USH Reading ID #8

Ku Klux klan

who: an organization that was a military arm of the democratic party in the south what: terriorist organization that committed some of the most brutal criminal acts in american history where: founded in tenessee when: 1866 why: they opposed reconstruction and african american civil rights and wanted to reassert white supremacy and sought to prevent black individuals from achieving equality or exercising their rights ( in particular the right to vote) significance - most violent organized resistance to reconstruction, led congress to pass the enforcement acts of 1870 which allowed them to suppress klan violence

Colfax Louisiana

armed whites assaulted the town with a small cannon and hundreds of former slaves were murdered

enforcement acts

who: congress what: these laws continued the expansion of national authority during reconstruction and defined crimes that aimed to deprive citizens of their civil and political rights. president grant dispatched federal marshals backed up by troops in some areas to arrest hundreds of accused klansmen and the klan leaders fled the south where: southern united states when: 1870 and 1871 significance: represeted a major federal attempt to protect afircan american civil rights and brought peace in most of the former confederacy and klan went out of existence

liberal republicans

who: republican founders like lyman trumbull and editors and journalists like e.l godkin and horace greeley as president. what: believed that the growth of federal power during and after the war needed to be curtailed and thought that the federal govt was too involved in the south. significance: shifted the northern opinion on reconstruction and their push to reduce federal involvement made many in the north more willing to abandon support for black rights

horace greeley

who: president of the liberal Republicans when: 1872 what: first as a whig and then as a Republican. he was an activist and journalist significance: believed in reforming the government, reducing federal involvement in the south and promoting reconciliation between the north and the south. lost the election to grant in 1872. encouraged many to prioritize reconciliation over protecting black rights

James s. pike

who: journalist and leading greeley supporter what:published the prostrate state which was an influential account of a visit to south Carolina. depicted a state engulfed by political corruption, drained by the government under the control of “black barbarism” why: he insisted that the south problems arose from the negro government and the solution was to restore leading whites to political power. when 1874 significance: growing wave of racism in the north as if offered justification for ending reconstruction. showed African Americans as incompetent and had negative stereotypes

civil rights act of 1875

who: passed by congress what: outlawed racial discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels, theaters, and transportation. prohibited discrimination in jury service. aimed to ensure that african americans could access public spaces without facing discrimination when: 1875 significance- important legal legal step toward racial equality

slaughterhouse cases

who: group of white butchers in louisiana what: excluded from a state sponsored monopoly in louisiana went to court claiming that their right to equality before the law guaranteed by the 14th amendment had been violated. supreme court ruled against the butchers and stated that the amendment protected federal not state citizenship rights. when 1873 significance -

redeemers

who: southern white democrats including confederates and wealthy planters what: claimed to have redeemed the south from coruption misgovernment and northern and black control where: redeemed states such as tennessee, north carolina, and texas when: mid 1870s why opposed reconstruction governements which they viewed as corrupt and illegitimate. sought to restore white rule (sometimes with violence) significance - violent tactics and political maneuvering, they succeeded in regaining control of Southern states and dismantling Reconstruction governments.

election of 1876

who: Rutherford b. hayes (Republican from ohio) vs Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat) what: tilden won the popular vote but but 20 electoral votes were disputed in 4 states. This election took place during the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War. Southern states were under federal influence, and many Republicans supported policies that protected the rights of freed Black Americans.

bargain of 1877

who: rutherford b. hayes (republican) vs. Samuel J. Tilden (democratic) what: hayes was declared winner after an intense political dispute. in exchange to give hayes presidency southern democrats demanded several things - withdrawal of federal troops who had been stationed in the south to enforce reconstruction and protect the rights black citizens home rule for the south - southern states would be allowed to govern themselves without northern interference. federal investments - southern democrats hoped for federal investment in internal improvements like railroads and the appointment of at least southern democrat to hayes cabinet when: 1877 significance: ended reconstruction