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March 3, 1865  Freedmen’s Bureau created

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March 3, 1865  Freedmen’s Bureau created

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Provides assistance to emancipated African Americans

smooth the transition from slavery

providing former slaves with immediate shelter and medical services

help in negotiating labor contracts with landowners

was established in March 1865

The bureau is initially authorized for just one year, but will remain in operation until 1868

Abolished in 1872

created partly to redistribute confiscated land from southern whites

it gave legal title for 40-acre plots to African Americans and white southern unionists

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April 15, 1865 Abraham Lincoln is assassinated

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April 15, 1865 Abraham Lincoln is assassinated

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16th President of the United States

In Lincoln's last speech, he mentions black suffrage for soldiers and some others

He vigorously supported the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery throughout the United States

In the last speech of his life, he recommended extending the vote to African Americans

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April 15, 1865 Andrew Johnson becomes president

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April 15, 1865 Andrew Johnson becomes president

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17th President of the United States

Favored a lenient Reconstruction

Opposed strong protections for freed African Americans

Pardoned many former Confederates

Clashed with Congress

First U.S. president to be impeached

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Fall 1865 Black Codes start to be implemented throughout the South

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Fall 1865 Black Codes start to be implemented throughout the South

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Laws passed by Southern states

Aimed to maintain white supremacy

Forced many freedmen into exploitative labor contracts

Limited rights

Prompted Northern outrage

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Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude

Formally freed all enslaved people

Granted Congress the power

Faced resistance in the South

Marked the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments

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Founded in Pulaski, Tennessee

Initially a social club

Used terror tactics

Aimed to undermine Reconstruction

Faced federal opposition

Resurfaced in later decades

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First federal law to define U.S. citizenship

Granted African Americans legal rights

Aimed to counteract Black Codes

Vetoed by President Andrew Johnson

Congress overrode Johnson’s veto

Laid the foundation for the 14th Amendment

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Violence erupted in Memphis, Tennessee

Triggered by tensions

Over three days of violence, white mobs killed nearly 50 Black residents

Exposed ongoing racial hostility

Helped push Congress toward stronger Reconstruction policies

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March 2, 1867 - March 11, 1868 Reconstruction Acts of 1867

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March 2, 1867 - March 11, 1868 Reconstruction Acts of 1867

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The Reconstruction Act of 1867 outlined the terms for readmission to representation of rebel states

Congress divides the former Confederacy into five military districts, except for Tennessee

Requirs elections in which African American men can vote

each state was required to ratify the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution

After meeting these criteria related to protecting the rights of African Americans and their property, the former Confederate states could gain full recognition and federal representation in Congress

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June 1870 Treaty of Annexation of Santo Domingo

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June 1870 Treaty of Annexation of Santo Domingo

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Proposed by President Ulysses S. Grant

Intended to expand U.S. influence

Supported by some Northern Republicans

Treaty signed in June 1870, but failed to pass in the Senate due to opposition

Significant because it reflected U.S. expansionist interests during Reconstruction

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July 28, 1868 14th Amendment is ratified

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July 28, 1868 14th Amendment is ratified

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Defined citizenship to include all people born or naturalized in the U.S.

Guarantees due process and equal protection under the law to African Americans

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November 3, 1868 Ulysses S. Grant elected

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November 3, 1868 Ulysses S. Grant elected

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Grant is elected president, winning an electoral college majority of 214-80 over his Democratic opponent

But the popular majority is only 306,000 in a total vote of 5,715,000

Newly enfranchised black men in the South cast 700,000 votes for the Republican ticket

The former Union general becomes the 18th president

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Winter 1868: Southern Constitutional Conventions including freedman

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Winter 1868: Southern Constitutional Conventions including freedman

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Black and white lawmakers begin to work side by side in the Southern states' constitutional conventions, the first political meetings in American history to include substantial numbers of black men

African American participation

Led to the establishment of more progressive laws

Faced strong opposition from white Southerners

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February 3, 1870 15th Amendment is ratified

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February 3, 1870 15th Amendment is ratified

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The 15th Amendment prohibited states from disenfranchising voters “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

The amendment left open the possibility, however, that states could institute voter qualifications equally to all races, and many former confederate states took advantage of this provision, instituting poll taxes and literacy tests, among other qualifications.

Extends the vote to all male citizens regardless of racer or previous condition of servitude.

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The White League, a paramilitary group intent on securing white rule in Louisiana, clashes with Louisiana's almost all-black state militia

The resulting death toll is staggering: only three members of the White League die, but some one hundred black men are killed

Of those, nearly half are murdered in cold blood after they surrender.

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1875 Mississippi Plan or “Shotgun Policy”

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1875 Mississippi Plan or “Shotgun Policy”

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A campaign strategy used by white Democrats in Mississippi to regain control of the state government from Republican-led Reconstruction efforts

Involved widespread intimidation, violence, and voter suppression against African Americans and Republican voters.

Used terror tactics

Named the "Shotgun Policy" because of the use of firearms and intimidation to suppress opposition.

Led to the eventual success of Democrats

Contributed to the rise of Jim Crow laws

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After the 1876 election Compromise of 1877

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After the 1876 election Compromise of 1877

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Withdrawal of Federal Troops

Appointment of a Southern Democrat to the Cabinet

Federal Support for a Southern Transcontinental Railroad

Legislation to Aid Southern Industrialization