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As the Civil War ended, Americans wondered, "What happens next?". African Americans had been freed, but they didn't know what their role would look like in the new America. White Northerners wanted Southern states to rejoin the Union, but without Southern politicians controlling the reconstruction of the South. What did the South have to do to rejoin the Union? What happened to the newly freed African Americans? Let's take a closer look!
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Team Reconstruction Period Teachers
The Reconstruction period began in 1865 as the Civil War came to a close. With the Compromise of 1877, this period ended. It was a time when Radical Republicans attempted to change the South while giving more freedoms and rights to African Americans. To simplify this period, let's look at a timeline!
Let us take a look at the timeline in the reconstruction period.
| Date | Event |
| April 9, 1865 | The Civil War came to an end. |
| April 15, 1865 | Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and Andrew Johnson became president. |
| 1865 | Southern politicians passed the Black Codes under Andrew Johnson. |
| December 6, 1865 | Congress passed the 13th Amendment. |
| June 13, 1866 | Congress passed the 14th Amendment. |
| March 2, 1867 | Reconstruction Act of 1867 became law. |
| February 24, 1868 | Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives. |
| May 16, 1868 | Andrew Johnson was acquitted by the Senate. |
| March 4, 1869 | Ulysses S. Grant became president. |
| February 3, 1870 | Congress passed the 15th Amendment. |
| January 29, 1877 | Compromise of 1877. |
| March 3, 1877 | Rutherford B. Hayes became president. |
The Civil War came to an end in 1865. President Abraham Lincoln passed the 13th Amendment, which ended the practice of slavery in America. All formerly enslaved people had to find their place in this new world. People wondered what kind of assistance Abraham Lincoln planned to give to the South and the newly freed people.
Fig 1: We don't know the specifics of Abraham Lincoln's plan for Southern Reconstruction, only that he planned to allow them to rejoin the Union easily.
Before Lincoln could cement his plan, he was assassinated in 1865. We don't know what Lincoln's entire plan was, but we do know that he planned to allow Southern states to rejoin the Union once ten percent of the men who voted in the 1860 election swore loyalty to the Union. Lincoln's successor, President Andrew Johnson, subsequently based his plan on Lincoln's.
Andrew Johnson was a Southern Republican and the only one who didn't leave the Union during the Civil War. Lincoln hoped that the Confederate states would rejoin the Union because he chose a Southern Republican as his vice president. The Republicans hoped that Johnson would side with them and punish the Southern states for the war.
Johnson was lenient with the South and followed Lincoln's plan of allowing Southern states to rejoin the Union if ten percent of the men who voted in the 1860 election pledged their loyalty. If they pledged allegiance, Johnson granted them immunity for their roles in the Civil War. He would also return any land that was confiscated. They had to rewrite their state constitutions and send representatives to Washington.
Land was confiscated from people who owned enslaved people. The land was often divided among the formerly enslaved people. Johnson took the land from the newly freed people and gave it back to the white people who had owned them. Andrew Johnson didn't want to pass legislation that would assist African Americans outside the 13th Amendment.
Southern states passed a series of laws that historians call the Black Codes. This legislation intended to reestablish the plantation system in a way that wasn't legally considered enslavement. African Americans were legally required to have a job. If they didn't, then they would be arrested.
Black people had to sign year-long contracts, frequently with their former enslaver. They weren't allowed to negotiate a better contract, either. If they quit, they were required to pay their employer however much he had paid them throughout their employment. If the employee couldn't pay this debt, the employer was allowed to sell them to another employer.
This system was very similar to the enslavement system, but with enough slight differences to be legal. Under the Black Codes, African Americans were unable to employ other African Americans. Plus, the wages weren't equivalent to the hard labor they had to do.
Radical Republicans wanted African American men to have the right to vote. They wanted to build schools and homes for African American people, and grant them land and compensation. Radical Republicans also realized that if they gave black people the right to vote, they would vote for the people who supported them, the Republicans. This would keep Confederate politicians out of office.
Fig 2: Thaddeus Stevens was the outspoken leader of the Radical Republicans. He believed African American men should have the right to vote because it was the "right thing to do".
The Radical Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which gave more rights to African American men. Johnson attempted to veto this act, but Congress overturned his veto. That same year, Congress passed the 14th Amendment, which took two years to ratify. This Amendment defined citizenship as anyone born within the United States.
Citizenship and Native Americans
Though the 14th Amendment defined citizenship, Congress was sure to exclude indigenous people. Indigenous people weren't considered citizens until 1824. They were unable to vote in every state until 1948. Indigenous people, like African Americans, were prevented from voting until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The Radical Republicans created the Reconstruction Act of 1867 to define and enforce the terms of the Southern former Confederate states to rejoin the Union. These states were divided into five regions, each with a different Union military general in charge. The general had to register all eligible men in that state to vote, including African Americans. The general presided over constitutional conventions and protected African Americans.
All registered men voted when the constitution was drafted. The general ensured that registered African Americans were able to vote safely. Lastly, the states had to ratify the 13th and 14th Amendments.
Fig 3: This map shows the different divisions of the former Confederate states under the Reconstruction Act of 1867.
In 1867, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited the President from letting go members of his cabinet who Congress approved. This meant that Andrew Johnson was unable to fire his Republican cabinet members. Johnson disliked the Reconstruction Act of 1867, but couldn't change it. Instead, he fired the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. This violated the Tenure of Office Act and was legal grounds to impeach Johnson.
On February 24, 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson. This meant that they recognized that the President had broken the law. On May 16 of that same year, the Senate voted that Johnson didn't have to leave office.
Fig 4: Photograph of Andrew Johnson.
It wasn't that the Senate believed that Johnson was innocent, but this was the first impeachment in United States history. If the Senate allowed Johnson's removal from office, it would set a precedent. The Senate didn't believe they had the power to remove the President from office.
Ulysses S. Grant won the next presidential election, and his term began in 1869. Grant had led the Union army during the Civil War and was beloved by Northern Americans. Grant aligned with the Radical Republicans and assisted in passing the 15th Amendment in 1870. This Amendment gave African American men the right to vote.
Grant's presidency saw many changes in the advancement of African Americans and the state of the Southern states. Grant's time in office marked the beginning of the end of the Reconstruction Period.
Hiram Revels
When discussing the Reconstruction Era, it is easy to get lost in the larger picture and overlook the contributions made by African Americans. In 1870, Hiram Revels was the first African American to have a seat in the Senate. Not only did he win a seat, but he also took it from the former President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis. This was a significant achievement for African Americans.
The Reconstruction Period ended with the Compromise of 1877, also known as the Great Betrayal. At this point, Southern Democrats felt that the Northern Republicans held too much power over the South. The Southern Republicans, according to the Southern Democrats, were traitors. They threatened and murdered Republicans in the South in a process they called redemption.
Fig 5: Rutherford Hayes became president in 1877.
In the election of 1877, it was unclear who won. The Southern Democrats agreed to give Rutherford Hayes the election if he agreed to their terms. Federal troops were to be removed from the South; this meant that there would be no one to protect African Americans. Federal aid must be given to the Texas Transcontinental Railroad, and Hayes had to name a Southern Democrat to his cabinet. These terms essentially ended Reconstruction.
Without the United States military in the South, there was no one to prevent racist white Southerners from terrorizing African Americans. White Southerners prevented African Americans from voting by threatening, firing, and murdering them. When there were more Southern democrats in power, they passed legislation to prevent African Americans from voting.
The South undid the progress made during the Reconstruction period. It wouldn't be until the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s that African Americans were able to take these rights back.
During the Reconstruction Period, African Americans gained many rights. Even though these rights were taken away during the Post-Reconstruction era, African Americans were eventually able to take them back. This period faced many challenges, like the Ku Klux Klan and Southerners looking for "redemption", but African Americans were able to preserve and survive.
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How was the federal government affected by the Reconstruction Period?
The federal government was affected by the Reconstruction Period as it passed legislation that granted African Americans more rights. Southern states didn't like this form of legislation and wanted to be allowed to control reconstruction on their own.
What was the Reconstruction Period?
The Reconstruction Period began after the Civil War ended and lasted until 1877. It was a time for the federal and state governments to rebuild the South and determine how Southern states would rejoin the Union.
What were the lasting effects of the Reconstruction Period?
The two most significant lasting effects of the Reconstruction Period were the passing of the 14th and 15th Amendments. This legislation gave African Americans equal access to citizens and African American men voting rights. Although African American men could vote, it wouldn't be until the Voting Rights Act in 1965 that their right to vote was protected.
What was a major result of the Reconstruction Period?
Three major results of the Reconstruction Period were the South rejoining the Union, and the passing of the 14th and 15th Amendments. These amendments gave African Americans equal access to citizenship and voting rights.
What happened during the reconstruction period?
During the Reconstruction Period, Southern and Northern politicians argued over who would be responsible for rebuilding the South. The Democrats were allowed to do so until the period of the New South when Southerners took control of rebuilding.
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