RECONSTRUCTION [APUSH Review Unit 5 Topic 10] Period 5: 1844-1877
Summary
TLDRThis video script from Heimler's History delves into the post-Civil War era, focusing on the Reconstruction period in U.S. history from 1865 to 1877. It outlines the contrasting approaches to Reconstruction, from Abraham Lincoln's lenient Ten-Percent Plan, which required only 10% of a Southern state's 1860 electorate to pledge loyalty to the Union and ratify the 13th Amendment, to the more punitive stance of the Radical Republicans. The script details the legislative battles, including the extension of the Freedman's Bureau, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which aimed to secure citizenship and equal protection under the law for all. It also touches on the contentious issue of voting rights, leading to the Fifteenth Amendment and the division within the women's rights movement. The summary concludes with a nod to the tensions between President Andrew Johnson and Congress, culminating in his impeachment trial, and sets the stage for further discussion on the failure of Reconstruction in a subsequent video.
Takeaways
- 📜 The Reconstruction period aimed to reunite the North and South post-Civil War, focusing on the effects of government policy from 1865 to 1877.
- 🤔 The critical post-war question was whether the Confederacy should be treated leniently or as a conquered enemy, influencing the Reconstruction policies.
- 🌱 Abraham Lincoln favored a lenient approach, proposing the Ten-Percent Plan, which required 10% of a Southern state's 1860 electorate to pledge loyalty to the Union and ratify the 13th Amendment to rejoin.
- 🔫 Lincoln's assassination led to Andrew Johnson taking office, who attempted to continue Lincoln's plan but allowed the former slave-owning class to regain power, leading to the oppressive Black Codes.
- 🌐 The Radical Republicans in Congress opposed Johnson's leniency and sought to lead Reconstruction, passing laws to protect and extend rights for black people, including the Freedman’s Bureau and Civil Rights Act of 1866.
- ⚖️ Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 led to a Congressional override, highlighting the tension between the president and Congress.
- 🏛 The Fourteenth Amendment was proposed to solidify civil rights, granting citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.
- 🚫 The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 increased the requirements for Southern states to rejoin the Union, including ratification of the 14th Amendment and universal male suffrage.
- 👥 The women's rights movement was impacted by the Reconstruction amendments, particularly the Fifteenth Amendment, which did not extend voting rights to women, causing a split in the movement.
- 📉 The impeachment of Andrew Johnson, though unsuccessful, effectively ended his influence over Reconstruction policies due to the power struggle with Congress.
- 📉 The failure of Reconstruction is a topic for a subsequent video, emphasizing the complexity and challenges faced during this period of U.S. history.
Q & A
What was the main goal of the Reconstruction process after the Civil War?
-The main goal of the Reconstruction process was to knit the two regions of the United States back together, following the end of the Civil War.
What was the fundamental question that needed to be answered after the Civil War?
-The fundamental question was whether the Confederacy should be treated with leniency or as a conquered foe, which would determine the nature of the Reconstruction policies.
What was Abraham Lincoln's position on the treatment of the South post-Civil War?
-Abraham Lincoln was of the lenient persuasion, believing the South never actually left the Union and that harsh treatment would only renew and exacerbate tensions.
What was the Ten-Percent Plan proposed by Abraham Lincoln for the South's return to the Union?
-The Ten-Percent Plan required that 10% of the 1860 electorate in a Southern state pledged loyalty to the Union and that the state legislature ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery.
How did Andrew Johnson's approach to Reconstruction differ from Lincoln's?
-Andrew Johnson attempted to carry out Lincoln's plan but lacked Lincoln's magnanimity, allowing the former slave-owning class to assume power and recreate conditions similar to those before the war, including the passage of restrictive Black Codes.
What was the stance of the Radical Republicans on the South's treatment after the Civil War?
-The Radical Republicans believed the South should be punished for causing damage and death through secession, and they wanted Reconstruction to be led by Congress rather than the president.
What were the two pieces of legislation passed by the Radical Republicans to protect the rights of black people in the South?
-The two pieces of legislation were an extension of the Freedman’s Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which protected the citizenship and equal legal protection of black people.
What was the significance of the Fourteenth Amendment in relation to Reconstruction?
-The Fourteenth Amendment solidified the rights of citizenship and equal protection under the law for all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves.
What were the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, and how did they impact the South's reentry into the Union?
-The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the South into five military districts, enforced federal troop occupation, and increased the requirement for Southern states to rejoin the Union, including ratifying the 14th Amendment and adopting universal male voting rights.
What was the outcome of Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial?
-Andrew Johnson survived the impeachment trial by one vote in the Senate, remaining in office but rendered powerless to direct future policies of Reconstruction.
How did the Fifteenth Amendment affect the women's rights movement during Reconstruction?
-The Fifteenth Amendment granted voting rights to the newly freed black population but did not recognize the right of women to vote, causing a split in the women's rights movement and leading to the formation of two separate organizations: the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association.
Outlines
📜 Reconstruction Era Overview
This paragraph introduces the topic of Reconstruction, which was the period following the Civil War aimed at reuniting the North and South. The main focus is on the effects of government policy during Reconstruction from 1865 to 1877 on society. The discussion sets the stage by asking whether the Confederacy should be treated leniently or as a conquered enemy, which shaped the proposed Reconstruction policies. Abraham Lincoln's lenient approach, known as the Ten-Percent Plan, is outlined, which required 10% of a Southern state's 1860 electorate to pledge loyalty to the Union and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to rejoin the Union. Lincoln's assassination and Andrew Johnson's continuation of Lincoln's plan, despite his lack of support for emancipation or racial equality, is also covered. Johnson's administration saw the rise of the Black Codes, which restricted the freedom of former slaves. The paragraph concludes with the introduction of the Radical Republicans in Congress, who disagreed with Johnson's leniency and sought to lead the Reconstruction process through legislation, including the extension of the Freedman’s Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
🗳️ Voting Rights and the 15th Amendment
The second paragraph delves into the voting rights aspect of the Reconstruction Amendments, particularly focusing on the Fifteenth Amendment, which granted voting rights to the newly freed black population in the South. However, it did not extend these rights to women, leading to a split in the women's rights movement. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, disappointed by the exclusion of women from the franchise, formed the National Woman Suffrage Association, which continued to fight for women's voting rights. In contrast, Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell, while also disappointed, believed in supporting federal Reconstruction efforts and simultaneously working for women's suffrage at the state level, leading to the creation of the American Woman Suffrage Association. The paragraph humorously addresses the difficulty of differentiating between the two organizations, suggesting a mnemonic based on their stance towards the 15th Amendment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Reconstruction
💡Confederacy
💡Ten-Percent Plan
💡Thirteenth Amendment
💡Andrew Johnson
💡Black Codes
💡Radical Republicans
💡Freedman’s Bureau
💡Civil Rights Act of 1866
💡Fourteenth Amendment
💡Reconstruction Acts of 1867
💡Impeachment
💡Women’s Rights Movement
💡Fifteenth Amendment
💡National Woman Suffrage Association
💡American Woman Suffrage Association
Highlights
Explain the effects of government policy during Reconstruction on society from 1865 to 1877
Abraham Lincoln's lenient approach to Reconstruction, believing the South never legally left the Union
Lincoln's Ten-Percent Plan required 10% of 1860 electorate to pledge loyalty and ratification of the 13th Amendment for Southern states to rejoin the Union
Lincoln's assassination and Andrew Johnson's continuation of his Reconstruction plan
Johnson's lack of sympathy for emancipation and racial equality, allowing Southern elites to regain power
Passing of Black Codes in Southern states to restrict freed slaves' freedom and force low-wage labor
Radical Republicans' opposition to Johnson's leniency and desire for Congress-led Reconstruction
Legislation by Radical Republicans to extend rights for blacks and suppress Southern resurgence - Freedman's Bureau extension and Civil Rights Act of 1866
Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act and Freedman's Bureau bill, overridden by Congress
Proposed Fourteenth Amendment to solidify rights for former slaves and ensure equal protection under state laws
Reconstruction Acts of 1867 passed over Johnson's veto to enforce laws in South and increase requirements for Southern states to rejoin Union
Reconstruction Acts required Southern states to ratify 14th Amendment and provide universal male suffrage, including for black men
Andrew Johnson's impeachment by Congressional Republicans, resulting in a trial but failure to remove him by one vote
Impeachment process rendering Johnson powerless to direct future Reconstruction policies
Women's rights movement's response to the Fifteenth Amendment granting voting rights to black men but not women
Formation of National Woman Suffrage Association by Stanton and Anthony to continue fighting for women's suffrage
Formation of American Woman Suffrage Association by Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell to support Reconstruction while working for state-level women's suffrage
Differing views on the 15th Amendment among women's rights groups, with some opposing and others supporting it
Transcripts
Hey there and welcome back to Heimler’s History. We’ve been going through Unit
5 of the AP U.S. History curriculum and in the last video we ended with the surrender
of the South to the North which brought the Civil War to an end. And in this video we’re
going to look at the process of knitting two regions back together again, a process which
was known as Reconstruction. So if you’re ready to get them brain cows milked, let’s get to it.
So we’re basically aiming at one thing in this video and it is as follows:
Explain the effects of government policy during Reconstruction on society from 1865 to 1877.
Now in order to understand those effects, we need to set the stage first. Now the
most crucial question to be answered after the Civil War was over was this:
should the Confederacy be treated with leniency or as a conquered foe? And how different policy
makers answered that question determined the kinds of Reconstruction policies they proposed.
Now Abraham Lincoln was of the lenient persuasion. His position is that the South never actually
left the Union because it was legally impossible for them to do so. He could see that to treat
the Southerners harshly would only renew and exacerbate the tension that led to secession in
the first place. Therefore, Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction, also known as the Ten-Percent
Plan, established a minimum test of political loyalty for southern states to return to the
Union. So under this plan, if a Southern state was going to return to the Union,
they had to agree to the following terms. First, they could reestablish their state
governments if 10% of the 1860 electorate pledged loyalty to the Union. Second,
the state legislature had to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery.
And that’s it. That kind of plan put the barrier for reentry
very low and allowed the South to save face and retain whatever honor they had left.
It was an astonishing offer. And Lincoln had been working on this plan for years before the
war was over because he was not interested in healing the wound lightly that led to
separation in the first place. He fought for the Union and wanted to make sure that it was
never again rent asunder. But unfortunately, a few weeks before the war officially ended
and Lincoln would have been able to enact this gracious plan of reunion, a man by the name of
John Wilkes Booth walked into Lincoln’s box at the Ford Theater and assassinated him.
Now, Lincoln’s vice president, Andrew Johnson, became the president, and to his credit,
he attempted to carry out Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction. However,
Johnson was not the magnanimous leader that Lincoln was and in fact can be
squarely classified in the turd category. He was a southerner from Tennessee who had really had no
sympathy for emancipation or for the equality of the black and white races. He was irascible
and unbending in this respect. And while he carried out Lincoln’s plan for reuniting the
North and the South, he stood by while the former slave-owning class assumed power and recreated
conditions in the South which were largely the same as they were before the war. Case in point,
many states passed a series of restrictive laws known as Black Codes which restricted
the freedom of southern black folks and forced them to work for low wages.
Now there was a group of folks in Congress known as the Radical Republicans, and they
appreciated neither Johnson’s leniency nor his complicity in resegregating the South.
To the Radical Republicans the South’s secession had caused untold damage and death and therefore
they needed to pay. Now that the South was defeated, the Radical Republicans wanted to
kick them, insult their mothers, and then deliberately hurt their
feelings. More to the point, because they hated Johnson and his policies,
they wanted the process of Reconstruction to be led not by the president, but by Congress.
So the Radical Republicans were concerned to pass legislation that upheld and extended rights
for black people in the South while simultaneously suppressing any attempt at Southern resurgence. To
this end, they passed two pieces of legislation. First was an extension of the Freedman’s Bureau,
which was an agency set up to help newly freed black people to get on their feet. The second
was the Civil Rights Act of 1866 which protected citizenship of black folks and gave them equal
protection under the laws. Now to me, those sound like good laws and uphold the outcome and
intention of the Civil War. But apparently they did not in fact seem good to Andrew Johnson who
summarily vetoed both pieces of legislation. Enraged by this, the Radical Republicans
in Congress mustered a two-thirds majority to override Johnson’s veto and got the laws passed.
So as you can clearly see, things are a little tense between the president and Congress. Now,
because the Republicans feared the overturning of the Civil Rights Act,
they went ahead and proposed a constitutional amendment to solidify these rights, and that’s
how you get the Fourteenth Amendment. Essentially it said that all persons
who were born or naturalized in the United States were citizens of the United States,
and that every citizen enjoyed equal protection of the laws on the state level.
And the final contest between these two foes involved the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. Again,
these were passed into law over Johnson’s veto, and it was these laws in particular
that would ultimately pressage the failure of Reconstruction. The first thing these acts
did was to assure that all the laws being passed would be enforced in the South. To
that end, Republicans divided the South into five districts and put them under military occupation
with federal troops. The second thing these acts did was to increase the requirement for southern
states to rejoin the Union. Now the states would also have to ratify the 14th amendment
and add to their state constitution a provision for universal male voting rights,
and when I say universal, I mean white AND black men would get the franchise. Now that provision
would ruffle American women who also demanded voting rights, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
Now, let’s talk about the crowning achievement of this nasty conflict between Andrew Johnson
and the Radical Republicans, namely, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Now,
stop for a second. Any time I mention impeachment I feel I need to explain what it means,
because in everyday conversation, when people talk about impeachment of a president, what they mean
is the REMOVAL of a president. That’s not what impeachment means. Impeachment is the
TRIAL which determines if a president should be removed from office, not the removal itself. So
Bill Clinton was impeached, and remained the president after. Donald Trump was impeached,
and remained president afterward. Okay, so back to Andrew Johnson’s impeachment.
Congressional Republicans really wanted Johnson out of office. And so to jingle the bait in
front of his face, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 which made it illegal
for the president to fire a member of his cabinet without congressional approval. Johnson was like,
ain’t nobody tell me what to do. And went ahead and fired a member of his cabinet. As a result,
Congress brought a full-fledged impeachment trial against Johnson,
and after a three month trial, the Senate failed to oust him by one vote. Even so,
this process basically rendered Johnson powerless to direct any future policies of Reconstruction.
Now, we’re going to talk about the end, and more to the point, the failure, of Reconstruction in
the next video. But for now, we need to talk about the women’s rights movement in relation
to Reconstruction. Now, I already told you about the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery. I
already told you about the 14th Amendment which granted citizenship to everyone born in America
AND that each citizen would enjoy equal protection of the laws. And I have one more Reconstruction
amendment to tell you about, namely, the Fifteenth Amendment. This amendment granted
voting rights to the newly freed black population of the South.
But women’s rights advocates like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony got a
little saucy about this amendment because it emphatically did NOT recognize the right of
women to vote. And debates over this amendment split the movement into two groups. Stanton and
Anthony formed the National Woman Suffrage Association which continued to fight for the
franchise to be extended to women. Others like Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell shared
the disappointment over the 15th amendment’s wording, but argued that it was important to
support Reconstruction efforts federally while working for women’s suffrage on the state level.
The organization they formed to work for these goals was the American Woman Suffrage Association.
And it’s like when they named these associations they were just TRYING to make it hard for high
schoolers to remember for their exams. National Woman Suffrage Association. American Woman
Suffrage Association. You’re KILLING me. Well, if you’re having trouble remembering the difference
between these two, try this. When you ask whether each of these groups likes the 15th Amendment,
these guys say NA, and these guys say EEYY. That’s probably not helpful at all. Sorry.
Thank you for watching. There are more videos here on Unit five if you need
an A in your class and a five on your exam in May. And if you found this video helpful
and want me to keep making them, then subscribe and let me know. Heimler out.
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