The American Vision © 2008

Chapter 10: Reconstruction

Chapter Overviews

This chapter takes a look at the policies, programs, and protections instituted during Reconstruction that changed the lives of former Confederates, freed African Americans, and impacted Southern politics for nearly a century.

Section 1 describes the debate over Reconstruction. President Lincoln’s plans for Reconstruction called for leniency toward the South and a quick reconciliation. Radical Republicans in Congress, however, wanted to reform the South. Meanwhile, the Freedmen’s Bureau offered federal assistance to newly freed African Americans who faced many challenges. After Lincoln’s assassination, President Johnson introduced a restoration plan that resembled Lincoln’s moderate policy. The election of former Confederate leaders to Congress angered Republicans. These Southerners passed black codes that restricted the rights of African Americans. Radical Republicans opposed Johnson’s plan as too lenient on the South and gained control of Congress. They passed the Military Reconstruction Act, imposing federal military control over the South. Under the protection of federal troops and new Constitutional amendments, Southern African Americans began exercising their newly won right to vote.

Section 2 describes how white Southerners and African Americans responded to their new society under Republican Reconstruction. Opponents of Reconstruction grew resentful of Republican control in the South. Many Southerners resented the "Black Republican" governments that they thought controlled Southern politics. African Americans took leadership roles in the Southern governments, sought educational opportunities, and established churches and social organizations. Republican reforms repealed the black codes, expanded public services, repaired the transportation system, and created a public education system. Opposing these reforms, secret resistance societies, such as the Ku Klux Klan, spread through the South, terrorizing Republican supporters and African Americans. As acts of violence grew rampant, Congress passed three Enforcement Acts to combat disturbances in the South.

Section 3 follows the collapse of Reconstruction. President Grant lacked the political experience needed to guide the nation through Reconstruction. During his first term in office, the Republican-controlled Congress continued promoting its Reconstruction policies. Their economic policies angered many Southerners and convinced Liberal Republicans to join Southern Democrats in opposing Grant. During Grant's second term, a series of political scandals and a severe economic crisis hurt Republican authority in Congress. With the election of 1874, Democrats returned to power in Congress. As Democratic power spread, Americans' attention turned to growing economic concerns. After a disputed presidential election, a special commission voted Rutherford B. Hayes into the White House. Hayes pulled federal troops out of the South, ending Reconstruction. While some tried to build a "New South," many African Americans found themselves living once again in a society where they had little political power and few economic opportunities.

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