Chapter 13 The Meaning of Freedom: The Failure of Reconstruction 1867-1877
Overview Reconstruction 1867-1877 Presidential Reconstruction under Andrew Johnson Radical Reconstruction 1868 Election
Constitutional Convention New State Constitutions AA men delegates Southern White men boycott 3 Republican Groups attending Conventions Carpetbaggers Scalawags AA Male Republicans
AA delegates to Conventions 265 AA males of 1,000 elected delegates (pic 286) In most States AA men made up 10-20% of delegates AA were in majority only in SC and LA 107 of 265 were born slaves 40 served in Union Army Skilled Professionals
Constitutions Ensured vote for all adult males except MS or VA Former Confederates not disfranchised Broad Civil Rights guarantees Some States provide 1 st statewide system of education Private businesses and RR construction for White Southerner support
1868 Elections To ratify the new constitutions and elect officials Various White Democratic response Boycott elections Vote against ratification Voted for ratification and attempted to elect as many Democrats as possible to office In each State, majority ratify new State Constitutions and elect AA men
African American Political Leaders AA men gain political influence White Republicans dominate politics # of AA men elected reflect a State s AA pop. (pic 287) AA men did not dominate any State politically AA men did not run for important offices then switch strategy
African American elected officials Lt Gov P B S Pinchback; LA 1 month as Governor in LA 6 others serve as Lt Gov Dec 1872-Jan 1873
African American Elected Officials U.S. Senate Blanche K Bruce, MS Hiram Revels, MS Completed unexpired terms
African American Elected Officials Joseph Rainey 1870 1 st of 14 AA men to serve in House of Rep Stats (287-288)
AA elected officials Well Qualified Wealthy, former slave owners, worked for Freedmen s Bureau Professionals Not Qualified; diff. levels of education or a lack of education
Issues addressed by African American Elected Officials Education & Social Welfare AA Literacy and promote education Public education statewide Some opposed compulsory education Integration? Poll tax favored Supported Higher Ed Morrill Land Grant Act Alcorn A&M (MS) University of SC Institution for the insane, blind & deaf Orphanages State prisons Medical & public program Revising State criminal codes
Issues addressed by African American Elected Officials Civil Rights Open public facilities for all (Integration) Division between AA & White Republicans AA legislation to promote social equality blocked by White Republicans & Democrats The Gibbs Brothers (289) The Rollin Sisters (292)
Issues addressed by African American Elected Officials Economic Issues Economic Development Laws proposed to ensure laborer payment & wage regulation; laws failed Stay Laws Land Business & Industry Railroad Expansion
African American Politicians: An Evaluation Created foundation for public education Assistance for blind, deaf & insane Reform criminal justice system State support for economic revival & expansion Failed to outlaw racial discrimination Could not create programs that improved lives of constituents Could not enact agenda without White Republicans; outnumber AA politicians
Republican Factionalism Internal conflict between AA & White Republicans Political Issues & strategies Lack of party cohesion & discipline Disagreement over who should run for office High leadership turnover Loss of economic security
Opposition White Democrats AA not equals Did not accept 14 th Amendment Attacked Republican Government Blamed Republicans for waste & corruption Want Redemption
The Ku Klux Klan Founded 1866 Pulaski, Tennessee Grand Wizard-Nathan Bedford Forrest Why Founded? Membership Where functioned? Tactics Effects 1 st Wave of KKK/1900s/1950s/Present Day
Lynching Death by hanging and/or burning Fear; make an example Trophies, pictures, post cards Picnic or Cookout Appeal for help (295)
The Fifteenth Amendment (296) Passed 1869/Ratified 1870 Person can not be deprived of the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude Gave AA men the right to vote
Enforcement Acts Congress passed in response to terrorism in South 1870 Act 1871 Act (Ku Klux Klan Act) Black congressmen support Joseph Rainey Suspend writ of Habeas Corpus Justice Department & Atty Gen Amos T Ackerman Pres Ulysses S Grant
The North Loses Interest Government reduces Klan violence but White Southerners want white supremacy restored/rep gov t overturned Radical Republicans frustrated with AA Attitudes spurred by economic downturn in country
Panic of 1873 Financial crisis Failed businesses & financial institutions Increased unemployment Prices fall 1874: Democrats recapture majority in House of Representatives and several northern states
The Freedmen s Bank Founded 1865 AA believed banks to be federal agency Failed in 1874 AA lose $ Uninsured investments Frederick Douglas Petition Congress & President for $
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 (299) Last Reconstruction gesture to protect AA Charles Sumner (MASS) supported To open public accommodations regardless of race Schools, churches, cemeteries, hotels & transportation Senate passes 1874 Democrats uphold until 1875 No attempts to enforce 1883 Declared unconstitutional Black news paper compared to Dred Scott
The End of Reconstruction (300) Ended in violence and controversy Louisiana 1868-1876 Colfax, LA 1872 1874 White League Pres Ulysses S Grant By 1875 White Democrats control most former Confederate States
Violent Redemption 1874: AA & White Republicans killed Violence accompanies elections Shotgun Policy Hamburg Massacre South Carolina tries Shotgun Policy Pres Grant sends federal troops reluctantly Wade Hampton and Martin Delany (301) Black people and Democrats
Compromise of 1877 Presidential election Rutherford B Hayes (R) vs Samuel J Tilden (D) Democrats/Republican claim win in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina Electoral vote tie Democrats accept Hayes Hayes promises not to support Republican Governors Remove last federal troops from South Beginning of Redemption Period
Chapter 13 The Meaning of Freedom: The Failure of Reconstruction 1867-1877