Chapter 23 - The Ordeal of Reconstruction

The Black Codes were laws that were passed in the southern regimes in the south after the Civil War. The laws were designed to regulate the affairs of the freed blacks. They were aimed to ensure a stable labor supply and they sought to restore, as closely as possible, the pre-freedom system of racial relations. They recognized freedom and a few other rights, such as the right to marry, but they still prohibited the right to serve on a jury, or renting or leasing land. No blacks were allowed to vote.

This was Lincoln's reconstruction plan for after the Civil War. Written in 1863, it proclaimed that a state could be reintegrated into the Union when 10% of its voters in the 1860 election pledged their allegiance to the U.S. and pledged to abide by emancipation, and then formally erect their state governments. This plan was very lenient to the South, would have meant an easy reconstruction.

Secretary of State under Lincoln who purchased Alaska in 1867 for $7.2 million. It was referred to as "Seward's Folly"

Charles Sumner was the Senator for Massachusetts. He was a leading abolitionist. He spoke against slavery and openly insulted Butler in the wake of the Kansas-Nebraska crisis. Preston S. Brooks was offended by the insults and beat Sumner with a cane. Sumner had very serious injuries and had to leave for three and a half years to recover. Mass. reelected Sumner. This showed how emotional the North and South were and how close they were to war.

What: President after Lincoln's assassination When: 1864-1868( president) Why: " An accidental president" who was an ex-Tennessee Senator. Johnson was Lincoln's vice-president. He was a Southerner who did not understand the North, a Tennessee who had never been accepted by the Republicans, and a president who had never been elected to the office. Republicans feared that Southerners might join hands with Democrats in the North and win control of Congress. If the South ran Congress blacks might be enslaved once again.