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Reconstruction. Reconstruction. Reconstruction was the process or rebuilding the south and restoring the southern states to the Union. Problems facing MS included: Wide-spread poverty. The physical destruction of the state’s resources. A loss of labor. Destruction from the Civil War.
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Reconstruction • Reconstruction was the process or rebuilding the south and restoring the southern states to the Union. • Problems facing MS included: • Wide-spread poverty. • The physical destruction of the state’s resources. • A loss of labor.
The Freedmen • There were around 400,000 freedmen, or former slaves, living in MS. • Problems faced by the freedmen were: • They were homeless. • They were jobless. • They had no education or job skills.
The Freedman’s Bureau • The Freedman’s Bureau was established by the federal government to help the freed slaves. • It aided them in finding food, clothing and shelter as well helping to get an education and find jobs. • Rumors spread that each freedman would be given “40 acres and a mule” but very few freedmen were given any land permanently.
Presidential Reconstruction • Abraham Lincoln wants to restore the southern states to the Union as quickly and as easily as possible. • Under the Presidential Plan of Reconstruction: • All southerners except for high-ranking Confederate officials would be pardoned by taking an oath of loyalty to the Union. • When 10% of the voters in a state had taken the oath of loyalty, the state would be permitted to form a legal government and rejoin the Union.
The Radical Republicans • The Radical Republicans (led by Thaddeus Stevens) were a group of men who wanted to use Reconstruction to punish the south. • They believed that Lincoln’s plan of reconstruction was too easy on the south. • They also wanted to make sure the freedmen’s rights were protected.
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln • On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. • Andrew Johnson, from TN, would take over as president.
MS and Presidential Reconstruction • MS held a constitutional convention and decided to reinstate the Constitution of 1832, which recognized the right to own slavery. • MS refused to ratify the 13th Amendment. • State elections were held and many former Confederates were elected to public office. • MS’s new state legislature refuses to ratify the 14th Amendment, which granted the freed slaves citizenship, due process of the law and equal protection of the law. • The legislature also passed a series of laws called the Black Codes, which were designed to restrict the rights of the freed slaves and force them to remain in the fields.
Radical Reconstruction • The Radical Republicans look at MS’s and the south’s actions as an attempt to ignore the Civil War and keep slavery. • In response, the Radical Republicans refuse to recognize the new southern governments and pass the Reconstruction Act.
The Reconstruction Act • The south was divided into five military districts run by a military governor and subject to martial law. • All ex-Confederates were removed from local and state government. • Southern states had to write a new constitution that protected the rights of the freedmen (specifically the right to vote). • Southern states had to ratify – officially enact as law – the 14th Amendment.
Edward O. Ord • Major General Edward Ord was the military governor of MS. • Ord calls for a new constitutional convention. • Former Confederates can’t participate, so its led by: Carpetbaggers, who are northerners who came south for government jobs. Scalawags, who are southerners who supported the Republican Party. Freedmen.
The Freedmen in MS’s Government • Seventeen freedmen served in the constitutional convention of 1868 and did very well, considering most had limited education and none had any political experience. • The freedmen who served in the convention will push for resolutions that provided universal male suffrage and a system of free public schools for all children.
The Disfranchisement Clause • MS’s new constitution had a disfranchisement clausewhich would prevent former Confederates or anyone who supported or gave aid to the former Confederates from voting. • This clause caused many conservative white Mississippians not to vote for the Constitution of 1868. • The Ku Klux Klankept many black Mississippians from voting for the Constitution of 1868.
Ku Klux Klan • The Ku Klux Klan was formed by the Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forest. • They used violence and intimidation to try to keep black southerners from participating in government. • Ulysses S. Grant sent federal troops into the south to get the KKK under control.
Black Political Power in MS • When the Constitution of 1868 passes, more and more black men will be chosen to government positions within the state. 2. Benjamin T. Montgomery, a justice of the peace, was believed to be the first black man to hold public office in MS. 3. Hiram Revels, who finished Jefferson Davis’ term in the Senate, became the first black man to serve in the U.S. Senate. 4. Blanche K. Bruce was elected to the U.S. Senate and was the only black man to serve a full term in the Senate until 1966.
Education in MS • The most important accomplishment of MS’s Republican government will be the system of public schools they create. • In 1870, the state legislature created a school system in each county and allocated funds to operate the schools. • By 1875, over 150,000 children, black and white, were enrolled in public schools.
Higher Education in MS • In 1871, Alcorn University was established for black Mississippians. • In 1878, the Mississippi Agriculture and Mechanical College was created – it later became Mississippi State University. • In 1884, the Industrial Institute and Collegebecame the first state supported college for women in the entire U.S. – it later became the University for Women.
