Reconstructing Society

Reconstructing SocietyChapter 12 Section 2

I Conditions in the Postwar SouthA. Physical & Economic Conditions

• Even after all the S states were back in the Union, Rep. did not end the process of reconstruction because they wanted tp make econ changes in S•Most battles fought in Sregion being

destroyed & battle scarred• S planters find that value of their

prop. Had fallen• Ppl who invested in Confed. bonds

wouldn’t collect their $

B. Public Works Programs• Republican gov’ts began public works program to rebuilf & provide

social services• Roads/bridges/canals/orphanages• Dev. 1st public school system in the south

• These programs made state governments bigger and spent more $• Econ probs. Made rebuilding the south dif.• N investors reluctant to invest because the war damaged many of the S assets

• Raised $ by raising taxes (poll/property/sales/luxury)• The econ. Struggle in the south slowed the regions recovery after the

Civil War

II Politics in the Postwar SouthA. Scalawags & Carpetbaggers

• Another dif. Of rebuilding south was that the 3 groups w/in Rep. Party often had conflicting goals• Scalawags & carpetbaggers were

neg. terms given to them by Democrats (pol opponents)

• Scalawags=white southerners who joined the Republican Party• Wanted S to industrialize quickly

and thought Rep. would do it faster than Dem. While other supported Union during the war

•Carpetbaggers= Northerners who moved S after the war•Belief that they carried so

little belongings that they carried it in a bag made of carpet fabric• Some were Freedman’s

Bureau workers/ other were ppl who wanted to buy land/businessmen

B. African American Voters•3rd and largest group was African Americans•Gained voting rights

under 15th Amendment•Many voted for first time during reconstruction•8 out of 10 supported

Republicans•Nearly 90% voted

C Political Differences• Diff. among Scalawags, Carpetbaggers, & African Americanlack of

unity in Republican Party• Scalawags didn’t support civil rights & suffrage for Af Am many

return to Dem. Party• Republican gov. appoint Dem. To office to persuade whites to vote

Republicans• Backfired because it convinced few whites and made blacks feel

betrayed• The new status of Af. AM. Depended on change of attitude in S• Some supported Rep. recon. Because they believed it would

benefit the S (Northern investment would help recovery)• Many, though, still refused to accept their new status and resisted

equal right

II Former Slaves Improve Their LivesA. New-Won Freedoms• First decision as free men & women Af. Amer. Had to make was

whether to remain where they were• Moved to town and cities where they could find jobs

• Also traveled to track down family members who were separated due to slavery• Freedman’s Bereau assisted some in finding fam. Members

• Were able to marry and have children w/o fear of being separated• Assumed traditional roles (Man=breadwinner/Women=stopped working to

raise children)

C. Education• 90% of freed slaves were illiterate

because they were forbidden to learn as slaves• Quickly organized their own schools,

colleges, & universities• Teachers were first mostly northern

white women but Af. American teachers quickly outnumbered white teachers

• Some white southerners were outraged at the idea of African American edu.violence towards learned Af. Amer.

D. Churches & Volunteer Groups• Slaves began their own “praise meetings”

after attending racist white churches• Praise meetings= religious gatherins

that features singing, shouting, & preaching by self taught preachers

• After warfound their own churches usually Baptist or Methodist & hold services similar to earlier praise meetings• First institution that Af. Amer. Fully

controlledpreachers becoming influential in society & community politics

• Created their own volunteer organizations

E. Blacks in Reconstruction• Not only voted but organized their own

conventions to demand civil rights• Held office in local, state, & fed many of

whom were preachers or teachers edu in the N

• Although Af. Amer. Were the maj. Of pop. They were not maj. In state leg. And no S state elected Af. Amer. Gov.• By 1866 may S Rep. gov. repealed the

black codes & made moves to desegregate public trans. But they were not enforced

III Changes in the Southern EconomyA. 40 Acres & a Mule

• Gen. Sherman promises Af. Am. Who join his army 40 acres per fam & a use of army mules• About 40,000 freed persons settle in

coastal Gerogia and S Carolina on abandoned and seized lands from confed.

• Kicked off land until pres. Johnson allows landowners to reclaim their land and evict former slaves• Former slaves claim most of their land

was gained by their work so they deserve part of it

• Some radical rep. agree and come up w/ plan to seize plantations of “chief rebels” and redistribute to former slaves• Failed because most rep.

considered private prop. A basic Amer. Right that could not be violated

• EX of the rejection of this idea is the 1866 Homestead Act• Set aside land for freed blacks and

loyal whites but the land was swampy and unsuitable for farming

B. Restoration of Plantations•Planter class wanted to restore the plantation system which

focused on one cash crop such as cotton• Northern merchants & textile mill owners encouraged planters for

economic reasons•Planters claim to make the system work they needed to have

complete control of laborers• Feared they couldn’t make a profit since they had to pay wages and

can no longer force long workdays

• Planters also faced a labor shortage• Death toll of war reduced # of able

bodied workers• Af. Amer no longer wanted to work the

fields after freed• Left for better work or better

treatment at another plantation• Some freed Af. Amer. Tried to

sustenance farm• Growing just enough food for their

families• To stop this trend, S whites were

determined to percent Af. Amer. From getting land

C. Sharecropping and Tenant Farming

•w/o land freed slaves could not provide for their famsign labor contracts w/ planters• Provided w/ wages, food, & housing in return for working in fields• Freedmen believed whites had too much control and whites often did not

have cash to pay wages sharecropping & Tenant Farming• Sharecropping= landowners divide their land and give a few acres to

each owner w/ seeds and tools• Each worker then gives a art of the harvest to the owner

• Those who could save enough to buy their own tools could rent land for cash in a a system called Tenant Farming• Could potential earn enough to

become an owner of their farm• This rarely happened because

farmers bought their supplies on credit• High prices and a return of the

workers future cropsfarmers not harvesting enough to pay past debt and future supplies

• Rarely had enough to buy their own farms

D. Cotton no longer King• Demand for cotton begins to fall during Civil Wardrop in

prices• S planters tried to make up for loss by growing more cotton

rather than diversifying further drop in prices• New industry of Tabaco manufacturing sprang up which

helped but did not compare to wages in the N• Banks under stress w/ confederate debt in Sfailing banks• Less availability of credit in S than in N

•White frustration w/ poor sit. In the S taken out on Af. Amer.groups that use violence & terror to force Af. Amer. Into giving up their rights