Chapter 15: Reconstruction and the New South

Issues of Reconstruction• Social

– Fatherless families, destroyed cities, returning wounded– How would the South rebuild?– Both Whites and Blacks in the South were destitute – Freed Slaves? Freedman’s Bureau

• Political– Readmitting Southern Democrats would weaken Republicans

• New policies in danger:– Banking reform– Railroad subsidies– Protective tariffs

– Should the South be punished?– Should it be remade to mirror the industrialized North?

Radicals vs. Conservative Republicans

• Conservatives– South should accept abolishment of slavery– Did not wish to punish the South

• Radicals– Punish Southern leaders– Disenfranchisement– Confiscate lands for freedmen– Some called for suffrage for former slaves

• Although, few Northern states granted suffrage– Protection of legal rights of slaves

• Moderates– Lincoln supported Moderates and Conservatives

Lincoln’s 10% Plan

• When 10% of the number of voters in 1860 took the loyalty oath– They could set up a new state government.– Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee were first in 1864– Black suffrage• Property owner, educated, veterans

– Angered Radical Republicans• Wade-Davis Bill

Wade-Davis Bill• Majority pledge allegiance– Provisional governors– State constitutional conventions

• Abolish slavery• Disfranchise ex-military and civil leaders• Eliminate debts• States would decide themselves about black rights• These steps would allow readmission to the Union

• Vetoed by Lincoln but he knew he would have to compromise

• Plan not known before his death

Johnson’s “Restoration”

• Similar to Wade-Davis• Not acceptable to Radical Republicans

because Northern opinion more hostile to new Southern governments:– Southern reluctance to abolish slavery– None granted suffrage– Appointment of prominent Confederates to

Congress and state positions

Radical Reconstruction

• New reconstruction policy directed by Radical Republicans

• Joint Committee on Reconstruction

The Black Codes

• Passed by Southern legislatures– Apprehend unemployed blacks• Fines for vagrancy• Hire “offenders” out to private employers to pay the

fine

– Forbade ownership or leasing of farms– Restricted employment to plantations or domestic

service.

14th Amendment

• First constitutional definition of citizenship– Everyone born in the US– Naturalized– Guaranteed all rights in the Constitution– Imposed penalties (electoral and representatives)

on states that denied suffrage to any adult male– Prohibited former Confederates from holding

office unless pardoned.

The Congressional Plan

• 3 Radical Reconstruction Bills– Requirements• 5 military districts formed• Ratify 14th and later 15th Amendment• Congressional approval of state constitutions• Must include black suffrage

Radicals vs. Johnson and the Constitution

• Tenure of Office Act– Forbade president from removing civil officials

w/o consent of Senate

• Command of the Army Act– President must issue military orders through

commanding general

Radicals vs. the Supreme Court

• Supreme Court– Ex parte Milligan 1866

• Military tribunals unconstitutional if civil courts in place• Threatened military districts planned for the South

– Radical Reaction• Proposed bills

– 2/3 of justices needed to overrule Congress– Deny Court jurisdiction in Reconstruction cases– Reduce Court to 3 members or possibly abolish it– Succeeded in intimidating the Court (didn’t take any

Reconstruction cases).

Impeaching Johnson

• Johnson violated Tenure of Office Act– Fired Sec. of War– Radicals impeached but could not win removal• Moderates would not support, one vote short

How many Presidents have been impeached?

• Richard Nixon was facing impeachment, but resigned the Presidency to avoid it. There have been 2 Presidents Impeached in the U.S. history. The 17th president Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives in 1868 for violation of the Tenure in Office Act of 1867. However, the Senate was one vote short of convicting Johnson. The 42nd president Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 by the House for perjury and obstruction of justice. As with Johnson, the Senate could not come up with the two-thirds majority to convict Clinton. President Nixon was not impeached. While the House issued articles of impeachment for bribery, obstruction of justice, illegal wiretapping, and bribery Nixon resigned the Presidency before the House voted for impeachment. Most certainly had he not resigned he would have been impeached.

The South in Reconstruction–White Southern

Criticism• Imposed

Governments– Incompetent– Corrupt– Saddled South

with large debts– Violated rights of

citizens

Opposing Criticism of Reconstruction

–Black Southerners• National and State

governments didn’t protect rights of freedmen

• Allowed a system of subordination

Reconstruction Governments

• “Scalawags”– White Southerners who supported Republicans• Usually economic reasons

– Wanted greater economic development and opportunity

• “Carpetbagger”– Northern white serving as leaders in the South

Black Rule During Reconstruction

• Black Rule– Some gains made in representation and power• 1869-1901- 20 blacks served in the House, 2 in the

Senate• Never controlled state legislature• Still underrepresented based on population

Spending and Corruption

• Rapidly expanding Govt.– Led to new temptations and revenues

• Corruption– Was a problem but perhaps no more than in the

North

• Spending– New services• Public education, poor relief, public works

Education

• Origins: Education reform came from outside groups.– Freedmen’s Bureau– Northern Charities– Northern women both

white and black– Also, Southern black

educators

• Results– Greater access to public

education– 4,000 schools- 1876

• 40% of school age blacks• >50% of whites

– Black Colleges• Fisk, Moorehouse

– Failed attempt at integration

Landownership and Tenency

Goal: Land redistribution to freedmenResult:

-Returning landowners demanding property back (supported by Johnson)-Was it constitutional to confiscate property?-Some gains achieved: 20% freedmen owned land. Decline in White ownership.

Sharecropping

• Many who had land in the 1860’s – Lost by the 1890’s

• Many worked for wages• Tenant farmers– Work and give a share to owner– More independence for freedmen– Less responsibility for landowners

Crop-Lien System• Few banks after the war• Replaced by “store owner” lenders– Poor white and black farmers depended on most for

most durable goods– Seasonal “cash crops” required the need to borrow

until harvest– No competition

• High interest: 50-60%

– Trapped: Cycle of debt – Effect: Loss of farms, less diversified Southern economy

Grant Administration

• Politically inexperienced– “Clumsy and ineffectual” from the start– Appointed many unqualified cabinet members– Relied on Spoils System heavily– Alienated Northerners who were tired of Radical

Reconstruction– Corruption in the admin.– Liberal Republicans opposed “Grantism”• United with Democrats in 1872: Grant wins reelection

The Grant Scandals

• Credit Mobilier: French Railroad contractor– Fraudulent contracts: Millions stolen– Bribes (Stock) paid to high officials in Grant Admin.

• High as VP Colfax

• Whiskey Ring– Grant officials and distillers cheating on taxes

• Indian Ring– Secretary of War Belknap

• Bribes to keep someones position as Indian post trader

Abandonment of Reconstruction

• Southern states began “Redeeming” the South– Taking back control and reinstating suffrage for

white males.

Ku Klux Klan

– In states with more black power

– Used to intimidate voters and deny rights

– “policed” elections– Forced all white males to

join Democrats– Led by former

Confederate soldiers– White Sheets and

“Midnight Rides”

Ku Klux Klan Acts

• Enforcement Acts (1870-1871)-– Prohibited States from discriminating against voters

based on race.– Gave Fed the power to supersede state courts and

prosecute violations of the law.– First time Fed claimed the power to prosecute

crimes by individuals under Fed law.– Gave Fed attorneys the power to take action against

efforts to deny blacks:• Voting Rights, holding office and serving on juries

• Authorized president to use the military to protect civil rights

• Suspend “habeus corpus” if crimes were egregious. (Right to be brought before a judge)

• Grant sent in troops to South Carolina– Klan members arrested and jailed without trial for

long periods– Helped cause decline of the Klan for a period.

Waning Northern Commitment

• 15th Amendment– Reformers convinced that enough had been by

giving right to vote.

• Growing Democratic Party power– Election of 1874- Democrats take House– Only Fed troops maintained power in 3 States• Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina

Social Darwinism

– Individuals who failed did so because of their own weaknesses.

– Critiqued government intervention in social and economic life

– Contributed to cutbacks in social services

Election of 1876

• Rutherford B. Hayes- Republican• Samuel J. Tilden- Democrat• Initial apparent victory for Democrats• Disputed electoral votes in 4 states left 20

electoral votes up for grabs.• No clear Constitutional solution– Special Electoral Commission

• Tilted by 1 vote in favor of Republicans (8-7 vote)• South Threatened to filibuster

Compromise of 1877

• Withdrawal of Federal Troops from South• One Southern appointment to Cabinet• Infrastructure improvement to South• Fed aid to Texas and Pacific Railroad• Hayes nicknamed “His Fraudulency”– Undermined his political power– Undermined Republican power in the South

Legacy of Reconstruction

• Some contributions made– South brought back into the Union– Public Education– 14th and 15th Amendments

• Failures– Blacks did not receive dignity and equality– Old Resentment from war persisted– Corruption and waste

The New South

• Democratic Party- only viable option for Southern Whites

• “Redeemers”- New Southern power elite– Planters– Industrialists, developers, bankers– Ambitious lower class businessmen

• Agenda– Social conservatism– Economic development– Home Rule/ States Rights

Industrialization and the New South

• Belief of some Southerners– South lost war because of the industrial might of

the North

• Henry Grady- Atlanta Constitution– Advocated for changes in the South• Frugality• Industry• Progress

• Textile Industry– No longer shipped North– Businesses drawn to • Water power• Cheap labor• Low taxes• Conservative governments promoted industry

• Tobacco– James B. Duke of North Carolina- American Tobacco

Company

• Iron and Steel production– 1890- 1/5 of nations production

• Railroads -1880-1890- Trackage doubled• Effects on South– Industrialism still less profound than in North– South mainly regained what it already had pre-war.– Per capita income

• Grew rapidly but still only 40% of North by 1900• 1860 > 60%

The Southern Workforce• Opportunities for women. Why?• Ex-Farming families from failed farms• Long hours• Low pay: 50% cheaper than North– Attraction for businesses

• Life controlled by factory managers– Fought against unions and protest

• Inflated goods from company stores (no competition).• Strong sense of community

Industrial Opportunities for Freedmen

• Some opportunity but usually lowest paid• Caused – racial friction – Increased determination to protect white

supremacy

• Convict-Lease system– Free labor from criminal justice system– Reduced opportunities for wage labor force

Difficulties of the Southern Economy

• Tenants and Sharecroppers– Crop-Lien System– Reconstruction- 33% Tenants– 1900- 70% Tenants

• The Backcountry– Subsistence farming to Cash Crops– Livestock farming- “Fence Laws”– Decline of the Open Range– Primary constituents of the later Populist Movement

African Americans and the New South

• Rising black middle class– Small businesses– Property– Doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers– Maggie Lena• First female bank president in the US.

Booker T. Washington

• Commitment to Education• Tuskegee Institute in

Alabama• Ex-slave• Advice to blacks

– Pushed for economic and social assimilation

– Argued that equality would come with educational and economic gains

• De-emphasized the need to push for political equality NOW.

• Atlanta Compromise– Believed in the power of economic influence– “No race that has anything to contribute to the

markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized.”

– Implied promise that blacks would not challenge the system of segregation.

Jim Crow

• Political rights not a reality in the South• Civil Rights Cases of 1883- “Private”

discrimination allowed• Plessy vs. Ferguson 1896- “Separate but

equal”• Cumming vs County Board of Educ. 1899-– Permitted separate schools for white children

Disfranchisement

• How could Southerners get around the 15th Amendment?– Poll Tax or property requirement– Literacy Test

• Unequal application- easier test for Whites• Affected poor white voters as well

– Grandfather Clauses- You could vote if ancestors BEFORE reconstruction had voted

– 1890’s Voting Declines• Blacks- 62% decline• Whites- 26% decline

– Supreme Court allowed states to decide

Extent of Jim Crow

• Permeated every facet of social life– Parks, restaurants, hospitals, buses, water

fountains, etc.

• Segregated most social and political activities• Designed to subjugate African-Americans

especially in newer growing urban areas.• Gave legal backing to discrimination• Lynchings- skyrocketed. 187/yr. in 1890

• Ida B. Wells- international anti-lynching movement