Chapter 7 Notes - Short Version

Chapter 7 Notes

Reconstruction (1864-1877)

​Reconstruction is the term for the period of time after the Civil War ended where the nation tried to rebuild itself, both physically and politically.

Reconstruction was also a time for Americans, in particular in the South, to figure out how to properly integrate African-Americans into life as freedmen

Arkansas had a convention in 1864 where they began to draft a new constitution, one which outlawed slavery.

Northern states wanted the Southern states to be severely punished for the damage and cost they caused, and thought letting them back in was too soft

Southern states wanted back in but didn’t want to approve the 13th amendment or have the US government involved in their affairs

In states like Arkansas, shortly after the war, many black codes were passed, to restrict the lives and freedoms of freed blacks in the state

These codes made it impossible for blacks to sue whites, serve on juries, or attend schools along with whites

Because most free slaves couldn’t afford to buy their own land, many became workers for white farmers, with wages so low that it became almost impossible for them to buy their own land

Crop Liens were contracts designed to help farmers by giving them means to purchase seed, supplies, equipment, by promising banks a portion of the crop

Sharecropping also became a popular system during Reconstruction, where farmers rented land from larger farmers and paid back their rent in a share of the crop.

Near the end of the Civil War, the US government created the Freedmen’s Bureau, designed to help poor blacks transition into life as free men.

Reconstruction also led to a rise in new businessmen moving South, known as carpetbaggers, named for the carpet bags they kept their belongings in

Carpetbaggers were very unpopular with Southerners who saw them as predators coming to take advantage of the poor south, and profit off of southern reconstruction.

Following Andrew Johnson's impeachment, Congress then took over the process of Reconstruction in the Southern States

One of the rules that Congress required was for all the Confederate states to write a new Constitution which included the 14th amendment in order to rejoin Congress.

During the Reconstruction period, the balance of power in the state shifted from Southern Democrats to Republicans.

The Republican party was closely aligned with the interest of the federal government and for guaranteeing rights and liberties to freed slaves in the South.

During the time period, the Ku Klux Klan was created in Tennessee and found a foothold in Arkansas, with the goal of intimidating Republican government officials and freedmen.

In the Governor's election of 1872, Joseph Brooks stepped up to lead the Liberal Republicans while Elisha Baxter became the leader of the regular Republicans.

The Brooks-Baxter War is a term that refers to the conflict that resulted from the controversial governor’s election of 1872 between these two

Finally in 1874, a fifth Arkansas Constitution was written, this time by Democrats who were former Confederates, a group who finally got their way to keep northern interests out of Arkansas politics

These politicians would reverse many policies Republicans had put into place and leave some unfinished business for African-American rights in the state.