CHANGE IN THE SOUTH
Chapter 17, Section 4
Support for Reconstruction
fell in the early 1870s.
Northerners began to lose interest and wanted
the South to take care of its own problems.
Radical leaders lost elections or retired.
Reconstruction
Corruption in President Grant’s administration
and in Reconstruction governments spread.
This caused some Republicans to leave the party.
A group called the Liberal Republicans wanted
to reconcile, or come together again, with
Southern whites.
The Liberal Republicans helped pass the
Amnesty Act.
This act pardoned most former Confederates.
It allowed nearly all white Southerners to vote
and hold office again.
Many of these people supported the Democratic
Party.
Democrats soon gained control of state
governments in the South. #shift #OhNo!
In 1873 poor railroad investments caused a
major bank to close.
A panic broke out.
This forced smaller banks to close.
It also caused a drastic drop in the stock market.
Thousands of businesses shut down, and many
workers lost their jobs.
Republicans were blamed for the economic
depression.
In 1874 Democrats gained seats in the Senate
and won control of the House.
This weakened support in Congress for
Reconstruction and African American rights.
Hayes (GOP) vs. Tilden (Dem) In the 1876
presidential election Samuel Tilden (Dem),
appeared to be the winner...but the results were
disputed.
A committee was set up to review the results.
They voted to give Rutherford B. Hayes (GOP)
the victory.
Democrats threatened to fight the decision.
Republican and Southern Democratic
leaders met in secret.
Hayes remained the winner, but an
agreement was made.
Compromise of 1877:
The Democrats promised to maintain African
American rights.
The Republicans promised to give help to the
South and remove all troops from Southern
states. #OhNo
Reconstruction Ends
After taking office, Hayes made it clear that the
federal government would not interfere with
Southern society.
Reconstruction had come to an end. #OhNo
Redeemers
When Reconstruction ended, new Democratic
leaders took charge in the South.
These Democrats called themselves
“Redeemers.”
They lowered taxes and government spending.
They also cut many social services that were
started during Reconstruction.
The New South worked to develop strong
industry.
The area had coal, iron, tobacco, cotton, and
lumber resources as well as a cheap and
reliable workforce.
Development of the railroad also helped
industry in the South.
The South made many advances in industry but
did not develop an industrial economy as strong
as the North’s.
Its economy still relied on agriculture.
The New South hoped to rely on small farms
that raised a variety of crops instead of on large
plantations that grew only cotton.
But sharecropping and tenant farming
increased, and these farmers grew cash crops.
These are crops that can be sold for money.
Cotton was the main cash crop.
Too much cotton caused prices to fall.
Sharecropping and relying on one crop hurt
Southern agriculture. #again
#stupid #learnfrommistakes
When Reconstruction ended, African
Americans’ rights suffered.
African Americans had the right to vote, but
state governments found ways around the
Fifteenth Amendment.
Many Southern states created a poll tax.
This is a fee people had to pay to vote.
Many African Americans and poor whites could
not afford the tax, so they could not vote.
Some states made voters take literacy tests.
In these tests, they had to read and explain parts
of constitutions.
Many African Americans could not pass the
tests.
Some whites could not pass the tests but were
allowed to vote because of grandfather clauses.
These laws allowed people to vote if their fathers
or grandfathers had voted before
Reconstruction. Laws like these and the threat
of violence caused fewer African Americans to
vote. #kkk
Jim Crow Laws
Southern states also passed Jim Crow laws.
These laws required races to be separated in
almost every public place.
Plessy v. Ferguson
the Supreme Court ruled that
segregation, or separation of
the races, was legal as long as
African Americans had access
to public places that were
equal to those of whites.
In reality, public areas were
separate but in no way equal.
Increase in Violence
Violence against African Americans increased.
Lynching was one form of violence used.
In a lynching, an angry mob killed a person by
hanging.
Political Changes
after Reconstruction
Ended
Economic Changes
after Reconstruction
Ended
Social Changes
after Reconstruction
Ended
1. Democrats regained 1. Advances in
power
industry were made,
but the economy still
relied heavily on
agriculture.
1. African Americans’
rights suffered.
Violence against
African Americans
increased.
2. the “Redeemers”
lowered taxes, reduced
government spending,
and cut many social
services that were
started during
Reconstruction
2. Whites found ways
to get around the 15th
Amendment through
poll taxes and literacy
tests.
2. Sharecropping and
reliance on one cash
crop kept Southern
agriculture from
advancing
3. Races were
separated in public
places, and separate
areas were not equal.