Life In The South During Reconstruction

State Governments in the South  Led by Republicans (supported Northerners and viewed as traitors)  Former Confederate officials (Democrats) were banned in  Government officials unpopular with constituents (voters)  Not good in a democracy  Led by Republicans (supported Northerners and viewed as traitors)  Former Confederate officials (Democrats) were banned in  Government officials unpopular with constituents (voters)  Not good in a democracy

CarpetbaggersCarpetbaggers  Northerners who came to South to help reconstruction  Viewed by Southerners as making profits on their sorrow  Named carpetbaggers because of their expensive luggage  Hated in the South  Northerners who came to South to help reconstruction  Viewed by Southerners as making profits on their sorrow  Named carpetbaggers because of their expensive luggage  Hated in the South

“The Carpetbaggers” by N.C. Wyeth

ScalawagsScalawags  Republicans from the South helping Congress with Reconstruction  Viewed as traitors in the South and very unpopular  Republicans from the South helping Congress with Reconstruction  Viewed as traitors in the South and very unpopular

What is the story of the Trojan Horse? How does the Trojan horse relate to the scalawags and Washington, D.C.?

Blacks Elected to Government  Because of the Fifteenth Amendment, blacks could vote  Many black leaders were elected  Hiram Revels  Hiram Revels - first black man elected to Congress, he served as Senator from Mississippi. (Cool Fact - Took over Jefferson Davis’ seat!)  Blanche K. Bruce  Blanche K. Bruce - Senator from Mississippi  Because of the Fifteenth Amendment, blacks could vote  Many black leaders were elected  Hiram Revels  Hiram Revels - first black man elected to Congress, he served as Senator from Mississippi. (Cool Fact - Took over Jefferson Davis’ seat!)  Blanche K. Bruce  Blanche K. Bruce - Senator from Mississippi

Hiram Rhodes Revels Revels wanted to seek common ground between African Americans and white Southerners. He felt that in most places in Mississippi, “white people… accept as a fact that all men are born free and equal and… are ready to guarantee my people every right and privilege guaranteed to and American citizen.

Jefferson Davis (as Iago from Shakespeare’s Othello, The Moor of Venice) looks on as Hiram Revels takes his seat

Blanche K. Bruce - Senator from Mississippi In Mississippi, the election of 1876 was controversial. Many people thought that Blacks were pressured to vote for white Democrats. Bruce stated, “The conduct of the last election in Mississippi… put into question and jeopardy the sacred rights of the citizen.”

Resistance to Reconstruction  Most white Southerners did not want blacks to be equal  Most landowners refused to rent property to blacks  Violence against blacks, carpetbaggers, and scalawags was common  Most white Southerners did not want blacks to be equal  Most landowners refused to rent property to blacks  Violence against blacks, carpetbaggers, and scalawags was common

Ku Klux Klan  Secret society started in Tennessee that quickly spread across the South  Wearing white robes and hoods,  Members used terror and violence to stop Reconstruction efforts  Killed thousands of Blacks and white supporters  Burned homes, schools, and churches  Government struggled to stop the KKK because few people would testify against them in court because of fear or support  Secret society started in Tennessee that quickly spread across the South  Wearing white robes and hoods,  Members used terror and violence to stop Reconstruction efforts  Killed thousands of Blacks and white supporters  Burned homes, schools, and churches  Government struggled to stop the KKK because few people would testify against them in court because of fear or support

A cartoon threatening that the KKK would lynch carpetbaggers, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Independent Monitor, 1868.

The Ku Klux Klan was active in elections. This cartoon depicts the KKK supporting two Democratic candidates for a political office, saying they used to be members of the CSA, and now are members of the KKK, so you should vote for them.

Mississippi KKK members in the disguises in which they were captured. This appeared in Harper's Weekly, January 27, The accompanying news story states that these men were captured in September 1871 in Tishamingo County by US Attorney G. W. Wells and assisted by US Marshall J. H. Pierce and his deputy John M'Coy.

Sharecropping - Cycle of Poverty  Most common form of farming for freedmen  Landowner contracts with laborer (sharecropper) for a percentage of crops produced  Landowners charged unfair amounts, keeping freedmen in debt season after season  Very similar to slavery  Most common form of farming for freedmen  Landowner contracts with laborer (sharecropper) for a percentage of crops produced  Landowners charged unfair amounts, keeping freedmen in debt season after season  Very similar to slavery