Full notes of the USA breadth course which covers the entire time period. These notes have been compiled from various different unique sources across the internet and will therefore help students achieve A* grades.
Part one: from Civil War to World War, 1865–1920
The Era of Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865–1890
The weaknesses of Federal Government: Johnson, Grant and the failure of Radical
Reconstruction
Why was the Federal Government weak?
In 1865 the Federal government was very small
It was believed that political power should be held to states and the Federal
government should not intervene
In the constitution, there was a separation of powers between the legislative, executive
and judiciary. They operated on checks and balances so if any had too much power
they could challenge it
Should the president deal with reconstruction? Or congress?
What was the impact of Presidential Reconstruction 1865-1867?
Johnson essentially gave the South the free hand establishing new governments that
threatened to reduce African-Americans to a condition similar to slavery. This is
because he believed that civil rights were a state issue
Radical Republicans were angered that the South would return their former
Confederate leaders to power because of Johnson’s lenient pardoning plan
He did not ofer pardons to Confederates and people who owned property valued from
$20,000. This shows that Johnson mostly resented the Southern planter elite, he was
not an abolitionist
Johnson thought that the states should decide how to treat African Americans and so
the South adopted Black Codes that sought to maintain white supremacy
Freed blacks found the post-war South very similar to the pre-war South
There was a power struggle between Johnson and Congress as they clashed over civil
rights legislation and the renewal of the Freedmen’s bureau
The failure (because he forced it through too quickly) led to his impeachment, this was
a condemnation of his reconstruction plan
What was the signifcance of Radical Reconstruction?
New State Constitutions were created. Committees that formed to create these
constitutions were composed of mainly Republicans, including African Americans. A key
component in all constitutions was that voting rights were extended to all adult men
Radical Republicans believed that the Federal Government should have the role of re
building the South
By 1870 all southern states had been readmitted into the union because the
Reconstruction Act of 1867 allowed the Radical Republicans to create a political base
that facilitated to their demands
During reconstruction, Confederates had no representation in Congress
Many southern whites could not accept the idea that former slaves could not only vote
but hold office
It was in this era that the KKK was founded
7 Southern states did not have reconstruction governments, only Tennessee accepted
the 14th Amendment
The 1875 Civil Rights Act took 5 years to come into force- this shows the scale of
opposition
A reign of terror was aimed both at blacks seeking to assert their new political rights
This was a major change in the federal system as It made the national government as
an arbiter of citizens' rights
Why did Radical Reconstruction fail?
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