Finally, on April 9, 1865, Lee was caught

between Generals Grant and Sheridan at

Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia and forced
to surrender.
Just five days after the end of the Civil War, on
April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was
assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Fords
Theatre in Washington D.C.

Lincoln v. the Radical

Republicans
After Gettysburg, when it appeared
evident that the Union would win the
Civil War, President Lincoln set forth his
plan for reconstruction.
Lincolns plan called for reconciliation,
rather than punishment, for the South.
Under Lincolns plan, Southerners would
be offered amnesty, or pardon, if they
took an oath of allegiance to the Union.

Reconstruction
Reconstructionis the rebuilding of
the nation after the Civil War. It
focused on three main ideas: 1.
Helping freed African Americans find
their way 2. Rehabilitating the
devastated Southern economy 3.
Reuniting the nation (national
government).

 Immediately, disagreement surfaced

from Lincolns own party. Some
Republicans, known as Radical
Republicans, instead wanted the
South to be punished so that they
would be discouraged from future
disloyalty.
Furthermore, the Radical Republicans
wanted the Republican Party to be
powerful in the South and political
equality for African Americans.

 Now, to help us understand Radical

Republicanism we will look at one of
its best examplesRepresentative
Thaddeus Stevens.

Freedmens Bureau
The Bureau was
directed to feeding
and clothing war
refugees in the
South using
surplus army
supplies.
Beginning in
September 1865, it
issued nearly
30,000 rations a
day for the next
year.

Johnson Irritates Congress

After Lincoln was assassinated, his Vice
President, Andrew Johnson, took office.
Johnson was a Democrat from Tennessee who
had remained loyal to the Union through the
Civil War.
Johnson fully supported Lincolns plan for
Reconstruction, and with Congress in recess
during the summer of 1865, he began to
implement it.
For the most part, the former Confederate
states accepted Johnsons conditions.

 They organized new governments and held

elections. By the time Congress gathered for
its next session in December of 1865,
Reconstruction was well under way.
Members of Congress were astonished and
angry when they realized that Southern voters
had elected dozens of Confederate leaders to
Congress.
They also objected to the discriminatory laws,
known as black codes, that Southern
legislatures had passed.
The Republicans joined the Radical
Republicans in opposition to Johnson.

OH, YOU DIDNT WANT

FORMER
CONFEDERATE LEADERS
IN CONGRESS?

MY BAD

Radical Reconstruction
Late in 1865, the newly strengthened Radical
Republicans formed a joint committee in
Congress so that they could reconstruct their
way.
Their first act, the Fourteenth Amendment,
aimed was aimed at overriding the black codes.
The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees
citizenship (and the rights that go with it) to any
person born in the United States.
Johnson vetoed the 14th, Congress used the veto
override and the 14th became law in 1868.

 In 1867 Congress passed the Military

Reconstruction Act. This law divided the South
into five districts and assigned a different
General to each district to maintain the peace
and protect peoples rights and property.
Early in 1868, Congress became fed up with
Johnsons shenanigans and voted to impeach
him.
Johnsons impeachment passed the House but
came one vote short in the Senate. He would
finish his term quietly and not run for
reelection later that year.

 With Johnson out of the running the Republicans

nominated Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant, who
won easily in 1868.
With a President from their own party, the
Radical Republicans moved quickly to put the
last of their Reconstruction programs in place.
The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870,
guaranteed every American male the right to
vote.
The Fifteenth Amendment transformed Southern
society by making it more equal than ever. In
doing so, it angered many white Southerners
who responded through violent means.

New Political Scene

By late 1870, all former Confederate
states had ratified the Fourteenth
Amendment and rejoined the Union.
Northern people who travelled South
to be appointed or elected to political
office were called carpetbaggers.
Southern people who supported
Republican reconstruction programs
were called scalawags.

 A combination of carpetbaggers, scalawags,

and African Americans participating in
politics for the first time allowed African
Americans to participate in Southern
government and even win several important
government offices.
In a short amount of time the Republicans
controlled the South.
In response to Republican rule, white
opponents of Reconstruction organized
secret societies to undermine them. The
largest of these was the Ku Klux Klan or KKK.

Reconstruction Ends
Economic issues (Panic of 1873, etc.) occurring
under President Grant shifted Northern focus
from the South to the economy.
After a disputed election in 1876 was settled
with the Compromise of 1877, federal troops
were pulled out of the South.
With Reconstruction in the past, the New
South was born. The New South focused on
industry, transportation; however, the South
remained mostly agrarian.