The document discusses the economic, physical, and social challenges facing both the North and South after the Civil War. The North struggled with unemployment as soldiers returned home while the South's economy and infrastructure were devastated by the war. Former slaves faced uncertainty without jobs or means to provide for themselves. Early reconstruction plans aimed to restore southern states on the condition of loyalty to the Union. However, the Black Codes restricted rights of African Americans, leading Congress to take control through amendments guaranteeing rights and protections for freed slaves.
2. Northern Postwar Problems
Economic problems in the
North:
800,000 Union soldiers
were returning to the
north where there were
no jobs
There was no longer a
need for so many
factories, so there were a
lot of layoffs
4. Southern Postwar Problems
Financially the South
was destroyed
Confederate money
was worthless
The plantation
economy which had
depended mostly on
slavery was now
ended
5. Physically the South was
Destroyed
In some areas all homes, barns
and bridges were destroyed.
Mostof the south’s railroads
were totally destroyed
6. Problems That Would Arise From
The Ruins
About 4 million former
slaves were now free
(“Freedmen”) but had
little opportunity for jobs
or any hope of providing
for their families.
Hundreds of thousands
of veterans were also
created by the war.
7. Early Steps Toward Reconstruction
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan (1863)
Under this plan, a southern state could
form a new government after 10% of its
voters swore an oath of loyalty to the
United States.
8. The Freedmen’s Bureau
Government agency formed to help former
slaves
Gave food and clothing to former slaves
Helped them find jobs
Helped poor whites as well
Provided health care for more than 1
million people
9. The Freedmen’s Bureau’s Most
Important Tasks
Being involved in teaching former slaves
and their children to read
The agency laid the foundation for the
South’s public school system
It also created colleges for African
Americans
10. Johnson’s Plan
A majority of voters from each
southern state had to pledge loyalty
to the United States
Each state also had to ratify the
Thirteenth Amendment (1865) which
had banned slavery throughout the
nation
11. The South’s Black Codes
African Americans couldn’t vote,
own guns or serve on juries
They could marry legally and own
some kinds of property
12. Congress Takes Action
Members of Congress known as Radical
Republicans vowed to take control of
Reconstruction
Two main goals:
They wanted to break the power of wealthy
planters who had long ruled the South
They wanted to ensure that freedmen
received the right to vote
13. Republicans Start To Take Control
They passed the Civil
Rights Act (1866)
however, fearing the
Supreme Court would
declare it
unconstitutional, they
proposed the 14th
Amendment
14. 14th Amendment
Defined citizens as “all persons born
or naturalized in the United States”
Guaranteed citizens “equal protection
of the laws”
Forbade states to “deprive any person
of life, liberty or property without due
process of law”
15. Radical Reconstruction
Under the Reconstruction Act (1867)
Congress threw out any state’s government
that did not ratify the 14th Amendment
To rejoin the Union, states had to write new
constitutions and ratify the 14th Amendment
16. Johnson Is Almost Impeached
Republicans decided to remove Johnson
from office after he tried to limit what
they could do with Reconstruction
They decided to impeach him, or bring
formal charges against him.
17. Grant Is Nominated for
President
Republicans nominate
Ulysses S. Grant for
President.
Southern
governments allowed
African American men
to vote, and as a
result Grant easily
won the election.
18. The Fifteenth Amendment
Proposed in 1869
Forbade any state to deny any citizen
the right to vote because of “race,
color, or previous condition of
servitude”
19. Three Groups Step In As Leaders
In The South
First were the scalawags:
Seen as traitors by some
They were white businesspeople who had
opposed secession in 1860
They wanted to forget the war and just rebuild the
South.
20. Second, were the carpetbaggers:
Northernerswho came to the south
after the war hoping to get rich from
the South’s misery
Third, were African Americans
They became sheriffs, mayors, and
legislators in the new government
21. The Rise of Vigilante Groups
These groups were radical in their
way of thinking
The KKK (Ku Klux Klan) frightened,
threatened, and killed African
Americans that were not obedient.
22. A Cycle of Poverty
Sharecropping
Freedmen and poor whites who went to
work on large plantations
They rented and farmed a plot of land
Planters provided seed, fertilizer, and tools
in return for a share of the crop at harvest
time
23. Life after Reconstruction
Southerners passed poll taxes- requiring voters
to pay a fee each time they voted.
They imposed literacy tests that required voters
to read and explain a section of the Constitution.
Segregation became the law in the South
Law that would separate whites and blacks
24. Plessy v. Ferguson
The Supreme Court ruled that
segregation was legal as long as
facilities for blacks and whites were
equal.
25. The Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought
forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in
Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men
are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and
so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great
battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a
portion of that field, as a final resting place for those
who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It
is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.