The Civil War had two significant outcomes for all Americans. First, all the Southern states would remain part of the United States. Second, the slaves were emancipated. With the war over, the United States now faced the problem of putting the nation back together. Since the Southern states had seceded from the Union, their state governments were now considered to be illegal. Thus, new state governments had to be created, and new representative had to be elected to serve in the United States Congress. This process of reuniting the Southern states with the national government became known as Reconstruction.

The bureau�s greatest success, however, was in education. As a result of the bureau�s activities, African Americans gained access to schoolhouses and teachers. When the bureau left the state in 1870, there were more than 6,500 black students attending schools in the state.

Prior to the end of the Civil War, President Lincoln had created a plan to reunite the South with the Union. Lincoln did not want to punish the ex-Confederates, rather he wanted to bring the southern states back into the Union as quickly as possible. Many in Congress viewed Lincoln�s plan as being too soft on the Confederate "traitors." After John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln in Ford�s Theater, the responsibility of reuniting the country fell to Lincoln�s vice-president, Andrew Johnson.

Johnson continued to carry out Lincoln�s plan of lenient reconstruction. Under President Johnson�s plan, the southern states were required to complete several steps before being restored to their former status in the United States. The first step of the plan called for the creation of provisional governments in all the former Confederate states. These provisional governments were required to meet several conditions. First, the ex-Confederate states had to officially end slavery. Next, they had to declare secession illegal. In addition, adult white males also had to take an oath of allegiance to the United States government.

Furthermore, men who had been officials in the Confederate government or high-ranking army officers had to request a pardon from the president before they could take part in the government again. A final stipulation was that the states had to agree that any state debt acquired during the war would go unpaid. Once the states met these conditions, they could then create new constitutions and hold elections. After which, the state governments would function as they had prior to the war. Most Texans found this plan fair and supported it.

The Unionist Andrew Jackson Hamilton was appointed the provisional governor of Texas in June of 1865. Hamilton had left Texas at the outbreak of the war and served as a general in the Union army. Despite serving in the Union army, the majority of Texans welcomed him to Austin. Governor Hamilton�s first task in office was to appoint officers to help him run the government. In an effort to promote cooperation, he appointed both Unionists and ex-Confederates to the various positions available. On November 15, 1865, Hamilton called for an election to select delegates to a constitutional convention.

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Study Guide Questions:

1. What were two significant outcomes of the Civil War?(7.5:B)
2. What is significant about the date, June 19, 1865? What is this date called today?(7.5:B)
3. What was the Freedman�s Bureau? What was its greatest success?(7.5:B)
4. Under President Andrew Johnson�s plan of reconstruction, what steps were required for a southern state to be readmitted to the Union?(7.5:B)
5. Who was Andrew Jackson Hamilton?