Reconstruction

1
Reconstruction
2
Act I The Characters of Reconstruction
Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands
together for Reconstruction.
3
Tommy Lee Jones stars as...Andrew Johnson
4
Andy Richter stars as...Benjamin Wade
5
Steve Buscemi stars as...Lyman Trumbull
6
ZZ Top Guitarist stars as...Edwin Stanton
7
Sean Connery stars as...Ulysses S. Grant
8
ACT II Congress finds out johnsons a racist
Act II Congress finds out Johnsons a racist.
9
Lincoln Gets Assassinated

• Days after the war ends, Lincoln is assassinated.
• VP Andrew Johnson becomes President.
• Southerner from a poor family.
• Johnson claimed that
• He supported abolition of slavery.
• He would harshly punish Confederates.

10
Johnson as President
His Reconstruction Plan

• Each state declares secession illegal.
• Swear allegiance to the Union.
• States must ratify 13th amendment.
• Did not address rights of former slaves.
• Promoted states rights, and allowed states to
  restrict African-American rights.
• Ended up pardoning LOTS of former Confederates,
  so they could be in charge.

Why it was bad!!!
11

• This is a country for white men, and by God, as
  long as I am President, it shall be a government
  for white men.
• -Andrew Johnson, in a letter to the Governor of
  Missouri

12
Luckily for society, Congress was in favor of
equality.
Well, most of them were.
13
ACT III Congress fights for civil rights
Roses are red, Violets are blue. Congress makes
laws, And Johnson vetoes them. Boo. ?
14
Radical Republicans

• Portion of Congress wanted African-Americans to
  be given rights in addition to freedom.
• Voting, property rights, citizenship, no
  discrimination, equality, etc.
• In 1866 (mid-year election), this group wins a
  large majority in Congressespecially because the
  South cant vote yet.

15
Benjamin Wade

• Acting Vice President.
• Felt strongly in favor of equal rights.
• Seen as extreme by some members of Congress.
• Would have been President if Johnson had been
  impeached.

16
Lyman Trumbull

• U.S. Senator from Illinois. ?
• Co-author of 13th amendment (no slavery).
• Proposed the first civil rights bill ever (Civil
  Rights Act of 1866).
• Author of 14th amendment (citizenship).
• Has a mountain named after him in Arizona!

17
40 Acres Mule

• Former slaves were given 40 acres of land and a
  mule to get started in life.
• Hoped to avoid problem of large lower class (like
  w/the freed indentured servants).
• As soon as Lincoln was assassinated, Johnson took
  it back and gave it to the whites.

18
Laws Passed by Congress

• Voted to continue and enlarge the Freedmans
  Bureau.
• Provided food, clothing, education, and medical
  assistance for both former slaves and poor whites
  in the South.
• Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
• Prohibited black codes and segregation.
• Gave citizenship and equal rights.
• President Johnson vetoed both of these.

19
(No Transcript)
20
Congress Takes Action

• Congress overrides both vetoes.
• Congress passed the 14th amendment giving all
  people born in the US citizenship.
• States still had to ratify it.
• Pres. Johnson discouraged ratification.
• Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867.
• Required ratifying the 14th amendment and giving
  right to vote in order to become a state again.
• Johnson vetoed it Congress overrode the veto.

21
ACT IV Congress Impeaches Johnson
Act IV Congress lays down the smack.
22
Gone Impeachin
(Secretary of War)

• Congress thought Johnson was being
  counterproductive and antagonistic by not
  enforcing the Reconstruction Laws.
• They wanted him out of office.
• They also wanted to protect the only cabinet
  member that was their ally, Edwin Stanton.
• They passed the Tenure of Office Act, which
  prevented cabinet members from being fired
  without the consent of 2/3 of Congress.
• Johnson fired Stanton to test it House of Reps
  impeached him.

23
Johnson is found not guilty by one vote! ?
Some moderates feared the idea of Benjamin Wade
being president, because he was so extreme in his
equal rights views, so they voted to keep Johnson.
24
Ulysses S. Grant as President

• Johnson is not nominated to run in next election.
• Ulysses S. Grant becomes President.
• Majority of African-Americans vote for him.
• Fifteenth Amendment is ratified, giving all men
  the right to vote, regardless of race.