Reconstruction Plan

Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction Plan

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Reconstruction

• It can be frustrating to learn about Reconstruction because there are many ups and downs: progress & backlash

• However, it was a period that had a major impact on this country. Learning about Reconstruction can help Americans to break the cycle of its past

13th Amendment

• In 1865 the states ratified the 13th amendment which outlawed slavery in the Constitution (except as punishment for a crime) This would mean slavery would be illegal in every state.

Multiple Choice

What did the 13th amendment do?

• Ended slavery in the North

• Ended slavery in the entire United States

• Allowed African Americans the right to vote

• Ended the Civil War

Video on Families Reuiniting after gaining freedom

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Multiple Choice

What was a common way freedmen were able to reunite after slavery was abolished?

• Publishing ads in newspapers about their loved ones they wanted to find

• Petitioning the federal government to help them search for family members

• Reconnecting with former slave owners to ask for details on their loved ones

Turn & Talk

What type of support do you think freed people would need after slavery was abolished?

The Freedmen's Bureau

In 1865 Radical Republicans in Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau which was a program to help former slaves transition to free life. It provided housing, education, job help, medical care and many other forms of assistance

Multiple Choice

What was the goal of the Freedmen's Bureau?

• To help people gain freedom from slavery

• To help free people relocate to the North

• To provide services that would helped people transition to a free life

• To promote the abolition of slavery in the rest of the world

Owning Land

One of the most important goals of the Freedmen’s bureau was to provide freedmen with land.

Land would provide them with the ability to make their own wealth and gain independence. 

Multiple Choice

Why was owning land so important for freedmen?

• It would allow them make their own wealth and be independent

• They could sell the land

• They could move out of the south

40 Acres and a Mule

A lot of land in the south was abandoned by southerners and seized by the Federal government.

During the war, Union general Sherman began giving abandoned Confederate land to freedmen

After the war the Freedmen's Bureau promised all freedmen 40 acres and a mule so they could gain economic independence

Multiple Choice

What was the meaning of the phrase "40 acres and a mule"

• The promise of land to freedman after the war

• The promise of land to ex-confederates after the war

• The promise of rights to freedmen after the war

Andrew Johnson

• After the death of Lincoln, his Vice President became President

• Andrew Johnson was a Democrat who grew up in Tennessee (a southern state that seceded)

• He supported abolition but did not believe in the equality of the races. He supported abolition mainly because he was from a poor white family and opposed the wealthy plantation owners

Video: Andrew Johnson

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Johnson's Reconstruction Plan

• When Congress was on a scheduled recess (break) Johnson took over Reconstruction

• Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction was even more lenient on ex-confederates than Lincoln’s plan

Pardon

Freedom from punishment/ consequence

Johnson's Reconstruction Plan

• Only wealthy confederates would have to ask for a pardon for him directly, but he pardoned all of them who did

• After receiving their pardon, the ex-Confederates could regain full rights and power

• Johnson allowed the southern states to determine their own rules

Multiple Choice

Which of the following describes Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction Plan?

• Very lenient on the ex-Confederates

• Strict on ex-confederates

• Somewhat lenient but more strict than Lincoln

Johnson's Reconstruction Plan

• Since Johnson was so lenient on the South, southern whites began to to regain power. This had a negative impact on freedmen

Video: Effects of Johnson's Reconstruction Plan

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Multiple Choice

Johnson's Reconstruction Plan had which of the following impacts on freedmen?

• They were not allowed to attend school

• They were not allowed to work for white southerners

• They were not allowed to live in the south

• They did not get to keep the land they were promised

Turn & Talk

How do you think it would have impacted history if freed people had received 40 acres of land during Reconstruction?