Lesson 2: Reconstructing the South

Lesson Focus

After the Civil War, leaders clashed over rebuilding the nation. This lesson explores the conflict between presidential plans for a quick, lenient restoration and Congress's demand for a stricter, more transformative Reconstruction of the South.

People to Know

Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson

Learning Objectives

• Compare presidential Reconstruction plans under Lincoln and Johnson with the stricter plans of the Radical Republicans in Congress.
• Explain how Southern “black codes” and the return of Confederate leaders led to support for a harsher approach to Reconstruction.

After the Civil War, President Lincoln wanted to quickly restore the nation.
He offered amnesty, or a pardon, to Southerners who pledged loyalty, proposing that a state could be readmitted when 10% of its voters took the oath.
President Andrew Johnson tried to continue this lenient approach, but Radical Republicans in Congress rejected it, arguing it was too soft and failed to protect the rights of newly freed African Americans.

As a result of Johnson's lenient policies, former Confederate leaders quickly regained control in the South.
These new state legislatures passed harsh laws known as “black codes,” which severely limited the rights of African Americans and kept them in a subordinate status, unable to vote, serve on juries, or handle weapons.
This defiance outraged Northerners and strengthened the Radical Republicans, who believed a stricter form of Reconstruction was necessary to transform Southern society.

The Radical Republicans clashed with President Johnson over his vetoes of laws protecting freedmen.
In 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act over his veto and then proposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which defined citizenship to include African Americans and guaranteed them “equal protection of the laws.”
Pay special attention to this power shift: after winning the 1866 elections, Congress, not the President, had the clear authority to lead Reconstruction policy.

Now in full control, Radical Republicans passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867.
This act abolished the existing Southern governments and placed the South under military rule. To be readmitted, states had to write new constitutions that allowed black men to vote and ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
Later, the Fifteenth Amendment was passed to further protect voting rights, showing how Radicals used federal power to enforce equality and loyalty in the South.

Because the Reconstruction Act disenfranchised many former Confederates, new groups took power.
So-called “carpetbag governments” were formed, led by Southern Unionists (scalawags) and Northerners who moved South (carpetbaggers). While some were corrupt, they also rebuilt infrastructure and established the South's first public school systems.
Note that these governments represented a major, though temporary, shift in Southern political power, supported by newly enfranchised black voters.

To stop President Johnson from obstructing their plans, Radicals passed laws like the Tenure of Office Act.
When Johnson defied this act by firing his Secretary of War, the House of Representatives voted to impeach him. The Senate trial in 1868 fell just one vote short of conviction.
Although Johnson was acquitted, he was left powerless. This cleared the way for the Radicals to secure the presidency by electing Ulysses S. Grant.