Reconstruction in the South

Section 3

Chapter 17

Focus Questions What reforms did Reconstruction government

carry out? What factors led to the end of Reconstruction? How did southern laws and governments

change after Reconstruction ended?

Reconstruction Governments The Republican Party controlled most southern

governments because the 14th Amendment banned many former Confederates from holding office

Most officeholders were unpopular with the majority of southern whites

Carpetbaggers were northerners who moved to the south after the war

Many southerners felt the northerners were making a profit on Reconstruction

Reconstruction Governments Southern Republicans

were called scalawags (“Mean fellows”) and were mostly small farmers who supported the union during the war

African-Americans were the largest number of Republican voters

African-Americans also served in many government positions both locally and nationally

Reconstruction Governments Hiram Revels was

the first African-American elected the U.S. Senate (took over for Jefferson Davis)

Blanche K. Bruce was the first African-American to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate

Reconstruction Governments Reconstruction

governments helped establish the first state funded schools and also also built new hospitals, prisons, and orphanages and passed laws prohibiting discrimination

To get money for these projects the governments raised taxes and issued bonds

Opposition to Reconstruction Most white southerners opposed

Reconstruction Democrats disliked that soldiers were

stationed in their states and also that African-Americans could hold office

Opposition to Reconstruction In 1866 a group of

white southerners in Tennessee created the Ku Klux Klan

The Klan disguised themselves with robes and used violence and terror against African Americans, Republicans, and public officials

The Klan grew in numbers in the south

Opposition to Reconstruction Congress made it a

federal crime to interfere with an election or deny citizens equal protection

Within a few years the Klan was not an organized threat but violence against African Americans and Republicans continued

The End of Reconstruction The General Amnesty Act of 1872 allowed

former Confederates to hold public office Soon many Confederates were elected to

southern governments and most opposed Reconstruction

President Grant (Republican) was elected in both 1868 and 1872 but soon afterward the Democrats began taking control in the north

The End of Reconstruction The Panic of 1873 put the

economy in a sever economic depression and Democrats won control of the House of Representatives in 1874

The Civil Rights Act of 1875 guaranteed African Americans equal rights in public places and was a major victory for the Republicans

By 1876, many Republicans were tired of Reconstruction

The End of Reconstruction Republican candidate for

president in 1876 was Rutherford B. Hayes who wanted to end federal Reconstruction

Democrats again in the south used violence to keep Republicans from the polls

The Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden appeared to have won the presidential election in 1876 but the Republicans challenged the results in four states

A special election commission made up of ten members of Congress decided to give all four disputed states to Hayes and therefore Hayes would win by one electoral vote

The End of Reconstruction In the Compromise of

1877, Democrats agreed to accept the Hayes victory but in return all federal troops had to be removed from the south

Shortly after taking the presidency, Hayes removed the last of the federal troops from the south

Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v. Ferguson Slowly Democrats regained control of state

governments Democrats were also called Redeemers Redeemers wanted to limited the size of the

government and limit the rights of African-Americans

Redeemers also set up the poll tax to try to deny African Americans the right

The poll tax was a tax a person had to pay before they could vote

Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v. Ferguson Some states also required

voters to pass a literacy test

A grandfather clause made it so that a person did not have to pay a poll tax or pass a literacy test if their father or grandfather voted in an election before 1867

Redeemers also introduce legal segregation, the forced separation of whites and African Americans in public places

Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v. Ferguson Jim Crow laws– laws

that require segregation (very common in the south)

African Americans challenged Jim Crow laws in court

They had very little luck as the Supreme Court ruled that the fourteenth Amendment only applied to actions of state government

Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v. Ferguson Plessy v. Ferguson was a

Supreme Court Case that had far reaching affects Homer Plessy was an African

American that did not want to leave the all White section of a train and he was arrested

Plessy’s lawyers argued that the Louisiana law that did not allow African Americans to ride on the same car as whites violated his right to equal treatment under the Fourteenth Amendment

The court ruled that segregation was allowed if “separate-but-equal” facilities were provided for African Americans

John Marshall was the only justice on the Supreme Court that disagreed with this decision

Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v. Ferguson This case allowed

segregation to spread across the country

The separate facilities were usually of poorer quality than those created for whites

The facilities were separate and unequal

Focus Questions What reforms did Reconstruction government

carry out? What factors led to the end of Reconstruction? How did southern laws and governments

change after Reconstruction ended?