end of reconstruction, 1872 election

southern white response to reconstruction at first

shock and trauma from war means little resistance to occupying union forces

change in southern response to reconstruction

johnson proclamations and leniency meant by september 1865 southeners confident and determined to re establish social control in south through black codes, fundamental continuity in refusing to accept equality and independence of aa, white supremacy

situation 1866 southern attitudes reconstruction

congress and radical repubs more concerned with establishing framework of rights in south, can only be achieved if aa enjoy degree of equality and freedom, south belligerent with riots in memphis and new orleans, johnson appears to encourage and condone

1872 amnesty act

restored eligibility for office holding to all but a few hundred former confederates, gave southeners effective political power

southern violence groups

knights of white camelia formed in 1867, kkk formed in 1865, redshirts, violence becomes intense, repubs start waving bloody shirt in that southerners havent understood they lost the war

redeemers

Those committed to stopping Radical Reconstruction in the South, wanted to redeem their states from northern control and to restore the antebellum social order whereby Black people were kept safely under the boot heel of White people, represented the Democratic Party in the South

southeners who see opportunity in reconstruction

scallawags, carpetbaggers

scallawags

southern whites prepared to collaborate with reconstruction govs, see financial opportunities, former whigs who see opportunities especially in railways, want to attract business to their states

railway opportunities in south

reconstruction govs want to link local and state economy to national economy, railway companies could develop their state so give companies land, however too many competing routes means companies go bankrupt

carpetbaggers

come to south in wake of war looking for money, want aa to get back to work in producing cotton, see reconstruction as opportunity, not committed to reconstruction but making money

1868 cotton price

falls in world markets so less money to be made, railway companies go bankrupt 1868/9 as loans and transfer of land go badly so no railways actually built, commitment to reconstruction dries up, southerners sat reconstruction govs in debt so are corrupt and inept, aa blamed for this even though govs in hands of scallawags and whites

corruption in south govs/fed gov

seen as corrupt and inefficient, mirrored on national scale with growth of fed gov, reaction against big gov occurs with communist revolution in paris happening at same time, expensive to fund occupation in south and workers go on strike as feel short-changed, businessmen feel big gov feeds socialism and revolution

re-characterisation of reconstruction

southerners realise violence not only form of opposition, characterise reconstruction as corrupt and inept ie use failure of railways, say want good gov in south but reconstruction govs failing, aa inexperienced but white southerners experienced, former whigs join democrats to restore good gov

1872 election

repubs win grant gets majority of 55% and overwhelming majority in electoral college

split of republicans

liberals and stalwarts

liberals

oppose grant administration, hostile to growing fed gov think has too much power, evidenced by corruption scandals, thought mission of repubs was completed with 13 14 and 15 amendments so wanted universal amnesty for former confeds and end to military rule in south and sectional reconciliation, thought aa shouldnt look to fed gov for help but rely on self-help for social and economic advancement

stalwarts

grants supporters

decline of radical republicanism

thaddeus stevens died in 1868, benjamin wade lost his seat in senate to a democrat in 1869, edwin stanton died in 1869, charles sumner died in 1875

democrat candidate 1872 election

horace greeley nominated at democrat convention in may 1872, saw liberal support

charles sumner alienation

disputed foreign policy ie policy in carribean, over american claims for damages inflicted by british built confederate raider during cw, saw as too lenient, emerged as open supporter of liberal revolt in july 1872

why people didnt vote for greeley

repubs said vote for greeley constituted a betrayal of union cause so expanded repub constituency in north, many southern dems didnt vote for greeley becuase he was an eccentric reformer who lambacted the slave power

southern tax pre war

south chronically undertaxed pre war since can tax land but planters in gov so avoid paying tax and levy tax on poor instead

southern tax post war

planters land taxed by reconstruction govs since they need money, planters argue gov raising ludicrous sums of money through taxes, taxes on land have massively increased so govs profligate, claim govs corrupt

reconstruction govs tax spending

spending money on infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, schools etc. wasnt needed before but now free labour economy education is necessary so not wasteful spending as planters claim

switch in southern politics

constructive politics rather than violence, gain support of northern democrats, northeners see gov growing in size and grant corruption scandals, paying more taxes etc. builds sympathy for south since have same issues of gov being corrupt, feeds into broader narrative against growing powers of fed gov

1873 financial crisis

importance of southern policy in north decreases as voters more concerned with own welfare and social unrest eg strikes and demonstrations at home, want northern soldiers in north to protect their businesses not in south, repubs forced to cut back on programs of state funded education

demand for cotton decreases due to competition from other nations such as India, price went down by 50% from 1872-77

democrat success midterm elections 1874

late 1874 won majority in house of repbs, first time in nearly 20 years

why democrat support increased

capitalised from sumners attempts to pass a civil rights bill which would outlaw segregation in public places and provide for integrated public schools since integration seen as harmful by southern whites and many northerners, would isolate white moderates from repubs

slaughterhouse cases

1873, us supreme court decided by 5-4 that privileges and immunities clause of 14th amendement doesnt extend to economic rights, clause applied only to federal citizenship rights and not to state citizenship rights

impact of slaughterhouse cases

limits the protection of the privileges and immunities clause so weakened the power of the Fourteenth Amendment to protect the civil rights of freed slaves

colfax massacre

murder of 150 African American militia members over contested election by a white militia on April 13, 1873 in Colfax, Louisiana

colfax massacre supreme court

1876 overturned convictions ruling that the Enforcement Acts did not apply to actions by individuals.force acts considered unconstitutional, notion that fed gov protector of civil rights removed and is now states who are responsible

mississippi voting fraud 1874

adelbert ames elected gov of mississippi in 1874, in 1875 aa vote dilluted but will be impeached if he steps in and is forced to leave state, grant says he cant do anything so abandoning reconstruction govs

aa not voting in georgia

Georgia had 9000 registered AA voters but only 87 actually voted

1876 election repub candidate

rutherford b hayes, unblemished public record, high moral tone, deep sympathy toward the South

1876 election democrat candidate

samuel j tilden, governor of new york

wormley house compact

electoral votes of Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana (as well as one vote in Oregon) were in dispute and both parties claimed victory in all three Southern states, when Congress convened on December 7 there were rival electoral reports so on jan 29 1877 electoral commission was set up, result of commission was 8–7 split in favour of the Republican claims

result of 1876 election

hayes wins with 185 electoral votes to tilden’s 184, but tilden won over 260,000 more popular votes

1876 election aa votes

By 1876 election AA vote had reduced by 50%, result of paramilitary violence

reason for 1877 compromise

Democrats threatened to boycott Hayes’s inauguration, rival governments arose claiming to recognize Tilden as the rightfully elected president, republicans feared another sectional crisis

1877 compromise terms

one Southern Democrat would be appointed to Hayes’s cabinet, Democrats would control federal patronage in their areas in the South, commitment to generous internal improvements including federal aid for the Texas and Pacific Railway, all remaining federal troops would be withdrawn from the South, in return for hayes presidency to be accepted

result of 1877 compromise

removal of troops from south effectively ended reconstruction and the last 2 radical recon govs louisiana and florida fell after this, democrats took over the remaining southern states creating the “Solid South”

why reconstruction failed

paramilitary violence, southern opposition to reconstruction govs, white supremacy, northern fatigue

southern opposition to reconstruction govs

viewed govs as corrupt and inefficient, govs had lack of money due to fall in cotton prices, railway bankruptcies so indebted, as a result issue taxes but seen as result of gov not being run well and incompetence, land wasnt taxed before civil war since planters in power and could avoid tax so use increase in tax as proof of corruption, characterised as black rule run by aa

falsity of southern claims against reconstruction govs

were using taxes to build infrastructure eg schools, mississippi black belt state but only had 16 AA legislators out of 100, KKK claimed that $132 billion dollars were culminated in debt but only was 3% of that, less corrupt than pre civil war if anything

northern fatigue

caused by longevity of issue but catalysed by economic depression in 1873, republicans now uniting over things other than waving the bloody shirt, if anything it could worsen sectional divisions if they continue to advocate shirt argument,

• Reconstruction govs needed radical reconstruction policies to remain at heart of republican policies. However no northern will to push forward black equality in the south.

northern sympathy with south

White supremacy viewpoint being bought into by north ie idea of recon govs being corrupt since can sympathise since fed gov being corrupt. Economics catalyst in north leaving, always shared white supremacist views. Sectional reconciliation

impact of northern fatigue on paramilitary violence

while northern will was sustained republican voting rights could be safeguarded ie 3 enforcement acts 1870-73, federal troops escorting African Americans to polls in South Carolina in 1871. However when union troops pulled out altogether in 1877 the final two reconstruction govs of florida and louisiana fell. In 1874 enforcement acts lapsed. By 1876 election AA vote had reduced by 50%

impact of paramilitary violence

forced freed slaves to stop political involvement and allowed white supremacy voting power to be stronger, as a result democrats won elections which weakened the republican agenda of reconstruction governments eg late 1874 midterm elections won majority in house of reps for first time in nearly 20 years.

• Democrat posters had slogans such as ‘let white men rule’, race not policy was the main channel of their campaigning in the south. Racism was a tool used to isolate African americans.

1868 arkansas murders

1868 Arkansas election saw 200 political murders,

white supremacy as foundational ideology

had always been there eg black codes enacted in 1865 and 1866 in southern states, continued to assume the racial and social inferiority of formerly enslaved people,

conservatives simply unprepared to accept racial equality – planters also had an economic rationale for wanting the main labour force of African Americans in unprotected inferiority and saw the high tax system to fund social spending unjust.

white supremacy evidence

when a black student enrolled at Mississippi’s medical school virtually all white students withdrew. Integration was opposed. Racism within radical govs hampered black advancement with piecemeal segregation offering largely inferior facilities and implied inferiority. Black schools received less than half the funding per capita than their white counterparts. Northern help was limited with federal courts often declining to enforce the civil rights bill.