12.2 Reconstructing Society

How did laws against segregation work?

African American legislators proposed bills to desegregate public transportation. Texas passed a law prohibiting railroads from making distinctions between groups of passengers, and other states followed. However, many anti segregation laws were not enforced. State orphanages, for example, had separate facilities for white and black children. African Americans were more focused on building up the black community than integration. They focused on making their own communities and organizations.

What was tenant farming?

Land is rented for cash from planters, but the worker gets to keep all their harvest. People hoped to eventually move up the economic ladder and become outright owners of their farms. But arrangements rarely worked this way. Most tenant farmers brought their supplies on credit, often from merchants who charged them inflated prices. Farmers rarely harvested enough crops to pay for both past debts and future supplies. In the end, very few farmers saved enough cash to buy land.

What was sharecropping?

Landowners divided their land and gave each worker a few acres, along with seed and tools. At harvest time, each worker gave a share of his crop, usually half, to the landowner. This share paid the owner back and ended the arrangement until it was renewed the following year.

What happened to Southern banks?

Most of the banks in the South had Confederate debts - loans made to the confederate government. The banks awaited repayment that in most cases would never come. Falling cotton prices and mounting planters' debt caused many banks to fail.

What were carpetbaggers?

Northerners who moved to the South after the war. The name referred to the belief that Northerners arrived with so few belongings that everything could fit in a carpetbag, a small piece of luggage made of carpeting. Most white Southerners believed that they wanted to exploit the South's postwar turmoil for their own profit. But carpetbaggers has mixed motives. Some were Freedmen's Bureau agents, teachers, and ministers who felt a moral duty to help former slaves. Others wanted to buy land or hoped to start new industries legitimately. Others were the truly dishonest businesspeople whom the Southerners scorned.

Why did the plantation system fail?

Planters claimed that to make the plantation system work, they needed to have almost complete control over their laborers. Before the abolition of slavery, young and old, men and women, were forced to work in fields for extremely long hours. Now planters feared they might not be able to make a profit since they had to pay their laborers and could not force workers to work long hours. In addition, many former slaveholders deeply resented having to negotiate for the services of former slaves. Planters also faced labor shortage due to the death toll of the war and the refusal for African Americans to work in the fields, feeling like it was too much like slavery

How were black families reunified?

Slavery had split many of families apart, as spouses lived on different plantations and children were separated from their parents. During Reconstruction, many freed African Americans took advantage of their new mobility to search for loved ones. The freedmen's bureau worked to reunite families and posted "information wanted" notices about missing relatives. Many people never found their family. However, freed persons could now marry legally and raise children without the fear that someone would sell them. Establishing a family was an important part of establishing an identity as now free people.

What was the attitude of White Southerners?

Some whites supported the Republicans during Reconstruction and thought that the end of slavery would ultimately benefit the South. In addition, some farmers and merchants thought that the investment by Northerners would help the South recover from the war. However, many still refused to accept black's new status and resisted the idea of equal rights. They also had to accept defeat and the day-to-day involvement of Northerners in their lives. It was hard to adjust. Not all white Southerners were willing to remain in the South. Several thousand planters emigrated to Europe, Mexico, and Brazil after the war

What caused land-reform proposals to fail?

There was differing views on how it should be handled. Radical Republicans agreed with African Americans saying they deserved part of the planters' land, while many Republicans considered it wrong to seize citizens' private property. Congress, as a result, passed weak legislation. The Homestead act also failed.

How were African Americans as voters?

They made up the largest group of Southern Republicans. Nine of ten voters supported the Republican party. Although most had little experience with politics and inaudability to read and write, they were eager to vote. Around 90% of eligible African Americans to vote voted.

How did African Americans exercise their newfound freedom?

Traveling. At first, they were cautious on testing the limits of their freedom. Many were without land, jobs, tools, money and had few skills without farming. How would they live? During slavery, they were forbidden to travel without a pass and white planters patrolled the roads. Now free, they went where they wanted. The majority who moved, however, were not just testing their freedom. Thousands were eager to leave plantations that they associated with oppression and moved to cities where they could find jobs. African American population of Southern cities doubled.

What were scalawags?

White southerners who joined the republican party. Some scalawags hoped to gain political offices with the help of the African-American vote and then use those offices to enrich themselves. Southern Democrats pointed to these individuals as representative of all white Southern Republicans. Some so-called scalawags honestly thought that a Republican government offered the best chances for the South to rebuild and industrialize. The majority were small farmers who wanted to improve their economic and political position and to prevent the former wealthy planters from regaining power

What were physical and economic conditions like in the South/What were the main postwar problems that Reconstruction governments in the South had to solve?

Because most of the war was fought on Southern soil, the region was battle-scarred. Around $100m property in Georgia and South Carolina was destroyed. Charred buildings, twisted railroad tracks, demolished bridges, neglected roads, and abandoned farms had to be dealt with. Property value plummeted. Investors in Confederate bonds had little hope of recovering their money. Many small farms were ruined. Southerners of every class were poorer. The region's population was devastated. More than 1/5 of the adult white men in the Confederacy died. Many who returned were maimed for life. Tens of thousands of Southern African Americans also died either fighting for the UNion or working in labor camps.

What was education like for African Americans?

Because they were not allowed to read and write, around 80% of freed Americans over 20 were illiterate. During Reconstruction, freed people of all ages sought education. African Americans established educational institutions with the help of public and private organizations including Freedmen's Bureau and churches. Initially, most teachers in black schools were Northern whites, with half being women, however as time passed black teachers outnumbered whites in these schools. Some white Southerners were outraged by the idea of educated blacks and responded violently. But African Americans still persisted and wanted to learn.

Why was sharecropping and tenant farming used?

Before, former slaves signed labor contracts with planters. In exchange for wages, housing, and food, freedmen worked in the fields. The arrangement did not satisfy either planters or freedmen. Freedmen thought that the wages were too low and white employers had too much control over them. Planters also lacked sufficient cash to pay workers. This led to sharecropping and tenant farming being used instead.

What was the Homestead Act?

Congress either rejected or passed weak legislation when people were fighting over African American's right to former landowner land they settled in after the war. An example was the Homestead Act. Although it set aside 44m acres of land for freed blacks and loyal whites, the land was swampy and unsuitable for farming. Furthermore, few homesteaders had the resources to farm successfully.

What happened to cotton?

Cotton was no longer king. Demand for Southern cotton decreased as other countries increased their cotton production. Prices plummeted after the war. Instead of diversifying - or varying - their crops, southern planters tried to make up for the lower prices by growing more cotton, which drove prices down even further.

What factors contributed to the stagnation of the Southern economy?

Cotton was no longer king. Prices plummeted after the war. Instead of diversifying - or varying - their crops, southern planters tried to make up for the lower prices by growing more cotton, which drove prices down even further. Some attempts were made to diversify the region's economy. Textile mills sprang up and tobacco product manufacuring took hold. Diversification helped raise the average wage in the South, though it was still much lower than the average northerner worker. Banks also failed because they struggled with debt after the war.

How did African Americans make churches and volunteer groups?

During slavery, slaves often visited churches and camp meetings with their owners. Resenting the preachers who urged them to obey their masters, the slaves held their own religious gatherings called "praise meetings" After the war many African Americans founded their own churches and held services similar to these praise meetings. Because churches were the principle institutions that African Americans fully controlled, African American ministers emerged as influential community leaders. They also formed their own volunteer organizations. They established their own fire companies, trade associations, etc. These groups fostered independence and provided financial and emotional support for their members while offering African Americans opportunity to gain leadership skills that they were denied in slavery.

What political differences were there in the Republican party?

Few scalawags shared the commitment to civil rights and suffrage for African Americans. Over time, many returned to the Democratic party. Some Republican governors began to appoint white Democrats to office in an attempt to persuade more white voters to vote Republican. This backfired, as it convinced very few white Democrats to change parties and made blacks feel betrayed.

How did African Americans involve themselves in politics?

For the first time, African Americans held office in local, state, and federal government. At first, most were freeborn. Many of these officeholders were ministers or teachers who had been educated in the North. Former slaves began playing an increasing role in political organizations and were winning a greater number of offices. However they remained in the minority. Only South Carolina had a black majority in the state legislature. No Southern state elected an African American governor. Only a few African Americans were elected to be in Congress. Among these was Hiram Revels, the first African American Senator.

What was the war over land?

General Sherman during the civil war promised the freed slaves who followed his army 40 acres per family and the use of army mules. Freed persons settled on 400k abandoned or forfeited acres. They farmed until President Johnson ordered that the original landowners be allowed to reclaim their land and evict the former slaves. Many African Americans asserted that they deserved a part of the planter's land. Some republicans agreed. Thaddeus Stevens called for the government to confiscate plantations and redistribute part of the land to former slaves. However, many Republicans considered it wrong to seize citizens' private property. As a result, Congress either rejected or passed weak legislation. An example was the Homestead Act. Although it set aside 44m acres of land for freed blacks and loyal whites, the land was swampy and unsuitable for farming. Furthermore, few homesteaders had the resources to farm successfully.