Reconstruction in the South


This essay will describe the events that occurred following the Civil
War in a period known as Reconstruction. In the South, during this period of
time many people suffered from the great amount of property damage done to such
things as farms, factories, railroads and several other things that citizens
depended on to keep their economy strong. Some of these economic hardships
included destruction of the credit system and worthless Confederate money.
Though statistics in the South were vague the historian E.B. Long, a careful
student of war strengths suggests “perhaps 750,000 individuals would be
reasonably a close” as an estimate of Southern enrollments in the armies and
navy.

In the South Reconstruction meant rebuilding the economy, establishing
new state and local governments and establishing a new social structure between
whites and blacks. During the war Lincoln had expanded his presidency. With
his power he hoped to set up loyal governments in the Southern states that were
under Union control. Lincoln appointed new temporary governors and instructed
each to call a convention to create a new state government as soon as a group of
the state's citizen totaling 10 percent of the voters in the 1860 presidential
election had signed oaths of loyalty to the Union. Under this plan new
governments were formed in Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas but the Congress
refused to recognize them. Republicans in Congress did not want a quick
restoration, for the reason that it would bring Democratic representatives and
senators to Washington, and in 1864 Congress passed the Wade-Davis
Reconstruction Bill. This bill would have delayed the process of rejoining the
Union until 50 percent of the people took an oath of loyalty but Lincoln pocket
vetoed the bill. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated just as the South surrendered
in April 1865, and then Andrew Johnson inherited the problem of Reconstruction.
Johnson supported Lincoln's plan after taking office.

Enough Confederates signed these oaths to enable the immediate creation
of new governments. Johnson required that the new states ratify the 13th
Amendment freeing the slaves, abolish slavery in their own constitutions,
discard debts incurred while in rebellion, and declare secession null and void.
By the end of 1865 all of the secessionist states but Texas had rejoined the
Union. Radical Republicans in Congress thought they should control
Reconstruction and wished to punish the South for causing the Civil War. Some
of these Republicans wished to create a Southern society where blacks and whites
were equal. These Republicans opposed the Southern “Black Codes.” Black Codes
were harsh local and state laws passed to control blacks in the South after the
Civil War.

The Radical Republicans reconstruction plan included the passage of the
13th Amendment and established the Freedman's Bureau(Jackson made the 13th
Amendment part of his plan). The Freedman's Bureau is an agency of the Federal
government set up in 1865 to help former slaves and other persons suffering from
the effects of the Civil War. This reconstruction plan also included passage of
a Civil Rights bill and the 14th Amendment(all of these were opposed by Johnson).
The 13th Amendment said: “Neither slavery nor forced labor shall exist within
the United States or its possessions except as a punishment for one convicted of
a crime. Congress may make laws to enforce this article.” The 14th Amendment
said in section four: “The Federal Government shall pay all its debts,
including debts contracted in putting down rebellion. But neither federal nor
state governments may pay debts contracted by aiding a rebellion against the
United States, nor pay anyone for the loss of slaves.” Only Tennessee ratified
the 14th amendment and was allowed to rejoin the Union by Radicals. The
remaining ten Confederate states were occupied by United States troops.
Southern states had to write a new constitution guaranteeing political rights to
blacks. The 15th Amendment said: “Neither federal nor state governments can
deny any citizen the right to vote because of his race or color, or because he
was once in bondage. Congress can pass laws for carrying out this article.”
Passage of this amendment was mandatory for the last four states to re-enter.

Andrew Johnson had opposed Radical Reconstruction and had many vetoes
overridden. Congress tried to reduce his power through the Command of Army and
Tenure of Office Acts. The Command of Army act took away some of the
president's power as Commander and Chief of the Army and the Tenure of Office
Acts said the president could not remove a federal official without the Senate's
agreement. In 1868 Johnson was accused of violating the Tenure of Office Act
and was impeached by the House. At the Senate trial he was acquitted by one
vote.

In the South during the Reconstruction period the new state government
were dominated by scalawags, who were Southern whites who supported
Reconstruction and who used political power chiefly for political gain, and
carpetbaggers who were Northerners who went to the South after the Civil War and
entered politics there often for personal gain. Blacks took part in the new
governments(generally voting Republican- a goal of some radicals). Though some
reforms were carried out, Reconstruction governments were plagued by
corruption(this was a national problem of the Great Administration).

At the end of the Reconstruction period Southern Democrats(including
many ex-Confederates) were gradually winning home rule. Whites regained total
control by 1877 when troops were removed. Restrictions were put on blacks
political rights and eventually laws were passed that discriminated against
blacks, these were called “Jim Crow Laws”. The Ku Klux Klan founded in 1866 to
keep blacks from voting, had been controlled by the army, but now was free of
that control(though it actually reached it's peak of power in the 1920's).