Download Reconstruction: Success or Failure?

Democrats Regain Power in the South
• The former Confederate States were
placed under military occupation under
the Reconstruction Act of 1867.
• The disenfranchisement of former
Confederates and the enfranchisement
of former slaves helped grant Radical
Republicans the majority in the South.
• By the 1870s all former Confederate
States had rejoined the Union and
Republican State governments in the
South began to fall as former
Confederates regained their voting
rights.
• By 1876 only Louisiana, Florida and
South Carolina were still controlled by
Republican governments.
Reconstruction Loses Support in the North
• While Democrats regained control of Southern State
legislatures, support for Reconstruction was also
decreasing in the North.
• An economic depression called the Panic of 1873 caused
many businesses and banks to fail. It also caused
northerners to shift their attention away from
Reconstruction towards the economy.
• Many northerners questioned why the Republican led
government was focusing so much on occupying and
reconstructing the South when the whole nation was
having economic problems.
• With support for Reconstruction shrinking, Southern
Democrats saw an opportunity to end Reconstruction. If
they could win the 1876 Presidential Election, they could
order an end to the military occupation of southern states
which would effectively end Reconstruction.
The Election of 1876
• The Presidential Election of 1876 was a contest
between Democrat Samuel J. Tilden and Republican
Rutherford B. Hayes.
• Desperate to see an end to Reconstruction, the
Democrats held nothing back. They blamed the
Republicans and the Grant Administration for the Panic
of 1873 and for increased corruption. In the South
paramilitary groups modeled after the (first) Ku Klux
Klan (which Grant’s Administration had effectively
destroyed by 1872) used violence and intimidation to
suppress white and black Republican voters.
• When the votes were counted Democratic candidate
Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote however
there were disputes about the results in 3 southern
states. The state governments in these 3 states (which
were all still run by Republicans) awarded their
electoral votes to Rutherford B. Hayes.
The Compromise of 1877
• Democrats were furious at the result and
cried fraud. With the results of the election in
dispute, Congress formed an Electoral
Commission to settle the contested election.
• In order to avoid violence the northern
Republicans and southern Democrats on the
Electoral Commission reached an informal
Compromise.
• Under the terms of the Compromise of 1877,
Republican Rutherford B. Hayes would be
chosen as President by Congress. In exchange,
all federal troops would be removed from the
southern states.
• Although Republicans won the Presidency,
Democrats had achieved their goal of ending
Reconstruction by ensuring that the military
occupation of southern states would end.
Reconstruction: Success or Failure?
The Effects of Reconstruction
1. All former Confederate States rejoined the Union. (Reconstruction Act of 1867)
2. The southern economy slowly recovered from the Civil War. (Sharecropping)
3. The Freemen’s Bureau greatly contributed to expanding educational opportunities for
former slaves.
4. 3 New Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were approved (13th, 14th, and 15th).
5. State Governments in the South introduced Jim Crow Laws that limited opportunities for
African-Americans and established a system of segregation that separated whites and nonwhites. Though segregation was legally brought to an end in the 1960s, it creating an
increased racial tension still felt to this day.
6. Southern States remained bitter about the harsh Reconstruction supported by
Republicans. As a result the Democratic Party would dominate the politics of southern
states for the next century (100 years).
Assignment: Reconstruction: Success or Failure?
Based on what you have learned about
Reconstruction, respond to the following
writing prompt:
Was Reconstruction a success or failure?
Give evidence to support your answer.
You must address how well or poorly the 4
problems of Reconstruction were solved.
Show this to Mr. Stone for a daily grade.