Reconstruction

        After the Civil War, the government had to decide what to do with the states that had seceded. President Lincoln wanted to rebuild the South instead of punishing it. Sadly, Lincoln was killed before the United States was healed. Reconstruction in Georgia was a time of big changes after the Civil War. Reconstruction lasted for a short period of time (1865-1872), but its impact on Georgia lasts even today. Three different plans were used to rebuild the South.  

       The first plan was called Presidential Reconstruction. During this plan, President Johnson, a southerner, was not very harsh on the southern states. His plan, based on Abraham Lincoln's, allowed the South into the Union if 10 percent of the people swore an oath of allegiance to the United States. They also had to ratify (approve) the 13th amendment, which ended slavery in the United States. Georgia rewrote its constitution in order to reject Secession and pass the 13th amendment. Georgia was allowed back into the Union in December of 1865. This was only for a short time. Trouble began when several former confederate leaders were elected. Northern senators, called Radical Republicans, wanted to punish the south for this.

Freed man

             Also, the Radical Republicans were horrified at the South’s treatment of the freedmen under Black Codes. Under these laws, black people were not allow to vote, testify against whites in court, and could not serve as jurors. Because of the South’s treatment of black people, the Congress introduced the 14th amendment which made African-Americans citizens of the United States and gave them the same rights as all U.S. citizens. 

President Andrew Johnson

       The next plan was called Congressional Reconstruction. Georgia, and other southern states, would not ratify (approve) the 14th amendment. Because of this, Georgia and the rest of the South were kicked out of the United States and put under the control of Congress. Southern states had to pass this amendment in order to be allowed into the Union again. Racial violence had also increased in Georgia and the South. Congress decided that the army needed to be sent to the South in order to keep the peace. Congress lumped the South into five military districts. Georgia, Alabama, and Florida made up the third district. 

       The third plan was Military Reconstruction. While under military control, Georgia rewrote its constitution again. The new constitution included laws that protected black voting, public schools, and moving the capital to Atlanta. However, the military stayed in Georgia due to the violence of the Ku Klux Klan. Georgia also refused to pass the 15th amendment, which gave African-American men the right to vote. Georgia was finally allowed back into the Union in 1870 when black legislators (law makers) and Republicans voted for the acceptance of the 15th amendment.