Reconstruction to Jim Crow

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Reconstruction to Jim Crow

• The South in Post Civil War Era

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Main Idea. (What to remember twenty years from
now)

• While the bitter war fought to preserve the union
  was won, the Reconstruction era would leave the
  US with many unresolved divisive issues for
  decades to come.

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Why the War Was Fought

• Economics
• 85 to 90 of all businesses in the South were
  either plantation farms or supportive of
  plantation farming
• Slavery labor made cotton plantation
  economically feasible
• Cultural / Citizenship
• Africans sees as lesser human in the South
• Government
• The United STATES of America.

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Results of the War (1861-65)Devastation in the
South

• 1 out of every 3 white males killed or injured.
• 85 of war fought in the South consequently..
• Whole plantations, farms and cities destroyed
  (70 a total loss)
• 1/3 of all livestock
• 9,000 miles of railroads destroyed
• 2/3 of the souths shipping industry
• With emancipation of slaves, plantation owners
  loss 3 billon in slave labor

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Results of the War (1861-65)Not So Bad for North

• While loosing over 360,000 soldiers.
• Hardly any territory destroyed (Gettysburg parts
  of Maryland)
• War effort produced a boom in heavy industry.
• With victory won the political and moral high
  ground.
• In the best financial position to rebuild the
  south.

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THE BIG QUESTION

• After 4 years of bitter conflict, how would the
  nation bring itself back together or
  RECONSTRUCT itself?

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• Reconstruction The Second Civil War
• A PBS American Experience documentary

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Constitutional Amendments

• The 14th Amendment (1866)
• Declares former slaves to be citizens of the
  United States and guarantees all citizens equal
  protection under the law.
• Called the Due Process clause, it makes state
  governments the guarantors of civil rights.
• Civil Rights freedom of life, liberty or
  property
• Thinking ahead If that was the case, then why
  was the South segregated for over a hundred year
  after reconstruction?

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Act II Congressional Reconstruction

• 15th Amendment
• Guarantees the right to vote cannot be denied
  because of race 1870.
• Even before the 15th amendment was ratified, the
  military had begun to register freedmen under the
  Reconstruction Act of 1867.
• In 1867 and 1868, voters in southern states chose
  delegates to draft new state constitutions
• 80 of the newly registered African Americans
  went to the polls, while most registered white
  voters did not participate. (Why???) As a result,
  one quarter of the more than 1,000 delegates were
  black.

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Then and Now

• Question
• It would seem that combination of the 13th,
  14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution
  would create a racially equal south. Why did it
  not work out that way?

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• The End of Reconstruction
• A PBS American Experience documentary

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The End of Reconstruction

• Answers
• Two factors which contributed to the failure of
  Reconstruction
• The KKK terror and intimidation
• Corruption and ineffective federal governance
• This leads to a New South that looks like the
  Pre Civil War South

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The End of Reconstruction

• Reason 1 The KKK and Intimidation
• Founded in 1866, Klu Klux Klan (KKK) members were
  largely of ex-Confederate officials and
  plantation owners wore robes
• They works masks to symbolically represent the
  ghosts of Confederate soldiers
• Klansmen pledged to defend the social and
  political superiority of whites against what
  they called aggressions of an inferior race

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The End of Reconstruction

• Spreading Terror
• The Klans goal
• intimidate scalawags, repel carpetbaggers, but
  most importantly, terrorize blacks into their
  place
• Tactics included, horsemen in long robes and
  hoods appeared suddenly at night, carrying guns
  and whips.
• They encircled the homes of their victims, and
  planted huge burning crosses in their yards.
• People were harassed, tortured, kidnapped, or
  murdered

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The End of Reconstruction

• Reason 2 Government Ineffectiveness
• Ulysses S. Grant, the great Union General elected
  President in 1868 while a great general, many
  historians consider to be one of the most highly
  ineffective Presidents
• Grants administration, and the Republican
  Congress come to symbolize corruption, greed, and
  poor government

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Supreme Court Limits Scope of Amendments

• In Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court narrowly
  interpreted the 14th amendments and created the
  separate but equal doctrine.
• The Courts decisions allow southern state to
  enact laws which violated the civil African
  Americans .

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S
Imposing Segregation (cont.)

• In the late 1800s, Southern states began imposing
  restrictions that, while not mentioning race,
  were designed to make it difficult or impossible
  for African Americans to vote.

• In 1890, Mississippi began requiring all citizens
  registering to vote to pay a poll tax of 2.
• Mississippi also instituted a literacy test,
  requiring voters to read and understand the state
  constitution.

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Imposing Segregation (cont.)

• Other Southern states adopted similar
  restrictions, and the number of voters declined
  significantly.

• African Americans in the North were often barred
  from public places, but segregation in the South
  was far worse.

• Southern states passed Jim Crow laws.
• These laws established racial segregation in
  virtually all public places.

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Imposing Segregation (cont.)

• In 1883, the Supreme Court set the stage for
  legalized segregation when it overturned the
  Civil Rights Act of 1875.

• In the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the
  Supreme Court set out a new doctrine of separate
  but equal facilities for African Americans.

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The African American Response
Some African American leaders focused on
practical vocational education, while others
pushed for full civil rights and education
opportunities.
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The African American Response (cont.)

• Between 1890 and 1899, there was an average of
  187 lynchings each year.

• In 1892, Ida B. Wells launched a crusade against
  lynching.
• Mary Church Terrell fought a lifelong battle
  against lynching, racism, and sexism.

• She helped found the National Association of
  Colored Women and the National Association for
  the Advancement of Colored People.

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Section 5
The African American Response (cont.)

• She also formed the Women Wage-Earners
  Association.

• Booker T. Washington proposed that African
  Americans concentrate on achieving economic goals
  rather than political ones.
• Bookers Atlanta Compromise speech provoked a
  strong challenge from W.E.B. Du Bois, who saw no
  advantage to giving up civil rights, even
  temporarily.

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Sources

• Pro Quest Historic Study Center
• Reconstruction Study Guide
• Reconstruction The Second Civil War
• A PBS American Experience documentary
• Textbook Chapter 3