Episode 21: Reconstruction

Introduction

• Host: John Green
• Topic: Reconstruction period after the Civil War
• Key events: End of Civil War, assassination of Lincoln, presidency of Andrew Johnson

Challenges Post-Civil War

• Reintegration of former slaves and rebellious populations
• Lincoln's plan: reunion and reconciliation
• Johnson's approach: South never had a right to secede, racist policies

Presidential Reconstruction (1865-1867)

• Johnson appointed provisional governors
• Establishment of all-white governments
• Similarity to old Confederate governments

Changes for Former Slaves

• Establishment of Fiske and Howard universities
• Primary and secondary schools
• Freedman's Bureau's role and its limitations
• General Sherman's Field Order 15 and broken land promises
• Return of land to former owners by Johnson

Sharecropping System

• Replacement of slavery in the South
• Landowners provided tools and housing
• Sharecroppers received a portion of crops
• Tied workers to land, creating quasi-serfdom

Radical Reconstruction (Post-1867)

• Republican dissatisfaction with Southern governments
• Radical Republicans' push for equal rights
• Thaddeus Stephens' land redistribution idea
• Civil Rights Bill and 14th Amendment
• Overriding Johnson's veto

Black Codes and Restrictions

• Legal codes restricting African American rights
• Example: St. Landry Parish Black Code

Reconstruction Act of 1867

• Division of South into military districts
• Participation of black men in state governments
• Requirement to ratify the 14th Amendment

1868 Election and 15th Amendment

• Ulysses S. Grant elected President
• Push for the 15th Amendment
• Prohibited race-based voting restrictions

African American Political Participation

• Voting and holding office
• Rise of African American officeholders
• Example: Pinckney B.S. Pinchback

End of Reconstruction

• Corruption and financial issues
• Southern resistance to African American rights
• Rise of KKK and violence to deter black political participation

Compromise of 1877

• Election of 1876 dispute
• Rutherford B. Hayes elected
• Withdrawal of federal troops from the South
• Return to Democratic control

Legacy of Reconstruction

• Short-lived democratic expansion
• Failure to provide economic independence for freedmen
• Long-term implications for civil rights movement

Conclusion

• Production details of Crash Course
• Call to action for viewers

Reconstruction was a complex period with significant progress and setbacks, particularly regarding the rights and economic status of African Americans in the post-Civil War United States.