Ch 17-3 Reconstructing the South After Grant took office- the Republicans seemed stronger than ever!

Carpetbaggers and Scalawags Carpetbaggers was the name given to the Northerners who moved to the South after the war. Many in the South thought they were trying to unfairly profit from reconstruction. Scalawags was the name given to the white southerners who supported the republicans-greedy rascals!

African American Leaders More than 600 were elected to state legislatures (mostly Republican you could guess) 16 were elected to Congress and many held local offices Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce were two examples of U.S. Senators

State Governments Some of the first state funded schools in the South were established Hospitals, prisons, orphanages were built Laws were passed to limit discrimination Railroad, bridges, road, and public buildings were built as a way to get the southern economy to recover from the war Money generally came from taxes and bonds

KKK Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a secret group formed to oppose civil rights for African Americans They used violence and terror against African Americans, White Republicans, and other public officials Members wore robes to hide identity Many local governments did little to stop the Klan

Federal Reaction to the Klan Federal Government stepped in and congress passed laws making it illegal to interfere with elections of deny citizens equal protection under the law Within a few years, the Klan was no longer

Reconstruction Ends The General Amnesty Act of 1872 allowed many former Confederate Officials to hold office again Many were soon elected (Democrats) to hold office in the South Republicans were starting to lose power in the North (Scandals)

Panic of 1873 1873- Jay Cooke and Company declared Bankruptcy They had lied about the value of land it was trying to sell- when the truth leaked- the company failed This sent a panic through the stock market This left many people out of work as companies failed. This allowed the Democrats to take controll of the House of Representatives

Election of 1876 Democrats were gaining power due to economic problems being more important than reconstruction Republicans were able to push through the Civil Rights Act of 1875-African Americans had equal rights in public places

1876 cont. Republican- Rutherford B Hayes- wanted to end federal reconstruction Democrats- Samuel J. Tilden Democrats in the South again used violence to keep Republicans away Looked like Tilden won, but Republicans challenged

Hayes Wins! Commission that looked into the election gave all disputed votes to Hayes Compromise of 1877- Democrats agreed to accept Hayes as the winner if all federal troops were removed from the South, received funding to help rebuild the South and had a Democrat on the Cabinet.

Redeemers This was the name given to Democrats who brought their party back to power They wanted to reduce the size of the state governments and limit the rights of African Americans They cut taxes and got rid of several social programs

African American Rights Restricted Poll Tax- people had to pay before they could vote Literacy Test- had to be able to pass before they could vote Grandfather Clause- if your father or grandfather could vote before 1867 you did not have to do these things

More Restrictions Segregation-Forced separation of Whites and African Americans was common in the South Jim Crow Laws- Laws that enforced segregation

Plessy v. Ferguson Case said that Separate but Equal was fine. This forced African Americans to use separate schools, libraries, parks and other public facilities. These were often of lesser quality (not really equal, but deemed ok)

Farming in the South Sharecropping was common for many African Americans. They could not afford to buy land or move so they would farm for a large landowner. Most hoped to make enough money to buy their own land, but that rarely happened. Most lived in a cycle of debt that they could not get out of.

Rebuilding Industry Cotton prices would rise and fall. Many wanted something more stable Some thought about building factories since there was a large supply of cheap labor Textile Mills began to pop up-often African Americans were not allowed to work there though- Mostly Rural Families took these jobs who had trouble making ends meet.

Southern Mill Life Many families worked in mills together It was steady work, but not great. Workers often worked 12 hour days-6 days a week Many injuries occurred in the mills-Brown Lung and injuries from machinery were common While wages were low- it was an alternative to farming for many