Reconstruction 1865–1877
U.S. History 1865–2004
Reconstruction 1865–1877
-
Lincoln, radical Republicans clash over plans for postwar Reconstruction
-
Union establishes military rule in former Confederacy to restore order, defend ex-slaves
-
13th Amendment,14th Amendment, and Civil Rights Act of 1866 pass
-
Railroad expansion facilitates movement between eastern, western United States
-
Steady waves of settlers displace and attack Native Americans in the West
| 1865 | 13th Amendment abolishes slavery in Union | |
| Robert E. Lee surrenders Confederate forces to Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia | ||
| Abraham Lincoln assassinated; Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes 17th president | ||
| Johnson announces moderate restoration plan to bring South back into Union; issues pardons to most Confederates, requires states to ratify 13th Amendment | ||
| Mississippi establishes system of black codes, limiting rights of freed blacks; codes become common throughout Reconstruction-era South | ||
| Freedmen’s Bureau established to help freed blacks find homes and jobs | ||
| 1866 | Civil Rights Act of 1866 grants citizenship to all people born in the United States, grants freed slaves right to own private property, sue, serve as witnesses | |
| Congress passes 14th Amendment to enforce constitutionality of Civil Rights Act of 1866; most Southern states reject it, and it is not ratified until 1868 | ||
| White supremacist group Ku Klux Klan founded in Tennessee; operates throughout South by 1868 | ||
| 1867 | Congress passes Military Reconstruction Acts, dividing former Confederacy into five military districts; each Southern state forced to create new government and state constitution before applying for readmission to Union | |
| Nebraska admitted to Union as 37th state | ||
| Tenure of Office Act requires president to get congressional approval before removing any appointees from office | ||
| United States purchases Alaska from Russia under direction of Secretary of State William H. Seward; critics deride purchase as “Seward’s Folly” | ||
| 1868 | Johnson intentionally violates Tenure of Office Act by firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, provoking anger in Congress; is impeached in House but acquitted in Senate | |
| Ulysses S. Grant elected 18th president | ||
| First railroad pass completed through High Sierras in California | ||
| Eight-hour workday becomes law for federal employees | ||
| 1869 | First transcontinental railroad completed at Promontory Point, Utah | |
| James Fisk and Jay Gould make unsuccessful attempt to corner U.S. gold market, leading to widespread financial panic | ||
| Wyoming grants women’s suffrage | ||
| 1870 | 15th Amendment protects voting rights for black males | |
| Grant proposes annexation of Dominican Republic, but Senate rejects | ||
| Last Southern states readmitted to Congress | ||
| Hiram Rhoades Revels of Mississippi becomes first black senator, assuming seat formerly held by Jefferson Davis | ||
| Enforcement Act allows for federal intervention against Ku Klux Klan activity | ||
| White v. Flood ruling in California court establishes precedent for racial segregation in schools | ||
| Union Pacific Railroad hires influx of Chinese workers at lower pay rates than those commanded by workers of European descent | ||
| 1871 | Indian Appropriations Act labels all Native Americans wards of U.S. government | |
| Anti-Chinese riot in Los Angeles results in more than 20 deaths | ||
| New York Times exposes corrupt New York City political machine run by William Marcy “Boss” Tweed | ||
| Great Chicago Fire causes extensive damage to city, over 300 deaths | ||
| Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of federally-issued paper money known as the greenback | ||
| 1872 | Grant reelected president | |
| Amnesty Act returns voting rights to most ex-Confederates; signals beginning of end of Reconstruction | ||
| Congress establishes Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming as first national park | ||
| 1873 | Slaughterhouse Cases acknowledge authority of state governments over individuals; effectively limit application of 14th Amendment to former slaves | |
| Panic of 1873 hits United States, caused by rampant railroad speculation; 25% of nation’s railroads shut down | ||
| 1874 | Mennonite immigrants from Russia revolutionize wheat cultivation in Kansas | |
| Police on horseback beat scores of unemployed demonstrators in Tompkins Square Riot in New York City | ||
| 1875 | Several of Grant’s associates indicted in Whiskey Ring scandal | |
| Civil Rights Act of 1875 enacts penalties for racial discrimination at inns, in theaters, on public transit, in other public places; prevents discrimination in employment; establishes right of African Americans to serve on juries | ||
| 1876 | Federal authorities order Lakota Sioux to reservations | |
| Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse lead Sioux resistance to crushing defeat of Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s forces at Battle of Little Bighorn in Montana | ||
| Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone | ||
| Colorado admitted to Union as 38th state | ||
| Rutherford B. Hayes elected 19th president in contested race against Samuel J. Tilden; Tilden wins popular vote, but electoral count proves inconclusive | ||
| Mark Twain publishes novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | ||
| 1877 | Hayes-Tilden Compromise awards Hayes presidency in exchange for removal of federal troops from Southern states, effectively ending Reconstruction | |
| Munn v. Illinois ruling states that private industries affecting the public interest are subject to state and federal government regulation | ||
| Widespread anti-Chinese riots take place in San Francisco | ||
| U.S. government ignores Nez Percé ancestral land claim in Idaho, forcibly removes tribe to Kansas reservation | ||
| Desert Land Act gives settlers affordable land deals in exchange for self-irrigation |
