Answer to Question 1
Ideal Answer: The ideal answer should:
1. Explain that whites wanted to secure black labor as cheaply as possible while blacks wanted to obtain the most money they could for their labor.
2. Note that blacks during slavery worked in gangs for no money; they wanted more independence now that they were free.
3. Note that some blacks returned to former masters and were willing to work in exchange for food, but not according to the gang system of labor.
4. Note that the laborers reached agreements with white landowners and worked as families on plantations. They worked independently and not under white supervision. The white landowner provided tools, seeds, and other items for farming.
5. Note that they did not receive wages but one-third of the crop at harvest.
6. Explain that blacks lacked land and were often cheated by land owners.
Answer to Question 2
Ideal Answer: The ideal answer should:
1. Define Johnson's negative reaction to the bills as expanding the federal bureaucracy and black rights too far at the expense of the liberties and rights of southern white people.
2. Point out that Johnson vetoed both bills because he was racist conservative disdainful of blacks and Republicans in Congress.
3. Explain that Johnson actually motivated Republicans to band together and support the freedmen instead of him. Johnson had effectively lost his entire Congress.
4. Conclude that Johnson was later impeached and nearly removed from office for violating the confidence of Congress through his vetoes of these acts.