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Proclamation of Amnesty and Recostruction
Licoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which the Amnesty, or Pardon, to all southerners who had loyalty to the U.S and accepted the Unions Proclamation concernning slavery -
The Radical Republicans
Not everyone was happy with Lincolns New Plans he has been coming up with, the Radical Republicans formed, they had goals to push Lincoln back and destroy his plans. Although, they were a very racist bunch of people, they had to help out Africans in order to follow through on their plans. -
Wade Davis Bill
Since there was such a big disagreement with the Radical Republicans there were many moderate Republicans, who came up with an alternate plan, The Wade Davis Bill. It said each state would create a new government, abolish slavery, reject all debts the state had, and deprive all former militiamen as part as of office. -
Lincoln stops the WD Bill
Thinking about the goals preposed in the Wade Davis Bill, he felt issueing such a harsh bill would eventually work against him. Lincoln stopped the Wade Davis Bill with a Pocket Veto, which let the bill expire with out him signing it. -
Shermans march
Reconstruction left the South in chaos, leaving people poor, with no food, shelter, and money. Sherman marched through Georgia and South Carolina with thousands of freed African Americans to seek food and shelter to help themselves as little as they could. -
New President
Lincolns assassination shocked most everyone, and changed the politics of Reconstruction. Lincolns vice presdent, Andrew Johnson now took over and is president -
Reconstrucion Begins
President Licoln and congress issued Reconstruction, or rebuilding after the war. And the former Confederate states would rejoin the Union -
A new plan
Lincoln appointed military governors for regions under union control -
Proclamation of Amnesty
Johnson now had to make a plan of his own, which was just like Lincoln's. He issued the Proclamation of Amnesty. It offered to pardon all former citizens of the Confederacy who took an oath of loyalty to the Union and to return their property. The same day the Proclamation of North Carolina was issued and Johnson got his plans well underway. -
The Freedmens Bureau
After Sherman and the African Americans the Congress issued the Freedmen's Bureau. It had the task of feeding and clothing the war refugees in the South using surplus army supplies. The following year it prevented mass starvation. -
Black Codes
The new Southern state legistatures passed a series of laws known as the Black Codes, which limited the African Americans Rights once again. They had to have annual labor contracts and African American childern had to accept apprenticeships in some states and could be whipped or beaten at any time. The black codes enraged many Northerners. -
Buffalo Soldiers
Not only did the Freedmen's Bureau get education for the African Americans that opened up jobs for them, but also, they served in the U.S cavalry in some Units. They were stationed in the southwestern United States, where they were known as buffalo soliders. -
Civil Rights Act
They finally passed the Civil Rights Act. It granted citizenship to all persons born in the US except Indians. It allowed African Americans to own property and to be treated equally in court. -
Military Reconstruction Act
Congressional Republicans passed the Military Reconstruction Act, which got rid of Johnson's programs. The act divided the former confederacy (except Tennessee) into 5 military districts, and a Union General was placed in charge of each district. -
Impeachment
Johnson was so determined to challenge and defeat the Tenure of Office Act, Johnson fired Stanton. Stanton put up a big fight, and the House of Reps. saw it necessary to impeach-or remove from office- Johnson. The reason was high crimes and misdemeanors. -
Grant
Johnson was still in office with very little powers, so he could finish his term. General Grant was very popular in the North, and was elected to run for President, and won the Election. Grant was now the new president! -
15th Amendment
The African Americans finally got recongnized for their suffrage, so they passed the 15th Amendment. It stated: "The right to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." By March they made it part of the Constitution. -
Ku Klux Klan
Southerners did not like African Americans getting freedom, so they started secret societies, and one of the largest was known as the Ku Klux Klan. They targeted mainly African Americans, and people in the Union, and harrassed them by burning homes, schools and churches. They tried to keep Africans from voting. -
Carpetbaggers
As reconstruction kept going, many Northerners moved to the South and they became known as Carpetbaggers, because they all arrived with huge carpet like material suitcases. -
African Americans gain more power
African Americans started off as slaves, and having no power. But slowly started to make their way up the ladder. They were now legislators and administrators on nearly all levels of government! -
Republican Reforms
With the new Republican governments in the south, numerous republican reforms began. They repealed the black codes and made many more state offices elective. They established hospitals and institutions for orphans, rebuilt roads, railways, and bridges. But, all the reforms came with cost and it was hard for the government to pay it off. -
Sin Taxes
To be able to pay off the debts brought on my the bonds issued during the Civil War, the government kept taxes on Alcohol and tobacco that had been introduced as emergency measures due to debt. They were nicknamed "sin taxes" and no one was very happy about them -
Panic of 1873
In 1873 the stock market took a huge plumet, and rumors spread fear through out the country. Thousands of businesses shut down, and many Americans were thrown out of work. With the scandels and the economic damage, the Republicans were very hurt and the Democrats won shortly after. -
William Belknap
The time during Grant's second term a series of scandels gave the administrations reputation a bad name. William Belknap was found out to have accepted bribes from the merchants operating the army posts in the West. But, he resigned before they could impeach him. -
The Compromise of 1877
Grant had a horrible reputation with the scandals, the Republicans did not choose not to nominate him. But instead, nominate Rutherford B. Hayes (former gov. in Ohio) Hayes wanted to end reconstruction. But it was unclear on who won, and they did not give it to Hayes. But Hayes pulled the troops out of South Carolina, and Reconstruction was over! -
New Industries
Alliances between the South and North created great economic changes in the south. The North helped build 40000 miles of railroad, and the iron and steel industry started thriving. The south started to become industrialized thanks to the North -
Sharecroppers
The ruined Reconstruction also ruined the chances of African Americans being able to own land in the South. Many Africans returned to plantations owned by whites, where the worked for money, then most became sharecroppers which meant they paid their "rent" by crops. Reconstruction left many Africans in economic troubles.
