Reconstruction Video Post

 

Reconstruction Video Post

The Reconstruction video was an educational video that informed us of how after the Civil War, things were supposed to be hopeful for the African Americans. It was a national crisis back then and for some the same national crisis today. The Civil War had ended, and the Reconstruction amendments had passed. The African Americans were figuring out their place in society. The North and the South had very different views of what that should look like.

After the war had ended, Lincoln gave a speech giving black men and veterans the right to vote. Lincoln was assassinated for having those views. I’m not sure why Lincoln would pick Andrew Johnson as his Vice President because they had very different views, but I know he needed someone who was both a Southerner and a Democrat to win a national unity ticket.

 

Andrew Johnson was the first to become President from an assassination. He was a poor Southerner who blamed the plantation owners for the nation’s issues. This could explain why he required the wealthier, old Confederate landowners to personally appeal to him on an individual basis for a pardon before returning their land. This land was initially meant to be distributed to the newly freed African Americans through the Freedman’s Bureau, but though these pardons it was returned to Confederate owners.

 

The Freedman’s Bureau was created by an act of Congress on March 3, 1865, two months before Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union's Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virgina. From the beginning the Bureau faced hostility from a variety of sources including many white Southerners and President Andrew Johnson.

The Reconstruction under Johnson came with Black codes in place from strict local and state laws that said where and how enslaved people could work and how much they would make as far as pay. The code made sure that African Americans stayed subordinate and inferior to the white race. 

On December 4, 1865, the 39th Congress met as a group of 15 committee members to review the credentials of the newly elected legislators from various Confederate states. Within the group were 9 representatives and 6 senators. The group questioned whether or not the confederate states should be granted membership into the House of Congress. After reviewing the case, the committee rejected the Southern member's request to join them.

When the 39th Congress convened on December 4, 1865, some of the newly elected legislators from former Confederate states presented credentials, expecting to be seated in the Senate. Questions about the validity of the credentials prompted the House and Senate to establish a Joint Committee on Reconstruction. This 15-member committee, composed of 9 representatives and 6 senators, investigated "the conditions of the States which formed the so-called confederate States of America" to determine whether they "are entitled to be represented in either House of Congress." Following its investigation, the committee refused to admit the Southern members.

Although President Johnson tried to bring the country back together by creating a reconstruction plan for the country, most moderates and radicals were against it. This led to increased tension in the country. People engaged in violent riots in different cities across the country. People got hurt trying to express their opposition.

The country finally started to shift into a different direction when Congress passed new amendments and acts giving rights to all American citizens regardless of race. Although it was a challenge to get both sides to agree, eventually Congress convinced southern states to abide by the law. The Civil Rights Act of 1966 gave all people born in America citizenship. Amendments, like the 13th and 14th Amendments, helped reconstruct America. Southern states were forced to ratify and oblige by these amendments. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. The 14th Amendment required states to honor the rights of all citizens and grant them due process of the law. The country continued to show progress when African Americans started to become elected to congressional positions despite their previous "slave" roles. This, along with the election of Republican Ulysses S. Grant gave Americans hope that America can become a nation that accepts each individual despite differences in race.

References:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedmens-bureau

https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/civil_war/VictoryTragedyReconstruction.htm