End of Reconstruction
Why it ended


Widespread corruption
destroyed faith in the
Republicans.
Amnesty Act of 1872


Gave the right to vote back to
most white southerners – vote
Democrat.
Republican Hayes barely wins
the Presidential election of
1876 by promising
southerners to end
Reconstruction.
Effects



Southerners
angry over the
memories of
harsh treatment
and military rule.
South is solidly
Democrat.
Black
southerners will
lose most
political rights.
Restricted Rights

Southern states pass a number of laws to
restrict voting

Poll Tax

Literacy Test

Grandfather Clause
Poll Tax

Voters must pay a fee each time they vote.


Reasoning – costs $ to hold elections, so people
who vote should pay the bill.
Real Effect – prevented most blacks from voting
since they were mostly poor sharecroppers.
Literacy Test

Required voters to read and explain a section of
the Constitution.



Reasoning – voters must be able to understand the
laws and read the ballot to vote responsibly.
Real Effect – most blacks were uneducated and
couldn't read, therefore were prevented from voting.
However, it also prevented uneducated whites from
voting also.
Grandfather Clause

Exempted a person from the Literacy Test if:



The voters father or grandfather had been eligible
to vote on January 1, 1867
Reasoning – If you were already a voter, you
shouldn't lose that right, especially if it's a family
tradition.
Real Effect – No blacks qualified under this
provision, before 1867 none were citizens nor could
vote. This was to allow uneducated whites to vote,
while continuing to prevent blacks.
New South economy
Agriculture


Cotton is still a major cash crop in the south and
production returns to pre-war levels
Tobacco production increases drastically
because of new machinery (role of technology)
Industry

The south began to build its own textile mills

Alabama tapped it's iron and coal resources


Louisiana and Texas found oil and built
refineries
Other resources:


Copper, granite, marble
Southern forests remained intact, while Northern
forests had been clear cut


Building materials
Furniture
Continued Legacy

A more balanced economy since 1900

Racial conflict continues




Not until 2008 did a Charleston, SC high school
have its first integrated prom!
Many schools still hold segregated proms hosted by
the parents!
Continued to be a political haven for Democrats
until 1960
Civil Rights for blacks aren't real until the Civil
Rights Movement of the 1960's