Reconstruction
Reconstruction
Reconstruction
While no one could agree on what the best plan for reconstructing the nation would be, Americans
understood the moment as critical and perhaps revolutionary. In this magnificent visual metaphor for
the reconciliation of the North and South, John Lawrence postulates what might result from reunion.
Reconstruction, the print seems to argue, will form a more perfect Union that upholds the ideals of
the American Revolution, most importantly (as seen on a streaming banner near the top) that All
men are born free and equal. John Giles Lawrence, Reconstruction, 1867. Library of Congress.
Presidential
Reconstruction: Lincoln
Congressional
Reconstruction: Wade-
Davis
Ban slavery
Have a majority of voters (adult white males) take a
loyalty oath to the USA
Thirteenth
Amendment
Freedmens Bureau
Presidential
Reconstruction: Johnson
A New President
April 14, 1865 Lincoln is assassinated
Vice-President Andrew Johnson becomes President
Democrat
Former slaveholder
Johnson had been placed on the ticket to appeal to
the border states in the election of 1864.
Presidential
Reconstruction: Johnson
With the war coming to an end, the question of how to reunite the former Confederate states with the Union
was a divisive one. Lincolns Presidential Reconstruction plans were seen by many, including Radical
Republicans in Congress, to be too tolerant towards what they considered to be traitors. This political
cartoon reflects this viewpoint, showing Lincoln and Johnson happily stitching the Union back together with
little anger towards the South. Joseph E. Baker, The Rail Splitter at Work Repairing the Union, 1865.
Presidential
Reconstruction:
Johnson
Freedom Brought
Changes
Freedom Brought
Changes
Radical Republicans
Radical Republicans
Fourteenth
Amendment
(Summer
1866)
Defined all people born in or naturalized to the
United States as citizens.
Guaranteed citizens equal protection under
the law
Said states cannot deprive citizens of life,
liberty, or property without due process of
law.
Banned many former Confederate officials
from holding state or federal office
Made state laws subject to federal court
review
Radical Republicans
Take Charge of
Reconstruction
Radical Republicans
Take Charge of
Reconstruction
Radical Republicans
Take Charge of
Reconstruction
Impeachment
Rights of African
Americans Were
Restricted
Rights of African
Americans Were Restricted
Sharecropping (contd)
Few African Americans could afford to buy or
rent farms.
They became part of a sharecropping system
providing labor to land owners and sharing
their crops with them
Sharecroppers faced perpetual debt.
Southern
Reconstruction
Election of 1868
Election of 1868
Election of 1868
Fifteenth Amendment
With the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, droves of African American men went to the polls to
exercise their newly recognized right to vote. In this Harpers Weekly print, black men of various
occupations wait patiently for their turn as the first voter submits his ballot. Unlike other contemporary
images that depicted African Americans as ignorant, unkempt, and lazy, this print shows these black men
as active citizens. Alfred R. Waud, The First Vote, November 1867. Library of Congress.
The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited discrimination in voting rights on the basis of race, color, or
previous status (i.e. slavery). While the amendment was not all encompassing in that women were not
included, it was an extremely significant ruling in affirming the liberties of African American men. This
print depicts a huge parade held in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 19, 1870, surrounded by portraits of
abolitionists and scenes of African Americans exercising their rights. Thomas Kelly after James C. Beard,
The 15th Amendment. Celebrated May 19th 1870, 1870. Library of Congress,
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr060.html.
Reconstruction
in theSouth
Reconstruction governments help reform
the South
Republicans controlled most Southern
governments but were deeply resented by
white southerners
New state constitutions were the most
progressive in the nation North or South
Reconstruction
in theSouth
Reconstruction governments help reform
the South
Reconstruction state governments provided
money for many new programs:
Public schools
Hospitals
Anti-discrimination laws
Railroads and bridges
African-Americans
in Public
Office
The era of Reconstruction witnessed a few moments of true progress. One of those was the election of African
Americans to local, state, and national offices, including both houses of Congress. Pictured here are Hiram Revels
(the first African American Senator) alongside six black representatives, all from the former Confederate states.
Currier & Ives, First Colored Senator and Representatives in the 41st and 42nd Congress of the United States,
1872. Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-17564.
African Americans
in the US
Senate
Hiram Revels
African Americans
in the US
Senate
Blanche K. Bruce
Born a slave in Virginia
Became a Republican leader in Mississippi
Served one term in the Senate
The End of
Reconstruction
The Ku Klux Klan was just one of a number of vigilante groups that arose after the war to terrorize
African Americans and Republicans throughout the South. The KKK brought violence into the voting
polls, the workplace, and as seen in this Harpers Weekly print the homes of black Americans.
Frank Bellew, Visit of the Ku-Klux, 1872. Wikimedia,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Visit_of_the_Ku-Klux_1872.jpg.
The End of
Reconstruction
of 1876
Samuel Tilden
Democrat
Reconstruction
Reversed
Reconstruction
Reversed
Voting Rights
Reconstruction
Reversed
Responding to
Segregation
Open Protest
Responding to
Segregation
Northern States
Responding to
Segregation
Buffalo
Soldiers
In 1866 through an act of Congress, legislation was adopted to create six all African American
army units. The units were identified as the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th and
41st infantry regiments. The four infantry units were reorganized in 1868 as the 24th and the
25th infantry. Black soldiers enlisted for five years and received $13.00 a month, far more than
they could have earned in civilian life.
Responding to
Segregation
Kansas Exodusters
Remember John Brown and Bleeding Kansas?
From the Bible Exodus
An escape from the South; Blacks could own
their own land and build their own communities
Responding to
Segregation
Self-Help
African Americans built communities to improve
their lives