Chapter 16: The Era of Reconstruction, 1865-1877

Describe what was NOT the status of race relations in the South by the end of Congressional Reconstruction.

A few African Americans still remained legally enslaved, and African Americans enjoyed the full protection of their civil rights in the South following the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

Describe the legacy of Republican rule in the South during Reconstruction.

Accomplished a significant number of achievements despite hostile circumstances

In 1877 at the collapse of Reconstruction, former Louisiana slave Henry Adams remarked, "The whole South—every state in the South—has got [back] into the hands of the very men that held us as slaves." Another former slave, Thomas Hall from South Carolina noted, "The Yankees helped free us, so they say, but [in 1877] they let us be put back in slavery again." What do these quotations NOT reveal about the effectiveness of Reconstruction and its significance for the nation's future?

Black Southerners opposed Congressional Reconstruction, which explains why it collapsed, and because there was such a great number of freed slaves in southern states and Reconstruction was so successful in guaranteeing black voting rights, African Americans maintained a powerful voice in their own governance.

Johnson proved to be a strong supporter of black civil rights throughout his presidency.

False

Identify what was NOT significant political repercussions of the contested elections of 1876.

Carpetbaggers and scalawags solidified their power in public office across the South.

Upon President Grant's retirement from public office, T. Jefferson Martin wrote to Grant that "[a]s a colored man I feel in duty bound to return you my greatful [sic] and heartfelt thanks, for your firm, steadfast, and successful administrations of our country, both as military chieftain and civil ruler of this nation. ... My dear friend of humanity."Which of the following statements does NOT describe reasons why many African Americans would likely have felt similarly toward Grant as T. Jefferson Martin did?

Despite his early efforts to enforce the law and bring peace to the South, Grant himself seemed to grow weary of supporting the rights of black Americans, and Grant successfully ensured that federal protections for black Southerners were consistently enforced throughout his presidency.

Johnson's Restoration Plan

Encouraged giving only a few blacks voting rights, allowed for the readmission of southern states to the Union following their ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment

Identify the events and groups that did NOT contribute to the end of Congressional Reconstruction.

Fourteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment, Johnson's Reconstruction Plan, sharecropping

Strong northern support for Congressional Reconstruction, and specifically the protection of African American civil rights, waned during the Grant administration and afterward. What issues contributed to the shift in northern political priorities?

Indian affairs, political controversies over economic issues, and the rise of organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan

Identify the events and groups that contributed to the end of Congressional Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan, Compromise of 1877, Panic of 1873, and redeemers

opposed Reconstruction

Liberal Republicans and redeemers

Which statement best describes the economic prospects of African Americans in the South during Reconstruction?

Many opted for sharecropping due to lack of money and land.

Place in chronological order the events that led to the end of Congressional Reconstruction.

Passage of the Public Credit Act, Black Friday, Passage of the Enforcement Acts, and presidential victory of Rutherford B. Hayes.

Describe what was NOT the legacy of Republican rule in the South during Reconstruction.

Primarily marked by corruption and scandal, ensured that southern blacks would permanently enjoy their civil rights, and left behind few physical reminders of their rule.

Identify all the ways the Freedmen's Bureau did NOT assist recently freed slaves in their transition to life outside bondage.

Provided legal help to former slaves who wanted to take legal action against their former masters.

supported Reconstruction

Radical Republicans, African Americans, and carpetbaggers

Identify the five military districts governed by generals put in place by Congress after the defeat of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Texas, LA,AR,MS,AL,GA,FL,SC,NC, and VA

The question of who within the federal government had authority over Reconstruction was a major source of debate. What was Lincoln's position?

Southern states had never left the Union, so the executive branch had authority over Reconstruction.

Identify the ways southern whites did NOT react to Reconstruction.

Southern whites donated land to freed blacks.

Which of the following statements do NOT accurately describes the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in the spring of 1868?

The Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of Johnson's removal, quickly sealing his fate, and Johnson's impeachment strengthened public support for Congressional Reconstruction.

Watch the video below in which author David Shi discusses the challenges faced by the federal government in reconstructing the South. Which of the following statements do NOT accurately describe those challenges?

The southern economy was thriving after the war since the states hadn't spent the same amount as the North on transportation and infrastructure.

Identify the ways southern whites reacted to Reconstruction.

The traditional planter elite wanted to "redeem" the South from Republican rule, the Ku Klux Klan and similar groups emerged, and southern elites developed ways to indirectly control freed blacks.

Monetary debates, such as those over greenbacks, became a major political issue during the Reconstruction era. What was the primary motivation for supporters of "soft money" policies to advocate for the distribution of greenbacks?

The widespread distribution of greenbacks meant higher prices for crops and more money to pay off debts.

Identify NOT the aspects of the Radical Republicans' stance on Reconstruction.

They believed that preserving the elite status of Democratic planters in the South was necessary for Reconstruction to succeed, they felt southern society should be left alone, and they wanted Reconstruction to be a joint endeavor between the president and Congress.

Identify all of the aspects of the Radical Republicans' stance on Reconstruction.

They consistently argued that southern society should be drastically transformed, and they believed Congress alone should be in control of Reconstruction.

Lincoln believed that the Confederate states had never actually left the Union. Why was his view NOT important in deciding how these states would be reintegrated into the Union after the Civil War?

They were officially conquered territories, and it is Congress's responsibility to re-form state governments, so that meant Lincoln wouldn't have influence over Reconstruction.

Human casualties and injuries were so great during the Civil War that some southern states spent 20 percent or more of their annual budget on health care for veterans.

True

While Reconstruction did not immediately provide for the full protection of economic opportunities or social equality for African Americans, it did leave behind a constitutional legacy that allowed for future civil rights achievements.

True

What conclusions can we NOT draw about Reconstruction based on the information in this map?

Under the Reconstruction Act of 1867, all states formerly in the Confederacy were placed under military rule and reorganized into three separate districts.

Identify the ways in which the Civil War did NOT impact the southern economy.

Areas of the South unaffected by the war experienced tremendous booms in property values.

Upon President Grant's retirement from public office, T. Jefferson Martin wrote to Grant that "[a]s a colored man I feel in duty bound to return you my greatful [sic] and heartfelt thanks, for your firm, steadfast, and successful administrations of our country, both as military chieftain and civil ruler of this nation. ... My dear friend of humanity." Which of the following statements describe reasons why many African Americans would likely have felt similarly toward Grant as T. Jefferson Martin did?

As white Southerner resistance increased in violence and frequency, Grant urged Congress to act to protect African Americans, and despite the eventual distractions of worsening economic conditions, Grant advocated for African Americans before Congress.

The _____ in the South differed between states, but they shared common features such as restricting blacks' legal rights by prohibiting them from testifying against whites and serving on juries. In addition, they enforced _____ laws against the recently emancipated black community, which held that any blacks not apprenticed or employed by January 1866 would be fined or jailed.

Black codes, and vagrancy

According to the _______, if the _____ states had actually seceded and were conquered territories, then the ____ branch would be in charge of reconstructing the South.

Constitution, southern, and legislative.

Identify the institutions that proved to be essential in easing the transition for many southern blacks from slavery to freedom.

Churches, schools, and the U.S. military

Read the excerpt from William A. Dunning's 1901 essay, in which he explains why Reconstruction failed."Before the last state was restored to the Union the process was well underway through which the resumption of control by the whites was to be effected. The tendency in this direction was greatly promoted by conditions within the Republican party itself. ... The personnel of the party was declining in character through the return to the North of the more substantial of the carpet-baggers, who found Southern conditions, both social and industrial, far from what they had anticipated, and through the very frequent instances in which the 'scalawags' ran to open disgrace. "Along with this deterioration in the white element of the party, the negroes who rose to prominence and leadership were very frequently of a type which acquired and practiced the tricks and knavery rather than the useful arts of politics, and the vicious courses of these negroes strongly confirmed the prejudices of the whites. ... Not even the relative quiet and order that followed the triumph of the whites in these states were recognized as justifying the new regime." Dunning's interpretation is now widely discredited. To understand why identify the statements below that demonstrate bias and false assumptions in his interpretation.

Derogatory labels like carpetbaggers and scalawags are used, and the character of all members of the Republican party was questionable, and the character of all members of the Republican party was questionable.

Congressional Reconstruction in the South enabled the majority of blacks to experience freedom, but not the benefits of ____. The collapse of Congressional Reconstruction helped perpetuate the long-standing discrimination against African Americans. Oppressive systems such as sharecropping and _____, which Republicans attempted to counteract through the formation of _______ throughout the former Confederacy, persisted during and after Reconstruction. However, some of the failures of the Reconstruction era laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement nearly a century later.

Equality, Voter suppression, and Union Leagues.

President Johnson's veto of a bill renewing funding for the Freedmen's Bureau, as well as his criticism of Radical Republican support for black civil rights, did little to drive a wedge between the two wings of the Republican party.

False

Congressional Reconstruction Plan

Forced southern states to create new constitutions that ensured voting rights for African American men, and established Confederate states as conquered territories governed by Congress.

After the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, Congress assumed authority over Reconstruction. How did Congressional Reconstruction efforts affect the lives of African Americans in the South?

Former slaves began to gain political influence and vote in large numbers

After the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, Congress assumed authority over Reconstruction. How did Congressional Reconstruction efforts affect the lives of African Americans in the South?

Former slaves began to gain political influence and vote in large numbers.

Strong northern support for Congressional Reconstruction, and specifically the protection of African American civil rights, waned during the Grant administration and afterward. What issues did NOT contribute to the shift in northern political priorities?

Grant's opposition to Reconstruction

Identify the significant political repercussions of the contested elections of 1876.

Hayes ordered federal troops to withdraw from the South, leading to the collapse of Republican governments across the South, The Civil War legacy prevented Tilden from protesting Hayes's victory for fear of more war, and the political will to protect the civil rights of blacks in the South dissipated significantly after the Compromise of 1877.

What was Johnson's approach to Reconstruction upon assuming the presidency following Lincoln's assassination?

He continued the "Restoration" Plan developed by Lincoln.

As the war waned, Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. What were some of the components that made up Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction?

It allowed former Rebel states to form Union governments if they met certain requirements, and it excluded Confederate government officials, senior military officers, and congressmen from pardon.

In 1865, Henry Adams left the plantation where he had been enslaved. A group of whites confronted him on the road, asked the name of his owner, and beat him when he declared, "I now belong to no one." How does the response to Henry Adams's claim reflect the status of slaves post-emancipation?

It embodied the general feeling among southern whites who resented the new status of African Americans, It illustrated the complex status of African Americans after the war, as many did not immediately enjoy equal status, and It demonstrated why some slaves left plantations for cities.

What impact did the failure of Congressional Reconstruction have on the Union?

It enabled white Southerners to pursue discriminatory policies against African Americans.

In 1865, Henry Adams left the plantation where he had been enslaved. A group of whites confronted him on the road, asked the name of his owner, and beat him when he declared, "I now belong to no one." How does the response to Henry Adams's claim NOT reflect the status of slaves post-emancipation?

It illustrated the ultimate freedom of speech enjoyed by former slaves.

As the war waned, Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. What were some of the components that did NOT make up Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction?

It incorporated the Wade-Davis Bill.

Describe the impact of the Panic of 1873 on Congressional Reconstruction efforts.

It reduced the influence of northern Republicans, who lost control of the House of Representatives and maintained a defensive lead in the Senate after the 1874 congressional elections, and it weakened the national economy, in part due to the withdrawing of greenbacks from circulation.

Describe what was NOT the impact of the Panic of 1873 on Congressional Reconstruction efforts.

It resulted in the decreasing prominence of the Ku Klux Klan across the South, it created long-term support for greenbacks and permanently eliminated the cause of "hard money" supporters, and it had little impact on Reconstruction's progress because so many projects were already well underway

Reconstruction policies initially focused on lenient terms in favor of restoring southern social structures. However, they eventually began to center on protecting the lives and rights of former slaves and ensuring that black and white Republicans, not former Confederates, had a hand in creating their new state governments. Identify some of the reasons Republicans did NOT initiate this shift.

Johnson requested and championed Congress's attempts to pass laws that would undo the reactionary white supremacy and former leadership of the South.

Identify the institutions that did NOT prove to be essential in easing the transition for many southern blacks from slavery to freedom.

Labor Unions

Put in chronological order the following events that led up to the end of Reconstruction.

Lincoln is assassinated, the black codes are created, the fourteenth amendment is ratified, congress passes the military reconstruction act, redeemers begin to control southern states, and the compromise of 1877 ends Congressional Reconstruction.

Put the following Reconstruction events in chronological order.

Lincoln issues the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, The Freedmen's Bureau is created, Johnson commences his "Restoration" Plan, The Civil Rights Act is passed, and The Congressional Reconstruction acts are passed.

Identify the ways in which the Civil War impacted the southern economy.

Most of the South's cotton was destroyed during the war or seized later by federal troops, The war abolished the institution of slavery, which was a multibillion-dollar industry in the region, and The war destroyed much of the infrastructure and left many major cities uninhabitable.

Describe the status of race relations in the South by the end of Congressional Reconstruction.

Most southern whites still opposed civil rights and social equality for African Americans, and Many southern whites were "conservative" members of the Democratic party, who thought of themselves as the men who would "redeem" the South from Reconstruction.

What group of people WAS protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1866?

Muslim Americans, African Americans, Jewish Americans, and Irish Americans

What group of people was not protected under the Civil Rights Act of 1866?

Native Americans

In 1877 at the collapse of Reconstruction, former Louisiana slave Henry Adams remarked, "The whole South—every state in the South—has got [back] into the hands of the very men that held us as slaves." Another former slave, Thomas Hall from South Carolina noted, "The Yankees helped free us, so they say, but [in 1877] they let us be put back in slavery again." What do these quotations reveal about the effectiveness of Reconstruction and its significance for the nation's future?

Reconstruction ultimately failed to produce the conditions in which the federal government would successfully continue to protect black civil rights in southern states, and many white northerners abandoned the cause of Reconstruction and, in turn, many African Americans in the South felt a sense of abandonment.

Identify all of the outcomes of the Compromise of 1877.

Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was declared president, and federal troops were removed from the South.

Identify the five military districts NOT governed by generals put in place by Congress after the defeat of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

TN

Which of the following statements accurately describes the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in the spring of 1868?

The House of Representatives introduced articles of impeachment against Johnson because of his attempt to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Radical Republicans wanted to impeach Johnson because he continued to obstruct Congressional Reconstruction, Johnson made a private promise to support the congressional process of Reconstruction, which he later went back on.

Read the excerpt from William A. Dunning's 1901 essay, in which he explains why Reconstruction failed."Before the last state was restored to the Union the process was well under way through which the resumption of control by the whites was to be effected. The tendency in this direction was greatly promoted by conditions within the Republican party itself. ... The personnel of the party was declining in character through the return to the North of the more substantial of the carpet-baggers, who found Southern conditions, both social and industrial, far from what they had anticipated, and through the very frequent instances in which the 'scalawags' ran to open disgrace. "Along with this deterioration in the white element of the party, the negroes who rose to prominence and leadership were very frequently of a type which acquired and practiced the tricks and knavery rather than the useful arts of politics, and the vicious courses of these negroes strongly confirmed the prejudices of the whites. ... Not even the relative quiet and order that followed the triumph of the whites in these states were recognized as justifying the new regime." Dunning's interpretation is now widely discredited. To understand why, identify the statements below that do NOT demonstrate bias and false assumptions in his interpretation.

The South was orderly following the end of Reconstruction, and Northerners did not find the social and industrial conditions they expected.

Identify NOT all of the outcomes of the Compromise of 1877.

The election of 1876 had the highest voter turnout in American history, and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden was declared president.

Lincoln believed that the Confederate states had never actually left the Union. Why was his view important in deciding how these states would be reintegrated into the Union after the Civil War?

The executive branch of the federal government is in charge of reconstituting state governments, so that meant it was Lincoln's responsibility to re-form the state governments.

Watch the video below in which author David Shi discusses the challenges faced by the federal government in reconstructing the South. Which of the following statements accurately describe those challenges?

The federal government had never taken on such a large responsibility, so Reconstruction was a new challenge altogether, Four million formerly enslaved African Americans had gained their freedom but had practically nowhere to go, White Southerners were resentful at having lost the Civil War, which made them less likely to embrace efforts to reconstruct the region, Having just weathered the Civil War, the resources of the federal government were utterly inadequate.

Reconstruction policies initially focused on lenient terms in favor of restoring southern social structures. However, they eventually began to center on protecting the lives and rights of former slaves and ensuring that black and white Republicans, not former Confederates, had a hand in creating their new state governments. Identify some of the reasons Republicans initiated this shift.

The lenient terms failed to prove effective in that many white Southerners who had supported the Confederacy had been determined to resist Reconstruction efforts, Republicans felt compelled to address black rights because mobs of white Southerners were murdering, terrorizing, and otherwise intimidating black Southerners, and Johnson's Restoration Plan was seen as not radical enough because the new southern state governments after the war looked remarkably similar to the ones that had led the nation into war.

What conclusions can we draw about Reconstruction based on the information in this map?

The means by and time at which slavery was abolished differed from state to state, Slaves in states such as Texas, Mississippi, and North Carolina gained their legal freedom through the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, and Within ten years of being readmitted to the Union, conservative white Democrats were leading every state in the former Confederacy.

This occurs when a nation's money supply grows faster than the economy itself, which causes prices for goods and services to increase.

inflation

In what way were southern redeemers successful in their attempts to weaken Reconstruction?

They eroded northern interest in Reconstruction through a combination of voter intimidation and mobilization of the southern white vote.

Religious life was significant for African Americans after the Civil War because black churches were the first social institutions that former slaves could control.

True

The chief debate within the federal government over who should direct the Reconstruction of the South was between the executive and legislative branches of government.

True

Which of the following arguments is best supported by this excerpt from an 1865 Mississippi law on vagrancy? "All freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes in this State, over the age of eighteen years, found on the second Monday in January, 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found unlawfully assembling themselves together, either in the day or night time ... shall be deemed vagrants, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not exceeding ... fifty dollars ... and imprisoned at the discretion of the court ... not exceeding ten days."

White Southerners sought to use vagrancy laws to gain free African American labor.

Analyze the political cartoon below drawn by artist Thomas Nast. What does this image NOT suggest about the reaction of many white Southerners to Reconstruction and how their reaction affected the experiences of black Southerners?

White supremacist groups had no issue with political participation by black citizen and instead focused their attention on bringing black criminals to justice, and the phrase "The Lost Cause" suggests that Southerners had given up suppressing the freedom of African Americans.

Analyze the political cartoon below drawn by artist Thomas Nast. What does this image suggest about the reaction of many white Southerners to Reconstruction and how their reaction affected the experiences of black Southerners?

White supremacist terrorist groups like the White League and the Ku Klux Klan used the threat of violence to make life unbearable for African Americans, and Opposition to the education of African Americans was a prominent means of repression.

What is the following passage an excerpt from? "All freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes in this State, over the age of eighteen years, found on the second Monday in January, 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found unlawfully assembling themselves together, either in the day or night time ... shall be deemed vagrants, and on conviction thereof shall be fined in a sum not exceeding ... fifty dollars ... and imprisoned at the discretion of the court ... not exceeding ten days."

a black code

Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

allowed for the readmission of former Rebel states to the Union when at least 10 percent of those who voted in 1860 took an oath of allegiance to the Union

This occurs when the supply of money shrinks, which causes prices to fall and the value of money to increase.

deflation

This occurs when prices decline too far, incomes drop, consumer spending dries up, businesses close, and unemployment increases over a sustained period of time.

economic depression

This term refers to the paper money issued by the federal government during the Civil War to help pay for the cost of war.

greenbacks

This term refers to gold, silver, and copper coins, which were sometimes viewed as more reliable than paper currency and often favored by eastern creditors.

hard-money currency

Identify all the ways the Freedmen's Bureau assisted recently freed slaves in their transition to life outside bondage.

provided health care, clothing, and food to recently freed slaves to help them establish themselves, established schools so that former slaves could have the opportunity to learn to read and write, assisted former slaves in finding family members from whom they had been separated during the course of their enslavement, and negotiated labor contracts between freed blacks and white employers in the South

Identify the outcome of Congressional Reconstruction that gave birth to a second reconstruction as the civil rights movement in the twentieth century.

ratification of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments

This term refers to the presence of paper money in circulation, which tended to be supported by farmers and debtors.

soft-money currency