V- Life in the South A) Many whites in the South tried to maintain the old economic and social standards that existed before the war.

Could they enslave Africans? Could they deny ex-slaves the protections of the Constitution? Could they deny ex-slaves the right to vote?

B) Legal Oppression- 1) Several southern governments passed Black Codes a) Black Codes- Laws that severely restricted the rights and freedoms of African Americans.

C) Economic Oppression- Ex-slaves were also forced into financial agreements where they became trapped paying off huge debts or loans

1) Tennant Farming- Some ex-slaves went back to work on the plantations they were once slaves on. They would pay rent to farm a plot of plantation land.

2) Sharecropping- Sharecroppers would pay rent with crops grown on the rented fields. a) Sharecroppers usually had to borrow seed from the plantation owner putting them deeper into debt.

D) Voting Oppression- many southern state governments invented new ways to deny 15 th Amendment freedoms. 1) They wanted to prevent poor blacks and whites from voting for Republicans.

2) POLL TAX- this law involved having to pay a large tax or fee in order to register. a) The tax was about five dollars. b) The average salary for a black field hand was 60 cents a day.

3) Grandfather Clause- if your Grandfather could not vote then you can not vote.

4) Literacy tests- blacks were required to pass a complicated literacy test in order to register. a) The Literacy test was often made to be impossible to pass.

Sample questions from a literacy test How many windows does the White House have? What color socks does the President wear? How much does the Sun weigh? Of the original 13 states, the one with the largest representation in the first Congress was?

E) Violent Oppression 1) Unable to openly oppose the Republicans, some southerners began secret societies.

2) Ku Klux Klan- a secret society dedicated to oppressing minorities and Republican voters. a) The Klan would burn homes, beat minorities, lynch random people, and spread terror.

b) The night before elections, the Klan would print “dead books” with list of potential victims. How many of these people would show up to vote the next day?