Chapter 18 The Reconstruction Era (1865-1896)

Lesson1 Reconstruction Plans

Reconstruction Debate

• The Union was saved
• Now the challenge was reuniting and rebuilding the country
• The Southern states needed to be readmitted
• The Southern economy and society also needed to be rebuilt
• Americans disagreed on how this should happen
• The period of rebuilding is called Reconstruction
• Also refers to the various plans for readmitting the Southern states to the Union

Lincoln’s Plan

• December 1863, during the Civil War
• Lincoln introduced the Ten Percent Plan
• When 10% of the voters of a state took an oath of loyalty to the Union, the state could form a new government
• And adopt a new constitution that banned slavery
• Lincoln believed that punishing the South would serve no purpose and would only delay healing the torn nation

Lincoln’s Plan Continued

• Lincoln offered amnesty (a pardon)
• To all white Southerners who were willing to swear loyalty to the Union
• Except Confederate leaders
• 1864- 3 states under Union occupation (Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee) set up governments under the plan
• But the Congress refused to seat the states’ representatives

The Radicals’ Plan

• Some Republicans saw Lincoln’s plan too forgiving
• They favored a more radical approach and were called the Radical Republicans
• Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens said that Southern institutions “must be broken up and relaid, or all our blood and treasure have been spent in vain”
• Congress was controlled by the Radical Republicans and voted to deny seats to representatives from any state that was readmitted under Lincoln’s plan

Wade-Davis Bill

• July 1864- Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill
• To rejoin the Union, a state had to meet several requirements
• 1. A majority of the state’s white males had to swear loyalty to the Union
• 2. Only white males who swore they had not fought against the Union could vote for delegates to a state constitutional convention
• 3. New state constitutions had to ban slavery
• The bill would also ban former Confederates from holding public office

Lincoln’s Response

• Lincoln refused to sign the Wade-Davis Bill
• But he wanted state governments to form quickly
• Lincoln wanted order restored in the South as soon as possible
• Lincoln would have to compromise with the Radical Republicans

Section 1

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

Which of the following was a provision of the Wade-Thomas Bill?

A. African American males in a state � had to swear loyalty to the Union.

B. Former Confederates could � not hold public office.

C. Confederate states could be � admitted to the Union even if � they kept slavery.

D. Half of all delegates to a constitutional convention� had to be formerly enslaved people.

The Freedmen’s Bureau

• March 1865- Lincoln and Congress set up the Freedmen’s Bureau
• The bureau helped African Americans adjust to freedom
• It provided food, clothing, and medical services
• Also helped freed people acquire land or find work for fair wages
• Also set up schools and gave aid to new African American institutions of higher learning
• Including Atlanta University, Howard University, and Fisk University

April 14^th, 1865

• President Lincoln attended a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.
• John Wilkes Booth entered the private box and shot Lincoln in the head
• Lincoln died hours later
• Vice President Andrew Johnson became president
• Johnson soon revealed his plan for Reconstruction (Called- Restoration)

Restoration

• Johnson’s plan would grant amnesty to most Southerners once they swore loyalty to the Union
• High-ranking Confederates could be pardoned only by appealing to the president
• This showed that Johnson wanted to humiliate the leaders who he believed had tricked the South’s people into seceding
• Johnson said only loyal, pardoned whites could vote for delegates to the state constitutional conventions
• Johnson stated “white men alone must manage the South
• Johnson opposed equal rights for African Americans

Restoration Continued

• States had to denounce secession and ban slavery before reentering the Union
• States also had to ratify the 13^th amendment (Abolished slavery in the US)
• By the end of 1865 all former confederate states had new governments and were ready to rejoin the Union
• Except Texas

Section 1

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

What did the Thirteenth Amendment accomplish?

A. It welcomed former Confederate � states back into the Union.

B. It made secession illegal.

C. It pardoned Confederate � leaders.

D. It abolished slavery throughout � the Union.

Chapter 18 Lesson 1 Quiz

The period after the Civil War is know as Rebuilding.

1. True
2. False

The Ten Percent Plan required 10 percent of the voters of a state to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy.

1. True
2. False

In 1864 the Union army occupied Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

1. True
2. False

The Wade-Davis Bill countered the Ten Percent Plan.

1. True
2. False

Lincoln was assassinated while attending a play.

1. True
2. False

The period of rebuilding the South after the Civil War was called

1. amnesty.
2. war spoils.
3. Reconstruction.
4. Civil War Rebuilding.

What is the name of the decree that required a majority of the white males in a state to swear loyalty to the Union?

1. Ten Percent Plan
2. Wade-Davis Bill
3. Reconstruction Bill
4. Freedmen's Bureau

African Americans were helped to make the transition to freedom by the

1. Wade-Davis Plan.
2. Ten Percent Plan.
3. Reconstruction Act.
4. Freedmen's Bureau.

President Abraham Lincoln was shot at

1. the White House.
2. Ford's Theater.
3. Samuel Mudd's house.
4. William Petersen's house.

The person who was president after Lincoln was

1. Andrew Johnson.
2. Daniel Webster.
3. John C. Calhoun.
4. Andrew Jackson.
5. Abraham Lincoln Jr.

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