history Ch. 12
What right is guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment stated that no citizen may be denied the right to vote based on race.
what are three Voting restrictions:
-1)poll taxes and 2)literacy tests were used to prevent freedmen from voting -3)Grandfather Clause: -in order to help poor, illiterate whites to vote, a grandfather clause was passed -it started that if a vote's father or grandfather was eligible to vote on January 1, 1867, they did not have to take a literacy test
African Americans as Voters
-African Americans are largest group of Southern Republicans. -In many areas, 90% of African voters vote.
conflict #2
-Congress attempted to ratify the 14th Amendment, which would grant U.S. citizenship to all people born in the U.S., including former slaves. This was going to make it illegal to discriminate against people, making black codes unconstitutional. -President Johnson opposed the 14th Amendment and convinced all Southern states, except Tennessee, to vote against it. -Winner: DRAW because the Amendment is still out there pending.
Conflict #1:
-Congress passed the Civil Rights Act in 1866, giving U.S. citizenship to African-Americans. -President Johnson vetoed the bill. -Representatives in Congress overrode the veto. (with a 2/3 majority vote) -Winner: CONGRESS
conflict #3
-Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867. This law stated that the President could not remove members of his Cabinet without Senate approval. -He fired someone to prove a point. Now they have grounds to impeach him. -Winner: CONGRESS.
what are Lincoln's Plans for reconstruction
-Lincoln's "second Inaugural Address" set the tone --" with malice toward none, with charity for all" -"Ten Percent Plan" has two types of political reconstruction A) swear an oath to support the constitution B) of 10% of voters swear the above oath, they can write a new constitution and rejoin the Union -Freedmen's Bureau -Lincolns plan ends with his assassination (killed by Booth)
The Impeachment Trial of Andrew Jackson--1868(what were the steps and result)
-Step One: The House of Representatives impeaches (charges) johnson for voting the Tenure of Office Act --Step Two: The Senate holds an impeachment trail against Johnson ---Step Three: the senate votes and the result is one vote short of the 2/3 necessary to convict Result: Johnson was impeached(charged) but nor convicted. He stays in office(but since it is an election year, Grant will be elected in November)
Andrew John's Plan for Reconstruction was disliked by the Republicans in Congress because Johnson:
-Was a Democrat from Tennessee. (not illegal) -Gave too many pardons to former Confederates. (not illegal) -Returned lands to previous owners--land that had been given to former slaves. (technically correct) -Vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau expansion. (not illegal) -Did nothing about the rise of Black Codes, Jim Crow. (not his job) -Violated the Tenure of Office Act by firing someone. (technically correct)
Kinds of reconstruction End: political
-amendment 15 (the right to vote) was not enforced -compromise of 1877 removed all federal troops from the South(and put a 1.southerner in the Cabinet as well as 2. more $$ for southern improvement) -"solid South" Democrats dominate Southern politics until the 1960s
what happened at the Election of 1876
-neither candidate, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes or Democrat Samuel Tilden, had enough electoral votes to win the election because 4 states couldn't decide who won their elections so both parties went to state capital, filled out the ballots, and gave them 2 envelopes and told them to decide which one to open Tilden should have won, but Rep controlled and they opened that envelope -southerns could now vote again, and federal troops were removed from the South -Plessy V. Ferguson-the supreme court ruled the segregation was legal as facilities were "separate but equal"
what is the Freedmen's Bureau
-provided food, clothing, jobs, medical care, and education for millions of former slaves and poor whites
Radical Republicans passed Reconstruction Act of 1867. List its major parts
1. It put the South under military rule, dividing it into five districts, each government by northern general 2. It ordered southern to hold new elections for delegates to create new state constitutions 3. it required states to allow all qualified male voters, including African Americans, to vote in the elections 4. It temporarily barred those who had supported the Confederacy from votong 5. It required southern states to guarantee equal rights to all citizens 6. It required the states to ratify the 14 amendment
what are the three kinds of reconstruction
1. social(former slave, former slave owner, north and south) 2. Economic(money) 3. Political(Status of the states)
what is Johnson's Plan for Reconstruction
1.The majority of voters in each Southern state must pledge their loyalty to the U.S. (51%) 2. And each state must ratify (approve) the Thirteenth Amendment.
How affective were anti- klan laws that is the enforcement act of 1870 what happened as federal troops withdrew from the south?
At President Grant's request, Congress passed a series of anti- Klan laws in 1870 and 1871. The Enforcement Act of 1870 banned the use of terror, force, or bribery to prevent people from voting because of their race. Other laws banned the KKK entirely and strengthened military protection of voters and voting places. Usually troops, cavalry, and the power of courts, the government arrested and tried thousands of Klansmen. Within a year the KKK was virtually wiped out. Still, the thinly spread federal army could not be everywhere at once. As federal troops gradually withdrew from the South, black suffrage all but ended.
How does the Fourteenth Amendment expand the rights of citizens
Concerned that courts might strike down the Civil Rights Act, Congress decided to build equal right into the Constitution.
conflict #4
Congress passed the Reconstruction Act in 1887. This law: -threw out all southern states that refused to ratify the 14th amendment -divided the South into five military districts, each ruled by a US general -required all southern states to write a new state constitution -ratify the 14th amendment -allow all black the right to vote(not going to happen so then they made the 15th amendment) -Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction Act -Representatives in Congress overrode the veto with a 2/3 majority vote
what are scalawags
Democrats call Southern white Republicans scalawags: Southern Reps.** -Most are small farmers -Want better economic position
Kinds of reconstruction End: economic
Economic--Sharecropping becomes a kind of "economic slavery". They don't own the land they are working, the plantation owner owns it. -Freedmen would farm land belonging to white owners, often time their old masters -Freedmen would pay for the land they farmed by giving the landowner a percentage of their crops -in addition, freedmen would purchase seed, tools, and other supplies from the landowner -as a result, freedmen were in constant debt to the landowners and were never able to earn a profit. If they tried to move, they could be arrested. Therefore, freedmen, became tied down to the land, in a state similar to slavery
in the election of 1868, why did Grant win?
Grant was elected in the 1868 election because he was the winning general for the north in the Civil War. They recognized his name and saw he was a successful leader.
Kinds of reconstruction End:social
KKK activities; Amendment 14 not enforced
Describe the problems in the post-war South with corruption
Old laws and methods could not control corruption in this time of massive change and growth. During Reconstruction, tons of money changed hands rapidly in the form of fraudulent loans and grants. Scandals and corruption also reached the White House. One involved the Credit Mobilier Company.
what are Carpetbaggers
Republican Northerners who moved to South after the war.
Describe the problems in the post-war South with tenant farming
Tenant farmers did not own whatever land they farmed, and they paid to rent it. They chose which crops to plant on their land and how much to work- as a result, their social status was higher than sharecroppers. --rent land from owner, buy own tools
The term "Solid South" refers to the control of what political party in the South
The "Solid South" refers to the control of the Democratic party in the South.
Johnson was impeached (charged) on what grounds?
The House found that Johnson's firing of Stanton was unconstitutional. On Feb. 24, 1868, House members voted 126 to 47 to impeach him. He was charged with the wrongdoing in office. According the House he violated the Tenure of Office Act and bringing "into disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress of the United States."
What kinds of tactics were used by the KKK
The KKK used terror tactics. Often, horsemen in long robes and hoods appeared suddenly at night, carrying guns and whips. They encircled the homes of their victims, planted huge burning crosses in their yards. People were dragged from their homes and harassed, tortured, kidnapped, or murdered.
What were the goals of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
The KKK wanted to eliminate the Republican Party in the South by intimidating Republican voters. They also wanted to keep African Americans as laborers.
How did the Supreme Court limit the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments
The Supreme court narrowly interpreted the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments and placed the control of Americans' basic civil rights in the hands of the state. In short, the Court's decisions in these cases limited the federal governments's ability to protect the civil and voting rights of the African Americans.
what is the 13th amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment, which banned slavery, was ratified on December 6, 1865.
What did the Tenure of Office Act say and how did Andrew Johnson respond
The act placed limits on the President's power to hire and fire government officials. Under the Constitution, the President must seek senate approval for candidates to fill certain jobs, such as Cabinet posts. The Tenure of office demanded that the Senate approve the firing of those officials as well, thereby limiting the President's power to create an administration to his own liking. The command of the army also took away the President's constitutional powers as commander in chief of the armed forces
How did the Fifteenth amendment result in the election of black political leaders
The fifteenth amendment would result in the election of black political leaders because it stated that no citizen be denied the right to vote "by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." This meant that because of this Black men were now allowed to run for and be elected to public office.
What was the final vote of Johnson's impeachment trial in the Senate. Johnson became the first President in the US to be impeached.
The final vote of Johnson's impeachment trial in the senate when all the "ayes" and the "nays" were counted, he escaped by the closest of margins: one vote.
What were the major parts of the Compromise of 1877 (to solve the disputed election of 1876)
The major parts of the Compromise of 1877 were that the Democrats agreed to let Hayes win the presidential election, even though he did not win. Hayes, in return had to remove the remaining federal troops from southern states, and also agreed to support appropriations for rebuilding levees along the Mississippi River. In addition, he agreed to give huge subsidies to the railroads in the south.
Describe the problems in the post-war South with infrastructure
The region's infrastructure, the public property and services that a society uses, had to be almost completely rebuilt. That included roads, bridges, canals, railroads, and telegraph lines. Some states used Reconstruction funds to expand services to their citizens, like South saw in the North, they created the public schools system by 1872. Some of the money raised for these efforts were from investors and Congress, but the rest was raised by levying heavy taxes on individuals, many who were deeply in debt.
What was the purpose of black codes, and give several examples
They were laws that restricted freedmen's rights and established virtual slavery. The laws had provisions such as curfew (black people couldn't meet after sunset), vagrancy laws (freedman convicted of vagrancy--not working--could be fined, whipped, or sold for a year's labor), labor contracts( sign agreements for a year of work. those who quit would lose the wages they earned), and land restrictions(could rent land or homes only in rural areas which forced them to live on plantations).
reconstruction(def. and dates)
def: the rebuilding of towns in the South after the civil war dates: 1865-1877
Describe the problems in the post-war South with sharecropping
farmer who works part of the land and gives the landowner part of the harvest
Impeachment
is the process of charging and convicting a government official of " . . . treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."
what is the Compromise of 1877
leads to the end of Reconstruction -The dispute election of 1876 between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden was solved by a compromise which resulted in: 1.Removal of all federal troops from the south 2.A southern was appointed the Hayes' cabinet 3.More money for internal improvement of the South(roads, bridges, etc.)
presidents and their election year(s)
pres: Election won: (R) Lincoln/Johnson* 1860,1864* assassinated (R)Grant 1868, 1872