Reconstruction & the New South

Lecture Outline Aftermath of War Black Freedom Reconstruction Policies Corruption and the End of Reconstruction The New South

A Devastated South 600,000 dead 25% southern men Southern economy Crops, roads, homes Strengthened Union Ended slavery “Fulfilled Declaration”

Thirteenth Amendment Lincoln reelected 1864 Lincoln did not support social equality 13th Amendment 1865 Abolished slavery Most northerners support black male suffrage

The Meaning of Freedom for Blacks Independence from Whites Establish & Strengthen Institutions Family Church Education Politics Labor Land

The Meaning of Freedom for Southern Whites Very Different than Southern Blacks Regional and Local Control White Supremacy Control Over Blacks Return to Antebellum Society

Labor & the “Soul of the South” Slavery based on racialized labor force Free the people Racial hierarchy overturned? Who does labor? White southern identity = racial domination and labor exploitation

Freedmen’s Bureau Created 1865 Attempted to Aid Former Slaves Federal assistance Hated by Southern Whites Too Much Need

Reconstruction Describes the process of re-unifying the North and South, rebuilding the Southern economy, and integrating blacks into Southern society Terms of Unification? Punishment for Southerners? Congress or President? System of Labor? Equality & Enforcement

Lincoln’s Assassination April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth Ford Theater Washington, D.C.

Reconstruction Plans Andrew Johnson Pardons for elites Easy readmission Renounce secession 13th Amendment Not black equality or voting rights

Persistent Racism Reaction to: Civil Rights Bill of 1866 Blacks Codes Race Riots & KKK Johnson

Radical Reconstruction Reconstruction Act of 1867 Sen. Charles Sumner Rep. Thaddeus Stevens Voting Rights Restrictions Constitutions & black rights Five military districts Freedmen’s Bureau Extended Approve 14th Amendment Citizenship & Due Process

Post-War Reunion

Black Reconstruction Political offices & public officials 600 stage legislators 16 in Congress

End of Reconstruction Election of 1876 Samuel Tilden (D) won popular vote Rutherford Hayes (R) lost Tilden lacked electoral votes Votes disputed Democrats allowed Hayes to win if Republicans withdrew from South and returned it to regional control “Compromise of 1877”

Significance Removal of federal troops Southern whites control labor, race relations, local politics Economic integration Failure of federal commitment to black equality Westward expansion eclipsed Southern question

“The New South” A term used to reflect the belief that the end of the Civil War would bring economic prosperity, industrialization, and national integration to the South However, blacks and whites had different hopes, and faced different realities, during the years between 1877-1900

Industrialization Railroads Steel mills Agriculture Textiles Low national impact, high regional impact Connections to global market

A Colony of the North External capital Low wages High debt Extractive industries Dependency on the north “carpetbaggers”

A Southern Revolt Falling profits Debt Mechanization Political abuse Collective organization and resistance to exploitation Class consciousness

Southern Resistance The Grange Southern Farmers Alliance Populist Party Race Tom Watson

Race Relations Dominated life White Backlash Segregated facilities “Race Rules” People’s Grocery Lynch Law Ida B. Wells

Lynchings

Georgia, 1935

Teaching White Supremacy

Segregation Public Facilities Railroads “Disfranchisement” Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896 Jim Crow Laws, pg. 502 Poll taxes, secret ballot, literacy test, grandfather clauses

Basis for “Jim Crow” South Minstrel shows Stereotype White Supremacy Scientific Racism Nostalgia for Civil War & Old South

Convict Lease System Labor and race Few Jails Arrests Leased to corporations “Worse than slavery”

Reactions Exodusters Community W.E.B. DuBois Booker T. Washington “Talented 10th” Full Equality Booker T. Washington “Self-help” Economics

Conclusions Theme of Expansion & Unification Southern Economy Black liberty and White Racism The Civil War DID NOT end systematic racial violence, racial segregation, economic inequality, and political disfranchisement These conditions persisted after the Second World War