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Reconstruction
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Focus Questions Briefly discuss the competing interest groups and their representatives during the reconstruction era Compare and Contrast the 3 reconstruction programs What privileges did the African American population need access to in order to fundamentally change their condition of servitude?
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Focus Questions What measures did Radical Republicans take to reverse over two hundred years of institutionalized and constitutionalized discrimination Discuss the response by many white Americans to these institutional changes What is the significance of the 1876 election and 1877 Compromise Compare and contrast conditions of labor , political and social status of African-Americans post Reconstruction.
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Identifications Lincoln’s 10% plan Election of 1876
Johnson’s Reconstruction program Congressional Reconstruction 13, 14, 15th Amendments Freedmen’s Bureau Compromise of 1877 Land Order # 15 Wade-Davis Bill Negro Rule Radical Republicans Black Codes Klu Klux Klan Share Cropping
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Reconstruction The process by which the nation was rebuilt after the destruction caused by the Civil War. This attempted rebuilding was social, political, and economic. Issues: A. how to handle seceded states B. Suffrage 1. ex-confederates 2. Freedmen Suffrage was a central issue. On the one hand was the question of allowing some or all ex-Confederates to vote. The moderates wanted virtually all of them to vote, but the Radicals wanted severe restrictions. Thus Thaddeus Stevens proposed that ex-Confederates lose the vote for five years. In the end about 15,000 Confederate leaders temporarily lost the vote. Second was the issue of which blacks should be given the right to vote. The conservatives believed none of the slaves had the experience to make them good voters. The moderates like Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson wanted some to get the vote, especially army veterans. Thus Lincoln proposed giving the vote to "the very intelligent, and especially those who have fought gallantly in our ranks." while Johnson said, "The better class of them will go to work and sustain themselves, and that class ought to be allowed to vote, on the ground that a loyal negro is more worthy than a disloyal white man." Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, leader of the Radical Republicans, was initially hesitant to enfranchise the largely illiterate ex-slave population. However Sumner decided it was necessary for blacks to have the vote for three reasons: 1) for their own protection; 2) for the protection of white Unionists (i.e. "scalawags"); 3) for the peace of the country.
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Lincoln’s 10% Plan, 1863 Lincoln announced that when a number of men equal to ten percent of those who had voted in the 1860 presidential election swore an oath of allegiance to the United States, they could establish a state government, elect officials, apply to be restored to their normal relations with the nation. . Presidential pardon to confederates Lincoln urged blacks to leave the country to emigrate to all black countries such as Haiti Republicans believed that white men who fought against the union should not b rewarded with restoration of their political rights while black men who fought for the union were denied those rights. The old aristocracy would continue under a new guise – control labor and the economy of “ex-slaves” Planning for Reconstruction began in 1861, at the onset of the war. The Radical Republicans, seeking strict policies, used as their base the Congressional Joint Committee on Reconstruction. Abraham Lincoln pursued a lenient plan for reconstruction, especially in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas. In those states, he proposed a ten percent plan that required 10 percent of the voters from the 1860 election to swear an oath of loyalty to the Union. He never succeeded in getting compliance with his plan. Lincoln opposed the Radicals on Reconstruction issue, and vetoed their key legislation, the Wade-Davis bill. Lincoln, in contrast, shrank from inaugurating a fundamental upheaval in southern society and mores, and by stressing future over past loyalty, he was willing to allow recanting Rebels to dominate the new southern governments.
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Taking the Oath of Allegiance
Moreover, Lincoln believed that the best strategy was to introduce black suffrage in the South by degrees in order to accustom southern whites to blacks voting. How far he was willing to go in extending rights to former slaves remained unclear, but his gradualist approach to social change remained intact, just as when he had tried to get the border states in 1862 to adopt gradual emancipation. Finally, the radicals and Lincoln held quite different views of the relationship of Reconstruction to the war effort Taking the Oath of Allegiance These white southerners are shown taking the oath of allegiance to the United States in 1865 as part of the process of restoring civil government in the South. The Union soldiers and officers are administering the oath. (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Republican Agenda – Wade Davis Bill, 1864
Response to Lincolns lenient reconstruction plan Alternative 50% of state population – “Iron Clad Oath” before framing a new constitution To verify white males had not taken up arms against the government (impossible) An appointed governor would summon a state constitution convention, with members elected by the oath-takers only. The new constitution forced to abolish slavery, punish Confederate leaders by distributing their property, and repudiate debts collected during the war Re admittance into union – Lincoln Pocket veto The Wade-Davis Bill of 1864 was proposed by Benjamin Wade and Henry Winter Davis. The Republican Congress's response to President Abraham Lincoln's exceptionally lenient Ten percent plan, the bill made readmittance to the Union hard. If the Southern States were readmitted to the Union, the Republicans would lose their comfortable majority in Congress, so it was in their best interest to make the process difficult. 1. Until states were readmitted, they would be under the control of a governor appointed by the president. 2. The Wade-Davis Bill required at least 50% of a states population to take an "Ironclad Oath" before it would be allowed to frame a new constitution. The "Ironclad Oath," verifying that the white male had never borne arms against the Union, would have made readmittance near-impossible. Considering the numbers in the Confederate Army, it would have been very difficult for a southern state to meet this requirement. 3. After 1/2 of the population had made the oath, the appointed governor would summon a state constitution convention, with members elected by the oath-takers only. The new constitution would be forced to abolish slavery, punish Confederate leaders by distributing their property, and repudiate debts collected during the war (like the North, the Confederacy had issued bonds to help finance the war.) After meeting these conditions, a state could finally be readmitted to the Union. Lincoln destroyed the bill with a pocket veto.
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Radical Republicans Opposition to Lincoln:
Thaddeus Stevens – House representative Charles Sumner – Senate Provide freedmen land by confiscating plantation land and punish confederate land holders for their treason Give freed people the vote (rather than restoring old elite to power)
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Death of a President The Gun April 14th 1865 Confederate Plots
Ford’s Theater Drunk guard Confederate John Wilkes Booth Kidnapping plot assassination Plots Conspiracy theories The Theater Box 1 John Wilkes Booth © 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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A Nation is Mourning 3 Funeral Procession Lincoln lay in state
1st at White House 2nd Capital Headed back to Illinois Ford Theater Box 3 Funeral Procession (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Presidential Reconstruction
pardoning many Confederate leaders allowing ex-Confederates to maintain their control of Southern state governments, Southern lands, and black people Johnson was a white supremacist and did not favor black civil and political rights. Johnson’s belief that black suffrage could never be imposed on a southern state by the federal government put him on a collision course with the Radical Republicans. Refused to cooperate with Radical Republicans like Thaddeus Stevens to implement a progressive reconstruction policy. Issued blanket amnesty for aristocracy and leading confederate officials and military officials Tennessee Democrat Blanket Amnesty Governor of North Carolina 13th Amendment Southern Defiance The Failure of Johnson’s Program Southern states defied the federal government Enactment of Black Codes, heavily restrictive laws against African Americans Elections in the South returned ex-Confederates to power; Johnson’s resolve began to buckle Johnson’s Break with Congress Issue of black rights drove wedge between president and Congress Johnson’s vetoes aggravated tensions “white men alone must govern the south”
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Black Codes 4 million former slaves Excluded from voting and juries
Could not testify against white Banned interracial marriage Punished blacks more severely for crimes Defined unemployed black as a vagrant and hired them out to planters Forbade blacks to lease lands Johnson’s pardons upset many Republicans, but the discriminatory black codes revealed the depth of southern defiance.
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Southern Defiance Klu Klux Klan 7
Thirteenth Amendment – many Southern states balked at ratifying violence against Blacks Presidential pardons made to ex-Confederates Many ex-Confederate leaders elected to Congress Alexander Hamilton Stephens Praise and support from leading Northern Democrats Klu Klux Klan 7 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Thirteenth Amendment Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment on January 31, The Amendment abolished slavery and gave Congress the power of enforcement. Congress quickly passed the Civil Rights bill Congress passed measures in the face of southern Defiance and racism of Johnson and his confederate alliesIn response to the Black codes and worrisome signs of Southern recalcitrance, the Radical Republicans blocked the readmission of the ex-rebellious states to the Congress in fall Congress also renewed the Freedman's Bureau, but Johnson vetoed it. Senator Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, leader of the moderate Republicans, took affront at the black codes. He proposed the first Civil Rights Law because, he explained:[2] Of what avail, he asked, is the Thirteenth Amendment "if in the late slaveholding States laws are to be enacted and enforced depriving persons of African descent of privileges which are essential to freemen?" The legislatures of the Southern States have by law discriminated against the negroes. "They deny them certain rights and subject them to severe penalties. ...Although they do not make a man an absolute slave they yet deprive him of the rights of a freeman; and it is perhaps difficult to draw the precise line to say where freedom ceases and slavery begins but a law that does not allow a colored person to go from one county to another, and one that does not allow him to hold property, to teach, to preach, are certainly laws in violation of the rights of a freeman.... The purpose of this bill is to destroy all these discriminations and to carry into effect the constitutional amendment;" it is to give the negro "the right to acquire property, to go and come at pleasure, to enforce rights in the courts, to make contracts, and to inherit and dispose of property." The constitutional warrant for the bill was the second section of the Thirteenth Amendment, "Congress shall have power to enforce this article [abolishing slavery] by appropriate, legislation."Republicans in Congress overrode his veto (the Senate by the close vote of 33:15, the House by 122:41) and the Civil Rights bill became law.
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Fourteenth Amendment, 1866 Congress over rode the presidential veto, 1866 14th Amendment Citizenship to freedmen (everyone born here) Prohibited states from interfering with constitutional rights Declared the Confederate war debt null and void, Barred Confederate leaders from holding state and federal office Punished any state that restricted extension of the right to vote to black men. Framers did not intend to prevent segregation in schools and public places The last moderate proposal was the Fourteenth Amendment, also authored by moderate Trumbull. It was designed to put the key provisions of the Civil Rights Act into the Constitution, but it went much further. It extended citizenship to everyone born in the United States (except visitors and Indians on reservations), penalized states that did not give the vote to Freedmen, and most importantly, created new federal civil rights that could be protected by federal courts. It guaranteed the Federal war debt (and promised the Confederate debt would never be paid). Johnson used his influence to block the amendment in the states, as three-fourths of the states were required for ratification. (The Amendment was later ratified.) The moderate effort to compromise with Johnson had failed and an all-out political war broke out between the Republicans (both Radical and moderate) on one side, and on the other Johnson and his allies in the Democratic party in the North, and the conservative groupings (which used different names) in each southern state.
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The Freedmen’s Bureau, 1865 supplied food and medical services,
built schools and colleges, negotiated employment contracts between freedmen and former masters, and tried to manage confiscated land. Congress established The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands was meant to aid southern refugees. For Lincoln, in contrast, a lenient program of Reconstruction would encourage southern whites to abandon the Confederacy and thus was integral to his strategy for winning the war. Lincoln thus wanted to bring the Southern states back into good standing as fast as possible and with a minimum of vengeance. Insisting as well that there be new rights for the Freedmen, he created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, known as the Freedmen's Bureau. In one experiment in the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Freedmen were allowed to farm plantations seized by the Army. They never received ownership. Northern Idea of Freedmen’s Bureau 11 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Freedmen in Richmond, Virginia in 1865.
(c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Burning of a Freedmen’s School
16 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Land – Order No. 15 General T. Sherman moved to confiscate confederate plantation lands and provide “40 acres and a mule” to freedmen. Backed by northern radicals but successfully opposed by southern whites, and Johnson. Johnson restored lands to planters
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Congress vs. Johnson Congress worked to extend the Freedmen’s Bureau and to pass a civil rights law counteracting the black codes. Civil Rights Bill Granted right to own property Make contracts Have access to courts as parties and witnesses Johnson vetoed these bills, ending hopes of compromise between the president and congress. Congress overrode his veto in 1866 Moderates joined Radicals in Congress
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King Andrew King Andrew This Thomas Nast cartoon, published in Harper's Weekly just before the 1866 congressional elections, conveyed Republican antipathy to Andrew Johnson. The president is depicted as an autocratic tyrant. Radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens, upper right, has his head on the block and is about to lose it. The Republic sits in chains. (Harper's Weekly, 1866) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Radical Reconstruction 1866-1877
Congressional elections of 1866 Radicals: Stevens & Sumner took over Congress, southerners not allowed to vote Wanted To Transform The south: Goals: public education, suffrage, ensure rights of black people. Conservative or moderate republicans did not want to go that far. Johnson refused to negotiate. Constitutional Amendments Three new Constitutional Amendments were adopted in the wake of the Civil War. The 13th abolishing slavery was ratified in The 14th was rejected in 1866 but ratified in 1868, granting federal civil rights. The 15th passed in 1870, decreeing that the right to vote could not be denied because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. (It did not grant the right to vote, as electoral policies are defined by the states.) Radical Reconstruction: Radicals win 1866 congressional elections and take control The Congressional elections of 1866 were fought over the issue of Reconstruction. The Southern states were not allowed to vote, having not yet been re-admitted to the Union; the result was solid Republican gains in Congress. The Radicals under Stevens and Sumner, for the first time now took full control of Congress and passed the first Reconstruction Act in March 1867. Charles Sumner Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts, and Thaddeus Stevens, Congressman from Pennsylvania, led the Radical Republican faction in Congress. (Library of Congress)
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Memphis Riots, May 2, 1866, Harper's Weekly
Military reconstruction The first Reconstruction Act placed ten Confederate states under military control, grouping them into five military districts: The ten Southern state governments were re-constituted under the direct control of the US Army. a state of martial law in which the military closely supervised local government, supervised elections, and protected office holders from violence. Blacks were enrolled as voters and former Confederates were excluded.The process in Texas was representative: The first critical step...was the registration of voters Memphis Riots, May 2, 1866, Harper's Weekly In 1866, as Congress reviewed the progress of Reconstruction, news from the South had a considerable impact. Violence against black people, like the riot in Memphis depicted here, helped convince northern legislators that they had to modify President Johnson's policies. (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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The Southern States during Reconstruction
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The Reconstruction Acts of 1867
Placed 10 unreconstructed states under military commanders Guaranteed freedmen the right to vote in elections for state constitutional conventions Barred former confederates Disqualified prominent ex-confederates from office Required congressional approval of all new state constitutions Must frame consitutions that ratified 14th Amendment Many southerners boycott Southerners refused to register voters. Congress responded with the 2nd Act ordered the local military commanders to enforce reconstruction Johnson tried to limit power of military commanders: 3rd Act: upheld their superiority in all matters Whites boycotted first election in Alabama to ratify state constitution: 4th ACT: Required ratification of constitution by only a majority of those voting rather than those who were registered 18 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Election Campaign in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, c. 1868
A Republican Party brass band in action during the 1868 election campaign in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Union regimental colors and soldier caps demonstrate the strong federal presence in the South at this pivotal moment in Radical Reconstruction. (Andrew D. Lytle Collection, Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections, LSU Libraries, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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His First Vote His First Vote by Thomas Waterman Wood, 1865
Thomas Waterman Wood, who had painted portraits of society figures in Nashville before the war, sensed the importance of Congress's decision in 1867 to enfranchise the freedmen. This oil painting, one of a series on suffrage, emphasizes the significance of the ballot for the black voter. (Cheekwood Museum of Art, Nashville, Tennessee) The First Vote A newly freed slave casts his first vote. (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Portrait of Andrew Johnson
1867 routinely overrode John’s veto Johnson acted to removed radicals from office Congress responded with Tenure of Office Act, he could not remove a cabinet member without senate consent He moved to remove Edwin Stanton – Sec. of war Portrait of Andrew Johnson Combative and inflexible, President Andrew Johnson contributed greatly to the failure of his own Reconstruction program. (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Johnson’s obstruction of reconstruction legislation led to House to votes to impeach Johnson 1868, Senate fails to impeach by 1 vote Impeachment Tenure of Office Act used by Republicans to impeach the president May 1868: Senate acquitted the president, but only one vote short of conviction (36-19) Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War Ticket to impeachment proceedings 19 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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The Election of 1868 Ulysses S. Grant 22 Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Republican nominee Opposed Johnson’s Reconstruction policies Supported congressional reconstruction & black rights 22 Ulysses S. Grant ( ) (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Fifteenth Amendment In 1869/70, Radicals succeeded in passing the Fifteenth Amendment prohibited denying the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Voting rights of women could still be denied. Congress passed a number of controversial laws, including the Tenure of Office Act, by overriding presidential vetoes. Johnson proceeded to take several belligerent steps to block congressional reconstruction that ultimately led to a move to impeach him, missing by one vote.
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Triumph of Republican Governments
Republican victory in the South meant that for the first time black citizens gained political office. Southern Republicans worked to build white support for the party and condemned itself to defeat if white voters would not cooperate. Republicans took control of all Southern state governorships and state legislatures, leading to the election of numerous African Americans to state and national office, as well as to the installation of African Americans into other positions of power. White Republicans in the South Black voters were a majority in only three southern states; Republicans therefore needed white votes Scalawags referred to white southerners who supported the Republican party Such voters were largely yeoman farmers from the upland districts and “carpetbaggers” (northern transplants) Serious divisions among southern Republicans The New State Governments New state constitutions included many political and social reforms All granted political equality but social equality was generally ignored Economic Issues and Corruption Southern economy in ruins Corruption was rampant and state debt was skyrocketing
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Grant’s Presidency The Beginning of the End of Reconstruction
1872, amnesty to most remaining former Confederates 1875 watered-down Civil Rights Act that the Supreme Court eventually struck down. Court narrowed the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment Basically government, white northerers and southerners joined hands and ended the short lived attempt to protect rights of blacks and limit Klan violence. The Beginning of the End of Reconstruction In 1872, Congress offered amnesty to most remaining former Confederates, and in 1875 it offered a watered-down Civil Rights Act that the Supreme Court eventually struck down. Supreme Court decisions, by narrowing the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment and by denying equal rights, encouraged the northern retreat from Reconstruction. The Grant Administration Corruption under Grant was rampant Reformers began to focus on cleaning up corruption rather than on blacks’ rights Scandals 3 Cabinet members resigned Grant’s administration not alone “Boss” William Marcy Tweed and Tammany Hall An “Era of Good Stealings” Growing Northern Disillusionment Civil Rights Act of 1875 was the last major piece of Reconstruction legislation Economic depression in 1873 led to Democratic resurgence and growing disinterest in issues of Reconstruction Mark Twain The Gilded Age (1873)
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Blacks in Office Republican Party 1868-1876: "Negro rule“ myth 26
80% of Republican voters in South were Black : 14 Black Representatives 2 Black Senators "Negro rule“ myth Blacks held 15-20% of elected offices in Reconstruction Black Office Holding Black men constituted 80% of Republicans in the South Most black office holders were literate and came from top levels of black society “Increasingly the success or failure of Reconstruction hinged on developments not in Congress but in the southern states themselves. Power there rested with the new Republican parties, representing a coalition of black and white southerners and transplanted northerners.” 26 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Myth of “Negro Rule” Birth of a Nation:
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Distinguished Colored Men
This lithograph from 1883 depicts prominent African American men, several of whom had leading roles in Black Reconstruction. (Library of Congress) How did people first react? b. Families Reunited Sought Independence Desired Land Embraced Education Growth of Black Churches g. Rise of Sharecropping Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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The Panic of 1873 27 Election 1872 – Grant Wall Street panic
Five-year depression Blame Reconstruction Mississippi Plan (1875) All whites should become Democrats Intimidate Black voters Both industrialization and immigration surged in the years immediately after the Civil War. Then came the Panic of 1873. “Of course he wants to vote the Democratic ticket” Cartoon showing how the Mississippi Plan worked. 27 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Domestic workers with tools
Many former slaves began to explore freedom by searching for family members or exercising their right of mobility. Others reacted more cautiously. Most settled as workers on their former farms or plantations but attempted to control the conditions of their labor. Many blacks tried to avoid contact with overbearing whites by abandoning their slave quarters and relocating their houses. Some even established all-black settlements. Domestic workers with tools Domestic workers with the tools of their trades--bridle, pot, broom, duster, wheelbarrow, and wagon--pose in front of their employer's home. (Atlanta History Center ) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Freed people’s Desire for Land & Education
Next to freedom, blacks wanted land most of all. Since they could not secure solid support in the North, however, few obtained their dream of independence. Many African Americans eagerly sought an education. Federal aid and northern charity helped start thousands of schools for freedmen in the South Established churches, became social center of new freedom
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Daughter teaching mother to read, Mt. Meigs, Alabama
African Americans of all ages eagerly pursued the opportunity freedom provided to gain an education. This young woman in Mt. Meigs, Alabama, is helping her mother learn to read. (Smithsonian Institute. Photo by Rudolf Eickemeyer.) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Black teacher and students
During Reconstruction, the freed people gave a high priority to the establishment of schools, often with the assistance of the Freedmen's Bureau and northern missionary societies. This photograph of a newly established school was taken around 1870, showing both the barefoot students and the teacher. (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Black sharecropping family in front of their cabin
Blacks could not get credit, and sharecropping became widespread. Owners often cheated their tenants. Most southern farmers grew cotton, but a weak market created low prices that made dependence on cotton a mistake. Many white farmers lost their land as a result, and joined the ranks of sharecroppers. Black sharecropping family in front of their cabin Sharecropping gave African Americans more control over their labor than did labor contracts. But sharecropping also contributed to the south's dependence on one-crop agriculture and helped to perpetuate widespread rural poverty. Notice that the child standing on the right is holding her kitten, probably to be certain it is included in this family photograph. (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Store owner's record book of debts of sharecroppers
Sharecropping became an oppressive system in the postwar south. At plantation stores like this one, photographed in Mississippi in 1868, merchants recorded in their ledger books debts that few sharecroppers were able to repay. (Smithsonian Institution, Division of Community Life) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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A Georgia Plantation after the War
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Reconstruction Politics in the South
Whites in the South resisted Reconstruction. Some denied freedom to their slaves, while others prevented blacks from getting land.
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The White League The White League Alabama's White League, formed in 1874, strove to oust Republicans from office by intimidating black voters. To political cartoonist Thomas Nast, such vigilante tactics suggested an alliance between the White League and the outlawed Ku Klux Klan. (Harper's Weekly, October 24, 1874) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Pig iron, Birmingham, Harper's Weekly, March 26, 1877
One notable success in Reconstruction efforts to stimulate industry was Birmingham, Alabama. Here workers cast molten iron into blocks called pigs. (Birmingham Public Library) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Hayes as a Benevolent Farmer, May 12, 1880
This cartoon by J. A. Wales Puck reveals the North's readiness to give up on a strong Reconstruction policy. According to the image, only federal bayonets could support the "rule or ruin" carpetbag regimes that oppressed the south. What do the background and foreground of the cartoon suggest will be the results of President Hayes's "Let ‘Em Alone Policy"? (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ku Klux Klan The Triumph of White Supremacy
Racism not dissipated by Reconstruction Rise of the Ku Klux Klan led to federal attempts to stem racial violence Mississippi Plan—bold effort by the Democrats to use force to win the election The Ku Klux Klan terrorized black leaders in an effort to curb their support for the Republicans. “By 1877, the entire South was in the hands of the Redeemers, as they called themselves. Reconstruction and Republican rule had come to an end.”
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Ku Klux Klan meeting Mississippi Klansman, 1871 Members of the Ku Klux Klan devised ghoulish costumes to heighten the terror inspired by their acts. This photograph shows the costume of a Mississippi Klansman from (Courtesy of Mr. Herbert Peck, Jr.) below Ku Klux Klan meeting In this picture, the artist has portrayed a group of bizarrely dressed Klansmen contemplating the murder of a white Republican. (Library of Congress) above Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Reconstruction Reversed
Congress passed two Enforcement Acts in 1870 and 1871 in an effort to counteract Klan violence. The laws were enforced selectively. Congressional opponents of these laws charged that Congress was infringing on states’ rights.
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The Election of 1876 Corruption and government reform were key campaign issues Samuel J. Tilden Rutherford B. Hayes “bulldozing” Tens of thousands of southern African Americans felt betrayed by the election of 1876 and decided to leave the South, where they could no longer hope for equal rights. 29 Rutherford B. Hayes (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Hayes-Tilden Disputed Election of 1876
The disputed election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden resulted in the Compromise of 1877, effectively ending Reconstruction in the South. Through Coercion and terrorism and fraud and irregularities in counting votes democrat’s wrestled control of government Hayes seemed to have won, but The Democrats who controlled the house refused to recognize him. A compromise was reached that if they recognized a Republican president, the democrats would in fact control the government. 30 Hayes-Tilden Disputed Election of 1876 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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The Compromise of 1877 Electoral Commission partisan vote awarded victory to Hayes Compromise To abandon reconstruction programs Postmaster David M. Key Internal Improvements for South 1878 Removal of federal troops 32 (c) 2003 Wadsworth Group All rights reserved.
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Abandonment of Reconstruction
Republican regimes, forced out of office before they instituted social and economic reforms. Democrats try a "New Departure" By 1870 the Democratic-Conservative leadership across the South decided it had to end its opposition to Reconstruction as well as to black suffrage in order to survive and move on to new issues. The Grant administration had proven by its crackdown on the KKK that it would use as much federal power as necessary. The Democrats in the North concurred. They wanted to fight the GOP on economic grounds rather than race. The New Departure offered the chance for a clean slate without having to refight the Civil War every election. Reconstruction cartoon This 1868 cartoon by Thomas Nast pictured the combination of forces that threatened the success of Reconstruction: southern opposition and the greed, partisanship, and racism of northern interests. (Library of Congress)
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Exodusters Tens of thousands of southern African Americans felt betrayed by the election of 1876 and decided to leave the South, where they could no longer hope for equal rights. Exodusters Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, a one-time fugitive slave from Tennessee, returned there to promote the "exodus" movement of the late 1870s. Forming a real estate company, Singleton traveled the south recruiting parties of freedmen who were disillusioned with the outcome of Reconstruction. These emigrants, awaiting a Mississippi River boat, looked forward to political equality, freedom from violence, and homesteads in Kansas. (Library of Congress) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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The West, Race, and Reconstruction
Red Cloud's Delegations, 1868 Red Cloud (seated, second from left), with other Oglala Sioux, visited President Grant at the White House to argue for his people's right to trade at Fort Laramie, Wyoming. His clothing, unlike the traditional Native American dress of the other chiefs, reflected his desire to negotiate with whites on equal terms. ( National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.) The federal government pursued a policy of containment against Native Americans in the West. Hispanics in the Southwest and the Chinese in California were subjected to racial prejudice and persecution.
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Foreign Expansion In 1867 the United States purchased Alaska from Russia and also took control of the Midway Islands.
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