RECONSTRUCTION ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Federal Power, White Supremacy, and the Nadir of Race Relations.
- What was the federal government's goals in undertaking Reconstruction?
- What are the positions of the Republican and Democratic Parties during Reconstruction?
- What problems did Reconstruction governments face?
- How does Reconstruction reorganize America’s political, economic, and social system?
The American Civil War: The Struggle of Ideas
The Civil War brought profound changes to the United States. The war had pushed an increasingly industrialized, free North and an agricultural, slave-holding South into an incredibly bloody conflict. The war raged from 1861 to 1865 and by the time the South was finally defeated 800,000+ Americans on both sides of the war had been killed and enormous destruction visited on large portions of the country.
"The Civil War began as a conventional contest of army versus army but by the end had become a war of society against society, with slavery, the foundation of the southern social order, becoming a target. In such a contest, civilian morale proved as crucial to sustaining and winning the war as events on the battlefield, and the population’s will to fight became as much a military consideration as armies in the field. Historians have long debated whether the Union’s victory was inevitable. Certainly, the Union overshadowed the Confederacy in manpower and economic resources. But the Union also had a far greater task. It had to conquer an area as large as western Europe, while the Confederacy, like the American patriots during the War of Independence, could lose battle after battle and still win the war, if their opponents tired of the conflict. Thus, political leadership was crucial to victory, and Lincoln proved far more successful than his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, in mobilizing public sentiment. One historian has suggested that if the North and South had exchanged presidents, the South would have won the war. The Civil War began as a conventional contest of army versus army but by the end had become a war of society against society, with slavery, the foundation of the southern social order, becoming a target. In such a contest, civilian morale proved as crucial to sustaining and winning the war as events on the battlefield, and the population’s will to fight became as much a military consideration as armies in the field. Historians have long debated whether the Union’s victory was inevitable. Certainly, the Union overshadowed the Confederacy in manpower and economic resources. But the Union also had a far greater task. It had to conquer an area as large as western Europe, while the Confederacy, like the American patriots during the War of Independence, could lose battle after battle and still win the war, if their opponents tired of the conflict. Thus, political leadership was crucial to victory, and Lincoln proved far more successful than his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, in mobilizing public sentiment." -Eric Foner, Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
The Civil War had polarized Americans. The North was expanding its democratic rights and undergoing technological and economic changes while the South continued to languish under a Planter Oligarchy that retarded economic and technical development, all the while suppressing democracy. This was made very clear on the battlefield, with the Union's armies being much better equipped and much larger. Further, discontent across the South led many whites to abandon the Confederacy (in many cases supporting the Union), slaves provided valuable assistance to the Union's armies (including enlisting when possible), and huge numbers of free black Northern men enlisted to help win the war.
As such, when the South was defeated there were serious questions about how the South itself should be rebuilt and what would be the status of former slaves in the South.
Assignments
Document: The Black Race is Fit for Servitude
Document: O You Palefaced Hypocrite!
Union Soldier's Letter Assignment
Powerpoint: Brief Overview of Reconstruction
Notes: Brief Overview of Reconstruction
The Civil War brought profound changes to the United States. The war had pushed an increasingly industrialized, free North and an agricultural, slave-holding South into an incredibly bloody conflict. The war raged from 1861 to 1865 and by the time the South was finally defeated 800,000+ Americans on both sides of the war had been killed and enormous destruction visited on large portions of the country.
"The Civil War began as a conventional contest of army versus army but by the end had become a war of society against society, with slavery, the foundation of the southern social order, becoming a target. In such a contest, civilian morale proved as crucial to sustaining and winning the war as events on the battlefield, and the population’s will to fight became as much a military consideration as armies in the field. Historians have long debated whether the Union’s victory was inevitable. Certainly, the Union overshadowed the Confederacy in manpower and economic resources. But the Union also had a far greater task. It had to conquer an area as large as western Europe, while the Confederacy, like the American patriots during the War of Independence, could lose battle after battle and still win the war, if their opponents tired of the conflict. Thus, political leadership was crucial to victory, and Lincoln proved far more successful than his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, in mobilizing public sentiment. One historian has suggested that if the North and South had exchanged presidents, the South would have won the war. The Civil War began as a conventional contest of army versus army but by the end had become a war of society against society, with slavery, the foundation of the southern social order, becoming a target. In such a contest, civilian morale proved as crucial to sustaining and winning the war as events on the battlefield, and the population’s will to fight became as much a military consideration as armies in the field. Historians have long debated whether the Union’s victory was inevitable. Certainly, the Union overshadowed the Confederacy in manpower and economic resources. But the Union also had a far greater task. It had to conquer an area as large as western Europe, while the Confederacy, like the American patriots during the War of Independence, could lose battle after battle and still win the war, if their opponents tired of the conflict. Thus, political leadership was crucial to victory, and Lincoln proved far more successful than his Confederate counterpart, Jefferson Davis, in mobilizing public sentiment." -Eric Foner, Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
The Civil War had polarized Americans. The North was expanding its democratic rights and undergoing technological and economic changes while the South continued to languish under a Planter Oligarchy that retarded economic and technical development, all the while suppressing democracy. This was made very clear on the battlefield, with the Union's armies being much better equipped and much larger. Further, discontent across the South led many whites to abandon the Confederacy (in many cases supporting the Union), slaves provided valuable assistance to the Union's armies (including enlisting when possible), and huge numbers of free black Northern men enlisted to help win the war.
As such, when the South was defeated there were serious questions about how the South itself should be rebuilt and what would be the status of former slaves in the South.
Assignments
Document: The Black Race is Fit for Servitude
Document: O You Palefaced Hypocrite!
Union Soldier's Letter Assignment
Powerpoint: Brief Overview of Reconstruction
Notes: Brief Overview of Reconstruction
A quick overview of the American Civil War brought to you by John Green and Crash Course.
Presidential Reconstruction
President Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate Sympathizer John Wilkes Booth in the closing days of the Civil War. As a result, Vice President Andrew Johnson became President. Unlike Lincoln, Johnson was a Southern Democrat, chosen to be Lincoln's Vice President because he had remained loyal to the Union despite being from Kentucky and a Democrat. As such, when Reconstruction began, it was under Johnson's hand rather than Lincoln.
Johnson had long hated the institution of slavery, mostly because he believed that it "weakened" white men's character and mired the South in backwardness. However, Johnson was also a white supremacist who believed that African-Americans were an inferior race of people. As such, Johnson would not emerge as a champion of the newly-freed slaves.
Former Confederates and the Black Codes
With the elevation of Johnson to the president, many former Confederates were pleased. Johnson, who knew that the only chance he had of winning re-election in 1868, needed the rebellious Southern states quickly returned to the Union. As such, he issued pardons to the overwhelming majority of former Confederates. So much so that immediately after the war, many Confederate office-holders, including Alexander Stephens the Vice President of the Confederacy, were elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In the South itself, former Confederates knew that it would not be possible to restore slavery. Instead, they developed the Black Codes, a system of laws which tightly regulated everyday life for African-Americans, reducing them to a sort of semi-slavery. This included the policy of convict leasing, in which African-Americans were arrested on weak charges for a variety of petty crimes and then "rented out" to plantation owners who used them to work their fields.
Northerners and the Republican Party were furious. The Chicago Tribune, a Republican newspaper said of the Black Codes:
"We tell the white men in Mississippi that the men of the North will convert [their] state into a frog pond before they will allow such laws to disgrace one foot of soil in which the bones of our soldiers sleep and over which the flag of freedom waves."
Assignments
Assignment: Reconstruction Overview Questions
Document: Not Yet Free
Document: Laws Fail To Protect Us
Document Analysis Sheet
Johnson's Reconstruction vs Steven's Reconstruction Plan
Reconstruction Document Analysis 1
Reconstruction Document Analysis 2
President Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate Sympathizer John Wilkes Booth in the closing days of the Civil War. As a result, Vice President Andrew Johnson became President. Unlike Lincoln, Johnson was a Southern Democrat, chosen to be Lincoln's Vice President because he had remained loyal to the Union despite being from Kentucky and a Democrat. As such, when Reconstruction began, it was under Johnson's hand rather than Lincoln.
Johnson had long hated the institution of slavery, mostly because he believed that it "weakened" white men's character and mired the South in backwardness. However, Johnson was also a white supremacist who believed that African-Americans were an inferior race of people. As such, Johnson would not emerge as a champion of the newly-freed slaves.
Former Confederates and the Black Codes
With the elevation of Johnson to the president, many former Confederates were pleased. Johnson, who knew that the only chance he had of winning re-election in 1868, needed the rebellious Southern states quickly returned to the Union. As such, he issued pardons to the overwhelming majority of former Confederates. So much so that immediately after the war, many Confederate office-holders, including Alexander Stephens the Vice President of the Confederacy, were elected to the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In the South itself, former Confederates knew that it would not be possible to restore slavery. Instead, they developed the Black Codes, a system of laws which tightly regulated everyday life for African-Americans, reducing them to a sort of semi-slavery. This included the policy of convict leasing, in which African-Americans were arrested on weak charges for a variety of petty crimes and then "rented out" to plantation owners who used them to work their fields.
Northerners and the Republican Party were furious. The Chicago Tribune, a Republican newspaper said of the Black Codes:
"We tell the white men in Mississippi that the men of the North will convert [their] state into a frog pond before they will allow such laws to disgrace one foot of soil in which the bones of our soldiers sleep and over which the flag of freedom waves."
Assignments
Assignment: Reconstruction Overview Questions
Document: Not Yet Free
Document: Laws Fail To Protect Us
Document Analysis Sheet
Johnson's Reconstruction vs Steven's Reconstruction Plan
Reconstruction Document Analysis 1
Reconstruction Document Analysis 2
1866 Midterm Elections
As the 1866 Midterm Elections drew near, Johnson worked hard to get the House and the Senate in Democratic Hands. However, the Republicans worked tirelessly, convincing the American people that if they allowed former slaves to be shackled to Black Codes and Confederate leaders to return to power than the war was for nothing. Republican leaders called upon Americans to "vote how you shot," suggesting that all Northerners needed to support the Party of Lincoln.
The Republicans won in a landslide, gaining 2/3rds majority in the Legislature: enough to override the President's veto. It was the beginning of Congressional Reconstruction.
Congressional Reconstruction
The newly elected Republicans were given the nickname "Radical Republicans," due to their dedication to black equality. Once the Republicans took control of House and Senate, they tossed out those former Confederate officials who had been elected to high office and took control of Reconstruction. Their path would be very different from that that President Johnson had tried to implement.
Congress appointed military commanders to lead Southern states until they could be assured that African-Americans were safe and integrated into society. A host of legislation was passed, including the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments (known collectively as the Reconstruction Amendments) which were created to abolish slavery, prevent black civil rights from being trampled, and create a more equal South.
Across the South, former Confederates were disfranchised (denied the right to hold public office or vote) due to their treason during the war. As a result, Republican governments sprang up across the South. These Southern Republican governments were composed of black men, white Unionists, and some Northerners who moved South at the end of the war. They carried out a host of improvements across the South, including establishing the South's first public education system, rebuilding damage done during the war, and establishing state police forces.
Former Confederates were not pleased by this turn of events.
Assignments
Radical Reconstruction Overview
Document: Slavery Is Over
Document: The Work of Reconstruction
Document: The People Are Daily More Enlightened
Document Analysis Worksheet
Reconstruction Document Analysis 3
Reconstruction Document Analysis 4
As the 1866 Midterm Elections drew near, Johnson worked hard to get the House and the Senate in Democratic Hands. However, the Republicans worked tirelessly, convincing the American people that if they allowed former slaves to be shackled to Black Codes and Confederate leaders to return to power than the war was for nothing. Republican leaders called upon Americans to "vote how you shot," suggesting that all Northerners needed to support the Party of Lincoln.
The Republicans won in a landslide, gaining 2/3rds majority in the Legislature: enough to override the President's veto. It was the beginning of Congressional Reconstruction.
Congressional Reconstruction
The newly elected Republicans were given the nickname "Radical Republicans," due to their dedication to black equality. Once the Republicans took control of House and Senate, they tossed out those former Confederate officials who had been elected to high office and took control of Reconstruction. Their path would be very different from that that President Johnson had tried to implement.
Congress appointed military commanders to lead Southern states until they could be assured that African-Americans were safe and integrated into society. A host of legislation was passed, including the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments (known collectively as the Reconstruction Amendments) which were created to abolish slavery, prevent black civil rights from being trampled, and create a more equal South.
Across the South, former Confederates were disfranchised (denied the right to hold public office or vote) due to their treason during the war. As a result, Republican governments sprang up across the South. These Southern Republican governments were composed of black men, white Unionists, and some Northerners who moved South at the end of the war. They carried out a host of improvements across the South, including establishing the South's first public education system, rebuilding damage done during the war, and establishing state police forces.
Former Confederates were not pleased by this turn of events.
Assignments
Radical Reconstruction Overview
Document: Slavery Is Over
Document: The Work of Reconstruction
Document: The People Are Daily More Enlightened
Document Analysis Worksheet
Reconstruction Document Analysis 3
Reconstruction Document Analysis 4
Southern Resistance: The Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) emerged as a terrorist organization dedicated to the overthrow of Reconstruction. Composed primarily of former Confederates, the KKK targeted African-Americans in general and Republicans in particular. It would carry on a terrorist campaign which targeted prominent African-Americans, pro-Reconstruction newspaper editors, politicians, and others in an attempt to compel the Federal Government to abandon its goals in the South.
The KKK's program consisted primarily of nighttime raids against its enemies, using murder and violence to achieve its ends. One of their primary targets were often local schools, as these were racially integrated and a program conducted by Reconstruction governments. Many teachers were killed and schools burned down.
In 1868, Union General Ulysses Grant ran for President on the Republican Party's ticket, defeating President Johnson. Grant, unlike his predecessor, immediately went to work to fully implement Reconstruction. He called on Congress to pass the Force Act, which would allow him to use the military to combat the threat of the KKK and protect citizens across the South from their terrorism. Congress quickly agreed and Grant ordered the army to carry out counter-terrorism operations against the KKK.
So effective was this campaign, that in many areas of the South, the KKK collapsed. Record numbers of African-Americans were able to vote in the 1872 election, which saw Grant returned to the White House for a second term.
Assignments
Document: Democratic Party Platform, 1868
Document: Republican Party Platform, 1868
Analysis of 1868 Party Platforms
The Panic of 1873
However, the Panic of 1873 would deeply undermine Reconstruction. The Panic of 1873 was a world-wide Depression, which hit the United States and Europe particularly hard. Unemployment rose and fortunes vanished overnight. Suddenly, the faraway plight of Southern African-Americans did not seem nearly so important to Northerners, many of whom were thrown out of work and desperate.
The Panic further emboldened Southern resistance to Reconstruction and a renewal of KKK violence swept across the South. President Grant, his attention turned to the economic catastrophe, began to abandon his commitment to Reconstruction. In the 1874 Mid-Term Elections, the Democrats managed to seize both the House of Representatives and the Senate, something they had not been able to do since before the Civil War.
The Election of 1876
The Election of 1876 saw widespread fraud all across the South. Violence undermined legal voting and things turned very ugly in many places. However, it appeared that the Democrat Samuel Tilden was going to beat the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, in the popular vote. Electoral counts in Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana were particularly contested as the threats of violence against Republican voters made things particularly unsettling. Both sides claimed victory in those states.
To head off a Constitutional Crisis, delegates from both the Republican and Democratic Parties sat down to discuss the issue. In the end, the Democrats agreed to allow Rutherford B. Hayes to become President, if he agreed to withdrawal military forces from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction. The Republicans agreed.
Thus pressured, the Republican Party began to back away from its commitments to Reconstruction. Across the South, violence surged, leading to Reconstruction governments collapsing under stolen elections and outright violence. Many African-American politicians had to flee to the North to escape the violence of the post-Reconstruction South. African-Americans were largely pushed back into second-class citizenship and the dream of Reconstruction came to an end.
Assignments
Project: Farcebook Reconstruction CP
Project: Farcebook Reconstruction Honors
Project: Reconstruction Gallery Walk
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) emerged as a terrorist organization dedicated to the overthrow of Reconstruction. Composed primarily of former Confederates, the KKK targeted African-Americans in general and Republicans in particular. It would carry on a terrorist campaign which targeted prominent African-Americans, pro-Reconstruction newspaper editors, politicians, and others in an attempt to compel the Federal Government to abandon its goals in the South.
The KKK's program consisted primarily of nighttime raids against its enemies, using murder and violence to achieve its ends. One of their primary targets were often local schools, as these were racially integrated and a program conducted by Reconstruction governments. Many teachers were killed and schools burned down.
In 1868, Union General Ulysses Grant ran for President on the Republican Party's ticket, defeating President Johnson. Grant, unlike his predecessor, immediately went to work to fully implement Reconstruction. He called on Congress to pass the Force Act, which would allow him to use the military to combat the threat of the KKK and protect citizens across the South from their terrorism. Congress quickly agreed and Grant ordered the army to carry out counter-terrorism operations against the KKK.
So effective was this campaign, that in many areas of the South, the KKK collapsed. Record numbers of African-Americans were able to vote in the 1872 election, which saw Grant returned to the White House for a second term.
Assignments
Document: Democratic Party Platform, 1868
Document: Republican Party Platform, 1868
Analysis of 1868 Party Platforms
The Panic of 1873
However, the Panic of 1873 would deeply undermine Reconstruction. The Panic of 1873 was a world-wide Depression, which hit the United States and Europe particularly hard. Unemployment rose and fortunes vanished overnight. Suddenly, the faraway plight of Southern African-Americans did not seem nearly so important to Northerners, many of whom were thrown out of work and desperate.
The Panic further emboldened Southern resistance to Reconstruction and a renewal of KKK violence swept across the South. President Grant, his attention turned to the economic catastrophe, began to abandon his commitment to Reconstruction. In the 1874 Mid-Term Elections, the Democrats managed to seize both the House of Representatives and the Senate, something they had not been able to do since before the Civil War.
The Election of 1876
The Election of 1876 saw widespread fraud all across the South. Violence undermined legal voting and things turned very ugly in many places. However, it appeared that the Democrat Samuel Tilden was going to beat the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, in the popular vote. Electoral counts in Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana were particularly contested as the threats of violence against Republican voters made things particularly unsettling. Both sides claimed victory in those states.
To head off a Constitutional Crisis, delegates from both the Republican and Democratic Parties sat down to discuss the issue. In the end, the Democrats agreed to allow Rutherford B. Hayes to become President, if he agreed to withdrawal military forces from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction. The Republicans agreed.
Thus pressured, the Republican Party began to back away from its commitments to Reconstruction. Across the South, violence surged, leading to Reconstruction governments collapsing under stolen elections and outright violence. Many African-American politicians had to flee to the North to escape the violence of the post-Reconstruction South. African-Americans were largely pushed back into second-class citizenship and the dream of Reconstruction came to an end.
Assignments
Project: Farcebook Reconstruction CP
Project: Farcebook Reconstruction Honors
Project: Reconstruction Gallery Walk
Assignments
Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War
Film: Aftershock, Beyond the Civil War Viewing Guide (Alternate)
Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War
Film: Aftershock, Beyond the Civil War Viewing Guide (Alternate)
RECONSTRUCTION ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: Federal Power, White Supremacy, and the Nadir of Race Relations.
- What was the federal government's goals in undertaking Reconstruction?
- What are the positions of the Republican and Democratic Parties during Reconstruction?
- What problems did Reconstruction governments face?
- How does Reconstruction reorganize America’s political, economic, and social system?