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The Emancipation Proclamation
Forging a Path for Reconstruction: When President Lincoln shifted the central aim of the Civil War and committed the promise to fight for freedom onto paper, that document, the Emancipation Proclamation, would become a major catalyst and stage setter for major political and social change in the next decade to come. -
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TIME: Wartime Promises, Plans, & Emancipation
This period of TIME may be considered the first "unit" of time, encapsulating events that might be considered the precursor to Post-Civil War Reconstruction efforts. The Reconstruction Era as interpreted and investigated through the disciplinary concept of TIME. -
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CHANGE: Redefining Roles of Federal, State, & Local Gov't
Entries within this span of time (also) reflects the prominent CHANGES that have occurred in respects to the redefined roles and reach of federal, state, and local governments during the Post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. The Reconstruction Era as interpreted and investigated through the disciplinary concept of CHANGE. -
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ACCOUNT: The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship
This link here will take you to a website with a curation of factual information for an alternative account of the Reconstruction Era and its aftermath, centered on the challenges, struggles, and fight African Americans faced for civil rights: -
The 10-Percent Plan
Setting the Initial Terms for Reunification: According to President Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, just 10% of voters in ex-Confederate states would have to pledge the oath of allegiance to the Union and -
The Wade-Davis Bill
Early Radical Congressional Imprints: In response to President Lincoln's 10 percent plan, Sen. Benjamin Wade (of Ohio) and Congressman Henry Davis (of Maryland) and a Radical Republican led Congress drafts a bill of their own--one that would require 50 percent of voters in ex-Confederate states to make the pledge to the Union. The bill also limited political participation of former Confederates and called for African American voting rights as well as equal protections under the law. -
Establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau
Established by Congress in 1865 to help support former black slaves in the aftermath of the Civil War. The Freeman's Bureau offered legal assistance in the form of food, housing, medical aid, and schooling. -
Black Codes
Laws--often taking the form of labor regulations and criminal laws-- enacted by southern states in an effort to thwart the social and economic progress and advancement of Black rights. -
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TIME: Reunification Efforts (Clashes) & Struggles for Civil Rights
This period of TIME broadly includes entries that reflect the efforts, clashes, breakthroughs, and struggles during the most radical progression of the era.
The Reconstruction Era as interpreted and investigated through the disciplinary concept of TIME. -
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CHANGE: Transformation of Southern Society
Entries within this span of time (also) reflects the prominent CHANGES that have occurred in respects to the transformation of southern society during the Post-Civil War Reconstruction Era. The Reconstruction Era as interpreted and investigated through the disciplinary concept of CHANGE. -
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ACCOUNT: White Supremacy, Terrorism, and the Failure of Reconstruction in the United States
This link here will take you to a website that accounts for historical to thematic reflection on southern resistance and pushback of reunification efforts -
Special Field Order 15
General William Tecumseh Sherman led troves of the Union army through the south, issuing Special Field Order 15, which reclaimed acres of confiscated land in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to be redistributed (in 40 acres) to newly freed slaves and their families. -
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CHANGE: End of (Overt) Slavery & Fight for Black Rights
Entries within this span of time (also) reflects the prominent CHANGES that have occurred in respects to the end of (overt) slavery--with the passage of the 13th amendment--and continual fight for Black rights during the Post-Civil War Reconstruction Era.
The Reconstruction Era as interpreted and investigated through the disciplinary concept of CHANGE. -
President Lincoln's Assassination
Six days after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops, President Lincoln was shot and killed while attending a performance in Washington DC's Ford's Theater. His death dealt a major blow to Reconstruction, reunification, and reconciliation efforts between the North and the South. -
President Johnson's Reconstruction Plan
President Johnson's Reconstruction Plan calls for "general amnesty" and property restoration--save for slaves--to Southerners who agree to pledge future loyalty to the U.S. government. It also allowed former Confederate leaders to individually petition for pardons and granted states the right to start and run new governments with provisional governors. The plan made no effort to address the economic subjugation of African Americans working under former slave owners. -
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EMPATHY/PERSPECTIVES: The Radical Republicans vs. President Andrew Johnson
The issues and events surrounding battles between Congress and President Johnson reflect various perspectives on interracial democracy during the times; such issues and events offer an understanding of the clashing sentiments and mentality of those in the North, in regards to southern ways of life and leadership. -
EVIDENCE: The Absolute Equality of All Men Before the law, the Only True Basis of Reconstruction (William Dickson, Daniel Murray Pamphlet, 1865)
This primary source document offers a meditation on early Reconstruction Era policy efforts; provides details on post-Civil War America -
13th Amendment
After receiving congressional approval on January 31st, the 13th amendment is officially ratified nearly 11 months later, abolishing slavery in the U.S. (save for punishment of a crime(s)). -
The Ku Klux Klan Forms
General Nathan Bedford Forrest founds the Ku Klux Klan, which quickly evolves into widespread networks of local white supremacist terrorist groups enticing violence and operating in resistance to Reconstruction Era policies advocating for political, economic, and social equality for African Americans. -
Johnson Vetoes Civil Right's Act of 1866 and other Radical Reconstruction Bills
After vetoing a supplemental Freedman Bureau's Bill intended to grant protections to African Americans in the south, President Johnson vetos the Civil Right's Act of 1866, believing that Congress was overextending its power to guarantee citizenship within the states and/or control state legislation. Congress, however, overrides the veto as tensions continue to rise between the president and radical members of Congress. -
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EMPATHY/PERSPECTIVES: Southern Resistance and Origins of the Ku Klux Klan
This particular perspective reflects white southern resistance to Reconstruction Era policies and progressive movements; understanding such pushback will trace the roots of white supremacy and early fuels for racial conflicts to come over the course of the next century. -
EVIDENCE: Labor Contract between James Mitchell and Richard and Mary
This primary source document offers insight into the challenges that formerly enslaved African Americans faced following the Civil War; provides a look into working labor contracts and conditions of the time. -
President Johnson Impeachment
Garnering continual opposition from Radical Republicans, President Johnson is the first president to be impeached by Congress. He manages to avoid conviction and retain his office due to a single vote but fails to earn a Democratic nomination in the following presidential bid, which would be succeeded by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. -
14th Amendment
Granted citizenship to all "born or naturalized in the United States"--including former slaves--and equal protections of citizens under the law. The 14th amendment also gave the federal government power to punish states who violated or abridged such rights from citizens. -
15th Amendment
Responding to poll violence and scare tactics in the south, the 15th Amendment prohibits states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of "race, color, or previous conditions of servitude." -
Hiram Rhodes Revel Becomes First Black Man Elected to Congress
After fending off Democrats who were determined to block him, Hiram Rhodes Revel--a Methodist Episcopal minister--was elected by the Mississippi State Legislature to finish the latter end of a term. Revel set the stage for black representation in Congress (16 African American men would go on to serve during the Reconstruction Era). -
The Enforcement Acts (Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871)
The third of a series of criminal codes, The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 was passed by Congress in an attempt to eliminate strategic violence against African Americans while also aiming to protect their civil and political rights. -
1874 Elections: Democrats Gain Foothold in Congress
Amidst accusations and stories of Black political corruption, the Democrats gain control of a chamber of Congress during the 1874 elections. It is the first major political loss the Republicans face since the Civil War. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
One of the final pieces of legislation passed by the Republican stronghold in Congress, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited racial discrimination (including segregation) in public facilities and places of work. The act would stand for just eight years when it was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court in 1883, who deemed that the Constitution did not extend to protections concerning private business. -
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TIME: Compromise (End of Reconstruction Era)
This period of TIME accounts for what historians might consider the moment(s) that led to close of the Reconstruction Era. The Reconstruction Era as interpreted and investigated through the disciplinary concept of TIME. -
CAUSE (& EFFECT) The 1876 Presidential Bid & Compromise of 1877
After bitter fights for civil and political rights, the presidential bid in 1876 resulted in an informal agreement that would effectively spell out the end of Reconstruction. Through the Compromise of 1877, Democrats recognized Republican candidate Rutherford B Hayes' political victory in exchange for the removal of federal forces in the south--granting "home rule" and political strongholds that would have serious repercussions to come. -
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EMPATHY/PERSPECTIVES: Black Exodus
The mass movement of many African Americans to Kansas beginning in 1879 reflects the continual migration journey of African Americans, the values behind efforts to acquire real estate / farmland and a clear response to (failed) Reconstruction efforts. -
The Great Exodus
With the resurgence of southern political control, the Great Exodus represents the first major move of many African Americans out of the south toward states like Kansas in an effort to gain farmland and real estate to build / foster Black communities.