Reconstruction 1865-1877

The Freedmen’s Bureau

Mar 3, 1865

The Freedmen’s Bureau was a federal agency established on March 3, 1865. 1.One way they helped freedmen was by providing work and food. 2.Another way they helped was by giving educational support. 3.Lastly they also helped by reuniting slave families.

President Lincoln is Assassinated

Apr 14, 1865

President Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. After his assassination Andrew Johnson is appointed as president.

The 13th Amendment is Passed

Dec 6, 1865

The 13th Amendment was the Amendment that made slavery illegal in the United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Apr 9, 1866

This new Act granted African Americans equal status under the law. Another reason for this new Act was to also protect ex-slaves from legislation in southern states.

Ku Klux Klan

Jul 30, 1866

The goals of the Ku Klux Klan was to oppose the Reconstruction policies of the radical Republican Congress and to maintain "white supremacy."

Military Reconstruction Acts

1867

Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Acts because they wanted to punish the South, and to prevent the ruling class from continuing in power.

Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment Trial

Feb 24, 1868

The House of Representatives impeached Andrew Johnson because of his high crimes and misdemeanors. However he was allowed to stay because he was acquitted in the Senate by one vote less than the two-thirds necessary to remove him and was allowed to continue his term of office. One fact was Andrew Johnson was a Southern Democrat and, as such, had sympathies with the Confederacy and granted pardons to ex-Confederates on a large scale.

Election of Ulysses S. Grant

Jul 21, 1868

Many people in Ulysses administration were mostly crooks who stole from the government. Ulysses also tried to advanced rights for African Americans by pushing the passage of the 15th Amendment, giving them the right to vote.

14th Amendment

Jul 28, 1868

The amendment grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" which included former slaves who had just been freed after the Civil War. In most southern states this amendment was refused and rejected.

15th Amendment

Mar 30, 1870

The 15th Amendment gave all African Americans the right to vote. This also led them to run for office in hopes for a better life and opportunity.

Reconstruction Ends

1876

The reconstruction ended when Rutherford B removed the federal troops from the south, letting the state governments to take over. This also removed equal rights.