Title: Reconstruction

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Title Reconstruction Johnsons Impeachment
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Original Plans of Reconstruction

• Lincolns Plan
• The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction,
  December 1863, gave forgiveness to those who
  pledged Union loyalty and support for
  emancipation.
• When 10 of voters had taken the oath, a new
  state government could be organized. The new
  government was required to ban slavery.
• This plan for readmission was known as the Ten
  Percent Plan.

• Opposition
• Wade-Davis Bill
• In 1864, Congress wrote its own plan.
• Majority of white male citizens would be required
  to take a loyalty oath before elections could be
  held.
• Lincoln killed the bill using a pocket veto (it
  passed in the last 10 days of the legislative
  session)

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Lincolns Assassination

• The president did not live long enough to test
  his wartime popularity against Congress for
  control of Reconstruction plans.

• Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Fords
  Theater on April 14, 1865, and died the next
  morning.
• John Wilkes Booth was part of a conspiracy, and
  others were supposed to kill Vice President
  Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William
  Seward.

• A grief stricken nation mourned Lincolns death.
• White southerners were concerned. Lincolns death
  meant a change in Reconstruction plans and a new
  president. Some disliked Andrew Johnson and felt
  he was a traitor.

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At wars end, two major questions faced the
reunited nation.

• 1) What would be the status of blacks in the
  postwar nation?
• 2) Under what conditions would the Southern
  states be readmitted to the Union?
• The newly liberated slaves, called freedmen, were
  primarily interested in the chance to earn wages
  and own property.
• Black leaders hoped that their service in the
  military would earn blacks equal rights.

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Vice-president Andrew Johnson assumed the
presidency

• Johnson, a Southern Democrat, had opposed
  secession and strongly supported Lincoln during
  his first term
• In return, Lincoln rewarded Johnson with the
  vice-presidency
• When the war ended, Congress was in recess and
  would not reconvene for 8 months.
• That left the early stages of Reconstruction
  entirely in Johnsons hands.

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Johnsons Reconstruction plan called for the
creation of provisional military governments to
run the states until they were readmitted to the
Union

• The states would have to write new constitutions
  eliminating slavery and renouncing secession.
• Required all Southern citizens to swear a loyalty
  oath before receiving amnesty for the rebellion
• Many of the former Southern elite (including
  plantation owners, Confederate officers, and
  government officials) were barred from taking
  that vow, thus prohibiting their participation in
  the new governments.
• Johnson did not require the states to enfranchise
  African Americans

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The plan did not work because Johnson pardoned
many of the Southern elite who were supposed to
have been excluded from the reunification process

• After the states drafted new constitutions and
  elected new governments, former Confederate
  officials were again in positions of great power
• Furthermore, many of their new constitutions were
  only slight revisions of previous constitutions

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Southern legislators also passed a series of laws
defining the status of freedmen.

• These laws, called black codes, which
• Limited freedmens rights to assemble and travel
• Restricted their access to public institutions
• Instituted curfew laws
• Passed laws requiring blacks to carry special
  passes
• In the most instances, state legislatures simply
  took their old slave codes and replaced the word
  slaves with freedmen

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When Congress reconvened in Dec 1865, the new
Southern senators included the vice-president of
the Confederacy and other Confederate officials.

• Northern Congressmen were not pleased
• Invoking its constitutional right to examine the
  credentials of new members, Congress voted not to
  seat the new Southern delegation
• In many Southern states at the time, all
  Republicans agreed that Johnsons Reconstruction
  needed some modification.

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Congress was divided into three Republican
sections

• Conservative Republicans Generally agreed with
  Johnsons plan
• Radical Republicans Wanted to set up a
  Reconstruction that punished the South
• Confiscate land from the rich and redistributed
  it among the poor (including the freedman)
• Extend democratic rights in the South
• Moderates Large enough contingent to swing a
  vote in one or the other direction

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Johnson refused to work with the Radicals and
vetoed a compromise package that would have
extending the life of the Freedmans Bureau and
enforced a uniform civil rights code on the South.

• Freedmans Bureau Government program established
  in 1865 to help newly liberated African Americans
  establish a place in postwar society
• Helped with immediate problems of survival (food,
  housing) and developed social institutions, such
  as schools

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In response, the Radicals drew up the plan that
came to be known as Congressional Reconstruction,
which included the 14th Amendment.

• The amendment
• (1) prohibited states from depriving any citizen
  of life, liberty, or property, without due
  process
• meant to override the effect of the black codes
• (2) gave states the choice either to give
  freedmen the right to vote or to stop counting
  them among their voting population for the
  purpose of Congressional apportionment
• aimed to force states to either extend suffrage
  to black men or lose power in Congress
• (3) barred prominent Confederates from holding
  political office
• (4) excused the Confederacys war debt.

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In the Congressional election of 1866, the North
voted for a Congress more heavily weighted toward
the radical end of the political spectrum.

• The new Congress quickly passed the Military
  Reconstruction Act of 1867.
• It imposed martial law on the South
• Called for new state constitutional conventions
• Forced states to allow blacks to vote for
  convention delegates
• Required each state to ratify the 14th Amendment
  and to send its new constitution to Congress for
  approval

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Aware that Johnson would oppose the new
Reconstruction, Congress then passed a number of
laws designed to limit presidents power.

• Conflict reached its climax when the House
  Judiciary Committee initiated impeachment
  proceedings against Johnson
• When he fired the Sec. of War (Edwin Stanton),
  they accused him of violating the Tenure of
  Office Act
• They stated that the President had to secure the
  consent of the Senate before removing his
  appointees once theyd been approved by that body
• Real reason for impeachment He was getting in
  the way of Reconstruction.

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Although impeachment failed (by one vote), the
trial revealed that the power of impeachment
could not be abused, and he served the last few
months of his presidency and retired.

• With a new president, Ulysses S. Grant, in
  office, Congress forged ahead in its efforts to
  remake the South.
• The 15th Amendment, proposed in 1869, finally
  required states to enfranchise black men
• Ironically, the 15th Amendment passed only
  because Southern states were required to ratify
  it as a condition of reentry into the Union
• A number of Northern states opposed the amendment