Reconstruction Needs to Be Distinguished

Reconstruction needs to be distinguished from the winning of the Civil War by the North. Once the war was won, in 1865, the North, under Lincoln and then Johnson (following Lincoln's assassination) began the first phase of Reconstruction, which lasted two years, until the end of 1866. Reconstruction, which eventually lasted 12 years, was generally not a successful policy. (McPhearson. 2001)

After Lincoln was assassinated, Jefferson Davis and other ranking Confederate soldiers were blamed for plotting Lincoln's murder and were imprisoned. This greatly offended the people of the South, as Davis was treated badly during his imprisonment. The Union troops who had occupied the districts in the South, left and civil government in the South fell into chaos. The governors of the states convened their legislatures and tried to restore their ties to the Union, believing that this would be respected by the U.S. government as a sign of submission. They (all except Mississippi) repealed their ordinances of secession and accepted the freedom of the "negro." No longer Rebels, the Southern states accepted military rule in an attempt to restore order and comply with the United States authorities. Some former Southern military leaders, however, fled to Cuba, Mexico, Egypt and European countries. President Johnson contemplated arresting Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was on parole, but General Grant protested such action and all the rest of the officers remained in their respective states, once it was seen that former Confederate officers would not be arrested.

In 1866, Congress enacted a second phase, known as the Congressional Plan, which undid all that had been done by Lincoln and Johnson. This phase lasted until 1876. During this time 4,000,000 slaves were suddenly enfranchised and many of them placed into official roles in the governments of the towns, districts and states. Those in charge were the military, commissioned by the United States, and they placed former slaves and carpetbaggers in official places of power. The people of the South said they did not blame the "negro" for taking the positions they were placed in, but they did resent the carpetbaggers, who sometimes were just bums, now suddenly in charge of cities and treasuries. Most of these carpetbaggers had no morals or scruples and depleted city and state coffers, either spending the money or mismanaging it, seemingly without caring for anyone but themselves. The government of Louisiana, run by carpetbaggers, fell into chaos in one day (September 14, 1874). Troops restored the corrupt government for a short while, and, when that failed, even the North could see that such a system could not work.

Southerners did not flock to become Republicans as the North desired, but when they were allowed to be Democrats, they worked hard to restore legitimate legislation and patriotism.

Meanwhile the attitude of Southerners toward the Blacks remained the same as before the war. Declaring a people free did not erase the subordinate and inferior image that the Whites had of the Blacks. Even those blacks who had served in the military faced persecution and prejudice. A Colonel Whittlesey testified before the Joint Committee on Reconstruction in 1866 and described several acts of violence he had witnessed: