Reconstruction 1863–1877

Reconstruction refers to the period after the Civil War during which the United States attempted to rebuild the South and integrate formerly enslaved African Americans into society as citizens. It was a time of significant progress but also of fierce resistance, ultimately ending in disappointment for Black Americans. This is an important topic for the AQA GCSE History specification.

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What Was Reconstruction?

After the Civil War ended in 1865, the nation faced enormous questions:

• How should the defeated Confederate states be readmitted to the Union?
• What rights should formerly enslaved people have?
• How should the devastated Southern economy be rebuilt?
• Who should control the process — the President or Congress?

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Presidential Reconstruction (1863–1867)

Lincoln's Plan

Before his assassination, Lincoln proposed a lenient approach to Reconstruction:

• His Ten Percent Plan (1863) said that a Confederate state could rejoin the Union once 10% of its voters swore loyalty to the United States and accepted the abolition of slavery.
• Lincoln wanted to heal the nation quickly — "with malice toward none, with charity for all."

Andrew Johnson's Presidency

After Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, Vice-President Andrew Johnson became President. Johnson was a Southerner from Tennessee.

Johnson's Actions	Impact
Allowed Southern states to rejoin with minimal conditions	Southern states quickly passed Black Codes restricting the rights of freed people
Vetoed civil rights legislation	Congress overrode his vetoes
Did not support voting rights for Black Americans	Former Confederate leaders returned to power in the South
Was impeached by Congress in 1868	Survived removal by one vote; demonstrated the conflict between President and Congress

Exam Tip: Andrew Johnson's lenient approach to Reconstruction is often contrasted with Radical Reconstruction by Congress. Be prepared to compare the two approaches and their consequences.

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The Reconstruction Amendments

Three crucial amendments to the US Constitution were passed during Reconstruction:

Amendment	Date	Provision
13th Amendment	1865	Abolished slavery throughout the United States
14th Amendment	1868	Granted citizenship to all persons born in the US, including formerly enslaved people; guaranteed equal protection under the law
15th Amendment	1870	Gave Black men the right to vote (though not women of any race)

These amendments represented a revolutionary transformation of the Constitution and the most significant expansion of rights in American history up to that point.

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Radical Reconstruction (1867–1877)

In 1867, Congress took control of Reconstruction from President Johnson. This period is known as Radical Reconstruction because it was led by Radical Republicans who wanted to transform Southern society.

Key Measures

Measure	Detail
Reconstruction Acts (1867)	Divided the South into 5 military districts, each governed by a Union general; required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment and write new constitutions guaranteeing Black male suffrage
Freedmen's Bureau	Government agency that provided food, housing, education, and legal assistance to formerly enslaved people
Civil Rights Act (1866)	Declared all persons born in the US to be citizens with equal rights (later reinforced by the 14th Amendment)

Progress for Black Americans

During Radical Reconstruction, Black Americans made remarkable progress:

• Approximately 2,000 Black men held elected office, including in state legislatures and the US Congress.
• Hiram Revels became the first Black US Senator (1870), and Blanche Bruce became the second (1875).
• Black communities built schools and churches across the South.
• Literacy rates among Black Americans rose significantly.
• Many formerly enslaved people acquired land and started businesses.

Exam Tip: It is important to show both the achievements and the limitations of Reconstruction. Examiners reward balanced answers that acknowledge progress while discussing the resistance and ultimate failure.

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Resistance to Reconstruction

White Southerners fiercely resisted Reconstruction and the rights of Black Americans.

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

• Founded in 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee, by former Confederate soldiers.
• Used violence, intimidation, and terror to prevent Black Americans from voting, holding office, or exercising their rights.
• Members wore white robes and hoods.
• Targeted Black Americans, white Republicans, and teachers in Black schools.
• The Enforcement Acts (1870–1871) gave the federal government power to prosecute the Klan, temporarily reducing its activity.

Other Forms of Resistance

Method	Detail
Black Codes	Laws passed by Southern states restricting the freedom of Black Americans (e.g. vagrancy laws that forced them to sign labour contracts)
Sharecropping	System where freed people farmed land owned by whites in exchange for a share of the crop; kept many Black families in poverty and debt
Violence and intimidation	Lynchings, beatings, and threats against Black Americans and their allies
Voter suppression	Literacy tests, poll taxes, and the "grandfather clause" were later used to prevent Black Americans from voting

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The End of Reconstruction

Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877:

• The disputed 1876 presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden was resolved by an informal deal.
• Hayes became President in exchange for withdrawing federal troops from the South.
• Without federal protection, the gains of Reconstruction were quickly rolled back.
• Southern states introduced Jim Crow laws — a system of legal racial segregation that would last until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Exam Tip: The end of Reconstruction is a crucial turning point. Be able to explain why it ended (Northern fatigue, the 1877 compromise, economic depression, racist attitudes) and what its failure meant for Black Americans (Jim Crow, segregation, disenfranchisement).

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Expanded Specific Detail: Amendments, Legislation, and Elected Black Officials

By the end of Reconstruction, approximately 2,000 Black men had held elected office across the South. Hiram Rhodes Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as the first Black US Senator on 25 February 1870, filling the seat formerly held by Jefferson Davis; Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi became the second Black US Senator in 1875. In the House of Representatives, fourteen Black congressmen served during Reconstruction, including Robert Smalls of South Carolina. The Freedmen's Bureau, established on 3 March 1865 and headed by General Oliver O. Howard, operated until 1872; it ran over 4,000 schools, educated around 250,000 formerly enslaved people, adjudicated labour contracts, and distributed food rations. The Thirteenth Amendment was ratified on 6 December 1865, the Fourteenth on 9 July 1868, and the Fifteenth on 3 February 1870. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed over Andrew Johnson's veto. The Reconstruction Acts (March–July 1867) divided the former Confederacy into five military districts. Andrew Johnson was impeached on 24 February 1868 and acquitted by the Senate on 16 May 1868 by a single vote. The Ku Klux Klan, founded in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1866 and led briefly by former Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, was targeted by the Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871 (the third also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act), under which President Grant suspended habeas corpus in parts of South Carolina and prosecuted hundreds of Klansmen. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations; it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1883. The disputed 1876 presidential election was resolved by the Compromise of 1877, under which Rutherford B. Hayes became president in return for the withdrawal of federal troops from South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. The "grandfather clause" — adopted in Southern states between the 1890s and 1910s — allowed illiterate whites to vote by exempting descendants of pre-1867 voters, while poll taxes and literacy tests disfranchised Black voters.

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Extended Worked Paragraph: Level 4/5 Model Response

Question: "Reconstruction failed to deliver equality for Black Americans." How far do you agree? (16 marks)