HISTORY

Describing the Reconstruction after 1865



Describing the Reconstruction after 1865

Time of the "Reconstruction" 1865 -1896

The post-Civil War is marked by the dominance of Republicans in national affairs. Republican Party retains control of both houses of Congress until 1875 and the presidency until 1885. This period saw the reinstatement of the secessionist states in the Union, and the policy toward them is called the period of Reconstruction ("Reconstruction Period").

Reconstruction policy: with the acceptance of the 13th Amendment by the Southern States and reintegration of these states in the Union.

Reconstruction of the Congress with the passage of three amendments to the Constitution.

Presidential Reconstruction: Amnesty and voting rights given to every voter making oath of loyalty to the United States.

When the civil war ended, the Southern region was no longer the field of ruins. The destruction that resulted from invasion forces of the North was massive, and the old socio-economic order was founded on slavery which had collapsed with nothing to replace it. The eleven Confederate States were in one way or another return to the Union, provided that their governments are willing to discuss the role of the emancipation of slaves in Southern society. The plan of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln advocated a moderate policy; he announced the ten percent plan:

1 January 1863, during the war, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the emancipation of slaves in the insurgent States ("Emancipation Proclamation"). But he was unable to enter the Abolition of Slavery in the Constitution for lack of a sufficient majority in Congress.

From December 8, 1863, President Lincoln proposed a plan of "Amnesty and Reconstruction" ("Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction"), motivated by the will to create a strong Republican Party in the South and to end with the bitterness engendered by the war in the area of Confederation occupied by Union armies. He promised pardon to all Southerners with the exception of military and civilian dignitaries of the Confederation or it's Member States who swore an oath of loyalty to the Constitution and swear to obey the laws of war and proclamations on slavery. As soon as ten percent of the electorate in 1860 of a State would have complied with these provisions, the State will be able to draft a new Constitution, to abolish slavery, to elect new officers of state and of send representatives to Congress.

This plan became the basis of the presidential program of Reconstruction

Creation of the "Freedmen's Bureau" in March 1864 Congress created the Office of the freedmen ("Freedmen's Bureau Bill") to protect and assist freed slaves to reintegrate and enforce their rights. The renewal of this office, created for one year, received the Presidential veto, which marked the beginning of the battle of the President with Congressional Republicans on Reconstruction. They still managed to organize an office, which functioned as a political machine, organizing the black vote in favor of the Republican Party.

It is also planned for some time to organize all the abandoned land in the South and to grant land ...