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CHAPTER 15
Reconstruction
1865–1877
After the American Civil War, the South struggled amid economic chaos and political turmoil. To add to
these enormous challenges, a large percentage of the population had died as a result of the war. This
chapter covers the aftermath of the Civil War in the South; the battle over Reconstruction under Lincoln,
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the federal government’s major challenges in reconstructing the South after the Civil War.
2. Describe how and why Reconstruction policies changed over time.
3. Assess the attitudes of white and black southerners toward Reconstruction.
4. Analyze the political and economic factors that helped end Reconstruction in 1877.
5. Explain the significance of Reconstruction to the nation’s future.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The War’s Aftermath in the South
2. The Battle over Political Reconstruction
A. Lincoln’s Wartime Reconstruction Plan
B. The Freedmen’s Bureau
C. The Assassination of Lincoln
D. Johnson’s Plan
E. Freedmen’s Conventions
F. The Radical Republicans
G. Unreconstructed Southerners
H. Johnson’s Battle with Congress
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I. Congressional Reconstruction
J. Impeaching the President
K. Republican Rule in the South
3. Reconstruction in Practice
A. The Reconstruction of Black Social Life
B. The Union League
C. African Americans in Southern Politics
D. Land, Labor, and Disappointment
E. “Carpetbaggers” and “Scalawags”
F. Southern Resistance and White “Redemption”
G. The Legacy of Republican Rule
4. The Grant Years and Northern Disillusionment
A. The Election of 1868
B. Scandals
C. The Money Supply
D. Financial Panic
E. Liberal Republicans
F. White Terror
G. Southern “Redeemers”
H. The Compromise of 1877
I. The End of Reconstruction
5. Reconstruction’s Significance
LECTURE IDEAS
1. A lecture could focus on one or more aspects of Reconstruction policy, emphasizing how and why
each plan differed from the other approaches. During wartime, Abraham Lincoln proposed the first
reconstruction plan. Steven Spielberg’s film Lincoln (2012), as well as the book it was based on, Doris
Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln (2005), provides helpful
information about Lincoln’s plan. Students may benefit from a showing and discussion of the film in
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2. The more one studies Reconstruction, the more evident it becomes that the Civil War’s last battle was
not fought in 1865. Write a lecture on the relentlessly violent and largely successful effort of white
supremacist ex-Confederates to reverse the progress in black rights and restore the South to
3. During Reconstruction, hundreds of African Americans served in politics. A discussion of that topic
could spark considerable discussion and comparisons with more recent political developments, such as
the nation’s election of its first African American president, Barack Obama. Philip Dray’s Capitol
Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction through the Lives of the First Black Congressman (2008) is a
collective biography of several African American congressmen from the South. In Mississippi alone,
4. Andrew Johnson was a very unlikely person to make it to the presidency of the United States and even
more unlikely to have been selected to preside over reconstruction. He was a southerner and a
Democrat. In addition, he was the poorest and the least educated president to ever hold the office.
There are many historical topics to discuss about this man with students, including his meager
upbringing, the complete lack of formal education he received, the fact that he was the only southern
senator to continue in Congress after the secession, his foreign policy, and the purchase of Alaska.
Pertinent sources include:
5. Develop a lecture on the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant. Start with the election of 1868, and discuss
his effectiveness as a campaigner and leader. Continue with the financial issues of the day and an
overview of the culture of corruption that surrounded his administration. One could help students relate
to and understand the issues of the past by discussing the often recurring nature of financial concerns,
6. The Compromise of 1877 settled the controversial 1876 election and effectively ended Reconstruction.
This is event is crucial for understanding the end of this period of American history and the democratic
party’s return to power in the South. Relevant sources include:
• “Compromise of 1877”: http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/compromise-of-1877
• Allan Peskin’s “Was There a Compromise of 1877” in The Journal of American History (1973)
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7. Students would be fascinated with a lecture that puts the activities of some of the most famous outlaws
in American history in the context of the social and political turmoil that followed the Civil War. A
good source for this is T. J. Stiles’s Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War (2002). In this lecture,
explore whether or not Jesse James was one of the classic Robin Hood figures that emerges in many
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES / FLIPPED CLASSROOM SUGGESTIONS
1. Thomas Nast has been called “the Father of the American Cartoon,” and many of the iconic images of
American politics owe their popularity to him. Some of his images have been reprinted in the text, and
many more can easily be found online. Class could begin by discussing the power of the visual image,
both then and now. Give students some prompting and guidance on how to analyze a visual image.
Consider beginning by using a current example and discussing how every detail is fraught with
2. In 1865, President Johnson sent Carl Schurz to the South to document local conditions and evaluate
reconstruction efforts (reference: Carl Schurz’s Report on the Condition of the South [1865[). His
3. Only two presidents have been impeached in U.S. history: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Neither
was convicted. Accusations have been made that partisan motivations played a significant role in both
impeachments. The following website contains several useful links to resources about impeachment
and the particular cases of Presidents Johnson and Clinton (especially President Clinton):
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/Impeachment-Guide.html. In addition, consider having students
4. Divide the class into three groups, and have them research a specific Reconstruction policy: Lincoln’s
plan, Johnson’s plan, and Congressional Reconstruction. Have each group present the unique aspects
of their policy, including its purposes and results. The activity could also be turned into a modified
debate by separating out a few students to be judges who could also ask questions of the three groups
presenting. Each group would then argue why their policy would be the best option. Useful resources
include the following:
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What were the federal government’s major challenges in reconstructing the South after the Civil War
during the period from 1865 to 1877?
2. How and why did Reconstruction policies change over time?
3. What were the attitudes of white and black southerners toward Reconstruction?
4. In what ways did African Americans come together and use their increased freedoms after the Civil
War to fight for various initiatives?
5. Why did Reconstruction come to an end in 1877?
6. What makes the Reconstruction era significant in United States history? What is its legacy? How did
it affect the nation in the future?
7. How did the role of government continue to evolve and expand during Reconstruction in areas such
as public health?
8. Was Reconstruction a failure? Why or why not, and who deserves the blame for its shortcomings or
credit for its achievements?
9. If Lincoln or Johnson had the opportunity to see their respective Reconstruction plans through, did
either one (or both) have the potential to be more effective than Congressional Reconstruction? Why
or why not?
10. Did Andrew Johnson deserve to be impeached?
11. Was it a mistake by the Radical Republicans to emphasize civil rights of the freedmen in their
Reconstruction plans? Was it a mistake to deemphasize those rights as Reconstruction dragged on?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
With the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, the United States struck a powerful symbolic
blow against the institution of slavery. However, in the twenty-first century, is slavery is still being
practiced in parts of the world, whether legally or illegally? What forms of human trafficking still exist?