America's Reconstruction

Emancipation Proclamation issued

Jan 1, 1863

Issued on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation changed the character of the Civil War by making the end of slavery a affect of the Union war.
It also allowed the enlistment of African Americans in the Union armed forces. It put slavery on the road to complete abolition, it made a postwar reconstruction of southern society inevitable.

Lincoln reelected President

Nov 8, 1864

The Freedmen's Bureau established

Mar 3, 1865

Helps emancipated African Americans. Abolished in 1872.

President Abraham Lincoln Assassinated

Apr 15, 1865

Lincoln is murdered. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President.

13th Amendment passed

Dec 6, 1865

Abolishes slavery in the United States

Black "codes" are passed

Dec 6, 1865

Southern states pass laws restricting rights of African Americans.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Apr 9, 1866

Guarantees the rights of African Americans

Memphis Race Riot

May 1, 1866

Memphis Race Riot began on May 1, 1866 and ended on May 3,1866. During those three days white civilians and police kill 46 African Americans, destroy 90 houses, schools, and four churches.

New Orleans Race Riot

Jul 30, 1866

On this day police alone killed more than 40 black and white Republicans and wound more than 150.

Reconstruction Acts

Mar 2, 1867

Voting takes place in which African American men are allowed to vote

Fourteenth Amendment passed

Jul 21, 1868

The 14th amendment guaranteed the right to due process and equal protection under the law to African Americans.

Ulysses S. Grant elected President

Nov 3, 1868

The former Union general becomes the 18th president.

First black senator elected

Feb 23, 1870

Hiram Revels of Mississippi elected to U. S. Senate as the first black senator in U.S. history

Fifteenth amendment passed

Mar 30, 1870

All male citizens of the United States have the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

First African American governor.

Dec 29, 1872

P. B. S. Pinchback, governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873. Pinchback, a black politician, was the first black to serve as a state governor, because of white resistance, his time as governor was extremely short.

Democrats control the Forty-third Congress

Jun 23, 1874

For the first time since before the Civil War, Democrats gained control of both houses of Congress. Robert Smalls, black hero of the Civil War, elected to Congress as representative of South Carolina. Blanche K. Bruce elected to U. S. Senate.

Civil Rights Act of 1875 passed by Congress

Mar 1, 1875

Guarantees equal rights to African Americans in public accomodations and jury service. Ruled unconstitutional in 1883.

Wade Hampton inaugurated as governor of South Carolina

Dec 16, 1876

The election of Hampton, a leader in the Confederacy, made the fears that the South is not committed to Reconstruction clear.

Rutherford B. Hayes inaugurated as President

Mar 5, 1877

Electoral Commissoin awards disputed electoral votes to the republican candidate.

Reconstruction Ends

Jun 8, 1877

President Rutherford Hayes withdraws federal troops from the South protecting the Civil Rights of African Americans.