Unit 4: Radical Reconstruction

What political and social problems led to the massacre?

Congress has proposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which would prevent Southern states from denying African Americans their rights as citizens based on their race, including the right to vote. African Americans held a convention to support their right to vote, which President Johnson and former Confederates wanted to prevent from occurring. Riots broke out when demonstrators and counter-demonstrators began to shoot at one another.

Describe why Congress voted to impeach President Johnson.

Congress was controlled by Republicans who wanted to take control of Reconstruction. President Johnson vetoed many of their measures in Congress. He fired several military commanders who supported Radical Reconstruction. The Republican Congress felt that President Johnson was not upholding his duty to enforce the new laws.

Since most southern voters were Democrats, what can you infer about the political motive for Republicans to grant citizenship to millions of African Americans? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

If millions of African Americans became citizens, they would then have the right to vote. If they could vote, they would likely vote for Republican candidates because Republicans had supported efforts to "secure basic political rights for African Americans in the South." This would strengthen the Republicans' political power.

What did the Civil Rights Act of April 1866 do?

It gave citizenship to African Americans.

How would you describe President Johnson in this cartoon, and why do you think Thomas Nast, the cartoonist, depicts him this way?

Johnson looks sinister, as if he has plotted the massacre or, at the very least, will do nothing to stop it. Portraying Johnson as royalty, Nast suggests that the President has abused his power. Nast also implies Johnson's responsibility for the massacre and shows support for Johnson's opposition, the Radical Republicans.

Describe Radical Reconstruction in your own words. How did Radical Reconstruction further the goals of the Radical Republicans?

Radical Reconstruction was Congress's attempt to put more restrictions on the South so freedmen were not denied their rights, killed in riots, nor made to suffer. Radical Reconstruction included a Reconstruction Act that "threw out state governments that had refused to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment." It used the Military Reconstruction Act to divide the southern states into five military districts and gave military rulers "nearly unlimited power" to enforce laws the way they chose. Congress also imposed new rules, such as forcing states to write new constitutions and barring Confederate officials from voting.

What did Radical Republicans hope to do through Reconstruction that they thought Johnson could not accomplish?

Radical Republicans did not think Johnson's plan gave enough protection to freedmen or put enough restrictions on the South. They wanted to make sure that people who had supported the Confederacy were not able to become members of the House of Representatives or Senate. They also wanted to ensure that freedmen would be guaranteed their constitutional rights. The Fourteenth Amendment gave citizenship to freedmen, which allowed African Americans to vote and therefore take part in defending their rights. The Fifteenth Amendment kept states from denying citizens the right to vote based on race.

How did the election results of 1868 and the Fifteenth Amendment both further the Republicans' motives to gain political power?

Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant won the election, which ensured that legislation passed by the Republican controlled House and Senate would not be vetoed by the president. In addition, the Fifteenth Amendment forbade denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Republicans counted on the fact that African Americans would likely vote for Republican candidates who had helped them gain their citizenship and voting rights to "help Republicans win elections."

Explain why Republicans believed that the Fourteenth Amendment was necessary.

Republicans believed the Fourteenth Amendment was necessary because they feared the Supreme Court might use its power of judicial review to declare the Civil Rights Act unconstitutional.

What moral and political reasons did Republicans give for supporting the Fifteenth Amendment?

Republicans remembered the sacrifices made by African American soldiers in the Civil War. They felt it was wrong to let Africans Americans vote in the South but not in the North. Republicans also knew that if African Americans could vote in the North, they would help Republicans win elections there.

On what basis did the southern states argue against the Military Reconstruction Act?

Southern states opposed the Military Reconstruction Act because it was done without their consent or representation. They felt the military districts set up by the Military Reconstruction Act had nearly unlimited power.

Why was the Republican plan for Reconstruction called Radical Reconstruction?

The Radical Republicans took a much more dramatic stance on Reconstruction than did President Johnson. They wanted the federal government to force change in the South and be much more involved in Reconstruction. They wanted political and economic freedom for freedmen instead of letting the southern states use the Johnson-approved black codes to continue to oppress African Americans. They argued for African Americans' civil rights, such as equality and the right to vote.

Radical Republican

a member of Congress during Reconstruction who wanted to break the power of wealthy southern plantation owners and ensure that freedmen received the right to vote

Radical Reconstruction

a period beginning in 1867 when the Republicans, who had control in both houses of Congress, took charge of Reconstruction

Reconstruction Act

an 1867 law that threw out the southern state governments that refused to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment

Fifteenth Amendment

an 1868 amendment to the United States Constitution that guarantees equal protection of the laws

What did Johnson's opponent Charles Sumner admit about the charges against the president?

that they were political

black codes

the southern laws that severely limited the rights of African Americans after the Civil War

impeach

to bring charges of serious wrongdoing against a public official