Reconstruction: An Introduction

Hey everyone, welcome back. 

When Confederate Commander Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysess S. Grant on April 9th, 1865, there was reason to be hopeful. Finally, after four years of bloody, devastating conflict, the United States and its citizens could begin to heal. President Lincoln had already announced his tentative plans for reconstructing the nation and now that victory was in hand, Congress and the President could begin the process of reuniting the nation. The belief and hope in possibility throughout the country was quickly replaced by immense grief when just five days after the surrender at Appomattox, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln, the pragmatic, thoughtful commander in chief throughout the Civil War, was gone. His successor, Andrew Johnson, now faced the task of figuring out how to stitch the nation back together and how to best incorporate newly emancipated men, women, and children. 

This period in United States history is known as Reconstruction. While some scholars debate the timeframe, most historians agree that Reconstruction lasted from the end of the Civil War in 1865 to 1877. It was a period filled with a belief in what was possible - a chance for a new beginning and an opportunity for the United States to live up to its stated ideals. Although there were some significant advancements, Reconstruction fell short in many respects, uncovering how far the country still had to go. There are so many interesting and troubling pieces to Reconstruction that I think it would be hard to cover in a single episode. Instead, I’ve decided to treat Reconstruction much like I did the Civil War and dive into specific people, events, and themes of the period. But before I do that, let’s get a sense of exactly what Reconstruction was, shall we? 

So this week I am providing an introduction into Reconstruction. What was it? How did it evolve? And what legacy did it leave behind? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

American Political Historian Eric Foner has written extensively on the period immediately after the Civil War and refers to Reconstruction as the second founding of the United States. Although the country had been established on the principles of liberty and the pursuit of happiness, prior to the Civil War, these ideals were largely denied to non-whites and women. As Foner argues, Reconstruction forced the nation to reconsider what citizenship was. What did it mean to be a citizen of the United States? What rights did citizens have? How did someone become a citizen? Who could be a citizen? Working through these questions broke formerly established barriers to create a new republic. Foner highlights the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments as evidence of the second founding. In his analysis, these amendments demonstrated that quote: “Reconstruction was a key moment in the process by which a hierarchical, locally based legal culture was transformed into one committed, at least ostensibly, to the equality of all Americans, protected by the national government,” end quote. 

These amendments and what they represented were a stark departure from previous attitudes and opinions. In 1857, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Black Americans specifically were not and could not ever be citizens with its decision in the Dredd Scott case. Inferring the intent of the author’s of the Declaration of Independence, Chief Justice Roger B. Taney argued that the sentiment that all men were created equal was never meant to apply to men of color and that Black men had no rights upon which white men had to respect. Taney went even further in his decision, arguing that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional as Congress had no authority to limit the spread of slavery. This was contradicted in the aftermath of the Civil War as Congress passed amendments carving out new rights and establishing a new definition of what it meant to be a citizen; however, as Foner argues, the amendments could not administer themselves. To have meaning, they must be enforced by the executive. In this case, President Andrew Johnson and Congress. 

Born in North Carolina in 1808, Andrew Johnson was a lifelong Democrat and as such, may seem like an odd choice to pair with Republican incumbent Abraham Lincoln. Johnson, however, was picked specifically because of his credentials. Despite being a lifelong southern Democrat, Andrew Johnson broke with his fellow Southerners in refusing to secede from the Union over slavery. Johnson was in no way an abolitionist; like many of his contemporaries, Johnson held racist attitudes toward Black Americans, but he drew the line in splitting the country apart in order to preserve slavery. In putting Johnson on the ticket, Lincoln and the Republicans hoped to demonstrate a sense of unity in ending the Civil War. In their quest to secure a unifying political message, they overlooked what the role of Vice President was - especially in the event that the President could no longer serve. 

Sworn in the same day Lincoln passed away, Johnson had a monumental task ahead of him in trying to navigate exactly how to restore the country. It fell to Johnson to determine how and under what conditions southern states could rejoin the union, what punishments - if any - former members of the confederacy had to endure, and how to handle the millions of men, women, and children recently released from bondage who had no income, savings, or homes to speak of. Johnson’s failure to adequately address these issues only exacerbated tensions, clearing the way for Ulysses S. Grant to become president in 1869. As historian Elizabeth Varon asserts, quote: “In the end, Johnson did more to extend the period of national strife than to heal the wounds of war,” end quote.

Despite the details of Reconstruction policy falling to Johnson, Lincoln had previously laid out some initial ideas of what reconstruction could look like. As I mentioned during my coverage of Lincoln, the President issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in December of 1863, also known as the 10% plan. The Proclamation stated that southern states could be readmitted to the union once 10% of eligible voters pledged an oath to follow the constitution and accept the prohibition of slavery. Lincoln’s proposal also included a provision returning property, except for slaves, back to members of the Confederacy, largely making them whole. Written in the midst of war, Lincoln’s plan was a starting point to try to hasten the end of the conflict and secure white support for his Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln knew more compromise would be required as reconstruction moved forward, but his plans - as early as they were - did not seek to be punitive of the south. Despite his overtures, the Confederacy refused to accept the terms as it meant accepting the end of slavery. 

While Lincoln’s proposal received widespread support, his conciliatory approach angered some members in Congress, who felt southern states should pay a higher price for waging war against the union. For them, a simple pledge to provide allegiance to the United States was not enough. In 1864, two members of Congress introduced their version of a reconstruction plan. Named after the authors, the Wade-Davis Bill required that 50% of a confederate state’s white male population take a loyalty oath to the United States. Those taking the oath also had to swear they never aided the confederacy and only after securing the requisite number of oaths would former confederate states be allowed to write new state governments and rejoin the Union. The Wade-Davis bill enjoyed significant support and Congress passed the bill, only for Lincoln to refuse to sign it, killing it with a pocket veto. 

In the southern half of the country, Reconstruction made clear the underlying class distinctions that operated just underneath the surface before the Civil War. The planter elite, now devoid of millions of dollars worth of human property begrudgingly accepted the end of slavery, but that didn’t change their belief about the status of black men and women as nothing more than a source of labor. For poor white southerners, emancipation represented a new threat in the labor market and for them, nothing could be worse than being on the same level as their black neighbors. This resentment and hatred manifested itself through pervasive and extensive racial and political violence, most clearly through the group the Ku Klux Klan. For both elite and poor white southern residents, Black Americans were still less than and they sought out extreme measures to keep them that way. 

And for Black Americans, Reconstruction meant an opportunity to figure out what freedom meant for them. For many, the most important aspect in securing freedom was access to land. Land meant they could build their own homes, plant and cultivate crops to support themselves and their families, and participate in the local economy on their terms. But just how were they supposed to access this land? They had no income; no savings they could draw on to purchase a plot. Would the federal government step in and distribute former confederate land? Provide a method of financing land ownership that mirrored the Homestead Act? It all remained unclear and undefined. 

Reconstruction also offered the first chance for Black Americans to participate in electoral politics as representatives in state houses across the country and in Congress. For many Black Americans, Reconstruction meant they had access to franchise for the first time and could exercise their voice in how they wanted the future of the country to look. Their attempt to enjoy their new political freedom was met with swift and overwhelming violence and efforts by white elites to reinstall the previous power dynamic of the white ruling class. 

Despite the initial strides for political and economic freedom, the efforts at the quote unquote second founding of the United States during Reconstruction still failed to incorporate women and indigenous Americans. As the country debated and retooled what it meant to be a citizen, women and indigenous Americans remained on the periphery - barred from inclusion into discussions about voting rights. Indigenous Americans, who had lived and made their homes on the land for thousands of years, were excluded from the 14th Amendment establishing the concept of birthright citizenship. It did not matter that they had been and continued to be born on U.S. soil; they remained excluded from the rights and privileges granted to citizens. And women - who were champions of abolition and who had been working toward securing the right to the ballot box were not included in the 15th Amendment proclaiming that the right to vote could not be denied on account of quote “race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” end quote.

Reconstruction fell short of some of its loftiest goals. At the turn of the century, racial violence perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan was replaced by lynching, political exclusion became entrenched at the local level, and the economic future of millions of Black Americans remained precarious at best. The conditions in the South, in part, would eventually lead to a massive exodus for Black Americans in the early part of the twentieth century and thousands headed north and west in pursuit of economic and political safety. 

So over the next several weeks, I look forward to exploring the various aspects of Reconstruction with you. I plan to explore everything from Black Codes to Radical Reconstruction; Presidents Johnson and Grant; Union leagues and the Ku Klux Klan. Given this period of American history, there will be many, many difficult episodes up ahead. I will try to be mindful in crafting these episodes and insert content warnings where I think it is appropriate for my younger listeners out there. As I did with the Civil War, and as is always my invitation to all of you, I am happy to take suggestions for what you want to learn more about during Reconstruction. I have a good baseline, but I also know I have the smartest listeners around and you always challenge me in the best of ways with your topics. 

You can make your suggestions through any of the socials out there - I am on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and the app formerly known as Twitter. Or you can reach out through my website at www dot civics and coffee dot com. The website is where you can also see source material and transcripts, sign up for the show’s monthly newsletter and learn about the Civics & Coffee Patreon where you could become a member of the community. 

Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next week.