Talk:Introduction to US History/Reconstruction

Aftermath & Reconstruction

The South was left with no money, 1/4 of its male population dead, and 1/2 of livestock/farm machinery dead. Many southerners relocate to the west to rebuild their lives. Union and Confederate soldiers both cooperate in fighting Native Americans. Things were not looking good despite the war ending as a lot of rebuilding had to be done.

It got even worse with Abraham Lincoln's assassination. On April 14, 1865, John W. Booth, a famous actor at the time, kills Lincoln successfully - but the other assassins weren't able to kill secretary William Seward and VP Andrew Johnson. Booth, who he believed would be regarded as a "hero" for his crime, is hunted down and shot in a barn. Mary Todd Lincoln falls into a horrible depression.

President Andrew Johnson has a major task at hand: he needs to continue the works of Lincoln. He wasn't trusted by both sides: the South didn't trust him because he left Tennessee after it seceded from the Union while the North stereotypically believed he was a pro-Southerner as he was from the South. During his presidency, three amendments are passed.

• 13th Amendment (1865) - Frees the slaves
• 14th Amendment (1868) - Gives citizenship to African-Americans
• 15th Amendment (1870) - African-Americans are given the right to vote in state/federal elections

The Freedman's Bureau was created. This was an assistance program that supported the freed slaves that was created before the war ended. Food, shelter, and protection was given to all poor people regardless of race between 1865-70. It soon expanded to education, where Tubman was one of the first teachers.

Reconstruction

• 10% Plan - This was a plan created by Lincoln where he wanted 10% of the South's 1860 population to take an oath of loyalty to the Union. Pardons would be given afterwards. Confederate officials and generals refused to take an oath. This was amended to 10% of the South's 1860 population had to take a 2nd oath of emancipating the slaves, forcing the Southern states to write a new Constitution.
• Wade-Davis Bill (1864 bill)- Only those who took an "ironclad" oath swearing that they always were loyal to the Union were allowed to vote and serve in constitutional conventions.
• President Johnson's plan - He appoints a Union based governor to re-organize the political parties of the South. The state governments had to pledge to the US, get rid of their Act of Secessions, and ratify the 13th amendment. They also could not pay back Confederate generals' their owed salaries and the 10% plan wasn't implemented.
• Military Reconstruction Act (1867-1877) - All presidential orders as a Commander-in-Chief must go through the General of the Army. The Tenure of Office Act declares that the president must have the permission of the Senate to remove officials appointed by the Senate. The South was divided into 5 districts, each controled by an armed Union-based general. All states must ratify the 14th and the 15th amendment additionally.

In 1867, Congress T. Stevens leads the impeachment convictions on President Johnson for being "stubborn" with Congress - but the Senate acquits him of the charges. Same case with Bill Clinton. Congress ignored Johnson's veto on Nebraska joining the Union, which gave the radical Republicans more seats in Congress. Edmund Ross is the deciding factor in why Johnson was acquitted of the charges. He saw the impeachment as a way of getting rid of the executive branch by the legislative branch. Ross was scolded and scorned for his voting, but was honored right before his death because his vote "saved the nation from terror". —Atcovi (Talk - Contribs) 03:31, 12 January 2022 (UTC)

Virginia Reconstruction

Richmond becomes the cigarette captain of the world, producing a million pounds of tobacco a year by 1880 in both Richmond & Petersburg. This demand for tobacco is what re-fuels the Virginian post-war economy. By the new century, 1/2 of the Richmond & Petersburg labour produced tobacco for pipes & cigars. Locomotives, railroad-transport vehicles, were built and transported coal, lumber, and people. Tredegar ironworks became Richmond Locomotive works. Richmond became the 1st city ever to use a major electric streetcar system, powered by electricity and not horses/steel rails. Thanks to these electrical systems, it spewed urban growth in Richmond.

Steam locomotives were soon being powered by coal after they became an overnight sensation when they were discovered in 1873 Southern Virginia. Coal mining wasn't all flowers and joy: it is very harmful to the environment and for the miners that work in these coal mines.

Presidential Elections of 1868 & End of Reconstruction

Meanwhile, schools were available for everyone - but segregated. Women also started the "women suffrage" movement, inspired by the 15th amendment giving African Americans the right to vote.

In the 1868 elections, Ulysses S. Grant runs against Democrat Horatio Seymour. Grant won the electoral and popular vote and was heavily supported by the freed slaves who were able to vote. Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas were not allowed to vote - which if they were able to vote, they would've made it a much tighter race.

Fastwording to 1877, Reconstruction ends (acknowledged by President Rutherford B. Hayes). Virginia was the last state to return to the Union.

Significant People

Maggie L. Walker, a legend from Richmond, VA.

Maggie Walker emerged as a vital figure in the post-Reconstruction, African-American era of Virginia. She was born to enslaved parents and stayed in Richmond after the war ended. When granted freedom, Walker became a teacher and helped the sick and elderly. She published a newspaper that encouraged African Americans to establish their own businesses. Walker became the 1st woman to charter a bank in 1903. She was the founder and president of the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank - which was one of the very few banks that survived the Great Depression. Until 2005, it was the longest African-American-owned bank in the US. Today, it is the result of 4 banks merging into one: Premier Bank. It is no longer African-American-owned.

The model for Maggie Walker's bank was the True Reformer's Bank, founded by Reverend William W. Browne. He was a former slave and Union soldier who came to Richmond after the war and became a teacher and a Methodist minister.