The End of Reconstruction 18.3

Robert B. Elliott Elected to the US Congress from South Carolina in 1871 Brilliant speaker Gave famous speech to Congress in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 In 1877, federal troops left the South because Reconstruction was over White Southerners quickly took back control Civil Rights Act of 1875 was overturned

Protecting African American Rights In the election of 1868 former Union General Ulysses S. Grant won the presidency The Republican Party seemed stronger than ever Grant won with 214 electoral votes- his opponent received only 80 He won the popular vote by a close 305,000 votes Would not have won without the freedman’s vote

15th Amendment After Grant’s victory, Radical Republicans feared the Southern states might keep African Americans from voting in the future. Some already prohibited voting Radical Republicans proposed a Constitutional amendment to protect the voting rights. 15th Amendment stated that citizens could not be stopped from voting “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude” Still did not apply to Native Americans or women- upset most abolitionist Ratified in 1870

Fighting the Klan Despite obtaining the right to vote African Americans in the South were still terrorized by the Klan In 1871, President Grant asked Congress to pass a tough new law against the Klan. Congress approved the Anti-Klan Bill. Thousands of Klansmen were arrested Attacks declined 1872 election was much more peaceful Grant easily won reelection

Reconstruction Weakens Support for the Republicans and pro-African American rights began to weaken due to a scandal in Grant’s presidential administration Grant did not select his advisors well, many were friends and wife’s relatives Many of whom were unqualified for the positions, some even accepted bribes Example: one of Grant’s privates secretary's was involved in whiskey distillers who were trying to avoid paying taxes. In 1872, upset Republican officials broke away and formed the new Liberal Republican Party This weaken the Republican party.

Panic of 1873 The political corruption lead to a more serious problem- Eastern banks ran out of money after making bad loans Worried people then withdrew all of their money from banks Many banks closed The stock market collapsed (went down a lot) The panic caused an economic depression- a time of low business activity and high unemployment

Panic of 1873 By 1875, more than 18,000 companies had gone out of business 500,000 workers lost their jobs Many people blamed the Republicans They were the political party in charge They were having problems within their own parties As a result- 1874 election Democrats won (congress) Nation was losing interest in Reconstruction

Civil Rights Reversals To make things worse for the Republicans, The Supreme Court started to undo some of the progress for Civil Rights 1876 case US vs Cruikshank, the court ruled that the federal government could not punish individuals who violated the civil rights of African American but only the states had the power punish them Southern states would not punish

Civil Rights Reversals Also in 1876, US vs Reese the court ruled in favor of white Southerners who barred African Americans from voting. It stated that the 15th Amendment did not give everyone the right to vote, it merely listed the grounds on which states could not deny the vote. Which meant, states could prevent African Americans from voting for other reasons. States later imposed poll taxes Unfair literacy test

Reconstruction Ends During the 1876 presidential election Reconstruction received it’s final blow Democrats- Samuel J. Tilden- Governor of NY Republicans- Rutherford B. Hayes- governor of OH Election forced a compromise- Republicans felt they gave up the most

Compromise of 1877 The victory in the 1876 presidential election depended on 3 Southern states. South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida Votes were so close both sides claimed victory A commission of Republicans and Democrats struck a deal- Compromise of 1877 Republican Rutherford Hayes became president but other parts were a blow to Republicans in the South.

Compromise of 1877 The government would remove federal troops from the South The government would provide land grants and loans for the construction of railroads linking the South to the West Coast Southern officials would receive federal funds for construction and improvement projects Hayes would appoint a Democrat to his cabinet The Democrats promised to respect African Americans’ rights

Compromise of 1877 Abolitionist Wendell Phillips was against the compromise because he doubted the South would ever respect African Americans’ rights. “The whole soil of the South is hidden by successive layers of broken promises. To trust a Southern promise would be fair evidence of insanity.” After the presidential election, Republican Reconstruction in the South ended- Democrats returned to power. http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/compromise-of-1877

Legacy of Reconstruction The success of Reconstruction is still debatable The government did achieve its most important goal- unify the Union, but the effects on African American’s is unclear African American’s legal situation changed greatly, slavery was outlawed, gained the vote, and ability to hold office. However, the Supreme Courts recent decisions practically reversed the 14th and 15th Amendments! African Americans continued to face widespread violence and prejudice. Felt like 2nd class citizens