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Aims, effects & obstacles of post-Civil war efforts to rebuild economy & society of defeated Southern states.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Aims, effects & obstacles of post-Civil war efforts to rebuild economy & society of defeated Southern states.
Paper Introduction:
The period of Reconstruction is the era following the Civil War when the country set out to rebuild and to revive the economy of the devastated South. as the war ended, Lincoln faced the question of what to do with the states of the defeated Confederacy, an issue that elicited sharp disagreement among Northerners. Some felt that these states should make voters as well as freedmen of their slaves, and Lincoln said the important thing was to get these states back in their proper place in the Union. Lincoln was assassinated before he could do anything at all about the states of the Old South. Andrew Johnson, his successor, gave assurances that he would carry on with Lincoln's Reconstruction program, though he also gave the impression that he would deal more harshly than Lincoln would have with rebel leaders. The murder of Lincoln only added to that attitude.
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New York: Oxford, 1988.Franklin, John Hope and Alfred A. McKitrick, Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (Chicago:University of Chicago, 196 ), 326. A stricter oath had been adoptedby the second year of the war and applied to all Federal officials andemployees. The second proclamation embodied the process by which NorthCarolina could reestablish its government, a process presumably to beapplied to other states later. [3]Ibid., 262. The Freedmen's Bureau had beenproviding needed services in the war-torn South by distributing rations,supervising wage contracts, relocating freedmen, and establishing schoolsand hospitals. [2]John Hope Franklin and Alfred A. Moss Jr., From Slavery to Freedom(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994), 22 -221. When the Confederacyconfiscated northern property in the southern states, it had requiredsouthern businessmen to pay debts owed to northerners into the Confederatetreasury. as the war ended, Lincoln faced the question of what to do with thestates of the defeated Confederacy, an issue that elicited sharpdisagreement among Northerners. BibliographyBenedict, Michael Les. Bylaw, tax assessors, customs officials, and other appointed officers had tobe chosen from residents of the local district concerned, but this made itdifficult to find persons who could qualify under the ironclad test oath.The matter was complicated further by the ability of Lincoln, using hispardoning power, to authorize military commanders to grant pardon to thosewho took an oath of future loyalty. Andrew Johnson, his successor, gave assurancesthat he would carry on with Lincoln's Reconstruction program, though healso gave the impression that he would deal more harshly than Lincoln wouldhave with rebel leaders. Lindsey finds that while Congressional action towardformer slaves was fuzzy, its action toward Confederates was clearer.Congress had earlier adopted Treason and Conspiracies legislation, and toenforce these acts effectively, Congress required that jurors serving onFederal court juries take a loyalty oath. [6]Benedict, 11-12. In December 1865, the Republicans barred members-elect fromSouthern states and created the Joint Committee on Reconstruction toinvestigate conditions in the South and to recommend policy toward thosestates. The period of Reconstruction is the era following the Civil War whenthe country set out to rebuild and to revive the economy of the devastatedSouth. Philadelphia: J.B. When Johnsonbecame president, the Radicals became increasingly hostile to Johnson'sLincoln-like program for reestablishing governments and restoring Southernstates. Thetensions would be seen as between Presidential Reconstruction and RadicalReconstruction under the direction of the so-called radical Republicans.Reconstruction can be considered a success in some of what it accomplished,but those accomplishments never reached the level desired by both Lincolnand Andrew Johnson, for the latter was thwarted time and again by thelegislature. They were sure that their former slaves were but a step removed from savagery, inherently shiftless, uneducable, capricious, and vicious.[4] Presidential Reconstruction was exemplified first by Lincoln and thenby Johnson. Johnson hoped to restore theUnion quickly and also to create loyal political parties in the southernstates led by men who opposed secession in 1861 or who had opposed theConfederate effort after that time.[6] The Republicans in Congress blocked Johnson's Reconstruction programin the spring of 1866. Many congressmen were expressing growing concern over the condition of thefreedmen, and bills were introduced to extend the life of the Freedmen'sBureau and as a civil rights bill. [7]Lindsey, 183-184. [5]David Lindsey, Americans in Conflict (Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1974), 16 -162. Beale to the effect thatReconstruction cannot be seen as a regional issue but only as a nationalone: It is an integral part of the national history, and one may find an explanation for strange events in Alabama not only in the activities of the people in that state but in the movements and transactions of citizens in Boston, New York, or Philadelphia as well. He refused to support thelegislation stating that the bill was needless since the Federal courtswere again operating and could better handle any cases that might otherwisego to the bureau courts. It would not be operative in the fullest sense during this era,and indeed it never served as a Reconstruction program in any real sense.It would not be until after the Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867started the states back on their way into the Union.[1 ] The Radical Republicans had a major victory in the 1866 mid-termelections and quickly took full charge of Reconstruction policy, pushingthe president aside and forestalling interference by the Supreme Court.Legislation was passed in 1867 requiring the Southern states under militarysupervision to accept the Fourteenth Amendment and to revise their ownstate constitutions to allow peace and opportunity for blacks beforerestoration to the Union.[11] However much the South was able to slow Reconstruction, it is evidentthat Reconstruction set the agenda for the nation, an agenda that would befollowed into the next century and that over time would force more and morechange and reform on the governments of the southern states and bring aboutan economic and social revival as desired. This investigation gave congressional leaders time to reflect onwhat policy to pursue.[8] In January 1866, Johnson insisted on the legality of "restored"Southern state governments and on their "right" to representation inCongress, and congressional leaders flatly denied that such rights existed. [4]Michael Les Benedict, The Fruits of Victory: Alternatives inRestoring the Union, 1865-1877 (Philadelphia: J.B. The regulations were suspended after one month and the armyplaced back in charge, and subsequent legislation and actions only cloudedthe issue further. The result was the FourteenthAmendment, which was flatly rejected by every Southern state in thebeginning. By theend of the war, over $1.5 billion of Confederate currency was virtuallyworthless, and those who had invested in Confederate bonds (some $7 million of which were sold) could recover nothing. The South also faced an uncertain future of social revolutionbrought about by the emancipation of the former slaves: Ex-rebels hoped that only the economic institution of slavery was gone; they feared that the national government might insist in guaranteeing black southerners' social, political, and economic independence. Theysaw the Republican party as the instrument of moral reform and were certainthat their party, the savior of the Union in the war, would not secure thepeace.[7] The Radicals had criticized Lincoln as slow on slavery and soft onthe South, and they saw Lincoln as too lenient on rebels. Some felt that these states should makevoters as well as freedmen of their slaves, and Lincoln said the importantthing was to get these states back in their proper place in the Union.Lincoln was assassinated before he could do anything at all about thestates of the Old South. This was called the ironclad test oath, and it raised problemsin administering Federal policies in the former Confederate states. From Slavery to Freedom. Chicago: University of Chicago, 196 .----------------------- [1]Richard Nelson Current, Those Terrible Carpetbaggers (New York:Oxford, 1988), 7-8. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994.Lindsey, David. He also said Congress had no authority under theConstitution to intervene in a state's domestic affairs. The problem facing Congress was todevelop a definitive program of its own. Lippincott, 1975), 4. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974.McKitrick, Eric L. Moss Jr. Franklin and Moss cite Howard K. The physical damage to the South was considerable, andeverywhere the armies had met there were burnt-out cities, destroyedplantations and farms, and devastation wrought by foraging troops. It was an arm of the War Department and even had its owncourts to settle disputes. Johnson alsoattacked the Radical Republicans verbally, branding them as traitors, andthis alienated many moderates previously willing to support thepresident.[9] When the Senate passed the Civil Rights Bill over the veto ofPresident Johnson in April 1866, it in effect gave notice that it would notaccept Presidential Reconstruction. Many believed that wrong-doing and rebellion requiredrepentance and contrition, and they thought that southerners should be madeto pay for the sin of rebelling. They were on a religious crusade. One group of those opposed were the RadicalRepublicans. Those Terrible Carpetbaggers. The first followed the wartimepolicy of Lincoln of offering amnesty to Southerners who would swearallegiance to the government and the Constitution of the United States.Only a small number of political and economic leaders were denied suchamnesty, and they would have to ask President Johnson directly for apardon. Johnson made one minor change--only whites would be allowedto elect the new constitutional convention. The murder of Lincoln only added to thatattitude.[1] The path of Reconstruction showed the tensions between thosewho wanted to restore the South and those who wanted to punish it. Lippincott, 1975.Current, Richard Nelson. The Fruits of Victory: Alternatives in Restoring the Union, 1865-1877. This raised numerous issues aboutpardoning people who had committed no crime, just as Congress was punishingpeople who were not accused of committing any crime.[5] President Johnson's plan for Reconstruction can be seen from the twoproclamations he issued May 29, 1865. Those debts were reinstated after the war, and southerners wouldhave to pay them off once again, this time to the rightful creditors.Finally, all southern capital invested in slaves was gone, leaving theSouth crushed by debt and without money to liquidate it or capital toinvest. [1 ]Eric L. [8]Ibid., 186. This was based on Secretary Stanton's planto have military governors organize elections for constitutionalconventions. The intent was first to provide for an easier transition to anemancipated society, second to restore the states of the South to theirplace in the Union, and third to develop a program for economic revival.Lincoln had urged the development of a government agency to be charged withcreating plans for guided emancipation, but he drafted no plans.Legislation in 1864 directed special Treasury agents to assume control ofand lease abandoned lands and to provide these leases for the welfare offreedmen. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction. [11]Lindsey, 197.----------------------- 9 From 1865 to the end of the century, the United States was picking up the threads of its social, political, and economic life, which were so abruptly cut in 1861, and attempting to weave them into a new pattern.[2]In the long run, this effort would be successful, though the policies ofReconstruction as such were not necessarily responsible for the recovery.Many southern states did whatever they could to slow progress in certainareas--the "Jim Crow" laws, for instance, which helped keep whites andblacks separated in public places and for public services.[3] The end of the Civil War left the South in dire economic straits, andthere was little doubt what sort of Reconstruction program the Southpreferred. Johnson vetoed the Freedmen's Bureau bill andshocked the congressional leadership. Americans in Conflict. [9]Ibid., 189-19 .
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