22. Effects of Reconstruction on freedmen, and on the White South :)

This website has information on the freedmen of the Civil War.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/freedmen.htm

Pages 479-481 Freedmen Define Freedom & Freedmen's Bureau
Page 483 Presidential Reconstruction (Right column, first paragraph) up to 484
Pages 484-485 Black Codes & Congressional Reconstruction
Page 491 Radical Reconstruction in the South
Page 492 Definition of Carpetbaggers
Pages 493-494 The KKK

• The minority radical group believed that the South should atone more painfully for its sins. Before the South should be restored, the radicals wanted its social structure uprooted, the haughty planters punished, and the newly emancipated blacks protected by federal power.





• Among the first acts of the new Southern regimes sanctioned by Johnson was the passage of the irontoothed Black Codes.
• Black Codes were established by state legislatures to keep the former slaves "under control". (Obviously, they infuriated the North) They varied from state to state and did give blacks some rights they did not have before: the power to sue in court, own certain kinds of property, and legally marry. However, they also prohibited them from bearing arms, working in most occupations other than farming and manual labor, or leaving their jobs without permission.





• Now the slave was 5/5 of a person.
• The sight of former slaves holding office deeply offended their onetime masters, who lashed out with particular fury at the freedmen's white allies, labeling them "carpetbaggers."
• Freedman's Bureau was designed to help the freed slaves during their transition from slavery to freedom by providing food, education, and other support.





• The rebel states were entitled to twelve more votes in Congress & twelve more presidential electoral votes...Who really won the war?
• Many whites resented the success and ability of black legislators
• A number of secret organizations mushroomed forth...The most notorious--> "Invisible Empire of the South" or Ku Klux Klan (founded in Tennessee in 1866)

1865
Southern states begin to pass "Black Codes" ­ these laws subject former slaves to a variety of restrictions on their freedom: they forbid blacks to testify against whites; they establish vagrancy and apprenticeship laws; blacks cannot serve on juries, bear arms, or hold large meetings.
1865
The Thirty-ninth Congress convenes ­ It is the first session since Lincolnís death. All Confederates states, with the exception of Mississippi have formally accepted presidential requirements for readmission to the Union and representation in Congress. Led by radical Thaddeus Stevens, the House simply omits the southerners from roll call, effectively denying them admittance. It then proceeds to discuss punishment for the rebellious South which according to Radical Republican Charles Sumner has committed "state suicide".
1865
The Ku Klux Klan is formed in Tennessee ­ it is one of the many secret societies set up to terrorize blacks. Its methods become ever more vicious as whites become more certain that their old way of life is being threatened.
1866
Johnson vetoes Freedmenís Bureau bill and Civil Rights Act of 1866; a modified version of the Freedmenís Bureau bill later passes.

1866
14th Amendment passed by Congress ­ grants full citizenship to blacks, gives the Federal government the responsibility to protect equal rights under the law to all American citizens.

Essay Question

What was the purpose of the KKK? What did they hope to achieve? What methods did they use?

Liliannis Ochoa