permanent debt that led to debt peonage through the "crop lien" system. Black farmers owned roughly 1/3 of the land they cultivated Quote: "They were set free without a dollar, without a foot of land, and without the wherewithal to get the next meal even." Section 2: The Making of Radical Reconstruction Johnson's Reconstruction plan (1865): Loyalty oath taken by 10% of the electorate State must ratify the 13th Amendment Secession acts voided and war debt repudiated Pardons granted Johnson's amnesty policy was very liberal Southerners elected ex-Confederate officials to Congress Southern states enacted Black Codes to restrict freedmen; violence erupted against the freedmen Objective of souther planters: reduce freedmen to plantation field hands and subservience Johnson did not interfere Johnson vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Bill of 1866- latter overridden by Congress Black codes- prohibited common rights and privileges; established by state legislatures and through local ordinances (only in southern states) Controversy: Congress refused to seat the new delegations from the South that had been endorsed by President Johnson 1866: Fourteenth Amendment introduced- granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" 1866 Congressional elections- humiliating defeat for President Johnson and the Democrats Reconstruction Act of 1867 South's new state govt.'s abolished; South placed under military rule 14th Amendment to be ratified All qualified male voters be allowed to vote; equal rights for all citizens

Ex-Confederate officials barred form voting Johnson's Impeachment Who: Andrew Johnson What: violating the Tenure of Office Act; "high crimes and misdemeanors" Johnson dismissed Sec. of War Edwin Stanton Result: Johnson acquitted in the Senate by one vote (35-19) When: 1867-1868 he was called a lame duck "Waving the Bloody Shirt" Used against the Democratic Party 1870- Fifteenth Amendment ratified; granted black men the right to vote; women could still not vote, however Measure were taken to restrict this, e.g. poll taxes, literacy tests, property qualifications, and grandfather clauses Notable Achievements of Reconstruction 13th Amendment 14th Amendment 15th Amendment Freedmen's Bureau Despite the founding of the National Woman Suffrage Associations and the granting of full suffrage to women in the Wyoming Territory (born in 1869), women continued to be denied voting rights Section 3: Radical Reconstruction in the South (1868-1872): great political progress achieved; participation in state leg.'s as well as the U.S. Congress; over 2,000 served Leaders included Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce The Republican party gained support in the South from three main groups: freedmen, northerners (especially from New England), and yeoman farmers. Southerners came to hate two groups of Republican supporters: 1."Carpetbaggers" 2."Scalawags" "They came South with their money, arrogance and greed to further ravage and plunder a conquered nation!" Republicans wanted to alter Southern life, especially its economy- diversification was a goal Taxes were imposed to pay for their ambitious programs, e.g. railroad expansion Huge problem- public as well as private corruption and the resistance by the federal government to confiscate property of ex- Confederates Section 4: The Overthrow of Reconstruction Ku Klux Klan Emerged in 1866 in Tennessee: leading figure Nathan Bedford Forrest U.S. Govt.'s response: Reconstruction Act (1867) Force Acts (1870-1871) Civil Rights(1875) The New South By 1877, "Redeemers" regained control of southern governmentsBy 1877, "Redeemers" regained control of southern governments Supreme Court decisions eroded the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment, e.g. the

Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) and U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876) "Solid South"- domination by the Democrats in local and state elections; from 1880-1924 every electoral vote from the South went to a Democratic candidate. Grant administration was humiliated by scandals that included: 1. Credit Mobilier 2.Whisky Ring 1876 Election Election decided by a special Congressional electoral commission that voted 8-7 in favor of Hayes Reconstruction officially came to an end with troop withdrawals Hayes (republican) and Tilden(democrat) ran for president

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