37D
37d - analyze the impact of Reconstruction on Georgia and other southern states emphasizing Freedmen’s Bureau, sharecropping, tenant farming, Reconstruction plans, 13th Constitutional Amendment, 14th Constitutional Amendment, 15th Constitutional Amendment, Henry McNeal Turner, black legislators, and the Ku Klux Klan
Freedman's Bureau
In March 1865, the U.S. government created the Freedman’s Bureau, or the Bureau of Refugees, in order to former slaves and poor whites cope with their everyday problems, such as clothing and food. After a while, it focused on helping freedman change to their new circumstances. The bureau set up over 4,000 primary schools, 64 industrial schools, and 74 teacher-training institutions for young African Americans in addition to spending over $400,000 to help establish teacher-training centers. |
Sharecropping
Planters and farmers needed laborers to work on their land. And there were many former slaves, as well as some landless whites, who needed jobs. Workers who had nothing but their labor to offer often resorted to sharecropping. Under this system, the landowners provided land, a house, farming tools and animals, seed, and fertilizer. The workers agreed to give the owner a share of the harvest. Until the workers sold their crop, the owners often let them have food, medicine, clothing, and other supplies at high prices on credit. Since few sharecroppers could write or count, they were often cheated by the planter or store owners. |
Tenant Farming
Tenant Farming was similar to sharecropping, but tenants usually owned some agricultural equipment and farm animals, such as mules. They also bought their own seed and fertilizer. At the end of the year, tenant farmers either paid the landowner a set amount of cash or an agreed-upon share of the crop. Tenant farmers made small profits. |
Reconstruction plans
The Civil War had left the South in ruins. Major cities and farms had been destroyed. The South's labor force had been destroyed (slaves were freed and 1/4th of the male white population was dead). The South's transportation system, railroads, had been destroyed. During Reconstruction, the South was physically and socially reconstructed, and the Southern states were reintegrated back into the Union. Lincoln wanted to restore the South on friendly terms. 1/10th of the state's voters had to take an oath to obey the U.S. Constitution. Each Southern state had to create a new government, and each southern state had to agree to abolish slavery. Republicans in Congress disagreed with Lincoln and wanted to punish the South. Congress passed the harsh Wade-Davis Bill in 1864, requiring that Southerners denounce the Confederacy and pledge that they had never supported it. Lincoln vetoed the Congressional Plan. On April 15, 1865, just days after the Civil War ended, Lincoln was assassinated. Vice President Andrew Johnson became the new president. He was from the South. He was committed to Lincoln's plan of treating the South with friendship. However, Johnson was weak, and unpopular, and he couldn't stop Congress's revenge on the South. He was impeached by Congress in 1868, but he wasn't removed from office. Johnson's plan was for people who had a property worth $20,000 or more, or were high ranking military officials from the South would have to ask for a pardon from Johnson himself. Johnson said there would be a prize for the capture of Jefferson Davis. After Davis was caught, some of the radicals turned their backs on Johnson’s plan and began to disagree with it. They were worried that the freedman would be disfranchised, and they thought the South deserved a bigger punishment than Johnson’s plan provided for. After some pressure, Johnson added more requirements. First, the Southern states had to approve the 13th Amendment, which made slavery illegal. Second, the states had to nullify their ordinances of secession. Third, they had to promise not to repay the individuals and institutions that helped finance the Confederacy. Here is an example of what the loyalty oaths looked like: I, _____________, of the County of _____________, State of Georgia, do solemnly swear or affirm, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union faithfully of the States there under, and that I will in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations which have been made during the existing rebellion with reference to the emancipation of slaves—So help me, God. Congress passed 3 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the 13th, 14th, and the 15th Amendments. However, all Southern states, except for Tennessee, refused to ratify the 14th Amendment, leading to Martial Law. In Martial Law, Congress stated that no Southern state would return to the U.S. until they approved the 14th Amendment. Georgia was placed in the 3rd military district under the command of the much hated general John Pope. Georgia was replaced under Martial Law for a total of 3 times. In 1870, Georgia became the last state from the South to be readmitted to the Union. In 1872, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant pardoned and restored citizenship of all but 500 of the top Confederate leaders (Amnesty Act of 1872). With reconstruction over in Georgia, the state could now focus on regaining its prosperity. |
13th Amendment
After pressure was put on president Andrew Johnson for his plan of requirements to bring the South back into the Union, he added more requirements. First, the Southern states had to approve the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. It was passed in 1865. |
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment gave citizenship to freed slaves. It was passed in 1866. It was passed due to the black codes that many Southern states had established. |
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment guaranteed all citizens the right to vote, regardless of race or previous condition of servitude (i.e. slavery). It was passed in 1870. Black legislators
Many African Americans joined politics to create the Southern Republicans. Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce of Mississippi were the first African Americans to serve as U.S. senators. Others served in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures. Realizing political empowerment (the ability to bring about change) for the first time, thousands joined the Union League, which had become the freedmen’s political organization. From church meetings to picnics and family gatherings, politics became “the” topic of discussion and debate. |
Henry McNeal Turner
Henry McNeal Turner was an educated minister, the first black chaplain in the U.S. army's history (he was appointed by Lincoln), he worked for the Freedman's Bureau after the Civil War, he was one of the Georgia Republican Party, and he was elected to Georgia's General Assembly in 1865. He was one of the most important black members of Georgia's House of Representatives. He was threatened by the KKK because he protested being denied the right to hold office. |
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, were a group of white "terrorists" that wanted white supremacy in America. It was founded by former Confederate General, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The KKK resisted the North's reconstruction efforts. They used scare tactics, terror methods, violence, and murder to intimidate blacks, Republicans, members of the Freedman's Bureau, etc. The members of the KKK wore mask so no one would know their true identity. The KKK also helped White democrats gain control of the South during and after Reconstruction. They spread violence through Georgia's Black Belt and in the northwest corner of the state. There were over 336 case of murder and assault. Though no one knows when the first Ku Klux Klan ended, the 2nd Ku Klux Klan began in 1915 in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Ku Klux Klan, also known as the KKK, were a group of white "terrorists" that wanted white supremacy in America. It was founded by former Confederate General, Nathan Bedford Forrest. The KKK resisted the North's reconstruction efforts. They used scare tactics, terror methods, violence, and murder to intimidate blacks, Republicans, members of the Freedman's Bureau, etc. The members of the KKK wore mask so no one would know their true identity. The KKK also helped White democrats gain control of the South during and after Reconstruction. They spread violence through Georgia's Black Belt and in the northwest corner of the state. There were over 336 case of murder and assault. Though no one knows when the first Ku Klux Klan ended, the 2nd Ku Klux Klan began in 1915 in Atlanta, Georgia.