✊🏿African American History – 1865 to Present Unit 1 – Reconstruction Era: Hopes and Setbacks

Key Events and Timeline

• Reconstruction began in 1865 after the end of the Civil War and lasted until 1877
• President Abraham Lincoln's assassination in April 1865 led to Andrew Johnson becoming president
• The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery was ratified in December 1865
• The Freedmen's Bureau was established in 1865 to provide aid and assistance to former slaves
• The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship and equal rights to African Americans
• The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 granting citizenship to all persons born in the United States
• The 15th Amendment was ratified in 1870 prohibiting denial of voting rights based on race
• The Ku Klux Klan formed in 1865 to resist Reconstruction and intimidate African Americans and their supporters

Political Developments

• The Radical Republicans gained control of Congress in 1866 and pushed for more extensive Reconstruction measures
• The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the South into five military districts and required new state constitutions
• African American men gained the right to vote and hold office during Reconstruction
• Many African Americans were elected to state legislatures and Congress (Hiram Revels, Blanche K. Bruce)
• The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South in exchange for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president
• This compromise allowed Southern Democrats to regain control of state governments and implement Jim Crow laws

Social Changes

• Emancipation led to the breakup of many slave families as people sought to reunite with loved ones
• The Freedmen's Bureau provided education for former slaves and helped establish schools (Howard University, Fisk University)
• African Americans formed their own churches and religious denominations (African Methodist Episcopal Church)
• Interracial marriages and relationships became more common during Reconstruction
• Racist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan used violence and intimidation to maintain white supremacy
• The convict lease system emerged as a way to exploit African American labor after slavery

Economic Impacts

• The Southern economy was devastated by the Civil War and the end of slavery
• Many former slaves became sharecroppers, working land owned by whites in exchange for a share of the crop
• The crop-lien system often trapped African American farmers in cycles of debt
• Some African Americans were able to acquire land and become independent farmers
• The Southern economy remained primarily agricultural and did not industrialize like the North
• African Americans faced discrimination and limited economic opportunities even after slavery ended

African American Leaders and Voices

• Frederick Douglass continued to advocate for African American rights and served in government positions
• Booker T. Washington emphasized economic self-reliance and founded the Tuskegee Institute to provide vocational training
• W.E.B. Du Bois advocated for civil rights and helped found the NAACP in 1909
• Ida B. Wells was a journalist and activist who campaigned against lynching and racial violence
• Robert Smalls was a former slave who became a U.S. Congressman from South Carolina during Reconstruction
• Sojourner Truth continued to fight for women's rights and spoke out against discrimination

Resistance and Backlash

• The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups used violence and terror to intimidate African Americans and their supporters
• The Compromise of 1877 led to the withdrawal of federal troops and the end of Reconstruction
• Southern Democrats implemented Jim Crow laws to enforce racial segregation and disenfranchise African American voters
• Lynching became a common form of racial violence used to maintain white supremacy
• The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) upheld the "separate but equal" doctrine, allowing for legal segregation
• African Americans faced ongoing discrimination, violence, and limited opportunities despite the gains made during Reconstruction

Legacy and Long-Term Effects

• Reconstruction brought about significant changes but ultimately failed to ensure long-term equality for African Americans
• The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments laid the foundation for future civil rights struggles
• The Freedmen's Bureau and other Reconstruction-era programs set a precedent for federal involvement in social welfare
• The rise of Jim Crow laws and segregation after Reconstruction shaped race relations for decades
• The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s built upon the legacy of Reconstruction to challenge racial discrimination
• The ongoing struggle for racial justice and equality in the United States can be traced back to the unfulfilled promises of Reconstruction

Important Debates and Controversies

• The extent to which Reconstruction should punish former Confederates and redistribute land to former slaves was heavily debated
• The role of the federal government in protecting African American rights and enforcing Reconstruction policies was controversial
• The impeachment of President Andrew Johnson in 1868 highlighted political divisions over Reconstruction
• The use of violence and intimidation by white supremacist groups raised questions about the federal government's ability to maintain order and protect African Americans
• The Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction were seen by many as a betrayal of African American rights and a failure to ensure long-term equality
• The legacy of Reconstruction and its impact on race relations in the United States remains a subject of ongoing historical debate and interpretation