Reconstruction and Democracy in Transition

Reconstruction in the US, democracy and migration.

1. RECONSTRUCTION &RECONSTRUCTION &
DEMOCRACY IN TRANSITIONDEMOCRACY IN TRANSITION
Presented by : M. Medina

2. Objectives:
Explain how Reconstruction amendments reshaped ideas of citizenship and
democracy.
Analyze cultural memory and racial divisions created after the Civil War.
CHAPTER 15CHAPTER 15

3. BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND
The Civil War stands as the bloodiest
conflict in American history. From 1861 to
1865, the country tore itself apart in fierce
battles that pitted brother against
brother, and neighbor against neighbor. At
least 620,000 people died — a more recent
estimate suggests that up to 850,000
perished — as the Union and the
Confederacy fought to gain the upper
hand.

4. AFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WARAFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WAR
Richmond, Virginia
Residents set fire to warehouses and
factories to prevent them falling into
Union hands.
Pictured here is one of Richmond’s
burnt districts in April 1865.
Who is deserving of citizenship?

5. AFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WARAFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WARThe end of slavery.
The establishment of a stronger
federal government.
A devastated Southern economy.
A boosted Northern
industrialization.
It confirmed the United States as a
single political entity and set the
stage for its emergence as a world
power.

6. CLASS ACTIVITYCLASS ACTIVITY
In pairs, read the following source: (10')
Civil War Amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments)
Answer: What is the main social goal of every amendment? In the context of the
Reconstruction, who benefits from these amendments?
Discuss! (10')

7. 13TH, 14TH, 15TH AMENDMENTS13TH, 14TH, 15TH AMENDMENTS
Also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, these were adopted between 1865 and
1870 to grant rights to formerly enslaved people.
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.
The 14th Amendment established birthright citizenship, guaranteeing that all people
born in the U.S. are citizens and are entitled to equal protection and due process under
the law.
The 15th Amendment prohibited denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color,
or previous condition of servitude.

8. What did freedom mean to the formerly
enslaved, most of whom had no land, no home,
no food, no jobs and no education during the
Reconstruction Era?
REFLECTREFLECT

9. FREEDMEN’S BUREAUFREEDMEN’S BUREAU
Purpose:
To provide assistance to newly freed
African Americans, including food,
housing, medical care, education,
and help with negotiating labor
contracts.
Limitations:
The Bureau lacked the necessary
military and financial support to be
fully effective.
Actions:
Established schools, reunited
families, set up a banking system,
and worked to ensure fair labor
contracts between formerly
enslaved people and landowners.
Legacy:
Despite challenges, it achieved
success in education and record-
keeping and played a crucial role in
confronting the Black Codes.

10. FREEDMEN’S BUREAUFREEDMEN’S BUREAU
Freedmen’s School in Virginia
As part of its efforts to support
formerly enslaved people in their
transition to freedom, the
Freedmen’s Bureau established over
4,000 schools for almost 250,000
freed people across southern states.

11. BLACK CODESBLACK CODES
Purpose:
To restrict the rights and freedoms of
Black Americans and maintain the pre-
war racial and social hierarchy.
Impact:
Outraged Northerners and led to calls
for more federal intervention in the
South.
Restrictions:
a.Requiring written annual labor
contracts with white landowners.
b.Barring African Americans from
owning land and many trades.
c.Denying rights such as voting,
serving on juries, and carrying
weapons.
d.Using "vagrancy" laws to arrest and
force unemployed freedmen into
labor.

12. BLACK CODESBLACK CODES
Slavery is Dead (?) Raleigh, NC
Thomas Nast’s 1867 cartoon showing
an enslaved man being sold as
punishment for crime, before
Emancipation Proclamation; and an
African-American man being
whipped as punishment for crime in
1866 despite the passage of the 14
Amendment.
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13. “Separate
but Equal”
Medina Maria Jose
PLESSY V. FERGUSONPLESSY V. FERGUSON

14. RISE OF JIM CROWRISE OF JIM CROW
System of
discriminatory state
and local laws that
enforced racial
segregation and
oppression, primarily
in the American South,
from the post-
Reconstruction era
(late 1870s) to the
1960s.
Examples:

15. GUIDING QUESTIONSGUIDING QUESTIONS
How did Reconstruction redefine citizenship?
In what ways did culture reinforce or challenge new laws?

16. Read Chapter 15 (Week 1) and Chapter 16 (in preparation for Week 2).
Revise the Project Documents and select your group partners.
RECOMMENDATIONRECOMMENDATION

17. THANK YOUTHANK YOU