U.S. History - Chapter 15 - Reconstruction ERA
The 14 Amendment prohibited all confederacy leaders from holding offices unless what ?"
1st approved the 2/3 majority of House and Senate
What was Grant's slogan ?
"Let us have peace"
What were Black Codes ?
An attempt to regulate the conduct of former slaves
Reconstruction became a struggle between what two branches ?
Executive branch and Legislative branch
Fisik and Gould Gold Scandal
Financiers James Fisk and Jay Gould hatched a scheme to corner the gold market on the New York stock exchange. With a bribe to Grant's brother-in-law to forestall the selling of U.S. government gold, the duo almost succeeded on "Black Friday" Sept. 24, 1869. William Belknap, Grant's personal friend and the Secretary of War was accused of accepting $24,000 dollars for grating special licenses to concessionaires to the Indians. Faced with impeachment, Belknap resigned in 1876.
What was one of most important agencies in Southern Reconstruction in providing help to the newly freed slaves ?
Freedman's bureau
What did the Military Reconstruction Act do ?
Imposed military occupation on the South
Congress set up "Freedman's U.S. Courts " which did what ?
Protected the freedman's rights but also defended many Southerners by overriding local courts
The Freedman's bureau became a tool for what ?
Protecting freedman's legal rights
What were the four of radicals government accomplishments ?
1. Enacted universal manhood suffrage 2. Organized public schools 3. Rebuilt public schools 4. Other internal improvements
In the congressional election of 1866, Republicans gained what ?
more than 2/3 of the seats in congress; enough to override Johnson's vetoes
who were carpetbaggers ?
northern radical that moved to the South
Johnson unwisely launched his tour defending plans with hopes of what ?
to unsent his congressional opponents in a midterm election
South defended the codes of arguing the former slaves were what two things ?
1. Slaves were noneducational 2. Slaves were manipulated
What were two things which were being grown ?
1. tobacco 2. Cotton
"Greenbacks" as Good as Gold
300 million in paper currency was left in circulation and the government pledged to back the notes in gold. Unfortunately, reducing the money supply made the depression even worse and added fuel to the fire for the Election of 1876. The dark horse Republican candidate was Rutherford B. Hayes. A general in the war, and three time governor of Ohio had a reputation for honesty. The Democrats nominated the former governor of New York, Samuel J. Tilden.
Military Reconstruction Act divided the south into how many military districts?
5
Disputed Election
A disputed election where Tilden had 184 of the 185 electoral votes needed to win with Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina sending in conflicting returns. A special commission appointed by Congress (the Supreme Court 5)
Military Reconstruction Act also required each state to write what ?
A new constitution providing universal male suffrage regardless of race and also pass the 14 Amendment
Who became President after Lincoln's death ?
Andrew Johnson
The Sharecropping System
As an economic replacement to slavery and the instant economic deprivations of the South, several systems of land ownership and rents, and crop sharing developed. Three-fourths of blacks, and one-third of whites sharecropped. The endless cycle of debt was the reality for many farmers. Whites who wanted control of their states once again were called Redeemers. By 1876, only Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina still had federal troops.
Lincoln's "Ten Per Cent" Plan
As early as 1863, Lincoln planned for military governors to rule the states until a civilian government was formed as soon as 10% of the registered 1860 voters had taken a binding oath of allegiance to the Union; Lincoln also planned for presidential pardons for many Confederate leaders; The Radical Republicans, led by Pennsylvania's Thaddeus Stevens in Congress had a different vision of reconstruction
Why was the 14 Amendment so important ?
Because it increased the power of the federal government
Why did Grant win reelection ?
Because of the prosperity of the nation
bureau tried to counteract what ?
Black Codes
The Johnson believed that reconstruction belonged to who ?
President
Who passed the tenure of office act ?
Congress
What was the KKK Act of 1871 ?
Congress passed legislation aimed at eliminating to power; thousands of Klansman were arrested and convicted
Liberal Republicans
Corruption in the Grant administration and the excesses of Radical Reconstruction in the South, led to the formation of a splinter group called the "Liberal Republicans". They opposed Grant's reelection in 1872 and joined the Democrats to reform the national government and end the military occupation of the South. Selecting opinionated and eccentric Horace Greeley, a New York newspaper editor as a candidate spelled disaster in the election as Grant won handily. Greeley died two weeks after the election.
Why was Tammany Hall allowed to continue it's corruption ?
Democratic leaders needed it's help to obtain votes
Who was an example of a fair -minded Redeemer ?
Democrats Wade Hampton
Economic Boom or Bust
Despite corruption, Grant won reelection due to the economic prosperity of the U.S. economy. Business continued to boom as industry switched from war material to peacetime goods. Rifle-making in Hartford, Connecticut turned to sewing machines. The Panic of '73 touched off a serious six-year depression. At the core was post-war currency crisis caused by the paper money, "greenbacks" still in circulation after the war.
The Whiskey Ring
Grant's private secretary, Orville Babcock, was among some whiskey distillers and distributor swindlers who were conspiring with federal tax collectors to cheat the nation out of millions in excise taxes. Because of his friend, Grant forestalled a complete investigation.
What was name for political corruption ?
Grantism
Who were the KKK ?
Group of white vigilantes who terrorized the South
Who was the first black person to serve in the US Congress ?
Hiram Revels
What was Johnson's main charge ?
His violation of the tenure of office act by dismissing Stanton; case then went to the Senate for trial
The low prices of cotton and tobacco did what ?
Hurt sharecroppers and landowners
What did waving the bloody shirt mean ?
It was for blaming Democrats for the war
"Carpetbaggers and Scalawags"
Northern radicals coming south to servein valid capacities and then many to exploit the situation; Not all of these men were corrupt, but the white majority did portray them as such. There were many abuses of the reconstruction governments, but the reason they held power was the might of the Army and the fact that southern whites were still ineligible to vote-(disfranchised). Southern white extremism against blacks, scalawags, carpetbaggers included the Ku Klux Klan. Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to combat the violence and intimidation.
When could a state be "reconstructed" ?
Once a state had fulfilled all those requirements
What was the most severe depression in the first 100 years of America's history ?
Panic of '73
What was the government's attempt to rebuild the South ?
Reconstruction
Who were the candidates in the election of 1876 ?
Republican - Rutherford Hayes Democrats - Samuel J. Tilden
Who became the president of Washington College in VA ?
Robert F Lee
Who was the winner of the most disputed presidential election in American history until that time ?
Rutherford Hayes
What developed an answer to economic deprivation of Wages ?
Sharecropping
What state was exempted and why ?
TN; because it had already ratified the 14 Amendment
Johnson thought what was unconstitutional ?
Tenure of Office Act
Who was Samuel Tilden ?
lawyer that helped reform NY city corruption
Impeachment
The Radical Republicans impeached Johnson on the charges that he defied the Tenure of Office Act by firing Stanton. They knew vice-president Benjamin Wade, a radical would back their plans as president. The impeachment trial in the senate fell one vote short of removing Johnson. Three amendments to the Constitution, 13th(1865) -outlawing slavery in the United States, 14th(1868) -giving black citizens full citizenship and applying to the states the same individual Constitutional protections almost invalidating the 10thAmendment, 15th(1870) -was another Constitutional guarantee -"the right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged (by the Federal or state) on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Reconstruction in the North
The Republicanschose the leading war hero Ulysses S. Grant as the standard bearer in 1868. Seen as a strong candidate needed to end the bitter struggle between Congress and Andrew Johnson, Grantcaptured the mood if the times with his campaign slogan, "Let us have peace". Grant proved to be a weak president, deferring to Congress to run the nation.
The "Solid" South
The South became a Democratic political bastion, the "Solid South" electing only Democratic governors, state legislatures, and congressmen. Not until 1972, Richard Nixon would a Republican president carry the South.
Tammany Hall
The city government of New York was controlled by the political organization, Tammany Hall under the direction of William"Boss" Tweed. Corruption swelled the city's debt from 36 million in 1868 to more than 136 million stealing money from the city coffers on bogus contracts. The Tweed organization stayed in power by delivering large blocs of voters in each election. Stifled by reform movements, Tweed was arrested in 1871
President Johnson's Plan
The new president's plan included Lincoln's 10% Plan but held stricter policy on qualifications for southern leadership and pardons for ex-Confederates. Johnson believed like Lincoln the ultimate responsibility for reconstruction rested with the president, not Congress. Reconstruction became a power struggle between branches of government that transcended to healing of the nation.
President Andrew Johnson
The term "reconstruction" refers both to the rebuilding of the South, structurally and politically, and the reality of the nation as a whole; Now the federal government would have more power through the states than many of the founding fathers would have been comfortable with. Johnson was first faced with how to administer the Southern states that had rebelled.
What was the Compromise of 1877 ?
The term that referred to the political agreement that federal troops would be removed from the South
Fisk and Gould were a part of what scandal ?
manipulating the price of gold
Wade - Davis Bill
This 1864 legislation required military governors in each southern state until a majority of all white males had signed an oath of allegiance. In addition the bill stated that: 1.suffrage, political office was denied to all former Confederate leaders 2.The abolition of slavery 3.Repudiation of war debts and re-admittance to the Union would be delayed until remittance. Lincoln vetoed this bill.
Credit mobilier scandal
This scandal occurred in the 1870s when a railroad construction company's stockholders used funds that were supposed to be used to build the Union Pacific Railroad for railroad construction for their own personal use. To avoid being convicted, stockholders even used stock to bribe congressional members and the vice president.
Who was an example of a Redeemer who used radical turmoil for his own political gain ?
Tillman
Compromise of 1877
Voting fraud in the South denied the vote to many eligible blacks favoring Tilden then the fifteen member commission stole back the election for Hayes. The Democrats threatened to hold up the counting of the electoral votes in Congress so Hayes couldn't take office. The Southern Democrats allowed the vote in a back-room deal for the removal of federal troops from the South.
Who were Redeemers ?
men(southerners) who led the fight for freedom from Radical Rule
The New Southern Political Landscape
With Radical Republicans viewing the South as a conquered enemy under the direct authority of Congress, another leading radical, Charles Sumner said that the secessionist South had committed "political suicide" by their rebellion. Radicals did know that only strict policies would secure and protect the rights of blacks ; Many Republicans sought to control the South politically as a place solidify Republican control.
"Grantism" in the White House
With little political experience, the duties of the president overwhelmed him and he, though honest himself, relied upon corrupt cronies. "Grantism" became synonymous for corruption. Several scandals rocked the executive branch, Grant inherited the Credit Mobilier Scandal that saw the Union Pacific Railway offer payoffs in the form of stock to influential Republicans including V.P. Schuyler Colfax. Payoffs headed off Congressional investigations.
Tenure of Office Act
With the congressional elections in 1866, the republicans gained over two-thirds the seats in both houses of Congress. Now they could override any Johnson veto. They first passed the Tenure of Office Act which forbade any president from dismissing any cabinet official without the consent of the senate. The radicals were protecting Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (one of their own). Johnson viewed the act as unconstitutional (later the Supreme Court agreed).
What was the Freedman's Bureau ?
a government agency that was founded to help former slaves after the war
What did the Thirteenth Amendment do ?
abolished slavery
What was disfranchisement ?
denial of the right to vote
Who was Horace Greeley ?
eccentric New York newspaper editor who ran against Grant in 1872
What did the Fourteenth Amendment do ?
guaranteed citizen rights
What did the Republicans offer Southern Democrats in return for their support of Rutherford B Hayes for president ?
removal of federal troops from the South
Who was Ulysses s grant ?
republican candidate in 1868 election. Believed he should be passive and let congress run the nation. had several scandals during his presidency
Who was Thomas Nast ?
republican cartoonist who attacked tweed and Tammany hall. tweed feared him and fled the country where he was identified by the cartoons and arrested. he also made cartoons of the 2 party symbols and saint nick.
Who were Radical Republicans ?
republican minority that wanted to deal harshly with the South
What did the Fifteenth Amendment do ?
right to vote regardless of race, color or previous conditions of servitude
What was Credit mobilier scandal ?
scandal that began before Grant took office. Railroads.
Who were scalawags ?
southern radical
Who were Liberal Republicans ?
splinter group of republicans who were offended by corruption in grant's office
Why was sharecropping common in the South ?
the former slaves needed work and the south did not have money to pay wages
