This essay will describe the events that occurred following the Civil War in a period
known as Reconstruction. In the South, during this period of time many people suffered
from the great amount of property damage done to such things as farms, factories,
railroads and several other things that citizens depended on to keep their economy
strong. Some of these economic hardships included destruction of the credit system and
worthless Confederate money. Though statistics in the South were vague the historian
E.B. Long, a careful student of war strengths suggests "perhaps 750,000 individuals would
be reasonably a
close" as an estimate of Southern enrollments in the armies and navy.
In the South Reconstruction meant rebuilding the economy, establishing new state and
local governments and establishing a new social structure between whites and blacks.
During the war Lincoln had expanded his presidency. With his power he hoped to set up
loyal governments in the Southern states that were under Union control. Lincoln
appointed new temporary governors and instructed each to call a convention to create a
new state government as soon as a group of the state's citizen totaling 10 percent of the
voters in the 1860 presidential election had signed oaths of loyalty to the Union. Under
this plan new governments were formed in Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas but the
Congress refused to recognize them. Republicans in Congress did not want a quick
restoration, for the reason that it would bring Democratic representatives and senators
to Washington, and in 1864 Congress passed the Wade-Davis Reconstruction Bill. This bill
would have delayed the process of rejoining the Union until 50 percent of the people took
an oath of loyalty but Lincoln pocket vetoed the bill. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated
just as the South surrendered in April 1865, and then Andrew Johnson inherited the
problem of Reconstruction. Johnson supported Lincoln's plan after taking office.
Enough Confederates signed these oaths to enable the immediate creation of new
governments. Johnson required that the new states ratify the 13th Amendment freeing the
slaves, abolish slavery in their own constitutions, discard debts incurred while in
rebellion, and declare secession null and void. By the end of 1865 all of the
secessionist states but Texas had rejoined the Union. Radical Republicans in Congress
thought they should control Reconstruction and wished to punish the South for causing the
Civil War. Some of these Republicans wished to create a Southern society where blacks
and whites were equal. These Republicans opposed the Southern "Black Codes." Black
Codes were harsh local and state laws passed to control blacks in the South after the
Civil War.
The Radical Republicans reconstruction plan included the passage of the 13th Amendment
and established the Freedman's Bureau(Jackson made the 13th Amendment part of his plan).
The Freedman's Bureau is an agency of the Federal government set up in 1865 to help
former slaves and other persons suffering from the effects of the Civil War. This
reconstruction plan also included passage of a Civil Rights bill and the 14th
Amendment(all of these were opposed by Johnson). The 13th Amendment said: "Neither
slavery nor forced labor shall exist within the United States or its possessions except
as a punishment for one convicted of a crime. Congress may make laws to enforce this
article." The 14th Amendment said in section four: "The Federal Government shall pay
all its debts, including debts contracted in putting down rebellion. But neither federal
nor state governments may pay debts contracted by aiding a rebellion against the United
States, nor pay anyone for the loss of slaves." Only Tennessee ratified the 14th
amendment and was allowed to rejoin the Union by Radicals. The remaining ten Confederate
states were occupied by United States troops. Southern states had to write a new
constitution guaranteeing political rights to blacks. The 15th Amendment said: "Neither
federal nor state governments can deny any citizen the right to vote because of his race
or color, or because he was once in bondage. Congress can pass laws for carrying out
this article." Passage of this amendment was mandatory for the last four states to
re-enter.
Andrew Johnson had opposed Radical Reconstruction and had many vetoes overridden.
Congress tried to reduce his power through the Command of Army and Tenure of Office Acts.
The Command of Army act took away some of the president's power as Commander and Chief
of the Army and the Tenure of Office Acts said the president could not remove a federal
official without the Senate's agreement. In 1868 Johnson was accused of violating the
Tenure of Office Act and was impeached by the House. At the Senate trial he was
acquitted by one vote.
In the South during the Reconstruction period the new state government were dominated by
scalawags, who were Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and who used political
power chiefly for political gain, and carpetbaggers who were Northerners who went to the
South after the Civil War and entered politics there often for personal gain. Blacks
took part in the new governments(generally voting Republican- a goal of some radicals).
Though some reforms were carried out, Reconstruction governments were plagued by
corruption(this was a national problem of the Great Administration).
At the end of the Reconstruction period Southern Democrats(including many
ex-Confederates) were gradually winning home rule. Whites regained total control by 1877
when troops were removed. Restrictions were put on blacks political rights and
eventually laws were passed that discriminated against blacks, these were called "Jim
Crow Laws". The Ku Klux Klan founded in 1866 to keep blacks from voting, had been
controlled by the army, but now was free of that control(though it actually reached it's
peak of power in the 1920's).
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