The+End+of+the+War

=The End of the Civil War=

Page authors: Vince, Eric, Nick Page editor: Mrs. Z Page updated: April 20, 2008

=Surrender=

On [|April 9th, 1865,] the war ended when General Robert E. Lee [|surrendered] at the Appomattox Court House. A soldier, General Horace Porter, writes that General Lee was both respected by both General Grant and many Union soldiers. Grant tried to make the surrender easier on Lee.

At the surrender, General Grant wrote the [|terms of surrender] and he made it so that the Confederate army could keep their horses, guns, etc. General Lee was so touched that he immediately wrote his name on the paper.

Although not all the fighting ended with the signing at Appomattox (armies in distant locations fought on until they were finally notified), most of the country found out quickly and in the North, celebrations erupted. In the North there were many parades but Confederates had to walk home through the war-torn South. It was very sad for them. Richmond, Virginia was destroyed. A lack of money made traveling very difficult and Southern soldiers had to beg for room and board as they made their way home. Some Confederates came home and received a disappointing welcome.

Lincoln and his government began to plan for reuniting the nation. Less than one week later, the celebrations abruptly ended when John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor who supported the Confederacy, fatally shot Abraham Lincoln while the President was relaxing at a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. With Lincoln's death, the South's hopes for a generous reconciliation were dashed. Vice-President Andrew Johnson became President.

=Reconstruction Era=

[|The Reconstruction Era] was the rebuilding the South, both the economy and the cities, and bringing the South back to make a whole union throughout the states. President Andrew Johnson gave amnesty to any Confederate that signed an oath of loyalty to the Union. The Southern states also had to ratify the 13th Amendment, which freed the slaves. Congress did not like Johnson's plan. His plan was to free the Southern slaves, have all war debts paid, and create a new government for the states. The states could finally live peacefully and trade with other states whenever they pleased. Later, his plan would include building schools for freed slaves. He put the plan into action, and the South began to reconstruct themselves. They worked very hard to repair the damage caused by the war.

There were many [|changes for the South] after the war. It took a while to recover from the war. Thousands of freed slaves crammed into towns and cities and many former slaves moved North because of [|lack of jobs] in the South.Congress tried to help Blacks adapt to life after the war by establishing The Freedman's Bureau and by passing the 14th Amendment, which declared Blacks to be citizens. Southern states did not agree with the amendment and would not ratify the 14th Amendment so the Union Army occupied the South. Congress would not allow the former Confederates to vote to form new state governments until they ratified the amendment. Johnson was accused of favoring the South during Reconstruction. He was impeached but was acquitted. States needed to ratify the 15th Amendment, which guaranteed equality at the voting booth, before being readmitted into the Union.

The Republican Party was behind many of the Reconstruction policies. Black voters put many Republicans in office but the South did not like the policies and believed they were corrupt. Any Southerner who collaborated with the Republicans was called a scallawag and the Northerners who came South to enforce Reconstruction were called carpetbaggers. Some citizens were not happy about the equality the freed slaves now had. These people were known as the Ku Klux Klan. They terrorized African-Americans and were known to wear all white masks and uniforms.

Southern Democrats wanted to regain political power. During the 1870's, President Grant sent federal troops to Southern states to protect Republicans from violence during the elections.

[|Reconstruction ended] in 1876, with the [|disputed election] of Rutherford B.Hayes. The Reconstruction policies of the Republicans were abandoned and the Southern Democrats regained control of state governments. Many Blacks still did not have civil rights. Some states took away their right to vote and they instituted the [|black codes] that kept Blacks in subservient positions. [|Discrimination] and segregation took the place of slavery.