Openstax U.S. History - 16.1 Restoring the Union

Summary

This script discusses the critical period of Reconstruction in U.S. history, spanning 1865-1877, following the Civil War. It focuses on the challenges of reuniting a divided nation, including the physical rebuilding of the South and the societal reintegration of former Confederate states. Key themes include Lincoln's lenient 10% Plan for reintegration, the contrasting Radical Republicans' demands for punishment, and Johnson's continuation of Lincoln's policies with a focus on excluding the planter class. The script highlights the political struggle between the Radical Republicans and President Johnson, reflecting the complex process of healing a war-torn country.

Takeaways

• 🕰️ The era of Reconstruction in U.S. history spanned from 1865 to 1877, following the Civil War and focusing on rebuilding both the physical infrastructure and the relationships between the North and South.
• 🔨 'Reconstruction' signifies not only the physical rebuilding of the country, particularly the South, but more importantly, the reestablishment of unity and relationships between the North and South.
• 🏰 The Civil War guaranteed the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery, but the Reconstruction period was tasked with addressing the aftermath and unanswered questions.
• 🤔 Key questions of Reconstruction included how to deal with Confederate rebels and the status and rights of former slaves, shaping their societal and economic roles post-emancipation.
• 🔄 There were three main plans for Reconstruction, with the first being Lincoln's Plan, also known as the 10 Percent Plan, which was relatively lenient and focused on quick reintegration of Southern states.
• 🤝 Lincoln's Plan required only 10% of a state's voting population to take an oath of allegiance to the U.S. and for the state to abolish slavery in its constitution to be readmitted to the Union.
• 🔱 The Radical Republicans opposed Lincoln's leniency, advocating for harsher treatment of the Confederacy, leading to alternative plans that included the Ironclad Oath, which demanded a more explicit denouncement of the Confederacy.
• ☠️ Lincoln's assassination left the Reconstruction process in flux, with leadership passing to Andrew Johnson, who had a similar but distinct approach, particularly towards the planter class.
• 🌟 The 13th Amendment, part of the Reconstruction Amendments, aimed to formally abolish slavery across the U.S., solidifying the change beyond the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation.
• 🚫 Johnson's Reconstruction plan was lenient like Lincoln's but excluded the planter class from future government roles, reflecting his personal background and beliefs about their role in the war.

Q & A

What does the term 'Reconstruction' refer to in the context of the U.S. history post-Civil War?

Reconstruction refers to the period after the Civil War, specifically from 1865 to 1877, which involves the physical rebuilding of the country, especially the South, and more importantly, the rebuilding of the relationship between the North and South to reunite the country.

What were the two main outcomes guaranteed by the Civil War?

The two main outcomes guaranteed by the Civil War were the preservation of the Union, meaning the United States would not break apart, and the abolition of slavery.

What was the Lincoln's 10 percent plan regarding the readmission of former Confederate states?

Lincoln's 10 percent plan required that 10% of the voting population in the former Confederate states take an oath of allegiance to the United States, and that slavery be abolished in their state constitutions. This was a lenient approach to allow these states to re-enter the Union.

Who were the Radical Republicans and what was their stance on Reconstruction?

The Radical Republicans were a faction within the Republican Party who believed that Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction was too lenient on the Confederacy. They sought more punishment and retribution for the former Confederate states and their leaders.

What was the Ironclad Oath, and how did it differ from Lincoln's initial oath of allegiance?

The Ironclad Oath was a more stringent requirement for former Confederates to swear that they had never supported the Confederacy. It differed from Lincoln's initial oath of allegiance to the United States, which was less specific about their past support for the Confederacy.

How did Lincoln's assassination impact the process of Reconstruction?

Lincoln's assassination was a significant event that threw the process of Reconstruction into uncertainty. It removed the leadership that had been guiding the country through its most vulnerable time, leaving the future direction of Reconstruction up for grabs.

What was the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and how did it relate to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation?

The 13th Amendment abolished slavery everywhere in the United States, making it a formal part of the Constitution. It built upon Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which had only abolished slavery in the states that were in rebellion during the war.

Who succeeded Lincoln as president and what was his approach to Reconstruction?

Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln as president. His approach to Reconstruction was similar to Lincoln's, advocating for a quick reincorporation of the Southern states into the Union with a lenient policy, except he specifically excluded the planter class from future positions of power.

How did the Radical Republicans react to Johnson's Reconstruction policies?

The Radical Republicans were dissatisfied with Johnson's Reconstruction policies, feeling that they allowed former Confederate leaders to re-enter government positions too easily, as if the war had not occurred. This led to a significant political conflict between the Radical Republicans and President Johnson.

What is the significance of Juneteenth in the context of the Civil War and Reconstruction?

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, marks the day when the news of the abolition of slavery reached Texas in 1865, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. It represents the delayed enforcement of emancipation in some parts of the South and is now a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Outlines

00:00

🏛️ Reconstruction Era Overview

This section introduces the Reconstruction era in U.S. history, spanning from 1865 to 1877. It follows the Civil War and focuses on the physical rebuilding of the country, particularly the South, and the more critical task of mending the relationship between the North and South. The era is marked by significant questions about how to reintegrate the former Confederate states and address the status of former slaves. It also discusses the two guaranteed outcomes of the Civil War: the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery.

05:02

🕍 Lincoln's 10 Percent Plan

Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction, known as the 10 percent plan, is detailed here. It required only 10% of a state's voting population to take an oath of allegiance to the United States for that state to be readmitted to the Union. Lincoln was lenient towards most Confederates, with the exception of high-ranking leaders who would be excluded from future government roles. The plan also stipulated the emancipation of slaves and was intended to reunite the country quickly and with minimal strife.

10:02

🛡️ The Ironclad Oath and Radical Republican Opposition

This paragraph contrasts Lincoln's lenient approach with the more punitive measures proposed by Radical Republicans, such as the Ironclad Oath, which required individuals to swear they had never supported the Confederacy. The bill introduced by Wade and Davis was more stringent, requiring a larger percentage of the population to take the oath and aiming to exclude more Confederates from future political participation. Lincoln's inaction on this bill indicated his non-support for such harsh measures.

15:04

🔫 Lincoln's Assassination and Its Impact on Reconstruction

The paragraph discusses the assassination of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth and its profound impact on the Reconstruction process. Lincoln's death not only shocked the nation but also left the future of Reconstruction uncertain, as his leadership had been instrumental in guiding the country through its most challenging period. The assassination is considered the last casualty of the Civil War and marked the end of Lincoln's vision for a swift and forgiving Reconstruction.

20:07

🌟 Johnson's Continuation of Lincoln's Plan

With Lincoln's death, the responsibility of Reconstruction fell to Andrew Johnson, who largely followed Lincoln's lenient approach. Johnson's plan for Reconstruction was similar to Lincoln's, with the notable exception of excluding the planter class from future government roles, reflecting his personal resentment towards the wealthy elite he believed had caused the war. However, despite these intentions, many former Confederate leaders managed to regain positions of power, leading to criticism from Radical Republicans who felt the North was not securing the desired outcomes of the war.

Keywords

💡Reconstruction

Reconstruction refers to the period after the American Civil War from 1865 to 1877, during which the United States attempted to reintegrate the Confederate states back into the Union and rebuild the nation, both physically and socially. In the video, Reconstruction is highlighted as a critical time for healing the divisions caused by the war and addressing the aftermath, including the abolition of slavery and the reestablishment of relationships between the North and South.

💡Union

The Union in the context of the video represents the United States as a whole, particularly in reference to the preservation of the country during and after the Civil War. The term is used to emphasize the goal of maintaining a united nation, as opposed to allowing the Confederate states to secede. The script mentions that one of the certain outcomes of the Civil War was the preservation of the Union.

💡Emancipation

Emancipation, as discussed in the video, is the act of setting slaves free. It is a central theme as it directly relates to the abolition of slavery, which was a primary cause of the Civil War. The script explains that Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the subsequent 13th Amendment to the Constitution were key events in the process of emancipation during the Reconstruction era.

💡Confederacy

The Confederacy refers to the group of 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, leading to the Civil War. In the script, the Confederacy is mentioned in relation to the challenges faced during Reconstruction, such as how to reintegrate former Confederate states and leaders into the United States.

💡Abolition

Abolition, as used in the video, is the termination of a system or practice, specifically referring to the end of slavery in the United States. The script discusses the abolition of slavery as a clear outcome of the Civil War and a central issue that the Reconstruction era had to address, ensuring that it was legally ended everywhere through the 13th Amendment.

💡Radical Republicans

Radical Republicans were a faction within the Republican Party who advocated for more stringent measures against the Confederacy and for the rights of freed slaves. The video script describes their disagreement with Lincoln's lenient approach to Reconstruction, as they sought harsher punishment for the former Confederates and greater protection for the newly freed slaves.

💡Lincoln's Plan

Lincoln's Plan, also known as the 10 percent plan, was a proposal by President Abraham Lincoln for the readmission of Confederate states into the Union during Reconstruction. The script outlines this plan as being lenient, requiring only 10 percent of a state's voting population to take an oath of allegiance to the United States and the abolition of slavery in their state constitution.

💡Ironclad Oath

The Ironclad Oath was a more stringent loyalty oath required by the Wade-Davis Bill, which was opposed to Lincoln's Plan. As mentioned in the script, it demanded that individuals swear they had never supported the Confederacy, contrasting with Lincoln's simpler oath of allegiance. This term is significant as it represents the division in approaches to Reconstruction between the Radical Republicans and President Lincoln.

💡13th Amendment

The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is highlighted in the video as a key part of the Reconstruction process, formally abolishing slavery throughout the United States. The script notes that while Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation applied only to the rebellious states, the 13th Amendment made slavery illegal everywhere, even in border states that had remained in the Union.

💡Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson, who became president after Lincoln's assassination, is discussed in the video as having a significant impact on the direction of Reconstruction. His plan for Reconstruction was similar to Lincoln's but with a stronger exclusion of the planter class. The script describes how Johnson's ties to the South and his beliefs influenced the policies of Reconstruction during his presidency.

💡Juneteenth

Juneteenth, mentioned in the script, is a holiday commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in Texas on June 19, 1865. It symbolizes the end of slavery in the United States and is used in the video to illustrate the uneven spread of news and the varied timing of emancipation across different regions, even after it was legally abolished.

Highlights

The era of Reconstruction refers to the period following the Civil War, aimed at rebuilding the country and the relationship between the North and South.

Reconstruction addresses questions about the status of former Confederates and the rights of former slaves.

Lincoln's 10 percent plan required a portion of the voting population to take an oath of allegiance for Southern states to re-enter the Union.

Lincoln's plan was lenient, focusing on forgiveness and quick readmission of Southern states into the Union.

Radical Republicans disagreed with Lincoln's leniency, advocating for harsher treatment of the Confederacy.

The Wade-Davis Bill introduced the Ironclad Oath, which was more stringent than Lincoln's oath of allegiance.

Lincoln's assassination left the process of Reconstruction uncertain and up for grabs.

The 13th Amendment, part of the Reconstruction Amendments, aimed to abolish slavery throughout the United States.

Juneteenth celebrates the abolition of slavery, reflecting the slow spread of news in the 19th century.

Andrew Johnson's plan for Reconstruction was similar to Lincoln's but excluded the planter class from future government positions.

Johnson's Reconstruction allowed former Confederate leaders to regain positions of power.

The saying 'The North won the war, but the South won the peace' reflects the perceived outcome of Reconstruction under Johnson.

Radical Republicans were dissatisfied with Johnson's approach to Reconstruction and sought to take action.

Transcripts

all right

this is open stocks u.s history

chapter 16 the era of reconstruction

1865-1877

we'll be looking at section one

restoring the union

so this chapter is on the era of

reconstruction you can see that it goes

from 1865 to 1877.

in general this is the time period after

the civil war

so last chapter chapter 15

was entirely about the civil war

this is essentially what goes on

afterwards

and reconstruction essentially refers to

two things it means in some sense

really the physical

rebuilding of the country

you know especially for the south in

which the war was uh more destructive in

terms of like territory and

infrastructure

but maybe more importantly this is

less about the actual physical

rebuilding but more about rebuilding

the relationship between north and south

you know that is really

um you know that's really what's uh at

stake here rebuilding the relationship

between

north

south you know two parts of the country

that just spent the past four years uh

killing one another so

how do those two sides become

essentially american again uh one sort

of united

family in a sense

um the era of reconstruction is very

important and very consequential um you

know the civil war itself

more or less guaranteed two things maybe

we'll just sort of

take note of what those two things were

first was that the union

or the country

would be preserved

that means the united states would not

break apart that was certainly a factor

in the war

and another thing that was guaranteed

was that

slavery was abolished

right those two things were very clear

outcomes of the civil war

however there are a lot of

a lot of sort of outstanding questions

and those questions are answered

in this period of reconstruction

so for example you know one of the

questions is you know well what do you

do

with those rebels who

waged war against the united states

do you punish the rebels for what they

did or do you forgive them because

eventually they do have to be american

again

um what do you do with

for example or what is the status

of former slaves

you know do slaves have the same rights

as their white counterparts uh what sort

of role do they play in

society economically now that slavery is

abolished um all of these questions

are answered in this period of

reconstruction that's why it's very very

consequential

so again reconstruction

period after the civil war we might also

add process

uh by which

former

confederate states

uh re-enter and i put kind of re-enter

in quotes here because according to

abraham lincoln

those states never left they were simply

in rebellion

former states re-enter the union

essentially what's going to be required

is that all them

will be required to draft new

constitutions that explicitly show that

slavery is abolished um when it comes to

reconstruction they're going to be a

couple of plans uh that is

you know sort of getting a little bit

more of the details of this what are the

exact details by which uh these former

states enter

um three plans in total the first one is

the president's plan

um to avoid any sort of confusion

because there's also another plan by

a future president will call this

lincoln's plan

plan

otherwise referred to as the 10 percent

plan

a 10 plan

so lincoln even before the war was over

had already began thinking about the

process by which these former states

would quote unquote re-enter into the

union

according to his plan

uh he ex or i should say

according to his plan and and this is

what the 10 percent refers to

lincoln required that 10 of the voting

population

take an oath of allegiance right so we

might say

uh

the voting population 10 percent we'll

just say 10 percent

of voting

population

take

and oath of allegiance

and that would be

to the u.s right to the united states to

the north right very explicitly as

opposed to as opposed to the south

also lincoln was more or less forgiving

of most members of the confederacy

except

the highest ranking confederate leaders

so we might say the highest ranking

confederate leaders would be excluded

from

you know positions

of we'll just say leadership

in the government so in other words if

somebody was a high-ranking member of

the confederacy

they would no longer be able to uh you

know play a part in u.s politics or the

government they had essentially lost

that privilege that was the punishment

that they served but for the most part

the rest of the population soldiers

officers other people who played a much

lesser role in the confederacy and in

the uh civil war rebellion um they would

be forgiven and of course a key

component to this also was the

emancipation of slavery right so there

was an agreement that slavery

must

be

abolished

and for the most part in short

again if a state agreed to all these

things so again we're going to think

about

reconstruction as being the process by

which former states confederate states

re-enter the union

if high-ranking leaders are excluded if

10

of the population takes an oath of

allegiance to the united states and if

that state

uh rights uh you know slavery is

abolished in their state constitution

that would be good enough for president

lincoln um to let that state back in the

union right

in general we would consider lincoln's

plan to be very lenient that is it

wasn't very harsh right so lincoln's

plan

lincoln's plan

was

rather

lenient

right not

harsh

and uh you know lincoln was really

focused on readmitting those southern

states

um kind of as quickly and painlessly as

possible he really wanted to see the

country come together

in a way that um you know wasn't

prolonged for example but not everybody

was on board with lincoln's plan in fact

there were

many members of his own political party

that believed lincoln was being too easy

on the confederacy those were the

radical republicans right lincoln was a

member of the republican party so the

radical republicans want

more

uh we'll say punishment

or

the confederacy

again one of the questions that we asked

at the very beginning

was you know what to do with former

rebels right what to do with the former

confederacy

um there's a sense that on the one hand

they could be forgiven

and on the other hand there could be

retribution and punishment

lincoln definitely is a little bit more

on the side of forgiveness

and the radical republicans on the north

say wait a minute you know this is

a uh you know this is a group of people

that waged war on our country for the

better part of you know four or five

years these are traitors and they

deserve some sort of punishment and what

lincoln's doing is far too lenient

and we want something else

and so a couple of northern or radical

republican congress members

wade and davis put together a bill that

will be we'll say this will be more

uh harsh

on former confederates

uh you know one thing that it included

was the ironclad oath

which was uh you know a little bit more

um

a little bit more uh

you could say you know in in lincoln's

oath

initially it was just an oath of

allegiance to the united states

uh the ironclad oath was requiring

people to swear

they had never supported the

confederacies where they had

never

supported the south right so it's a

little bit different

and i believe that the way davis bill

also required a much larger number i

think 50

of the population had to take it as

opposed to only 10 percent in lincoln's

plan so i swear they had never supported

the confederacy

and you know this is kind of a key

difference in the way that some

northerners look at you know the process

of

reuniting the country again uh you know

punishment and retribution or

forgive and forget uh lincoln you know

didn't take action on this you know when

a bill

gets passed by congress it goes to the

president's desk

they can do

typically they can do two things that is

either sign it or veto it

but lincoln did a third thing and that

was to do nothing

and sometimes we referred to this as a

pocket veto that means the president

neither signs it nor rejects it so not

really taking a very

strong stance so lincoln didn't

endorse the way davis bill um you know

at the very least we could say that his

inaction

was kind of a um you know uh you know a

non-support for that particular bill so

he did nothing and eventually the way

davis bill expired uh however though

lincoln's plan

and his vision for reconstruction

um

would never

get fully realized

uh just a couple of days

after the civil war concluded

john wilkes booth a pro confederate pro

southerner

assassinated lincoln

and with that

with lincoln's assassination as you can

see

depicted in this image here so too went

lincoln's plan for reconstruction

um lincoln's death was

a tremendous shock to the nation

is sometimes regarded as the last

casualty

of the civil war

and he had provided you know leadership

for the country during its most

vulnerable time

and for the most part you know stepped

up to the occasion

and led union forces to victory uh

preserving the union and abolishing

slavery uh two in one

and his assassination um you know was

important for a lot of reasons one is

just that he was the first president

ever

in american history to be assassinated

but more importantly for us is that it

really throws the process of

reconstruction

uh into uh you know into sort of a

question mark right you know here's

a president who's provided leadership

during the you know think of it you know

captain of a ship during the toughest

or most difficult storm and then uh you

know then the captain's dead who's gonna

drive the ship

uh and that's really what's most

consequential here anyways because now

this process of reconstruction

is essentially up for grabs

prior to his assassination however

congress

was working on the 13th amendment

there are

three reconstruction amendments to

remember so three plans three amendments

the thirteenth amendment would abolish

slavery

everywhere right

everywhere and would make it much more

formal recall that lincoln's

emancipation proclamation was made

during the war it only abolished slavery

in the states that were in rebellion so

border states slave states that fought

for the union slavery was still

technically legal there and the 13th

amendment would be added to you know the

constitution making it

you know essentially written in stone as

opposed to some sort of law or some sort

of executive order right the

constitution is the rule book so it'd be

it would be uh written there

and uh you know that was uh you know

that was something that was in the

process of being passed while lincoln

was still alive

um i don't think that lincoln

even got to see the ratification of the

13th amendment

that slavery was abolished everywhere

but the news of abolition didn't always

travel so quickly in those days recall

that with the emancipation proclamation

it pretty much meant that where union or

northern soldiers went that's the

process by which emancipation happened

and so when the 13th amendment was

passed in some of the more rural parts

of the south it did take some time for

news to travel

and for enforcement by northern troops

to you know to enforce the 13th

amendment uh one such instance was news

of the abolition of slavery reaching

texas

um it happened there in i believe june

9th i want to say of 1865

and the holiday juneteenth which is a

celebration

uh celebration of

the abolition

of slavery

which uh lincoln was shot in april

celebration of the abolition of slavery

is celebrated in june to kind of

represent our show

um well not really to represent our show

but it does represent and shows that

news of abolition did not always travel

uh quickly and uh you know there it was

june in texas

when news of abolition came and some of

the enslaved people in texas were free

as a result of that

now with this question of reconstruction

up in the air

again what's going to happen

uh leadership then passes to the vice

president who is andrew johnson so now

andrew johnson will be in charge and

andrew johnson has a certain plan for

reconstruction we can either call it

johnson's plan

i'll just do that just to make it a

little bit less confusing

also sometimes called presidential

reconstruction because he now is the

president vice president turned

president

and this really throws things in a loop

because andrew johnson himself although

he is from humble origins he's also from

the south right he's from the south

and one of the reasons why lincoln

made him the vice president 1864 was to

try and show some unity between the

north and the south uh andrew johnson

had worked his way up

in the political elite

became a

sorry a senator from tennessee

but was

unlike a lot of his contemporaries in

that he wasn't from the planter elite

and he had a certain resentment of the

very rich and powerful

uh planter elite in the south

when the civil war broke out

um andrew johnson sided with the union

he was i believe the only

senator from a confederate state that

sided with the north but he had uh

emotional ties you might say with the

south he also believed in white

supremacy

and those ideas that also sort of

closely tied him with some of the former

confederate states

but with his head with the logic with

the legal arguments he said no the south

should not secede can't do it legally

and it's a bad idea

in the end he was proven right in that

respect but now really for the process

of reconstruction there essentially is

you know a a southerner now who is in

the most powerful position uh in the uh

you know in the united states

and um you know he's going to put

forward a plan that in a lot of ways

sort of resembles it

um maybe one good way of

looking at johnson

is to say in some ways you know his

heart was really with the south

but you know his head in terms of like

uh you know the legality

of secession and how it would play out

uh he was you know much more committed

to the north

now johnson followed lincoln's plan

of quick reincorporation

um you know he definitely wanted to go

the lenient path like lincoln did

his proclamation of amnesty was pretty

close so we might say johnson's plan

was almost identical

to lincoln's

right very very very similar except in

one exception here

was the planter class

right johnson

excluded

the planter class

so where initially

lincoln was really only concerned

with these high-ranking confederate

leaders saying that you know

for those people who played a role in

the leadership of the confederacy they

would be excluded

from any future positions in the u.s

government uh johnson added on top of

that

the planter class that is the very very

very wealthy and this was in line with

andrew johnson's upbringing you know

from various sort of uh from a much

poorer background

but also his belief that it was the

planter class that was responsible for

the civil war that it was the rich

that had gotten the south involved in

the war and it was a uh you know a

disaster for the south however during

johnson's um you know reconstruction

plan as those states are being

readmitted to the union

many former confederate leaders find

themselves

in positions of power once again so we

might say under johnson

former

confederates

rejoined

the us government

among them was alexander stevens who had

been the former

vice president

of the confederacy

you know he was

um i'll just write this better receipt

you know he was the vice president the

second you know highest ranking person

you could say in in the confederate

government

uh he was now

running for and won

i believe a seat in the house of

representatives from georgia and there

were a lot of other people too who you

know just six seven years ago

were

uh you know decrying the united states

threatening secession then did secede

were considered by many of their other

contemporaries from the north to be

traitors

and here they are rejoining the

government almost like nothing had ever

happened

and there were members of the radical

republicans specifically of the north

who saw reconstruction under johnson and

began to use a saying and that was the

north

won the war

but the south

won

the peace

that is

you know on the battlefield the north

won

but the process of reconstruction as it

stands under andrew johnson

it's almost as if you know had you not

known the outcome of the war and only

saw for example

members who were being re-elected to

positions of authority it would almost

be as if you would think the south would

have won because

you know the north is not sort of

getting what they want and so the

radical republicans in congress are

going to act you know they're not going

to stand by and simply allow for the

alexander stephens of the world to just

simply re-enter the government as if

nothing happened again recall the

radical republicans you know they want

to work more to punish former

confederate leaders and so really the

story of reconstruction in a lot of ways

at least just from a political element

right just the politics of it

represents this division and this

conflict between the radical republicans

on the one side and president johnson on

the other