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Chapter 16
Reconstruction
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1. Read Chapter 16
1. In each chapter, students will be assigned up to three
events, issues, or people to explain, identify, or define.
2. In each Chapter, students will write five questions
with the answer and be prepared to ask these
questions to other students in the classroom (one
word or short answer) Where did General Lee surrender to
General Grant?
Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.
4. Write a short report on the problems faced by the
freedmen
5. Write a short report on the daily life of a slave (pre
reconstruction.)
Chapter 16 : Topics
 Reconstruction
Lincoln’s Plan / Congressional Plan
Johnson’s Plan
Radical Republican Plan
Freedman Bureau
Black Codes
 Johnson’s Impeachment
 Grant’s Administrations
 Election of 1876 / Compromise of 1877
 Jim Crow Laws/
1. Reconstruction Questions and Issues:
Questions
Who had the authority and responsibility? - the President or Congress.
How to readmit the Southern States?
How were former Confederates
treated?
(especially political and military leaders) going
to be
How were Civil Rights going to be given to the former salves?
How were the New Southern State Governments going to be organized?
Reconstruction Issues:
Rebuilding the infrastructure
Approximately 600,000 people died in the Civil War
Many towns, infrastructure, and land greatly damaged
Ill feelings of the people
Reconstruction refers to the period of 12 years following the Civil War.
1865 -1877 /
2. Lincoln’s ideas:
Early in the war, President Lincoln started to plan for
reconstruction.
He wanted it to be completed rapidly without
punishment
/
 Emancipation Proclamation
January 1, 1863
Was this the first step for Reconstruction?
Only freed slaves in the confederate states.
3. Congressional ideas:
• slower Reconstruction
• possible punishment
• guaranteed and protected rights for freedmen /
4. Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
(Ten Per Cent Plan) December 8, 1863
Lincoln’s Plan
A quick and simple method to readmit southern states
Requirements
10 % of a state's voters must swear allegiance to the Union
Write a new state constitution that banned slavery.
Many Republicans in Congress considered this plan too lenient
and countered with the Wade-Davis Bill /
5. Wade-Davis Bill
July 4, 1864
Requirements:
 A state must have a majority (51% or more) to take the oath
of loyalty
 A state must formally abolish slavery
 No former Confederate official could participate in the new
governments.
President Lincoln pocket-vetoes the Wade-Davis Bill
Starts a Presidential and Congressional Dispute
Congress felt Reconstruction was a legislative matter not
executive /
6. Election of 1864
• The Democrats selected George McClellan to be their candidate.
He was the former general that Lincoln demoted after the Battle of
Antietam
• Congress made the charge that Lincoln trying to take over the powers of
Congress
• Little impact on public opinion, because the military news from the South
improved.
• Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign restored Lincoln’s popularity and helped
with his reelection.
Why did President Lincoln select Andrew Johnson to be his running mate in
the Election 1864?
Johnson was a War Democrat from a southern state, Tennessee.
Johnson would balance the ticket and get votes from War Democrats and pro
southern groups.
Lincoln easily won reelection.
• Lincoln (R) – 212
• McClellan (D) – 21 /
7. Thirteenth Amendment January 31, 1865
This amendment abolished slavery
/
8. Freedmen's Bureau March 3, 1865
 A federal refugee agency set up to aid former slaves
and impoverished whites after the Civil War.
 Provided food, clothing, and other necessities.
 Programs to assist in finding jobs
 Established schools.
What was the most important accomplishment of the
Freedmen’s Bureau?
schools/
End of War
9. Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia.
April 9, 1865
April 1,1865 General Lee was forced to leave Richmond and retreated
westward.
Lee was surrounded by Union forces near Appomattox Courthouse.
With no options, Lee was forced to surrender to General US Grant on
April 9, 1865
Basically ended the war.
The site has been made a national historical park /
10. Why did President call a cabinet meeting on the morning of
April 14, 1865?
He wanted to discuss post-war reconstruction in detail. He
wanted to get the southern state governments back into the
Union before Congress came back into session in December. He
wanted to avoid conflict with the Radical Republicans.
/
11. Lincoln’s assassination –
April 14, 1865.
Ford’s Theatre – Washington, DC
April 14 John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln in Ford’s
Theater.
April 15 Lincoln dies, and Andrew Johnson is inaugurated as
President
April 26 John Wilkes Booth is shot in a barn in Virginia and dies
 Conspiracy – VP and Secretary of State, were also targets
/
12. Andrew Johnson
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was born in North Carolina and raised in Tennessee
was the first to become President due to an
assassination.
was the first President to be impeached.
was the only southern senator to stay with the union.
before the civil war owned a few slaves.
did not have a formal education.
taught himself to read and write.
rose from poverty to become a successful politician.
was considered rigid, ambitious, and
uncompromising.
Johnson had 15 vetoes overridden by Congress. (this is
still the most in US history)
A 2009 c span leadership poll ranked Johnson 41st out
of 42 presidents
Lincoln 1st /
Andrew Johnson at the Helm
13. Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan May 29, 1865
President Johnson announces his plan for
Reconstruction.
His program was as lenient as Lincoln’s 10% Plan.
Required southern states to call special
conventions
Governors were to be appointed by President
/
14. Southern State Conventions
Requirements to be met:
 Declare secession illegal
 Repealed their ordinances of secession
 Pay War debts
 Ratify the Thirteenth Amendment
 Schedule elections
When requirements were met, then the states would be
readmitted to the Union.
In May 1865, President Andrew Johnson offered a pardon to all
white Southerners except Confederate leaders and wealthy
planters. (later, individual pardons were given)
/
15. Black Codes Summer 1865
Laws passed by southern states that denied many rights of citizenship to
former slaves and were designed to control the freedom, mobility, and
employment of the freedmen. (avoiding the Thirteenth Amendment)
Passed to control and restrict equality
Required to have a license to show employment
Employment was required; violators faced vagrancy charges
(tried to forced the former slaves to go back to the plantations)
Could not assemble without the presence of a white person
Freedmen were not to be taught to read or write
Freedmen could not vote to serve on juries
Public facilities were segregated
Violators of these laws were subject to being whipped or branded.
These codes varied from state to state. /
16. Frederick Douglass
• Was a former slave who escaped to
the North and became active in the
abolitionist movement.
• Gave speeches promoting voting
and civil rights for freedmen.
• Criticized President Johnson
Reconstruction policies.
• Campaigned against both slavery
and racial prejudice. /
17. President Johnson completion of
Reconstruction December 6, 1865
President Johnson announces that the reconstruction
has been completed.
Congress disagrees, and refuses to seat the new
Southern representatives and senators.
Congress considers its own Reconstruction Plan. /
• 18. What was the reactions and what questions were asked
in Congress concerning the development of sharecropping,
black codes, and President Johnson Reconstruction Plan?
• Why was the war fought?
• What gains were made?
The Radical Republicans felt the freedmen right were being
restricted and a “new” type of slavery was being developed.
Moderate Republican started to join the Radical Republicans
and rejected Johnson’s reconstruction. Congress decided to
create its own reconstruction plan.
Congress Takes the Initiative
19. Thaddeus Stevens (R.) of PA.
( December 18, 1865)
Pennsylvania lawyer
U.S. House of Representatives (1849 – 53, 1859 – 68)
Announced that Congress was going to supervise Reconstruction.
Radical Republicans wanted some punishment given to the
southern states for the war and tougher requirements to be
readmitted to the union.
He helped establish the Freedmen's Bureau
Helped with passage of the 14th Amendment
Introduced the resolution for Johnson’s impeachment.
Congress Takes the Initiative
20. Radical Republicans / Radical Reconstruction
Radical Republicans felt the Confederate states had seceded from the Union
and should be treated like “conquered provinces.”
Led by Thaddeus Stevens and Benjamin Wade
Insisted on black suffrage
Federal protection of the civil rights of blacks.
Gained control of Reconstruction in 1867
Required the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment as a
condition of readmission for former Confederate states /
Short Review
What was Lincoln's attitude toward the southern states concerning secession?
Lincoln felt the southern never left the union
What does the Constitution say about reconstruction?
no provision
What was the major concern of Radical Republicans with Lincoln's plan of quickly readmitted
the southern states to the Union?
restoration of the southern aristocracy
reverting back into the same south as before the war
freedman rights
Who was the leader of the Radical Republicans?
Thaddeus Stevens (PA.)
What bill was passed by the Radical Republicans in response to Lincoln's 10% plan?
Wade-Davis /
21. What happened when the newly elected members of
Congress from the southern states tried to take their seats in
Congress in December , 1865?
Congressional Republicans from the northern states were
outraged and refused to allow the southern legislators to enter
Congress. Over a dozen former Confederate military officers and
the former VP of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens, were
included in this group.
22. Alexander Stephens January 1866
• Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March
4, 1883) was a politician from Georgia. He was Vice
President of the Confederate States of America
•
•
•
•
After the Civil War he was confined for five months at Fort
Warren, Boston.
In 1866 he was elected to the U.S. Senate but was denied
his seat because Georgia had not been readmitted to the
Union.
He did serve again in the U.S. House of Representatives
(1873–82) (also served in the HR before the Civil War
Governor of Georgia (1882–83). /
23. Hiram R. Revels
Ordained minister
He was the first African American to serve
in the US Senate
He represented Mississippi in 1870 and
1871 during Reconstruction.
As of 2010, Revels is one of only six African
Americans ever to have served in the
US Senate. /
24. Blanche K. Bruce
U.S. Senator from 1875 to 1881
Mississippi (Rep)
The first elected African American senator to serve a full term.
/
25. Civil Rights Bill of 1866
April 9, 1866
This legislation guarantees that all persons born in the
US (except for Native Americans) are to be U.S.
citizens with full protection of "person and property"
under the law.
This law tried to guarantee basic civil rights
Bill passed over President Johnson's veto
/
• Congress feared that the representatives and
senators that would be elected to Congress
from the southern states might be able to
repeal the Civil Rights Act or the Supreme
could declare all or parts of the Act
unconstitutional.
• Southern states would increase, thus more
reps. in the House. WHY?
• So the 14th (1866) and 15th (1870)
amendments were added to the Constitution.
/
26. Fourteenth Amendment
June 13, 1866
All persons born or naturalized in the United
States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,
are citizens of the United States and of the
State wherein they reside.
Due process of law /
27. Freedmen's Bureau extended July 16, 1866
Congress passes a bill extending the
Freedmen's Bureau and increasing the
Bureau’s power.
President Johnson vetoes, but Congress
overrides the veto. /
28. "swing around the circle" campaign. Summer, 1866
This was the mid term election for Congressmen and
Senators.
President Johnson campaigned to win support for his
Reconstruction program.
Johnson was hoping to get candidates elected that would
support his agenda.
His effort failed because a majority of the elections were
won by Republicans. /
29. “swing the bloody shirt”
• This was the Radical Republican tactic to win public
support in the mid term election (1866) for a more
aggressive Reconstruction policy. This tactic
reminded northern voters of the sacrifices that were
made on the battlefield to defend the union. 27/
30. Election of 1866 (midterm) November 1866
The Republicans won a landslide victory in the midterm elections.
Republicans are now in control of every Northern state legislatures and
governments
Why were the “midterm” Congressional election so important in 1866?
President Johnson campaign through the Midwest trying to win support
for his reconstruction plan. His campaign was called “swing around the
circle” campaign and it was a complete failure. President felt it was vital
to win support in Congress for his reconstruction plan. The republicans
easily retained control of Congress by winning a large majority of the
congressional seats in the midterm election. The republicans use the
“waving the bloody shirt” campaign.
28/
Why was Andrew Johnson selected to be the VP candidate in the Election of 1864?
from Tennessee and stayed with the union, he would help some voters to switch their support to
Lincoln.
“balance the ticket” help with reconstruction
Why did Lincoln so easily win the Election of 1864?
War effort was going well for Lincoln. McClellan wasn’t a strong candidate
Where did Lee surrender to US Grant?
Appomattox Court House, VA
Explain the following principles of the constitution
“separation of powers ”
three branches of government each having its own powers
“checks and balances”
one branch has the power to counter (check) the other branches
Congress passes a law and the President may veto. (SC could declare it unconstitutional)
What name was given to special laws passed by southern state and municipal governments
immediately after the Civil War. The laws denied many rights of citizenship to former slaves
and were designed to control the labor, mobility, and employment of the freedmen.
Black Codes
/
31. Congressional Reconstruction Plan Enacted
March 2, 1867
Congress passes the first in a series of Reconstruction Acts.
(override of the President’s veto)
Why was the Military Reconstruction Act passed in March 2,
1867?
Ten of the eleven confederate states rejected the Fourteenth Amendment,
those ten states were divided into five military zones. Each zone was rule by a
General and his troops. The general had the authority (martial law) to maintain
order and protect the rights of the citizens. This occupation would continue
until the states met the federal requirements for forming new governments.
Voters were to be registered including all freedmen.
States were required to ratify the 14th Amendment prior to readmission. /
32. What action did Congress take to restrict the power of
President Johnson?
Congress was upset due to the continuous vetoes of Johnson on
bills passed by Congress and stated to pass bill that would limit
the powers of the president . In late 1867, Congress pass the
Office of Tenure Act, this law would prohibited the president
from removing senate-approved officials without first gaining the
consent of the Senate. /
33. Tenure of Office Act 1867
March 2, 1867
Provided that all federal officials whose appointment required Senate confirmation could not be
removed without the consent of the Senate. The act was repealed in 1887. Part of this act
was declared unconstitutional in the Myers vs. US court case. (1926)
President Johnson challenged the act in 1868 when he
dismissed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
Due to this dismissal, the HR impeached Johnson. /
Impeachment trial
34. Impeachment trial
February - May 16, 1868
After President Johnson dismisses Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton (Stanton opposed Johnson’s political views)
Stanton had a personal conflict with President
Johnson concerning Johnson’s reconstitution
plan. Stanton also cooperated with the Radical
Republicans. He was dismissed by Johnson but
refused to leave his position as secretary of war,
but did resign after Johnson was found not guilty
in the impeachment trail.
House impeaches President Johnson on the grounds that he
has violated the Tenure of Office Act and other charges
(pardon of certain confederates)
Radical Republicans looking for a reason to impeach because
Johnson’s resisted their agenda 32(cont)
Impeachment
HR files the charges (indictment)
Senate acts as the jury with Chief Justice of SC being the Judge
2/3th vote needed to convict
Johnson was acquitted, the Senate was one vote short of conviction
35 to 19 (36 was needed)
/
THE AGE OF GRANT
35. Election of 1868
November 3, 1868
Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant
is elected President.
U. S. Grant – Rep – 214
Horatio Seymour – Dem - 80
Rank 33rd
35/36
36. Fifteenth Amendment
March 30, 1870
The states can not to deny the vote to
anyone on the account of race, color,
or for having been a slave.
It was intended to guarantee former slaves
the right to vote .
Women?
Women organization campaigned against the 14th Amendment
because women did not receive the right to vote.
Susan B. Anthony , Elizabeth Stanton, and others
37
/
37. KKK 1866
Tennessee
Southerners who objected to congressional
Reconstruction policies
secret terrorist organizations
Tried to force African Americans out of politics by using
intimidation and violence. /
38. Enforcement Acts
May 31, 1870
To counter the KKK Congress passed three Force Acts in
1870-1871.
state elections under federal jurisdiction
imposed fines and imprisonment on those guilty of
interfering with any citizen exercising his right to
vote.
laws were designed to protect black voters in the
South.
/
39. Ku Klux Klan Act 1871
April 20, 1871
Originally passed to protect freedmen from the KKK.
Unlawful to deny civil rights
Federal government given authority to prosecute and
send military assistance if states failed to cooperate. /
40. Election of 1872
November 5, 1872
President Ulysses S. Grant
wins reelection.
Grant Rep 286
Horace Greeley Dem
(Greeley died before the
Electoral votes were cast, his
80 votes were divided among
four minor candidates.) 41/42
Scandals in Grant’s Administration
41. Scandals in Grant’s Administration
Jim Fisk and Jay Gould - conspiracy to increase the price of gold
(aided by Grant’s brother-law)
Whiskey Ring - Orville E. Babcock (Grant’s private secretary)
bribes & kickbacks concerning liquor taxes
William W. Belknap- Grant’s Sec of War allegedly accepted
bribes from companies trading with Indian reservations)
43/44/45/46/47
Economic adjustments during Reconstruction
42. List a few problems facing the freedmen.
•
•
•
•
no money
lacked skills to find jobs (restricted)
could not read or write
no experience 48/
Economic adjustments during Reconstruction
43. Sharecropping
Landowners provided land, tools, housing, and seed to a sharecropper farmer
who provided his labor.
The resulting crop was divided between them
Why did many former slaves become sharecroppers?
The freedmen lacked skills, money, and education to find other work.
What was the reactions and questions were asked in Congress concerning the
development of sharecropping and black codes in the south?
Why was the war fought? What gains were made? The freedmen right were
being restricted and a “new” type of slavery was being developed. Moderate
Republican started to join the Radical Republicans and rejected Johnson’s
reconstruction. Congress decided to create its own reconstruction plan. A
Joint Committee on Reconstitution was formed.
p3/
Economic adjustments during Reconstruction
44. Crop-lien
System to finance sharecropping
Landowners and sharecroppers could borrow money against their future
crops. (high interest)
Required certain crops to be grown such as cotton.
Prevented the development of diversified farming. /
Social Adjustment
45. List a few social adjustment facing the
freedmen
• Freedman Bureau
• Churches
• Schools
/
Political Adjustments
46. Scalawags
a white Southerner who supported Reconstruction policies after the American Civil
War (usually for personal gain
/
47. Carpetbaggers
• Northerners who went to the South after the
Civil War.
• Many were only interested in making money
for themselves by taking advantage of the
situation
• Some promoted a political agenda.
• Others were trying to helpful by providing
assistance.
• Unfavorable and disrespectful term.
/
48. Redeemers 1870s
Southern Democrats who gained control of
governments in the south, usually through
electoral fraud and violence
/
49. Election of 1876
Samuel J. Tilden (D) 165
Rutherford B. Hayes (R) 184
This was a controversial election because the result
was settled by a special Congressional committee
Samuel J. Tilden (D) 165
Rutherford B. Hayes (R) 164 after the compromise
Hayes (R) 184
The disputed 20 Electoral Votes were awarded to
Hayes. With these voted Hayes had the majority of
the vote which is required by the Constitution.
50. Compromise of 1877
A compromise was needed to settle the Election of 1876. Democratic and
Republican members of Congress met and worked out an agreement.
Democrats agreed to accept the Republican candidate (Hayes) as President
with the following conditions:
– To withdraw federal soldiers from their remaining positions in the South
–
To enact federal legislation that would promote industrialization in the South
– To appoint Democrats to patronage positions in the South
– To appoint a Democrat to the president’s cabinet.
– This compromise was accepted and Rutherford B. Hayes was elected
President.
– The disputed Election of 1876 and Compromise of 1877 ended
Reconstruction. /
Why did the Democrats so easily give up the presidency that they had probably
legitimately won?
It gave the Democrats what they wanted. Union troops withdrawn from
the south and an end to reconstruction.
There was no guarantee that with Samuel J. Tilden as president the Democrats would
have fared as well.
To the four million former slaves in the South, the Compromise of 1877 was the “Great
Betrayal."
Republican efforts to assure civil rights for the blacks were totally abandoned.
The country was anxious to get on with making money. No serious move to restore the
rights of black citizens would surface again until the 1950s. /
Rise of the Money Question
51. Greenbackers
1874
•
•
Greenbackers were those who, following the Civil War, hoped to inflate the
currency and lower debts by keeping wartime paper currency (greenbacks) in
circulation.
They formed the Greenback party in 1874.
Greenbacks were paper currency issued by the Union government during the Civil
War. Whether to continue the issue of greenbacks and inflate the currency, or
withdraw them from circulation remained an unresolved political issue in the
1870s and 1880s. 58/
52. Jim Crow Laws 1880s
Legalized segregation
Restaurants
Schools
Restrooms
Buses
Railroads
Name came from a minstrel show character/song
/
53. Tactics that were used by the southern
governments to keep freedmen from voting?
Literacy Test
/
What voting requirement gave a test given to persons
to prove they can read and write before being
allowed to register to vote?
Poll Tax
What law enacted a flat rate tax per person and
payable as a requirement for the right to vote?
Grandfather clause
What clause in registration laws allowing people who
do not meet registration requirements to vote if they
or their ancestors had voted before 1867?
Scare Tactics
/
54. Slaughterhouse Cases
Slaughterhouse cases were a group of cases resulting in one sweeping
decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1873 that contradicted the intent of
the Fourteenth Amendment by decreeing that most citizenship rights
remained under state, not federal, control.
(later the Supreme Court used the due process clause in the 14th amendment
to protect citizens)
/
55. What was the final Reconstruction act passed by Congress?
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was the last congressional Reconstruction
measure.
It prohibited racial discrimination in jury selection, transportation,
restaurants, and "inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and
other places of public amusement.“
It did not guarantee equality in schools, churches, and cemeteries.
Unfortunately, the Act lacked a strong enforcement procedures.,
It was another 90 years before new civil rights acts were attempted.
Ultimately declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883/
What principle of the Constitution was used because of the dispute
between President Andrew Johnson and Congress during
Reconstruction?
•
•
Separation of powers
Republican president Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans who controlled Congress, differed over
how to handle the task of reconstruction in the post-Civil War South. Johnson favored a more forgiving
plan outlined by Lincoln prior to his assassination, the Radical Republicans favor a punishing plan that
occupied and controlled the former Confederacy. The Radical Republicans subsequently attempted to
impeach Johnson and he escaped removal by only 1 vote in the Senate. While still president, Johnson was
politically weakened by the attack from his own party members and as such the radical element enacted
their own, harsh plan on the South.
What type of employment was available to the freedmen?
due to lack of skills and money, most became sharecroppers
which led to a type of indentured servant
What bill did Congress pass to stop the Black Codes?
Civil Rights Bill in March 1866.
This Bill granted American citizenship to blacks and denied the states
the power to restrict their rights to hold property, testify in court, and
make contracts for their labor.
Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Bill. This ended cooperation
between Johnson and Congress
On April 9, 1866, Congress overrode the presidential veto, and from
that point forward, Congress frequently overturned Johnson’s vetoes.
Why did Congress enact the Fourteenth amendment? June 1866
Congress feared if the southern reps would gain control of the Congress, the
Civil Rights of March, 1866 would be repealed
What was Johnson response to the fourteenth amendment?
he opposed it and recommended it to rejected by the states
Of the all former confederate states only Tennessee passed it
Eventually all states had to accept it.
Why did President Johnson go on his “swing around the circle” campaign
for the fall Election of 1866? (mid term)
The congressional election of 1866 widened the divide between President
Johnson and Congress. President Johnson embarked on a where he gave
speeches at various Midwestern cities to rally the public around his policy of
lenient Union recognition for the southern states. His tour was a complete
failure as he exchanged hot-tempered insults with the critics in the crowd.
How did the Radical Republicans counter Johnson's “swing around the
circle” campaign?
To counter Johnson’s campaign, Congressional Republicans took to “waving
the bloody shirt”--appealing to voters by reminding them of the sacrifices the
Union made during the Civil War.
What was the result of the Election of 1866?
Republicans won by a landslide
Why did Congress pass the Military Reconstruction Act ? March 2, 1867
If the southern states had been willing to adopt the Fourteenth
Amendment, coercive measures might have been avoided. On March 2,
1867, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Act, which became
the final plan for Reconstruction and identified the new conditions under
which the southern governments would be formed. Tennessee was
exempt from the Act because it had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment.
How did the Military Reconstruction Act (1867) divide the southern states?
this legislation divided the former Confederacy into five military districts,
each occupied by a Union, whom Southerners contemptuously called
“bluebellies.” The officers had the power to maintain order and protect the
civil rights of all persons. The southern states were required to ratify the
Fourteenth Amendment and adopt new state constitutions guaranteeing
blacks the right to vote in order for their representatives to be admitted to
Congress and military rule to end (which paved the way for easy ratification
of the Fifteenth Amendment later). However, the Act did not go as far as
giving freedmen land or education at federal expense.
What actions were taken by the southern states to ignore the Fifteenth
Amendment?
While most of the southern states had quickly ratified the Fifteenth
Amendment under pressure from the federal government, Democratic
Party dominance in those states assured the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments were largely ignored.
Literacy tests and poll taxes were often used to keep blacks from
voting. Intimidation and lynching were also common means to keep
blacks from the polls.
Full suffrage for blacks was not realized until 1965.