Reconstruction Period

Reconstruction Period Timeline

Let us take a look at the timeline in the reconstruction period.

Post Civil War Reconstruction Period

The Civil War came to an end in 1865. President Abraham Lincoln passed the 13^th 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.

Beginning of the Reconstruction Period

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.

Black Codes

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.

Rise of the Radical Republicans

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 14^th Amendment, which took two years to ratify. This Amendment defined citizenship as anyone born within the United States.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

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 13^th and 14^th Amendments.

Fig 3: This map shows the different divisions of the former Confederate states under the Reconstruction Act of 1867.

The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

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.

President Ulysses S. Grant

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 15^th 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.

Post Reconstruction Period

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.

Post Reconstruction South

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 Reconstruction Period

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.