Reconstruction in Texas

1
Reconstruction in Texas
RECONSTRUCTION IN TEXAS 1865-1870

2
The Civil War ended but whats next?

• Since the Confederacy lost the war, much of the
  South was destroyed, and money was hard to come
  by.
• African Americans were free, but many were
  without food or shelter.
• Tensions and differences between many Northerners
  and Southerners continued after the war.

3

• Reconstruction was a period immediately after the
  Civil War of rebuilding the Southern states
  gradually bringing them back into the Union.

4
Emancipation Proclamation

• Because of distance and the war, many African
  Americans in the south and especially Texas did
  not immediately learn about the Emancipation
  Proclamation of 1863.
• The news finally reached Galveston, Texas on June
  19th, 1865. Juneteenth became a celebration for
  the freedom of enslaved Texans.

5
THE FREEDMENS BUREAU

• Former slaves were often referred to as freedmen.
• The Freedmens Bureau was a government agency
  whose job was to provide relief to the thousands
  of people, black and white, who had been left
  homeless by the Civil War.

6
TWO PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION

• LINCOLN AND JOHNSON WANTED

• CONGRESS WANTED

• Stricter standards for admitting the Southern
  States back into the Union
• To protect the freedom of African Americans in
  the South

• To restore the Union as quickly as possible
• To go easy on the South

7

• What critical event occurred on April 14, 1865
  that changed the course on American history?

8
5 days after Lee surrendered to Grant at
Appomattox, a southerner, John Wilkes Booth, shot
and killed President Abraham Lincoln
9

• Lincoln had wanted southern states to be quickly
  readmitted into the Union and had a simple plan
  for accomplishing that objective.

10
SOUTHERNERS OPPOSE RECONSTRUCTION

• Texas elected ex-Confederates to Congress in an
  attempt to counter the Radical Republican control
  of Congress.
• Texan representatives refused to ratify the 13th,
  14th, and 15th amendments which granted rights to
  African Americans.
• Southern states enforced black codes, or laws
  limiting the rights of African Americans.
• The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) used violence and threats
  to prevent African Americans from voting.
• As a response to Southern opposition, Congress
  declared military rule in the South until states
  met certain requirements of Reconstruction.

11
Constitutional Changes after the Civil War

• 13th Amendment-abolished slavery

12
Constitutional Changes after the Civil War

• 14th Amendment - extended citizenship rights to
  former slaves and established due process under
  the law

13
Constitutional Changes after the Civil War

• 15th Amendment-extended voting rights to all
  males, including former slaves, of voting age

14
RECONSTRUCTION TIMELINE IN TEXAS

• DATE EVENT(s)
• 1865
• Civil War Ends Freedman's Bureau is established.
• Lincoln is assassinated.
• Thirteenth Amendment is ratified.
• 1866
• Civil Rights Act is passed over Johnson's veto.
• 1867
• First Reconstruction Act.
• 1868
• Fourteenth Amendment is ratified. Ku Klux Klan
  begins.

15
RECONSTRUCTION TIMELINE IN TEXAS

• 1870
• 15th Amendment is ratified
• 1876
• Texas writes a new Constitution and is readmitted
  with full rights as a state in the United States
• 1881
• Tuskeegee Institute is founded to educate
  freedmen
• 1890-1900
• Blacks are effectively deprived of the vote in
  the South
• 1896
• Plessy vs. Ferguson legalizes segregation
  throughout the United States

16
Reconstruction in Texas How did they react?

• Complete the How Did They React? Activity. As
  you review each points of the two Reconstruction
  plans, decide how the identified groups would
  react to this provision and indicate with a happy
  face or sad face

17
(No Transcript)
18
Complete the Free At Last Group Simulation
19
RECONSTRUCTION VOCABULARY

• Review the vocabulary for homework for a possible
  quiz