Reconstruction and Jim Crow

For what types of "offences" could a black man in the South be lynched for in the 1880s and 1890s?

A black man in the South in the 1880s and 11890s could be lynched for something as simple as not showing enough respect to a white (there were new systems of etiquette put in place, in which blacks had to address whites by sir or mister, had to remove their hats, or step off the curb to let whites pass), or having financial competition with whites. To make matters worse, there were sometimes mock trials, merely there to instill fear in other African Americans (since they were always lynched in the end regardless), and often the victims were mutilated and riddled with bullets before the hanging, and those who did this to the victim were never pursued or caught, or especially punished.

Pocket Veto

A pocket veto refers to when a president does not act on a bill submitted by congress, within 10 days of when congress adjourns its session. It essentially voids the bill. In July of 1864, Congress attempted to pass their own stricter Reconstruction Plan, because they disagreed with Lincoln's (known as the Wade-Davis Act). It would require that ex-Confederate men take an oath of past and future loyalty to the Union and to swear that they had never willingly fought against the US. Lincoln allowed the bill to 'die' in a pocket veto.

In what ways did African Americans resist discrimination?

African Americans resisted discrimination in many ways. One way was through emigration to africa, as suggested by Bishop Henry M. Turner of the African Methodist Episcopal church. However, others still felt they could succeed in the US, and stayed behind. Many outspoken African Americans came together under the leadership of WEB Du Bois in 1905 to denounce all discrimination. They met in Niagara falls, where they voted not to accept inferiority, bowing to impression, or apologizing before insult. Although this Niagra Movement only gained about 400 members, and won very few victories, its members were able to join with concerned white citizens after the 1908 Springfield Race Riot, to discuss solutions to the Conflicts of these two groups. Additionally, blacks and whites were able to come together to from the NAACP, in order to abolish segregation and discrimination, to fight racism, and to gain civil rights for African Americans.

How were African Americans treated like second class citizens in the South?

African Americans were treated like second class citizens in the South, because there were restrictive laws on voting, ensuring that they could not be part of politics or ever be in a position of power. Also, Jim Crow laws, which required segregation in the South ensured that the blacks were treated as second-class citizens. These laws required separation in every aspect of the whites' and blacks' lives, and any facility, transportation, or even restroom designed for the blacks, were almost always seen as inferior.

Solid South

After 1872, at which time all but 500 Confederates had been pardoned, a new bloc of Democratic voters known as the Solid South was formed. Democrats of the Solid South were able to block many Reconstruction policies, and were able to reverse many Reconstruction reforms.

Civil Rights

After Johnson enacted the Black Codes, Congress attempted to pass the Civil Rights Act, which was an act that outlawed the black codes. Although President Johnson vetoed it, congress overrode the veto . They then took further actions to pass the fourteenth amendment, in June 1866. This amendment made it clear that everyone born in the US were American citizens, and citizens of the states in which they resided, no matter what. It also protected the newly freed African Americans, who by stating that no US citizen could be denied the rights of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and it stated that each person were required to receive equal protection of the laws.

Fifteenth Amendment:

After Johnson was impeached, Ulysses S. Grant became the next president. Under his rule, in February of 1869, the Fifteenth amendment, stating that no citizen may be denied the right to vote "by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous servitude."

Poll Tax

After Reconstruction in the South was 'completed' it was becoming harder and harder for African Americans to access the rights they deserved. This was especially evident in their voting rights. Many in the south were afraid of the power that African Americans could gain through voting rights, so during the 1890s, many states began to empty tactics that would ensure blacks could not vote. The first of these was the poll tax, which was a special fee that must be paid prior to voting (if they did not have property-another voting requirement). Most African Americans failed to meet these requirements. Additionally, voters were now required to pass literacy tasks, which also greatly limited their abilities to vote.

How did the cities of the South change after the Civil War?

After the civil War, cities of the South began to expand rapidly, especially after seeing that the North, which had been forced to become industrial with the civil war, had become highly industrial and highly profitable. Big industries had began to dominate the North's economy and had produced a new class of wage earners, in addition to expanding city growth, and generating wealth. The south wanted this for themselves, also. By building up southern railroads, the South was able to turn southern villages into towns, and towns into cities, so that trade and businesses could prosper. However, the south never became as industrial and urban as the north was, because the south did not make many finished products. The south produced lumber and pig iron, but these items were finished, and then sold in/from the north. They prospered more from the cotton trade, due to cotton mills that spun and wove cotton into undyed fabric, but the north took this cotton and dyed it, and so they reaped the rewards.

Black Codes

Andrew Johnson enacted the black codes, which were laws that limited the rights of the freedmen. These limits included curfews, land restrictions ( in which people could rent land or homes only in rural areas, so they were forced to stay on plantations). Also, freedmen convicted of vagrancy could be fined,whipped, and sold for a year's labor, and they had to sign up for labor contracts for the year, and if they quit in the middle of a contract, they often lost all of their wages.

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson was vice-president to Lincoln, and took over after Lincoln's death. He was very favorable to the South when he created what is referred to as"Presidential Reconstruction"

Carpetbagger

Carpetbagger is an offensive name given to Northern Republicans who had moved to the South after the war. The name came from a type of cheap suitcase made from carpet scraps. The name implied that the North had quickly rushed into profit, for southern misery.

How did the cotton help improve industry in the south after the Civil War?

Cotton helped to improve industry in the south after the Civil War because, now that they had cotton mills, and spun the cotton into fabric, the value and price of cotton went up. In fact, the value of cotton mill production in South Carolina went from $713,000 in 1860, to almost $3 million in 1880.

Segregation

During this time period, in addition to voting restrictions, many states also instituted legal segregation. This system ensured that African Americans were treated as second-class citizens. This system ensured the separation of whites from the African Americans. This system was required in the South by statutes known as the Jim Crow laws. Segregation first began [surprisingly] in the North, when Massachusetts railroad companies were allowed to separate black and white passengers. However, it was in the South, that the Jim Crow laws truly took off.

Describe the economic and physical state of the South in the years after the Civil War.

Following the Civil War, the south was in utter chaos, due to the excessive damage that had been during the War. War had destroyed 2/3rds of the Southern shipping industry, and almost everything agricultural had been destroyed (farmland, farm buildings, farm machinery, work animals and livestock. Additionally, roads, factories, ports, cities, bridges and canals had all been laid to waste. And the value of southern farm property had decreased drastically, by about 70%. Additionally, thousands of lives were lost. Nearly 260,000 soldiers were lost in total, which was one-fifth of its white male population. And another 38,000 African Americans were also lost. After the war, there were three major groups left in the South: the black Southerners, the plantation owners, and the poor white southerners. Many freed slaves were homeless, jobless, and hungry, and surprisingly, much of the white population was the same way. Many plantation owners had to sell their lands to afford the cost of living, and now white laborers had trouble finding jobs in this new South where their plantations could not run, and they faced competition for other jobs from the men and women whom they had once had control over.

Why do you think the Democrats and the Republicans made the compromise of 1877? Explain.

I think the Democrats and the Republicans made the compromise of 1877 as a sort of compensation. Since the election of 1876 could not produce a clear winner, the Democrats agreed to allow the Republican candidate, Hayes, the win, in exchange for removing any remaining federal troops from the South. I think this compromise, by providing this, in addition to support for rebuilding levees along the Mississippi River and aid with rebuilding Southern railroads (and by removing federal troops, opening the way for Democrats to regain control of southern politics, and officially end reconstruction), the north considered this fair compensation for all they had forced to south to endure.

Fourteenth Amendment

In June of 1866, Congress passed the First Amendment, which was ratified in 1868. It was passed because Congress feared they would not be able to pass a civil rights act, without the instatement of this amendment first, because Johnson was so heavily against rights for black people. This amendment stated that all people born in the US, are US citizens, and can not be treated as anything else. Johnson had very little influence over Congress, because the voting population did not approve his policies, so Congress was easily able to pass this amendment.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is public property and services used by a society. The South, after the civil war, wanted to improve its infrastructure, and in order to do so, basically had to entirely restructure its infrastructure. Some of these changes (improvements really) included rebuilding telegraph lines, railroads, canals, bridges, and roads. In the spirit of improvement, some states used reconstruction funds to expand services to southern citizen, like public education, which was freely available in all southern states, by 1872. Many reconstruction legislations allowed much money to be used for infrastructure, and other money towards infrastructure was funded from private investors, or from unfair taxes placed on individuals. Many southerners, rich and poor, resented this burden. In addition to their pre-existing debt, this project tacked on another $130 million to what the South had yet to pay off. Southerners were even further angered because much of this spending was being lost to corruption. Some of this corruption included: 1) money changing hands frequently through loans and grants. 2)The South Carolina state legislature even granted $1000 to the speaker of the house to pay off his debt on a losing horse race. 3)There was also corruption with one company known as the Credit Mobilier Company, which ea used to build part of the transcontinental railroad, because although some of this money paid for work, much of it was bribes of Union Pacific officers and politicians, in order to get them to look the other way.

What part of the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling was hard to enforce? Why?

It was difficult to enforce the 'equal' part of the 'separate but equal' ruling of the Plessy v. Ferguson case, because they could not physically enforce the law, and so many schools and other facilities that African Americans 'received' remained in inferior conditions to the whites.

Jim Crow

Jim Crow laws were a series of laws which required segregation in the South. By the early 1900s, these laws dominated nearly every aspect of Southern life, and they required that blacks and whites be separated in schools, parks, public buildings, hospitals, and on transportation systems. They were not allowed to use the same restrooms or water fountains, or even sit in the same section of the theater, Any facility designed for the blacks was almost always deemed to be inferior.

Lynching

Lynching was the worst kind of violence against blacks, as it was the murder of an accused person by a mob, without a lawful trial. Between 1882 and 1892, approximately 1200 African Americans were lynched. Sometimes victims were suspected criminals, but often times, their 'offences' were offending a white person, or having too much financial success.

Sharecropping

Many African Americans demanded a fair chance at life, with their freedom, but their was not much political support for the plan which would equally distribute land between ex-slaves and plantation owners. Many Southern plantation owners found that they could not get people to harvest cotton for long hours in the sun because wages were so low, 50 cents, or 6 cents for women, compared to a whopping $1.75-$2.00 on railroads or at other jobs. Additionally, ex-slaves had no place to go, and were willing to labor, to earn some money to get themselves land, and out of debt, so sharecropping arose. Sharecropping was a farming arrangement in which ex-slave families (or poorer whites) would work for plantation owners, and they were promised a portion of the yield (profit) for their labor. However, sharecroppers worked under close supervision and under the threat of harsh punishment. If they missed even a single work day they could be fined and some planters evicted sharecroppers without even paying them. And other plantation owners charged families for housing and other expenses so that sharecroppers often ended up in debt, and since they could not leave before paying their debt sharecroppers were trapped on these plantations.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Mary White Ovington, who was a white social worker who had experience working in black neighborhoods, was concerned about race relations at this time. She helped organize a national conference to be held on Lincoln's birthday in 1909, at which leaders of the Niagara Movement were in attendance. This event marked the founding of The International National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The purpose of this group was to abolish segregation and discrimination, to oppose racism, and to gain the rights of civil rights for to African Americans. By 1914, the NAACP had 50 branches and 6000 members. Its magazine reached more than 30,000 readers. This organization worked mainly through courts. Its first major victory was when the Supreme Court declared grandfather clauses and voting laws as unconstitutional in 1915. As time went on the NAACP would remain essential in the fight for civil rights.

How did moderate Republicans in congress differ from the Radical Republicans?

Moderate Republicans in congress differed from the Radical Republicans, because moderate Republicans were although moderates and radicals both opposed Johnson's Reconstruction, opposed Black Codes, and favored the expansion of the Republican Party in the South, but moderates were less enthusiastic about civil rights than the Radicals.

Why was President Andrew Johnson impeached? Explain.

President Andrew Johnson was impeached after he had fired Secretary of War Edward Stanton, because he did not want this friend of the Radicals presiding over the military. The House of representatives found that this firing of Stanton was unconstitutional, and on February 24, 1868, the House voted 126 to 47 to impeach him. Additionally, this was a half-hearted excuse to impeach him for all the wrong he had done to the African-American people.

Reconstruction

Reconstruction was a government program carried out to repair the damage to the South, and restore southern states to the Union, between 1865 and 1877. It was highly controversial, and had limited effects. There were a few different versions of the Reconstruction plan, the first of which was Lincoln's and the second being that of Johnson, Lincoln's vice-president who took over after his death. Lincoln suggested that this plan offer a pardon (an official forgiveness of a crime) to confederates who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union, and accept the Union's rules on slavery. Additionally, it would deny pardons to any confederates who had killed African American war prisoners, and it would allow each state to create a new state constitution after 10% of voters had sworn their allegiance to the Union. After this, the states could resume elections and full participation in the Union. Many people felt that this was too lenient, but they preferred Johnson's reconstruction Plan even less. Johnson's Plan called for a pardon to southerners who would swear allegiance to the Union, permittance of each state to have a constitutional convention without the 10% rule, required states to void secession, abolish slavery, and repudiate the confederate debt.. After all this states could again hold elections and rejoin the Union. This plan was far more generous to the South.

Scalawag

Scalawag, originally a Scottish word meaning "scrawny cattle" came to refer to Southern Republicans. Many of these 'scalawags' consisted of former Whigs who had opposed secession, small farmers who resented the planter class, or even former planters. Many were very poor.

Explain the relationship between sharecropping and debt.

Sharecropping led to debt, because there were many cruel or dishonest planters, who made sure that the sharecroppers wounded up in debt. Sharecroppers kept track of every expense of their sharecroppers, and of every fine they needed to pay off (perhaps if they missed a day of work). Some planters evicted sharecroppers without even paying them, and other plantation owners charged families for housing and other expenses so that sharecroppers often ended up in debt. Then, they could not leave, because it was required that they first payed off their debt, so they were trapped in this vicious cycle.

Grandfather Clause

Since many of the requirements designed to keep African Americans from voting had also limited poor whites, and since Democrats wanted to keep those voters from supporting Populist candidates, whites saw more protections through special laws known as grandfather clauses. These laws exempted men from certain voting restrictions, if their ancestors before them had been able to vote. Again, this was very restrictive to the African American community.

What factors contributed to the end of Reconstruction?

Some factors which contributed to the end of Reconstruction included corruption, the economy, violence, and the democrats' return to power. To many, reconstruction legislatures and Grant's administration came to represent corruption, greed, and poor government. Additionally, reconstruction costs were paid for mainly through heavy taxation, which put the South further into debt. Then, when federal troops began to withdraw troops from the South, white southerners were more freely able to use violence and intimidation to prevent freedmen from voting, so that they could regain control of state governments. Finally, the Republican-control of the South was ending, and the Democrats were given the opportunity to return to power.

Why did some consider black codes to be a form of virtual slavery?

Some freedmen considered black codes to be a form of virtual slavery, because many of the punishments they faced were the same as those they had experienced during slavery. For example, those convicted of vagrancy could be fined,whipped, and sold for a year's labor, so it was like nothing had really changed, even they were now 'free'.

How were southern whites able to stop African Americans from voting in the South?

Southern whites were able to stop African Americans from voting in the South, by putting in place restrictive voting requirements, such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses, none of which the average African American could meet.

What advantages does tenant farming have over sharecropping?

Tenant farming and sharecropping are very similar, but in tenant farming, you have more control, and you will not be punished (unless you fail to pay the rent). Through tenant farming, one is able to grow their own crops, not just what they are told, and they dictate how much, and how often they worked in the fields.

Tenant farming

Tenant farming was similar to sharecropping, but those who were tenant farmers had a slightly higher social status. If a sharecropper saved enough money, he could try tenant farming. Tenant Farmers did not own the land they farmed, like sharecroppers, however they paid to rent their land so that they could choose which crops to grow, and when and how much they worked. One well-known sharecropping family, the Holtzclaws managed to move from sharecropping to tenant farming. They rented 40 acres of land and they bought a mule, a horse, and a team of oxen.

Compromise of 1877

The Compromise of 1877 was an agreement between the Democrat and Republican Party in 1877. The election of 1866, between Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was difficult to tell who had actually won, based on the disputed electoral votes. There could not be a clear distinction about who had won, and so in exchange for the North to remove federal troops, allowed Hayes to be declared as the next president.

Enforcement Act of 1870

The Enforcement Act of 1870 was created in response to the Ku Klux Klan's heinous actions. It was a series of anti-Klan laws, passed by Congress between 1870 and 1871. It banned using terror, force, or bribery to prevent people from voting due to race. Other laws banned the KKK outright, in addition to adding more military protection for voters/voting places. The government was able to arrest thousands of Klansmen through the army and through the power of the courts. Within a year, the KKK was essentially wiped out, however the federal troops could not be everywhere at once, and with federal troops slowly withdrawing from the South, black voting rights nearly faded.

Freedmen's Bureau

The Freedmen's bureau was passed by congress in March of 1865 to help black southerners adjust to freedom. It lacked strong Congressional support, and the program was discontinued in 1869, but while it was going, it helped provide clothing, medical supplies, and food to both black and white war refugees. It also helped provide education to more than 250,000 African American students.

Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan was created in 1866, by six-former Confederate soldiers from Pulaski Tennessee, as a secret society. Members of this group wore robes and asks, who pretended to be the returned ghosts of dead Confederate soldiers, seeking revenge upon 'enemies of the south'. The Klan spread quickly throughout the South, fueled by rage and fear. Their goal was to "defend the social and political superiority" of whites to an inferior race. Most members were ex-confederate officials and plantation owner who had no say in politics, in addition to some merchants, lawyers, and other professionals. In 1867, at a Nashville Convention, the Klan chose its first overall leader: Nathan Bedford Forrest. Originally a wealthy cotton planter and slave trader, Forrest in the civil war was a brilliant Confederate general, who had captured Fort Pillow, Tennessee in 1864, before proceeding to murder over 300 black union soldiers and a large number of black women and children.

Radical Republicans

The Radical Republicans are a group of congressmen who greatly opposed Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan. Additionally, this group believed that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery and they were determined to create a Reconstruction Plan committed to restructuring of the country for total equality of the black people.

How did The Radical Republicans' Reconstruction plan differ from Lincoln's and Johnson's plans? Explain.

The Radical Republicans' Reconstruction plan differed from Lincoln's and Johnson's plans, because their plan was focused more with the new rights of slavery in mind, whereas Lincoln and Johnson were more forgiving towards what the South had done, and were willing to grant them rather quick access to returning to the Union. However, with the plan that the Radical Republicans designed, it was much more difficult for the South to 'get away' with what they had done to the black population (and ultimately, to the union).

How did the Fifteenth Amendment influence the composition of southern state legislatures?

The fifteenth amendment influenced the composition of southern state legislatures, because after this amendment was passed, not only could the black people vote, and elect who they felt was appropriate, they could also run for office, and more than 600 African Americans were elected to state legislatures. Despite this, they remained in the minority.

How did freed African-Americans make quick steps to become educated in new South?

The freed African Americans made quick steps to become educated in the South, by taking advantage of education programs funded by volunteers. After the war, one woman, Charlotte Forten, a wealthy black women taught many, both young and old. Additionally, many white teachers, often young women, also went south to start schools, and some freed people taught themselves. Additionally, between 1865 and 1870, 30 African-American colleges were funded.

Why did Freedmen believe that they had a right to the plantation lands of the South?

The freed men believed that they had a right to the plantation lands of the South, because they have been sold and purchased over and over again, and the members of their families also, so between them and their families, there had been more than enough money exchanged, so that a 'payment' would have been made, for the land, thus they should get the right to the land.

What were the goals of the Ku Klux Klan? Describe some of their actions in the South.

The goals of the Ku Klux Klan were to "defend the social and political superiority" of whites to 'aggressions of an inferior race.' With the furtherance of Reconstruction in the South, so did the violence of the Klan. Some Klansmen in Arkansas killed over 300 Republicans in 1868 alone. That same year, they murdered over a thousand in Louisiana. Additionally, there were often instances of horsemen in long robes ad hoods appearing at night with guns and whips, who circled homes of their victims, pacing large burning crosses in their yards, before proceeding to drag, harass, torture, kidnap, and/or murder their victims. And anyone who did not share Klan goals, such as carpetbaggers and scalawags, could become victims.

How did the US government respond to the violence of the Ku Klux Klan?

The government responded to the violence of the Ku Klux Klan by passing Anti-Klan laws such as the Enforcement Act of 1870, which banned the use of terror, force, or bribery to prevent voting based on race.

Plessy v. Ferguson

This was a court case in which African American Homer Plessy argued that his right to "equal protection of the laws" was violated by a Louisiana law which separated seating for blacks and whites on the railroad. However, the court maintained a "separate but equal" doctrine, explaining that as long as the things separated between blacks and whites were equal, it was lawful. Additionally, the court argued that the Fourteenth Amendment was not intended to provide social equality for the blacks, but merely political and civil equality.

Impeach

To impeach a president, is to remove a president from power. President Johnson was the first impeached US president. President Johnson had fired Secretary of War Edward Stanton, because he did not want this friend of the Radicals presiding over the military. The House of representatives found that this firing of Stanton was unconstitutional, and on February 24, 1868, the House voted 126 to 47 to impeach him. He did technically serve the rest of his term, but he had no real power, and was not reelected the next time.

Ulysses S Grant

Ulysses S. Grant, president of the US at the time of the Ku Klux Klan's rise to power, helped as much as he could, to put it down. Congress passed anti-Klan laws and the Enforcement Act of 1870 at his request.