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Lincoln's Plan
Abraham Lincoln offers amnesty to all Southerners who swear loyalty to the United States and accept the Union's proclamations concerning slavery. -
Radical Republicans
Argued with Lincoln and did not want to reconcile with the South. They wanted to prevent Confederate leaders from returning to power, to have the Republican Party to have more power in the South, and help African Americans achieve political equality. -
Wade- Davis Bill
This bill required the majority of the adult white males in a former Confederate state to take an oath of allegiance to the Union. -
President Johnson's Plan
Johnson initiated a restoration plan similiar to taht of Lincoln's. Johnson offered to pardon all former citizens of the Confederacy who took an oath of loyalty to the Union and to return their property. In this plan, Johnson excluded former Confederate officers and officials, as well as those with more than $20,000 in debt. -
The Fourteenth Amendment
This amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. Also, this declared that no state could deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of life. This amendment stated that all people had equal protection of the laws. -
African Americans in Politics
Many African Americans began to organize politically, since they had the right to vote. All leadership roles were given to the individuals who had been educated before the war. After a couple of years, many African Americans became legislators and administrators working in almost all levels of government. -
The Republicans Split
With the Radical Republicans initiating "sin taxes", tightening bank regulations, and keeping high tariffs, some Republican disagreed with these Radicals and agreed with the Democrats. These people, called Liberal Republicans, sided with the Democrats in that these new reforms only benefitted the wealthy and hurt the poor even more. They believed that the Radical Republicans had too much influence on Grant. -
African American Churches
Religion was a main aspect of the lives of many African Americans in the South. Becasue of this, many churches were built all throughout the South. Churches became common public meeting places for those living in African American communities. -
The Ku Klux Klan Forms
Secret socities in the South started to from, intending to drive out the carpetbaggers and intimidate African American voters. This, they believed, would help regain control of the South for the Democratic Party. The members of this society wouldburn African American homes, schools, and churches to scare people from voting. -
Republican Reforms
Newly elected Rublican governments went about instituting reforms within the country. They repealed the black codes, established state hospitals, orphanages, mental hospitals, and homes for the blind and deaf. They also rebuilt several rail tracks and bridges, while also establishing a public school system. -
The Panic of 1873
This wave of fear caused several small banks to close and caused the stock market to plummet. Thousands of businesses shut down and unemployment skyrocketed. This was brought about when Jay Cooke and Company made a series of bad railroad investments and had to declare bankruptcy. -
A Desire to Learn
A comprehensive school system was built in the 1970s by the Reconstruction government, teaching around 200, 000 former slaves. Six years later, about 40% of all African American children attended school. Universities and even law schools were built for African Americans in the South. -
"Redeeming" The South
In the 1870s, Southern Democrats worked to regain their state and local governments from the Republicans. To do this, they used secret societies, bribes, stuffing ballot boxes, and stealing ballot boxes. Southerners also used the call to all whites to "save" the South from "Black Republicans". -
The Compromise of 1877
Rutherford B. Hayes ran for the Republicans and Samuel Tilden ran for the Democrats. On election day, Tilden received 184 electoral votes, and Hayes received 165 elcetoral votes, leaving 20 votes in dispute. Election fraud on both sides called for a compromise. A 15 person committee made up of members of the House, Supreme Court, and the Senate. Republicans won the vote 8 to 7, with Rutherford B. Hayes winning. -
A "New South" Arises
Using help from wealthy Southerners and Northern financiers, the South looked to develop a strong industrial economy. 40, 000 miles of railroad tracks were built in the South. Soon after, tobacco processing and cotton mills became very popular in small towns. Despite this progression, the South remained agrarian. After the collapse of Reconstruction, African Americans lost all hopes that they could one day own land in the South, where they instead worked as tenant farmers.
