Date
Name
The Collapse of
Reconstruction
~- th~ ~ast section, you ~eao a~ou~ the ~ffects of
Reconstruction on the South.
’~ this section,/ou wil! learn how Reconstruction ended.
Use thts time line to ~ake no~s on the events t~at le~ to
me eno of Reconstruction.
TERMS AND NAMES
Ka KJux Klan {KKK) Terrorist group of
white Southerners who used violence
to keep blacks from voting
panic of 1873 Financial crisis that
started an economic de~ -essmn
redemption Southern Democrats"
term for their return to power in the
South inthe 187gs
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidentwho
ended Reconstruction in 1877
Samuel J. Tilden Democratic
oresidential candidate in 1878
(;ompromise of 1877 The oolitical
den( that gave the presidency to
Hayes ann ended Reconstruction
home rule Abili~to run state
governments without the interference
of the federal government
landow~ers.
pages 393-395)
In 1872. Congress weakened the power of the
Republican Party in the South. Many white
What was the Ku Klux Klan?
Soutberners had complained about Republican
Many Southerners did not like the notion of abuses of power during Reconstruction. They
greater rights tbr African Anlericans--especiallyclaimed that Republicans kept many white
the rigbt to vote. Some Southern citizens tbrmed Soutberners from reaching public oftlee. As a
terrorist groups that opposed rigbts tbr African result. Congress passed the Amnesty Act in 1872.
Americans. One such group w~ l~mwn as the Ku The act gave many former Confederates the right
Klux Klan. This group used violenee ro keep ~o vote. Southero Democrats began [o regain
blacks from voting.
power in the South.
The Khm and other groups also tried to preWhat did the Ku Klux Klan attempt to do?
ven~ African Americans from Inaldug econonnc
progress. They ki]~ed livestock tl~at belonged m
African Americans, They attacked African
Americans who owned their ov~ land m~d forced
thelrl ~o work for wb~te
ClfA~TE~. 12 RECONSTRUCTION AND ITS EFFECTS
As Republican power in the South ~veakened.
Southern Democrats began ro recapture many state
governments. Democrats ferreted to their return to
Tu~’~o~! 3~9~ 395-397
power as redemption.
In 1876 Republicans decided not to mn Grant
What weakened the Republican
[br
a third term. Instead. they chose Rutherford
Party in the early 1870s?
B. Hayes. The Democrats ran Samuel 1t. Tilden.
Meanwhile. corruption and scandals hurt theTilden won the popular vote However. he fell one
Repubhcan Party nation,a4de. Genera] Ulysses Svote short of the m~mber of electoral votes needed
Grant had been elected president in 1869. Thoughto win.
Grant was not corrupt, many people in his adminis- Congress appointed a commission to settle the
tration were.
election. Democrats and Republicans made a politThe Panic of 1873 furflmr upset the nation.ieal deal called the Compromise of 1877.
Many investors had taken advantage of the expandingDemocrats allowed Hayes to beeo~ae president and
economy after the Civil YVar. Some took on moreRepublicans agreed to withdraw fbderal troops
debt than they could aftbrd. Many could not pa~v theirfrom the South. ending Reconstruction.
debts and went bankrupt. As a result, many banks The 1876 elections also brought an end to
dosed. A nation-wide depresszon soon follo~ved.
Republican influence in Southern state governmerits. After the eleetions Democrats. ealled
What caused the Panic of 1873?
Redeemers controlled every Southern state govemmem. Using the power of home rule or the
ability to run state governments without the interferenee of the federal government the Democrars
made sweeping ehm~ges. They restricted the rights
Judicial and Popular Support
of freed slaves. They ~viped out social programs and
Fades; Democrats "Redeem"
got rid of public sehools.
’~e So~h pa~ 397-401
In the end. Reconstruction had failed to gain
equal rights for African Americans. However: the
What brought Reconstruction
Fourteenth arid Fifteenth Amendments remained
an end?
part of the Constitution. In later years, these
In the mid-1870s, several Supreme Court derisionsan~endments would be used to strengthen African
weakened the power of the Fourteenth and Americans fights.
Fif*eenth Amendments. At the same time. more
and more people in the Nofih wanted to reconcile3. in what two ways did the 1876 elections signal the
with the South. As time passed, the nation focused end of Reconstruction?
on the scandals and the economic problems of the
nation. The country began to lose interest in the
problems of the South.
Skillbuilder
How is President Grant shown in the cartoon?
U,S, GRAN~
"IHOPEISHALL GET
rO TH£ BOTTOM
SOON."
CHAPTER 12 SECTION 3
What is Grant trying to do?