The Reconstruction
Brandon Gabrielson
The Reconstruction
After the Civil War ended in 1865, the Southern states needed to be reunited with the Northern states. The period of time following the Civil War, was called the Recontruction. During the Reconstruction slavery was ended, but segregation grew.
KKK
This is an image of the Ku Klux Klan. They wear robes over their faces to cover their identity.
Voting
This is an image of an African American using his right to vote.
Segregation
This is a image of an African American being segregated from whites.
The Amendments
The 13th amendment was ratified in December of 1865. The 13th amendment had abolished slavery. In following years, in 1868, the 14th amendment gave a constitutional guarentee of the rights and security of freed people. Shortly after, in 1870, the 15th amendment gave male blacks the right to vote. Along with the rights of the freed people, came many hardships.
Racism and Discrimination
Racism and discrimination became very common in the South during the reconstruction. The Jim Crow laws basically said it was okay to segregate African Americans from whites. The African Americans had to build their own schools, churches, stores, and bathrooms, because it was legal to seperate them from whites. The African Americans had the ability to vote, but it became obvious that it was not safe. The Ku Klux Klan was a clan of white men who didn't want the blacks voting because they believed that it would effect the polls. They would threaten blacks by gunpoint on who to vote for, and many times killed blacks for who they were voting for. The KKK also would destroy schools and churches built by the African Americans so restrict them from gaining education. African Americans didn't tolerate it, and would protect their schools and churches in large amounts. Their plan was successful at times.
Black Codes
After slavery was abolished, white southerners reestablished their civil authority in the Southern states in 1866. The Black Codes restricted the activity of African Americans, which insured their availability to work as tenant farmers. Under Johnson's plan, each state would draft it's own black codes. Many of the Black Codes aloud African Americans to buy property and get married with other African Americans, but restricted their labor and activity. In some states, if a land owner gives a higher wage to an African American worker, they could get punished. Any African Americans that did not follow the Black Codes would be beaten, arrested, or forced to work on plantations.
Plans for Reconstruction
Lincoln's plan for reconstruction was called the 10% plan. This required 10% of the voting population in the south in 1860 had to sign an oath of loyalty. Also it required each state to write a constitution and elect a government before it became a true state. Johnson's plan required 10%+ of voting popultion in 1860 in the south to sign the oath of loyalty, required that each state wrote a state constitution before electing government officials. It also required no slavery. The Congress's plan was to place military supervision in the the territories that did not follow. After the 14th amendment, 5 military districts made up the 10 Southern states that refused to ratify it.
The End of the Reconstruction
The Compromise of 1877 is what led to the end of the Reconstruction. The Compromise of 1877 was, "In return for the Democrats' acceptance of Hayes as president, the Republicans agreed to withdraw the remaining federal troops from the South" (Page 419 of textbook). Southern states rewrote state constitutions and overturned many of the Reconstruction governments reforms. This was the last of the Reconstruction era.