Reconstructing Society

Ch 12 Sect 2

Pg 383

Conditions in the Postwar South

South had to physically rebuild the region. Property values plummeted Investors in Confederate bonds lost all their money. Small farms were ruined. Southerners in every economic class were poorer. Region’s population was devastated.

1/5 of the white males were killed.

Public Works Programs

Republican gov. built roads, bridges, railroads, orphanages, & the first public schools.

Programs were expensive Few financial resources were available and

northerners did not want to invest. Southern gov. raised taxes furthering the

recovery process.

Scalawags & Carpetbaggers

Scalawags – white southerners who joined the Republican Party. Hoped to gain political offices w/ help from African

Americans. Use those offices to enrich themselves.

Carpetbaggers – northerners who moved to the south after the war Freedman’s Bureau agents, teachers, ministers Others wanted to buy land or start legitimate businesses. Some were dishonest business people

African American Voters

Made up the largest group of southern Republicans.

Gained voting rights w/ 15th amendment African Americans registered to vote for the

first time. Eager to exercise their voting rights 90% of African Americans who could vote

voted.

Political Differences

Conflicting goals among the Republican Party. Scalawags did not share the Republican

commitment to civil rights & suffrage. Republican governors began to appoint white

Democrats to office to gain white votes. African Americans felt betrayed.

New-Won Freedoms

Some African Americans were cautious about test freedoms.

African Americans took advantage of being able to go where they wanted.

African Americans were eager to leave the plantations.

Moved to southern cities

Reunification of Families

Freed African Americans took advantage of their new mobility to find family members.

Freedman’s Bureau worked to reunite families.

Many families were never reunited.

Education

80% of African Americans could not read or write.

All freed people begin to seek education. African Americans established schools.

Hampton Institute Whites responded to black schools w/

violence.

Churches & Volunteer Groups

African Americans began to found their own churches.Baptist & MethodistServices similar to earlier “praise meetings”

Ministers emerged as community leaders. Established political organizations, fire

companies, ect. Fostered independence & financial &

emotional support for African Americans.

Politics & African Americans

Former slaves began to play an active role in political organizations.

African Americans still held a minority of the political offices.

Hiram Revels – first black senator

Laws against Segregation

Most states repealed the black codes. Many anti-segregation laws were not

enforced. African Americans focused more on

bringing up their own communities that on total integration.

40 Acres and a Mule

Sherman promised African Americans 40 acres and a mule.

Former slaves were then evicted from their land by President Johnson.

Few African Americans held the resources to farm successfully.

Restoration of Plantations

Planters feared they would not make a profit when paying laborers.

Former slaveholders resented paying former slaves.

Planters faced labor shortages. African American women & children refused to

work in the fields. Former planters were determined not to let

African Americans get land.

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

Without land freed blacks could not farm. In exchange for wages, housing, & food

freedmen worked in the fields. Led to sharecropping & tenant farming. Sharecropping – landowners divided their land &

gave each worker a few acres, along w/ seed and tools.

Tenant Farming – rent land for cash from planters.

Cotton No Longer King

Demand for Southern cotton began to drop during the war.

Textile mills and new industry sprang up in the South.

Agriculture began to diversify.

Answer the following1. What was the economic condition of the South at the end of the Civil War?

2. What changes in population occurred as a result of the war?

3. How did Southern states finance their improvements?

4. What were carpetbaggers and scalawags?

5. What were the differences among Southern Republicans?

6. What freedoms were new from former slaves?

7. Why were so many African American families separated?

8. What steps were taken for educating former slaves?

9. How did churches and volunteer groups assist former slaves?

10. How did Reconstruction bring African Americans into politics?

11. Why was land important to freed slaves?

12. Why did planters need the help of freed slaves?

13. What economic arrangements resulted from planters lacking cash?

14. How did falling cotton prices lead to economic diversification?