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The Freedsmens Bureau
The Freedmen's Bureau provided food, housing and medical aid, established schools and offered legal assistance. It also attempted to settle former slaves on land confiscated or abandoned during the war. -
President Lincoln is Assassinated
John Wilkes Booth was a Confederate sympathizer. He felt that the war was ending and that the South was going to lose unless they did something drastic. He gathered some partners together and first made a plan to kidnap President Lincoln. When his kidnapping plan failed he turned to assassination. -
The 13th Amendment is passed
The Thirteenth Amendment made slavery illegal in the United States. It was adopted as part of the Constitution on December 6, 1865. -
Civil right Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens, "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude." Although President Andrew Johnson vetoed the legislation, that veto was overturned by the 39th United States Congress -
Ku Klax Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a the Secret Society based in the South. The original Ku Klux Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee on December 24, 1865 during the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War. The goal of the original Ku Klux Klan was to oppose the Reconstruction policies of the radical Republican Congress and to maintain "white supremacy." -
Military Reconstruction Acts
They wanted to punish the South, and to prevent the ruling class from continuing in power. They passed the Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which divided the South into five military districts and outlined how the new governments would be designed. -
Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment Trial
The primary charge against Johnson was that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress in March 1867 over Johnson's veto. Specifically, he had removed from office Edwin Stanton, the secretary of war whom the act was largely designed to protect. -
Election of Ulysses S. grant
Grant was influenced by both political forces of reform and corruption. In 1872, Senator Charles Sumner, labeled corruption in the Grant administration "Grantism". The unprecedented way that Grant ran his cabinet, in a military-style rather than civilian, contributed to the scandals. -
14th Amendment
Grant was influenced by both political forces of reform and corruption.In 1872, Senator Charles Sumner, labeled corruption in the Grant administration "Grantism". The unprecedented way that Grant ran his cabinet, in a military style rather than civilian, contributed to the scandals. In 1875, Grant signed the landmark Civil Rights Act, ending separation in public accommodations and more. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment guaranteed African-American men the right to vote. Almost immediately after ratification, African Americans began to take part in running for office and voting. -
Reconstruction Ends
The Compromise of 1877 was an informal agreement between southern Democrats and allies of the Republican Rutherford Hayes to settle the result of the 1876 presidential election and marked the end of the Reconstruction era.