A History of the United States: Chapter 18: The Reconstruction Era

The task of rebuilding the former Confederate states and readmitting them to the Union was called Reconstruction.

He offered amnesty—forgiveness for any crimes committed—to those who would swear loyalty to the Union.

A group of Republican representatives favored a more radical approach to Reconstruction.

In March 1865, Lincoln and Congress together created the Freedmen's Bureau. Its main purpose was to help African Americans adjust to life after slavery.

Republicans in Congress were able to override, or defeat, both vetoes, and the bills became law.

It also excluded former Confederate leaders from holding any national or state office unless Congress had pardoned them.

In August 1867, while Congress was not in session, Johnson suspended Stanton—temporarily stopped him from working— without the Senate's approval.

The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Johnson—that is, formally charge him with wrongdoing.

Former Confederates who held resentment against those who had been pro-Union called these people scalawags, a term meaning “scoundrel” or “worthless rascal.”

White Southerners accused Reconstruction governments of corruption—dishonest or illegal actions.

White landowners often refused to rent land to freed people. Store owners refused them credit.

Northerners set up academies in the South. These academies grew into a network of colleges and universities for African Americans.

Few states had laws requiring schools to be integrated. Schools that are integrated have both white and African American students.

In the sharecropping system, landowners rented land to sharecroppers, or farmers. Sharecroppers gave a percentage of their crops to the landowner.

Congress named a commission to decide which candidate should receive the disputed electoral votes.

To ensure that Congress accepted this outcome, Republicans made many promises to the Democrats.

White Southern leaders found ways to get around the amendment. One way was by requiring a poll tax, a fee required for voting. Many African Americans could not afford to pay the tax, so they could not vote.

Another means of denying voting rights was the literacy test. This approach required potential voters to read and explain difficult parts of state constitutions or the federal Constitution.

Both poll taxes and literacy tests also kept some whites from voting. To prevent this, some states passed grandfather clauses. These laws allowed people to vote if their fathers or grandfathers had voted before Reconstruction. Because African Americans could not vote until 1867, they were excluded.

By the late 1800s, segregation had also become common across the South. Segregation is separation of the races.

One form of violence was lynching, in which angry mobs killed people by hanging them.