reconstruction, 1865-1876
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Reconstruction, 1865-1876. Achievements, Conflicts, Failures, and Ongoing Impact. Interpretive Framework for the Course. America/U.S. – as an idea, a nation, a people – is a work in progress It is a project It has not developed in linear fashion It has not always progressed towards ideals - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Reconstruction, 1865-1876
Achievements, Conflicts, Failures, and Ongoing Impact
Interpretive Framework for the Course
America/U.S. – as an idea, a nation, a people – is a work in progress
It is a project It has not developed in linear fashion It has not always progressed towards ideals Consistent conflict over the shape of the
nation Conflict over who should be included and
excluded
Major Course Topics
Democracy Power Social Class Race and Ethnicity Inclusion and Exclusion Labor Issues Reform and Social Movements Role of the State
Background to Reconstruction
Slavery and the
Origins of the Civil War
Civil War Review
Slave system was basis of southern society, economy, and culture
Reasons for Civil War Growing divide between North and South,
economically, culturally, and politically “States Rights” – the right of white southern elite
planters to own and control black slaves, often supported by poor whites
Slavery & the Civil War: Review of the Data
Analyze the statistics on slavery in the U.S. leading up to the Civil War
What conclusions can you make? Questions? What statistics are most useful in
understanding the onset of the Civil War?
Slaves in the Original Thirteen Colonies (1750-1860)
Slaves in the South (1790-1860)
Slaves as Percentage of Southern Population (1750-1860)
Slaves as Percentage of Southern Population (1750-1860
Conclusions about Slavery and the Civil War Slavery was an economic system, social
hierarchy, form of domination and control, supported and justified by a cultural framework
Slave system was major cause of Civil War The ongoing impact of slavery and the fate of
the freed slaves were the main issues during Reconstruction
Why Did Poor Southern Whites Fight in Civil War?
Many lower-class whites bought into southern hierarchy – household
Control of land, household, labor, and political rights
Male Planter Elite/\
White Women & Children/\
White Laborers/\
Slaves & Free Blacks
Poor White Landowner or Renter
/\Wife & Children
/\Slaves and Free Blacks
Why Did Northerners Fight? Abolitionist minority – fund. opposed to slavery –
slavery was an evil, a stain on the nation – represented belief in full INCLUSION of blacks into nation
Free Labor majority – opposed to expansion of slavery
Slavery hurts free labor Free labor = economic and political independence Free people would not allow themselves to be enslaved Republican and “republican” Pro-Union – unification of nation [under free labor ideals] Belief a pivot point to judge whether people are worthy of
citizenship or rights
Ways of Understanding Reconstruction
Divided country after Civil War Different, often conflicting, goals & ideals –
Different definitions of freedom and equality Achievements Tragedies Conflicts Unresolved Problems Lasting impact on later U.S. history
Traditional Interpretations of Reconstruction
Emphasized presidential and Congressional conflicts
Emphasized personal conflicts among leaders
Emphasized white leaders’ ideas and actions Problems with this model? – left out the
people most affected by slavery, the transition to freedom, and life on the ground in the Reconstruction south
Slaves, Freedpersons, and Freedom Emphasis on freedpersons and their attempts
to realize American ideals Slaves had already made great efforts to
achieve freedom during slavery and Civil War Resistance during enslavement Emancipation Proc. (Jan. 1863) Fought for Union Fled to Union lines Attempted to reunify with families
Definitions of Full Freedom:
Conflicts over the definition of freedom for newly-freed slaves
What would FULL FREEDOM look like? (documents & class opinions):
Major Questions of Reconstruction: Would nation fulfill its ideals of freedom
and equality? Would ex-slaves be fully incorporated as
citizens into the new nation? Would whites accept their integration into
society? Would the revolutionary possibilities of the
Civil War and Reconstruction be fully realized? What shape would new nation and regions
take after the war?
Different Definitions of Reconstruction
Documents readings:
Radical Republican Attitudes During Reconstruction
The Cotton Pickers, 1876Winslow Homer
Sunday Morning in Virginia, 1877Winslow Homer
Shaw Memorial, 1900 Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Shaw Memorial, Soldier's Head, 1883-93, bronze. Augustus Saint-Gaudens
Link to short video on Shaw Memorial
Radical Republican Attitudes(based on 4 images)
Class reactions:
Why did it matter what white northerners thought of southern blacks?:
Achievements of Reconstruction: An Opening Freedpersons fought for and claimed freedom
and rights 13th, 14th, 15th amendments (ended slavery,
citizenship, voting for all men) Founded black schools and churches Black political participation, leadership
Republican Party and Union Leagues Got land in very small areas Southern states readmitted to Union –
reunification of country
Black Efforts to Achieve Full Freedom, Barrow Plantation, Georgia
Evidence?
Occupation ofthe south:
Divided into Military Districts
Freedmen’s Bureau
Northern whitefinancial support
No. white teachers
RECONSTRUCTION: SOUTHERN WHITE RESISTANCE
Southern White Tactics to Regain Power?
Southern White Tactics to Regain Power
Black Codes in early years of Reconst. Ex. – can only marry within race Ex. – forced former slaves to work Ex. – control over work; imprisonment Attempts to reinstitute slavery in fact, if not name
Organized violence: KKK and White Leagues Organized political violence: Dem. Party used
race-baiting and stereotypes to regain power – “Redemption” of the south
Southern White “Redemption”
Whites believed they had to “redeem” the south Take it back from blacks, Republicans, and
northerners Used legal, political, and violent means Political strategies
Racist images of black politicians Used fear of blacks - threat to white womanhood Intimidated and scared white Republicans Fraud, voter intimidation Very effective – “took back” all southern states
Process ofRedemption:
Dates in () =
When white Democrats retook politicalcontrol =
Southern WhiteDemocraticParty, the Solid South
Labor in the South: Compromise Sharecropping and debt peonage Positive spin: a compromise between blacks and
whites in south – neither got what wanted Negative: blacks tied to land and poverty through
debt Negative: south tied to staple crop agriculture Negative: regional econ. and political differences
reinforced Negative: southern white racism and discrimination
not uprooted
Spread of Sharecropping by 1880: Percentage of farms sharecroppedby county
Most in areas of cotton and tobacco farming: Dark Green Areas
Effects of Sharecropping, Barrow Plantation, Georgia
Positives and Negatives?
Failures of Reconstruction:The Closing
Continued political and regional divisions Federal retreat from black rights Southern white racism and denial of black
rights No women’s suffrage Redemption – southern Dem. Party became
white party linked w/ denial of black rights No widespread land redistribution or change in
southern economy to support black freedom
Causes of Failures Most white Americans did not change their
definitions of freedom, justice, or equality They continued to define “America” in
exclusive ways: people of certain races and women were not worthy of full citizenship rights
America as Inclusive or Exclusive? Included former slaves if they met white goals and
expectations But whites fell back into stereotypes and power:
freedpersons not worthy of inclusion or rights
Change in Northern Attitudes
Northern White Attitudes Expressed in this Graphic?
Quote: “Is This a Republican Form of Government? Is This ProtectingLife, Liberty, or Property? Is This theEqual Protection of the Laws?”
Columbia – “Shall I Trust These Men, And Not This Man?”
“This Is a White Man’sGovernment.”
Thomas Nast, “Colored Rule in a Reconstructed (?) State”
Columbia: “You are aping the lowest whites. If you disgrace your race in this way you had better take Back Seats”
Thomas Nast, “The Ignorant Vote: Honors Are Easy”
The Veteran in a New Field, 1865Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910)Oil on canvas
Attitude Change & Political Compromise Southern white opposition to black freedom and social
change Northern whites lost political willpower
Turned against freedpersons Pres. Grant – corruption and lack of resolve Northern Rep. redefined as northern party, focused on spoils
of power from new urban/industrial economy
Compromise of 1876 – Hayes Pres., withdrawal of fed. troops from south to get Presidency
Panic of 1873 – economic problems; industrial labor question supplanted southern labor and civil rights
Conclusion:
Blacks fought for and won freedom Positive legal and constitutional advances Southern white violence and political
opposition, and Northern white loss of willpower, combined to end high hopes of “new birth of freedom” for ex-slaves
Ideals of freedom, justice, and equality were sacrificed for political compromise between whites of both regions
Questions?
Who really won the Civil War? – militarily, economically, socially, culturally?
Can you make direct links between Reconstruction’s failures and later problems in U.S. history?
Connections: Reconstruction, the West, and Industrial Age
Opening Music African American Work Song – “It’s a Long
John” “Trouble So Hard” “It Makes a Long Time Man Feel Bad” Prison and Blues – “Early in the Mornin’” Deford Bailey, “John Henry” Mississippi Fred McDowell, “John Henry” Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Aaron
Copland
NYTimes article on the real John Henry Disney short cartoon, “John Henry,” part 1 &
part 2
Messages in “John Henry”?
John Henry: Positive Messages
Monument at Big BendTunnel in Talcott, WV
John Henry: Conclusions?