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A more perfect union? 1865 to 77

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After the war, the USA had to rebuild the South and decide what freedom would mean for four million formerly enslaved people.

New amendments

13th Amendment (1865): abolished slavery.
14th Amendment (1868): citizenship and equal protection of the law for all born in the USA.
15th Amendment (1870): the vote could not be denied because of race (for men).

Reconstruction

President Andrew Johnson was lenient to the South. Southern states passed Black Codes restricting freed people.
Congress responded with the Civil Rights Act (1866) and the Reconstruction Act (1867), putting the South under military rule until states accepted Black rights.
The Freedmen's Bureau set up schools and helped formerly enslaved people.
The Civil Rights Act (1875) banned discrimination in public places but was poorly enforced.

The West

President Grant's Peace Policy (1869) aimed to move Native Americans onto reservations peacefully, but wars continued.
At the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1876), 'Custer's Last Stand', Sioux and Cheyenne warriors destroyed Custer's force.
By 1877 Reconstruction had ended, and white Southerners regained control.
Worked example

Explain why the Black Codes led Congress to take control of Reconstruction.

  1. Southern states passed Black Codes to restrict freed people.
  2. This showed the South was trying to keep Black people unfree.
  3. So Congress passed the Civil Rights Act (1866) and the Reconstruction Act (1867).

Answer: They showed the South would not protect freed people, so Congress stepped in.

Key idea

Amendments: 13th (1865) ended slavery, 14th (1868) citizenship, 15th (1870) votes regardless of race. Johnson was lenient; the South passed Black Codes. Congress passed the Civil Rights Acts (1866, 1875) and Reconstruction Act (1867); the Freedmen's Bureau helped freed people. Grant's Peace Policy; Little Bighorn (1876).

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