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Lincoln's 10% Plan
Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction stated that if 10% of a state's voters, who voted in the 1860 presidential election, took an oath of loyalty to the Union then that state would be accepted into the Union and allowed to organize a new state government. Radical Republicans felt that Lincoln's plan was to lenient so they created their own plan for Reconstruction. -
Wade-Davis Bill
The Wade-Davis Bill, written by Senator Benjamin Wade and Representative Henry Winter Davis, was a bill proposed for Reconstruction. The bill required that the majority of white adult males in a former Confederate state take an oath of allegiance to the Union, which would then allow that state to create a new state constitution. Each state's constitution, however, had to abolish slavery. The bill died through a pocket veto since Lincoln did not agree with the bill. -
The Thirteenth Amendment
Proposed on January 31, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment officially outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. The Amendment was ratified on December 6, 1865. -
Robert E. Lee Surrenders
General Robert E. Lee, commander of Confederate forces during the Civil War, surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 at Appomatox Court House. -
Lincoln is Assassinated
Five days after Lee surrendered, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln's assassination was part of a larger conspiracy to eliminate top government officials. Booth and his co-conspirators were trying to revive the Confederate cause. However, Booth was the only one who successfully eliminated his target. -
Johnson's Plan for Reconstruction
After Lincoln's assassination, Johnson took over as president and, in the summer of 1865, he proposed his own plan for Reconstruction. Johnson's plan granted amnesty to those who took an oath of loyalty to the Union. However, the Southern elite were not granted amnesty unless they individually begged Johnson for pardon. It also required state to abolish slavery, but made no mention of rights for newly freed slaves. -
Freedman's Bureau
The Freedman's Bureau was a government agency established to help newly freed Afican Americans make the transition from slavery to freedom. The organization helped African Americans by providing job opportunities and supervising labor contracts. It also provided food, shelter, clothing, etc. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
Enacted April 9, 1866, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 was a federal law that intended to protect the civil rights of African Americans. It was vetoed by President Johnson twice, but eventually became law in April of 1866. -
Ku Klux Klan Established
The Ku Klux Klan was established by six Confederate veterans from Pulaski, Tennessee during Reconstruction. This was only the first of many appearances by the Klan in history. The Klan used violence to intimidate African Americans or those who assisted African Americans in any way. -
Congress Proposes the Fourteenth Amendment
Proposed in 1866, the Fourteenth Amendment grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and declares that no state could deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. It was ratified in 1868. -
Military Reconstruction
The Military Reconstruction Act divided the South into five military districts. It also put into effect the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment, which gave African Americans the right to vote. The Act also provided military protection for those African Americans who chose to vote. Johnson's plan was completely wiped out by Military Reconstruction and more Southern states were brought back into the Union. -
Johnson's Impeachment
In 1868, in order to remove Johnson from office, the Radical Republicans set Johnson up so that they could have him impeached. The Radical Republicans created two laws that limited Johnson's power as president knowing that Johnson would break the law in order to have it declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. After Johnson broke the law, the Radical Republicans began the process to have him impeached. Fortunately for Johnson, the Senate decided that he was not guilty. -
The Fifteenth Amendment
Ratified on February 3, 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment declares that the right to vote can not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. -
Ku Klux Klan Act
The Ku Klux Klan Act was on of three Enforcement Acts passed by Congress to combat the acts of violence in the South towards African Americans and African American supporters. It outlawed the activities of the Ku Klux Klan. -
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was the beginning of a severe economic depression in the United States and some European countries. The panic was caused by the fall in demand for silver. This economic depression lasted until the late 1870s and was one of a few things that took the focus away from the problems of the South and Reconstruction. -
"Whiskey Ring" Exposed
Exposed in 1875 by U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow, the Whiskey Ring was a political scandal that involved government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. The Whiskey Ring was a conspiracy created to help whiskey distillers and distributors avoid paying taxes to the U.S. government for their alcohol. During the presidential term of Grant, the Whiskey Ring took attention away from Reconstruction and exposed the corruption of the government at the time. -
Presidential Election of 1876
The presidential race between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden. It led to the Compromise of 1877 where Hayes was declared the winner, but also Reconstruction ended. -
Compromise of 1877
Effectively ending Reconstruction in the South, the Compromise of 1877 was an unofficial deal made between the Repulicans and Democrats in order to decide the winner of the presidential election in 1876. The Compromise consisted of the Democrats giving the Republicans the presidential win in exchange for the Republicans giving the Democrats the last three states that they controlled in the South. By giving the Democrats these states the Republicans gave them full control of the South.
