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Reconstruction (1865 - 1877)
Historical Context
The Civil War may have settled some significant national problems, but it also created many more. Slavery was abolished, the country was reunited, and the supremacy of the federal government was confirmed. However, the cost of the Union victory - lost lives, destroyed property, and sectional bitterness - was staggering and it created huge new problems and tasks.
Perhaps the most challenging task facing our tired nation was the future status of the four million newly freed slaves. After the death of President Lincoln and the failure of President Johnson, Congress, in 1867, tool charge of the effort to “reconstruct” our divided nation. A large part of “Congressional Reconstruction” was an effort to establish and to protect the citizenship rights of freedmen. The former Confederacy was divided into five military districts, each governed by a Union general. The southern states, in order to rid themselves of these “military dictatorships”, were required to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens B including former slaves.
At the same time, large numbers of former Confederate soldiers and supporters were disenfranchised, or denied the right to vote. By 1870, all of the former Confederate states had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and were readmitted to the Union. In each state, the voting rights of freedmen were protected while voting was denied to many white Southerners. Therefore, with many whites not voting and union troops remaining in the South to protect them, freedmen seemed to be enjoying some level of equal rights and full citizenship. This did not last long.
By 1877, Reconstruction ended and all Southern state governments were restored, and the citizenship rights of freedmen rapidly eroded. African-American voting rates plummeted. Soon these former slaves fell into a “second class” citizenship characterized by a system of state- enforced segregation and discrimination
DIRECTIONS : The following question is based on documents in this packet. As you review and analyze the documents, take into account both the source of the document and the author’s point of view.
- Carefully read each document-based question. Consider what you already know about the topic. How would you answer the question if you had no documents to examine.
- Now, read each document carefully, underlining important phrases or words that address the document-based question. You may also wish to use the margin to make brief notes. Answer the questions which follow each document
- Based on you knowledge and on the information found in the documents, formulate a thesis that directly answers the question.
- Organize supportive and relevant information into a brief outline.
- Write a well-organized essay proving your thesis. The essay should be logically presented and should include information both from the documents and from your own knowledge outside the documents.
Question: Why did Congress’ Reconstruction efforts to ensure equal rights to the freedmen fail?
Document 2
Black codes enforced in Southern states during Reconstruction prevented freed slaves from exercising many rights. Read the following passage - adapted from selected sections of one state’s black code and answer the questions below.
Now that the slaves have become emancipated, it is necessary to pass regulations that preserve public order. These regulations must also preserve the comfort and correct behavior of the former slaves. Therefore, the following rules have been adopted with the approval of the United States military authorities who have command in this area:
Every Negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former
owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of that Negro.
No public meetings or congregations of Negroes shall be allowed after sunset. Such
public meetings may be held during the day with the permission of the local captain in charge of the area.
No Negro shall be permitted to preach or otherwise speak out to the congregations of
colored people without special permission in writing from the government
No Negro who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry firearms or any
kind of weapons without the special written permission of his employers
No Negro shall sell, trade, or exchange merchandise within this area without the
special written permission of his employer.
According to the first paragraph, why were black codes adopted?
Who approved the adoption of this code?
How did the Radical Republicans succeed in eliminating black codes?
What happened after black codes were eliminated first during Reconstruction and then after?
Document 4
What is depicted in each of the documents? Left Photo
Right Photo
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How do the two cartoons affect your view of what Reconstruction accomplished? **______________________________________________________________________________
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Document 6
According to the cartoonist, what was the goal of the Ku Klux Klan?
What kinds of weapons did the Klan members intend to use against the freed people?
What actions did the KKK threaten to take to make the lives of freed people “worse than slavery”?
Document 8
The disputed presidential election of 1876 set the stage for the final stage of Reconstruction B the removal of all federal troops from the last three “unreconstructed” Southern states: Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina.
How was it possible that Hayes “won” the election of 1876?
How did this disputed election lead to the end of Reconstruction? Explain.
