Reconstruction: The American Yawp

I. Introduction

• Post-Civil War South in ruins, uncertain future.
• Reconstruction focused on citizenship and equality.
• African Americans and Radical Republicans pushed for realizing Declaration's promises.
• Resistance and eventual collapse of Reconstruction.

II. Politics of Reconstruction

• Lincoln's plan for reunification was lenient, requiring oaths of allegiance.
• Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery legally.
• After Lincoln's assassination, Johnson's lenient plan led to Black Codes.
• Radical Republicans passed Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment.
• Reconstruction Act of 1867: Military districts and African American enfranchisement.
• Fifteenth Amendment secured voting rights for Black men.

III. The Meaning of Black Freedom

• Freedmen desired land; Sherman's Field Order No. 15 not fully realized.
• Freedmen's Bureau failed in land redistribution.
• Emphasis on education and reconstituting families post-emancipation.
• Black churches became central in freedom struggle.

IV. Reconstruction and Women

• Women's suffrage movement sought equal rights during Reconstruction.
• American Equal Rights Association (AERA) formed.
• Tension between prioritizing Black male suffrage and universal suffrage.
• Women's suffrage driven by National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA).
• Southern women redefined gender roles post-war.

V. Racial Violence in Reconstruction

• White supremacy and Black Codes maintained racial hierarchy.
• Vigilante violence by groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
• Violence suppressed Black political and economic advancement.
• Federal Enforcement Acts attempted to curb violence but were limited.

VI. Economic Development During the War and Reconstruction

• War devastated Southern economy; shift to sharecropping.
• Emancipation marked a shift to free labor, but legal and extralegal measures maintained labor control.
• Northern economy diversified; federal economic policies evolved.

VII. The End of Reconstruction

• Northern economic focus led to waning support for Reconstruction.
• Compromise of 1877 ended federal intervention in the South.
• Democrats regained control in the South, diminishing African American rights.

VIII. Conclusion

• Reconstruction reunited the Union and ended slavery legally.
• African Americans remained second-class citizens.
• Economic growth and expansion prioritized over civil rights.

IX. Primary Sources

• Various documents illustrate the experiences and challenges during Reconstruction.

X. Reference Material

• Edited by Nicole Turner with contributions from various scholars.
• Extensive recommended readings for further study.