Reconstruction: Problems and Solutions
Political re-entry of formerly rebellious states
Lincoln’s 10% Plan
Lincoln’s plan for re-introducing the previously rebellious Southern states into the Union had been fairly simple; the plan stated that a state would be re-admitted into the Union once ten percent of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union and agreed upon the legality of the thirteenth amendment. This plan ensured that all Southerners, except those that were high-ranking Confederate military officers or government officials, would be granted full pardon. Unlike Johnson’s plan for reconstruction, however, Lincoln guaranteed that all their property would be safe from confiscation save slaves and that there would be no chance of confiscation. This plan satisfied Lincoln’s needs for a swift end to the Civil War.
Wade-Davis Bill
The Wade-Davis bill had been different than Lincoln’s 10% Plan in a number of important ways. The first way that the two had differed was that the plan called for a requirement of fifty percent of the voters swearing an oath of allegiance to the Union. The second difference is in the bill’s plan for the rights of blacks – in the Wade Davis bill, there were safeguards established for the rights of blacks, but nothing that acknowledged their right to vote. The third and final difference is that the billed stated that Confederate military officers would be disenfranchised of their position upon return to the Union and that any property located within the boundaries of a rebellious state worth more than $20,000 could be possibly confiscated by the Union. Through the method of pocket-vetoing, or refusing to sign/reject the bill until Congress would go into recess, Lincoln was able to avoid the passing of this bill (as he believed that it would not take swift enough action to end the War).
Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
Johnson’s plan for reconstruction had been similar to Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction as it had been made in the hopes of restoring the Union in as little time as possible. However, it differed much because of how it treated returning Southerners very leniently compared to previously introduced plans; Johnson planned to return confiscated property to white Southerners, issued many official pardons to former Confederate military officers and government officials, and undermined the Freedmen’s Bureau by ordering it to return all confiscated lands to white landowners. However, his plan still did force all of the returning Southern states to include the ratification of the thirteenth amendment within their constitution, so the main goal would still be accomplished. However, the plans ended up as a failure and Congress declared that these Acts of Reconstruction over.
Economic devastation of the South
Share Cropping
Though most blacks did not own their own land during this crucial reconstruction period, they were still able to make a little bit of a living off of agriculture. Roughly 25 percent of black agricultural workers worked for wages, the majority however, rented plots of land and a place to live off of white landowners. They worked their own land and paid their white land lords either rent, or a share of their crop, hence the term “share cropping”. Overall it was successful for those who it affected, and benefited both the black and white population.
Land Distribution
The freedmen’s Bureau oversaw the redistribution of land to freedmen in a few areas. They mostly used abandoned plantations, which caused dreams of former slaves owning their very own plots of land. But, overall, the dream imploded in a very short amount of time. Southern plantation owners were returning and demanding their property back. In the end, the government restored the land taken, back to the original white land owners.
Crop-Lien System
With most of America at this time being poor, including blacks and whites, a new system of credit emerged. It allowed for the poor citizens of America to loan supplies from general stores in the form of credit. When the first crop is harvested, it goes directly to these owners of the stores, sometimes with interest rates as high as 50-60 percent. Overall it was a good concept, but farmers that suffered from a few bad crop years in a row would become trapped in a never ending cycle of debt.
Education and support of the Freedmen
Freedmen’s Bureau
The Freedmen’s Bureau was created by Congress in order to help the distribution of food and supplies (to slaves living on confiscated land in South Carolina and Georgia), create and fund schools, and to continue to aid the distribution process of land to former slaves and poor whites. While there had been many shortcomings with the system regarding land distribution and the abuse of rich, white Southerners, the Freedmen’s bureau did succeed in establishing schools that would help educate the over 250,000 now free blacks.
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment protects the rights of U.S. citizenship of all those who are either born or naturalized in the U.S. and prohibits states from denying due process or equal protection of the law to their citizens (of any race, gender, religious status, etc.). However, the Black Codes, laws that were passed in 1865 and 1866, worked to circumvent these new “restrictions to standard Southern life.” For example, many states required freedmen to sign a yearly labor contract; if they refused to sign, they risked being arrested as vagrants and being fined or forced into unpaid labor – this is one of many examples of the way the Black Codes worked around established laws and amendments to the constitution. So while there has been success in the use of the 14th amendment in times of debate during the 20th century, the 19th century had seen great efforts to bypass such laws.
15th Amendment
This amendment guarantees the right to vote to all male citizens regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. While it had been rather effective in Northern states since it both provided the opportunity and encouraged voting by blacks. However, the Black Codes and intimidation by whites, many blacks throughout the South were unable to vote freely and ultimately led to a large bypassing of this amendment to the Constitution throughout much of the 19th century.
Lincoln’s 10% Plan
Lincoln’s plan for re-introducing the previously rebellious Southern states into the Union had been fairly simple; the plan stated that a state would be re-admitted into the Union once ten percent of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union and agreed upon the legality of the thirteenth amendment. This plan ensured that all Southerners, except those that were high-ranking Confederate military officers or government officials, would be granted full pardon. Unlike Johnson’s plan for reconstruction, however, Lincoln guaranteed that all their property would be safe from confiscation save slaves and that there would be no chance of confiscation. This plan satisfied Lincoln’s needs for a swift end to the Civil War.
Wade-Davis Bill
The Wade-Davis bill had been different than Lincoln’s 10% Plan in a number of important ways. The first way that the two had differed was that the plan called for a requirement of fifty percent of the voters swearing an oath of allegiance to the Union. The second difference is in the bill’s plan for the rights of blacks – in the Wade Davis bill, there were safeguards established for the rights of blacks, but nothing that acknowledged their right to vote. The third and final difference is that the billed stated that Confederate military officers would be disenfranchised of their position upon return to the Union and that any property located within the boundaries of a rebellious state worth more than $20,000 could be possibly confiscated by the Union. Through the method of pocket-vetoing, or refusing to sign/reject the bill until Congress would go into recess, Lincoln was able to avoid the passing of this bill (as he believed that it would not take swift enough action to end the War).
Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
Johnson’s plan for reconstruction had been similar to Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction as it had been made in the hopes of restoring the Union in as little time as possible. However, it differed much because of how it treated returning Southerners very leniently compared to previously introduced plans; Johnson planned to return confiscated property to white Southerners, issued many official pardons to former Confederate military officers and government officials, and undermined the Freedmen’s Bureau by ordering it to return all confiscated lands to white landowners. However, his plan still did force all of the returning Southern states to include the ratification of the thirteenth amendment within their constitution, so the main goal would still be accomplished. However, the plans ended up as a failure and Congress declared that these Acts of Reconstruction over.
Economic devastation of the South
Share Cropping
Though most blacks did not own their own land during this crucial reconstruction period, they were still able to make a little bit of a living off of agriculture. Roughly 25 percent of black agricultural workers worked for wages, the majority however, rented plots of land and a place to live off of white landowners. They worked their own land and paid their white land lords either rent, or a share of their crop, hence the term “share cropping”. Overall it was successful for those who it affected, and benefited both the black and white population.
Land Distribution
The freedmen’s Bureau oversaw the redistribution of land to freedmen in a few areas. They mostly used abandoned plantations, which caused dreams of former slaves owning their very own plots of land. But, overall, the dream imploded in a very short amount of time. Southern plantation owners were returning and demanding their property back. In the end, the government restored the land taken, back to the original white land owners.
Crop-Lien System
With most of America at this time being poor, including blacks and whites, a new system of credit emerged. It allowed for the poor citizens of America to loan supplies from general stores in the form of credit. When the first crop is harvested, it goes directly to these owners of the stores, sometimes with interest rates as high as 50-60 percent. Overall it was a good concept, but farmers that suffered from a few bad crop years in a row would become trapped in a never ending cycle of debt.
Education and support of the Freedmen
Freedmen’s Bureau
The Freedmen’s Bureau was created by Congress in order to help the distribution of food and supplies (to slaves living on confiscated land in South Carolina and Georgia), create and fund schools, and to continue to aid the distribution process of land to former slaves and poor whites. While there had been many shortcomings with the system regarding land distribution and the abuse of rich, white Southerners, the Freedmen’s bureau did succeed in establishing schools that would help educate the over 250,000 now free blacks.
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment protects the rights of U.S. citizenship of all those who are either born or naturalized in the U.S. and prohibits states from denying due process or equal protection of the law to their citizens (of any race, gender, religious status, etc.). However, the Black Codes, laws that were passed in 1865 and 1866, worked to circumvent these new “restrictions to standard Southern life.” For example, many states required freedmen to sign a yearly labor contract; if they refused to sign, they risked being arrested as vagrants and being fined or forced into unpaid labor – this is one of many examples of the way the Black Codes worked around established laws and amendments to the constitution. So while there has been success in the use of the 14th amendment in times of debate during the 20th century, the 19th century had seen great efforts to bypass such laws.
15th Amendment
This amendment guarantees the right to vote to all male citizens regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. While it had been rather effective in Northern states since it both provided the opportunity and encouraged voting by blacks. However, the Black Codes and intimidation by whites, many blacks throughout the South were unable to vote freely and ultimately led to a large bypassing of this amendment to the Constitution throughout much of the 19th century.
Synopsis
As a whole, the efforts for reconstruction had failed. Certain areas thrived and benefited their efforts for a certain amount of time, such as the Freedmen's Bureau which provided education for over 250,000 freedmen and the 13th/14th/15th amendment which provided official rights to freedmen, yet their was significant Southern resistance. Tactics by white Southerners such as voter intimidation, the Black Codes, the K.K.K., and a handful of other methods were used to circumvent these newly given rights and had been what had caused the overall effort of the reconstruction to be a failure.