History 2301E Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: John Wilkes Booth, White Southerners, Emancipation Proclamation
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
November 16th, 2017
Reconstruction
➢ Lincoln’s Assassination, April 1865
o John Wilkes Booth
➢ Reconstructing the South
o The Radical Republicans
➢ Southern Reaction
o The Black Codes and the KKK
➢ Johnson’s Impeachment, May 1868
Reconstruction
North is victorious, the war is over
War leads to more questions
- Post war issues
o The south
▪ Devastated
• Majority of war fought in the American south
• Ex Sherman’s March
▪ Cost rebuild
• Estimated to be upwards of $20billion dollars
o The farmlands, cities, and railroad
▪ Slave labour lost
• Going to lose billions dollars more from slave labor
▪ Readmission
• Do you punish them?
• Or do you move ahead?
o Slaves
▪ Future?
• No money, no property, illiterate, no skills, etc.
▪ Role of federal government?
• Southern states are not going to help the slaves themselves
▪ Citizens?
• What is the status of these former slaves?
• Do they have rights? Are they Americans?
• Dred Scott decision still the law of the land
Lincoln’s Assassination, April 14, 1865
- Ford’s Theater
- Washington, DC police
o Two police officers on duty guarding Lincoln
o One left, the other is paying attention to the play on the stage
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Pistol shots
o Two shots into the back of Lincoln’s head
- Man jumped from the balcony onto the stage
o Says “Sic Semper tyrannis” = death to tyrants
o Or “The South shall live again”
o angered at the loss of the south and blamed Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth
- background
o a radical supporter of the confederacy
- larger conspiracy
o William Seward
▪ Lincoln’s secretary of state
▪ Stabbed in the gut but he survived
o Other attacks
▪ Wasn’t acting alone, the entire cabinet was marked for
assassination
- Capture, April 26, 1865
o A shootout took place
o Admitted his guilt
- Lincoln’s death, April 15, 1865
- Reaction
o The north was in shock
o Lincoln had gotten them victoriously through the civil war
o African Americans honor guards at the funeral
▪ Saw him as their saviour
Andrew Johnson
- Background
o Rags to riches
▪ Born in the south (North Carolina)
▪ Grew up illiterate
▪ Gained wealth from his wife’s family
o Slave owner
o Local politics
- Views on southern planters
o Voice for poor whites
o Lazy
▪ Hated the planter elites
▪ Saw them as un-American
▪ No protestant work ethic
- Views on secession
o Remained loyal to the Union
o Saw the south as traitors
o Lincoln chose him because he was a southerner
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
▪ A strategic choice
- Views on slavery
o Johnson was a racist
o Not involved for abolition, this is about punishing the south and those
slave owners
- Lincoln’s plan and the 13th amendment
o Purpose
▪ Heal the country and move forward
▪ No one will be punished
o Plan
▪ Pledge allegiance
• Southern states can come back if only 10% of their
population pledged allegiance to the United States
• Includes African Americans
▪ Support laws
• Accepting federal laws, the laws of the country
▪ Accept the 13th Amendment
• The next amendment of the constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment, ratified December 6, 1865
- Slavery is now abolished everywhere in the U.S.
- Codifies the Emancipation Proclamation, without the loopholes
Johnson and the Radical Republicans
- Johnson’s plan
o Wants to punish the south
- The Radical Republicans
o Southern society
o Slaves
▪ Want full citizenship and full equality for all African Americans
• Johnson doesn’t
- Condition of ex-slaves
o They have nothing, with no skills or no money
- Lack of black migration
o Fear that 4 million slaves will come north
▪ this doesn’t happen
o 90-95% of former slaves stayed in the south
▪ this is the life that they know
▪ not until WW1 do you see a black migration out of the south
Forty Acres and a Mule
- origins, January 1865
o William Tecumseh Sherman
▪ Developed during the Scorched March in the south
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lincoln"s assassination, april 1865: john wilkes booth. Reconstructing the south: the radical republicans. Southern reaction: the black codes and the kkk. Are they americans: dred scott decision still the law of the land. Washington, dc police: two police officers on duty guarding lincoln, one left, the other is paying attention to the play on the stage. Pistol shots: two shots into the back of lincoln"s head. Man jumped from the balcony onto the stage: says sic semper tyrannis = death to tyrants, or the south shall live again , angered at the loss of the south and blamed lincoln. Background: a radical supporter of the confederacy larger conspiracy, william seward, lincoln"s secretary of state, stabbed in the gut but he survived, other attacks, wasn"t acting alone, the entire cabinet was marked for assassination. Capture, april 26, 1865: a shootout took place, admitted his guilt.
