The Agony of Reconstruction

Lincoln sets forth 10 percent Reconstruction Plan

Jan 1, 1863

The 10 Percent Reconstruction Plan provided that once 10 percent or more of the voting population of any occupied state had taken oath, they were able to set up a loyal government. http://americancivilwar.com/north/lincoln_1863.jpg Title /tuckahoe.wikispaces.com/file/view/t029116a.jpg/30553731/t029116a.jpg

Wade-Davis Bill passes Congress but is pocket-vetoed by Lincoln

Jan 1, 1864

Wade Davis Bill required 50 percent of the voters take an oath of future loyalty before the restoration process could began. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/images/1061.jpg

Johnson moves to reconstruct the South on his own initiative

Jan 1, 1865

Johnson appointed governers that he thought would best represent the south in the states. http://www.historyplace.com/specials/calendar/docs-pix/ajohnson.jpg

Congress refuses to seat representatives and senators elected from states reestablished under presidential plan

Dec 1, 1865

Congress refused to seat the Unionists elected to the House and Senate from Louisiana and Arkansas. http://z.about.com/d/americanhistory/1/0/l/9/16_lincoln_1.jpg

Johnson vetoes Freedmen's Bureau Bill

Feb 1, 1866

Johnson vetoes on the Freedmens Bureau Bill, a temporary agency set up to aid former slaves, shocked moderate Republicans. http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/50/71550-004-FE1A07AC.jpg

Johnson vetoes Civil Rights Act; it passes over his veto

Apr 1, 1866

Even though Johnson tried to veto the Civil Rights it won the two-thirds majority necessary to overide his veto. Johnson was now at odds wih Congress. http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/50/71550-004-FE1A07AC.jpg

Congress passes Fourteenth Amendment

Jun 1, 1866

The Republican majority on Capital Hill passed the Fourteenth Amendment. This amendment gave federal govennment responsibilty for guaranteeing equal rights under the law to all Americans. http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/sespics/20562.jpg

Republicans increase their congressional majority in the fall elections

Aug 1, 1866

The Republican majority in Congress increased to a solid two-thirds in both houses and the Radical wing of the party gained strength. http://lordwhatsmymotivation.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/elephant.jpg

First Reconstruction Act is passed over Johson's veto

Mar 2, 1867

The act placed the South under the rule of the army be reorganizing the region into five military districts. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/Cartoon-Situation.jpg

Grant wins presidential election,defeating Horatio Seymour

Jan 1, 1868

Grant, who was popular general, won the election with the help of the Republican-dominated southern states. http://gryphonscry.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ulysses-s-grant.jpg

Southern blacks vote and serve in constitutional conventions

Jan 10, 1868

For the first time blacks were allowed to vote and serve in constitutional converntions. This act angered many. http://amy6dean.myweb.uga.edu/images/Nastx_black_suffrage.jpg

Johnson is impeached; he avoides conviction by one vote.

Feb 1, 1868

Johnson had a skilled defence team and avoided conviction. He pledged to enforce Reconstruction Acts and held to his promise in his last months in office. http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/5600/5678/johnson_impeachment_1_lg.gif

Congress passes Fifteenth Amendment granting African Americans the right to vote

Jan 1, 1869

Even thought the amendment was passed states were still able to require test that eliminated most African Amercians from voting. http://amhist.ist.unomaha.edu/module_files/FifteenthAmendmentFirstVoting.jpg

Congress passes Ku Klux Klan Acts to protect black voting rights in the South

Jan 1, 1870

The Klu Klux Klan was a group that terrorized blacks. Faced with the overthrow of the southern Republican party, Congress and Grant were forced to pass the Force Acts, also knownas the Ku Klux Klan Acts. http://maaadddog.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/ku-klux-klan.jpg

Grant re-elected president, defeating Horace Greeley, candidate of Liberal Republicans and Democrats

Jan 1, 1872

When Grant was elected again for another term as president, some Republicans broke with Grant and formed a third party. http://gryphonscry.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/ulysses-s-grant.jpg

Financial panic plunges nation into depression

Jan 1, 1873

The depression led to a revival of agitation to inflate the curency. Debt ridden farmers were the driving force behind the soft money movement. http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Zk8LXrRmJ3g/SgMLMMXNW0I/AAAAAAAAAGc/9_e2Wa-C_LY/money.jpg.jpeg

Congress passes Specie Resumption Act

Jan 1, 1875

This act provided for a limited reduction of greenbacks leading to full resumption of specie payments by January 1, 1879. http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/csl0761l.jpg

"Whisky Ring" scandal exsposed

Jan 1, 1875

In 1875 the public learned that federal revenue officals had conspired distillers to defraud the goverment of millions of dollars in liqure taxes. http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/csl0773l.jpg

Disputed presidential election resolved in favor of Republican Hayes over Democrat Tilden

Jan 1, 1876

The elelection was undecided for months untill Republican leaders negotiated secretly with conservative southern Democrats to ensure the win for Hayes. http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/images/hayes-150-se-9aug05.jpg

Compromise of 1877 ends military intervention in the south and causes fall of the last Radical governments

Jan 1, 1877

When the last troops were withdrawn from the south a deal was struck known as The Compromise of 1877. What it agrees to is in dispute but it was understood that Hayes would be president. http://www.sonofthesouth.net/compromise-with-south.jpg