Download THE AGONY OF RECONSTRUCTION

U.S. History Since 1877
Thursday
6:00 PM to 8:50 PM
J. Mauldin, M.Ed.
US History Since 1877
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US History Since 1877
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This evening’s attendance
U.S. History Since 1877
Thursday
6:00 PM to 8:50 PM
J. Mauldin, M.Ed.
Questions?
U.S. History Since 1877
Thursday
6:00 PM to 8:50 PM
J. Mauldin, M.Ed.
Introductions
Chapter 16
THE AGONY OF
“RECONSTRUCTION”
(*The period immediately following the Civil War)
Robert Smalls & Black
Politicians
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Many remarkable leaders surfaced
Born in 1839, Smalls had a white father & had
the opportunity to learn to be a river pilot
1862, Smalls took command of Confederate
steamship Planter w/ a slave crew &
surrendered it to the Union navy
Went on to be a US Congressman
*Know about Smalls
p.451-452
The President Versus Congress
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Constitution had no guidelines for putting the
country back together
Disagreement over how much the fed govt
should be in securing freedom & civil rights
for the 4M former slaves
The North split on reconstructing the South
White House seeks speedy reconstruction
with minimum changes in the South
Congress seeks slower reconstruction,
demands protection for freedmen
p.452-453
Wartime Reconstruction
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Lincoln announces lenient policy in 1863
Congress resents Lincoln’s effort to control
Congressmen seek to condition
readmission to Union on black suffrage
Congress mistrusts white Southerners
p.453
Andrew Johnson at the Helm
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Republicans initially support Southern
Democrat Johnson as enemy of planter
class
Johnson was from TN & remained loyal to
the Union ~ Twist of fate that he became
President
Johnson instructs Southern conventions to
Declare secession illegal
 Repudiate (not accept) Confed debt
 Ratify the 13th Amdt (Abolition)
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p.453-455
Andrew Johnson
at the Helm
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Southern conventions reluctantly carry out
Johnson’s orders
Conventions pass “Black Codes”
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Vagrancy laws, forced to work wo/ choice,
prevented from testifying in court, etc.
More or less retuned Af Ams to servility
Johnson approves conventions’ actions
Congress condemns conventions
p.455
Congress Takes the Initiative
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Republicans insist on black suffrage
They expect to get black vote
 Ideological commitment to equal rights, even
if some did not believe in racial equality
 Fear that South would fall under great planter
control without black suffrage
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p.456
Congress Takes the Initiative
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1866: Johnson vetoes two bills
Extension of Freedmen’s Bureau
 Civil rights bill to overturn Black Codes
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Republicans pass Fourteenth Amendment
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Guaranteed equal rights to all
States that denied the vote to Af Ams would
have their cong representation reduced
1866 mid-term elections strengthen
Republicans ~ A referendum for the 14th
p.456
Congressional Reconstruction
Plan Enacted
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South under military rule until black
suffrage fully secured
Split over duration of federal protection
Radicals recognize need for long period
 Most wish military occupation to be short
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Radical Reconstruction based on a
dubious assumption: Black suffrage
sufficient to empower freedmen to protect
themselves
p.457-458
p.457
Reconstruction
p.458
The Impeachment Crisis
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Johnson obstructs Congressional
Reconstruction
Congress limits Presidential power
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Tenure of Office Act ~ Req’d Senate approval for
removal of cabinet officers, etc. ~ Johnson
ignored it
Feb 1868: Cong impeaches (bring to trial)
Senate refuses to convict Johnson (1 vote)
Radical Republicans seen as subversive of
Constitution, lose public support
p.458-459
Reconstructing Southern Society
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Three contending interests in South
Southern whites seek to keep newly freed
blacks inferior
 Northern whites seek to make money or to
"civilize" the region
 Blacks seek equality
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Decline of federal interest in Reconstruction
permits triumph of reaction & racism
p.460
Reorganizing Land & Labor
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Ex-slaves wish to work their own land
Fed govt grants 40 acres to some
Land given back to white owners under
Johnson
Slave owners try to impose contract labor
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Commonly cheated former slaves
Blacks insist on sharecropping
Sharecropping soon becomes peonage
p.460-461
Republican Rule in the South
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1867 ~ Southern Republican party
organized. Made up of…
…businessmen interested in govt aid for private
enterprise
 …poor white farmers in danger of losing their
land to creditors
 …newly enfranchised blacks (the majority)
interested in education, civil rights, &
landownership
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Coalition did not hold together
Made some progress in education, but other
initiatives (railroad subsidies, etc.) did not
turn out well
p.462-463
Claiming Public and Private Rights
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Freed slaves viewed legalized marriage as
an important step in claiming political rights
They also formed churches, fraternal &
benevolent associations, political
organizations, & schools
Education for children was a top priority
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Most blacks viewed separate schooling as an
opportunity rather than as a form of
discrimination
p.464-465
The Election of 1868
p.466
Retreat from Reconstruction
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The impeachment crisis of 1868 marked the
high point of popular interest in
Reconstruction issues
Grant lacked the vision & sense of duty to
tackle the difficult challenges the nation
faced
The plight of Af Americans
receded in white consciousness
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p.466
Rise of the Money Question
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Panic of 1873 raises “the money question”
Should “greenbacks” (paper money used during
the Civil War) be allowed to continue to
circulate?
 Some supported only “hard money” (Au & Ag)
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Cong waffles on hard money v. greenbacks
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Greenbacks promoted easy credit & supported
expansion
1878 ~ Greenback Labor Party elected 14
congressmen & kept issue alive into ’80s
p.466-467
Final Efforts of Reconstruction
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1870 ~ Fifteenth Amendment ratified
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Women’s rights group were upset that
they were not granted the vote
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All male citizens guaranteed the right to vote
wo/ regard for race, color, or previous
condition of servitude
Stanton & Anthony (feminists)
Spt for blk citizenship waned
p.467
A Reign of Terror Against Blacks
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Secret societies used terror tactics to keep
blacks out of the political process &
attempted to intimidate state govts
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1870s ~ Congress passed laws to provide
fed protection of blk suffrage (fed crime)
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State militias called out
Intimidation continued
By 1876 Republicans control only South
Carolina, Louisiana, & Florida
Northern supt for military action wanes
p.467-470
Chapter 16
THE AGONY OF
RECONSTRUCTION
2/3 Point
The Election of 1872
Horace
NY
p.470
Spoilsmen Versus Reformers
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Many accusations of corruption during Grant's
administration
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Crédit Mobilier Scandal
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Whiskey Ring
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His private sec, Orville Babcock, conspired to defraud the govt of
liquor taxes
Indian Trading Posts
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Grant’s 1st VP, Schuyler Colfax, involved in siphoning off profits
that should have gone to stockholders of the Union Pacific
Railroad
Sec of War, Wm Belknap, took bribes involving the sale of Indian
Trading Posts & an associated “cover-up”
Grant consistently tried to shield his old friends
from justice
p.470-471
Reunion & the New South
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Reconciliation of North & South was costly
to the less fortunate
African Americans lost what little progress
they had made
 Lower-class whites saw their interests
sacrificed to those of capitalists & landlords
 Big business interests favored over small
farmer
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p.471
RB Hayes, gov
of Ohio,
untainted by
the Grant era
scandals
SJ Tilden,
reform gov of
NY who had
successfully
battled
corruption
Tilden clearly won the popular vote, but the returns from SC, FL, & LA
were disputed. Cong appointed a special commission to resolve the
issue. The Commission split along party lines & awarded the
disputed votes to Hayes, but the decision still had to be ratified by
both houses of Cong
p.471-472
The Compromise of 1877
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To ensure the ratification of Hayes election,
the Republicans made a more of less secret
deal. They…
…guaranteed federal aid to the South
 …agreed to removal of all remaining fed troops
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Hayes’ agreement ends Reconstruction and
southern blacks were abandoned to their
fate
p.471-472
“Redeeming” a New South
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Those who came to power after the collapse of
Reconstruction are often referred to as
“Redeemers”
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Some were members of the old ruling class, others
were middle-class people who favored manufacturing
& industrial interests over agrarian interests.
A third group were professional politicians looking to
go along with the “prevailing winds”
These “power brokers” generally agreed on two
things: laissez-faire & white supremacy
p.472-473
The Rise of Jim Crow
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Redeemer Democrats systematically
exclude black voters
Jim Crow laws legalize segregation and
restrict black civil rights
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Had to pass a test to vote
Pay a poll tax to vote
Couldn’t vote if your father wasn’t eligible to vote
By 1910 the process was complete
The North and the federal govt did little or
nothing to prevent it
p.473-476
The Rise of Jim Crow
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Lynching ~ 187 blacks lynched yearly 1889–
1899
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A series of Supreme Court decisions
between 1878–1898 gutted the
Reconstruction amendments, leaving blacks
virtually defenseless
Henry McNeal Turner & the
“Unfinished Revolution”
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Henry McNeal Turner’s career summarized the
Southern black experience during and after
Reconstruction
He supported the Union during the war and was
elected to GA legislature in Reconstruction
“Redeemed” GA legislature expels him,
exemplifying Northerners unspoken approval of
oppression of Southern blacks
Turner becomes Af Meth Episcopal bishop & a
major proponent of black emigration to Africa
p.477-478
Chapter 16
THE AGONY OF
RECONSTRUCTION