UNIT 1 Reconstruction (1863-1876) U.S. History II HIS-112.

UNIT 1Reconstruction

(1863-1876)

U.S. History IIHIS-112

Reconstruction During the War

Reconstruction efforts began as early as 1863There were four basic questions that the

Union had to face with the end of the war: Who should have control over reorganizing the south?

The President or Congress? How much freedom should the former slaves receive? Many wanted to end the power hold the planter class

had on the south but how should they be dealt with? Should they reestablish the old system or make it

another revolution?


The main split on how the reconstruction should proceed was between the president and Congress Lincoln personally favored leniency

He feared the South would continue resistance otherwise He also wanted a speedy recovery with minimum changes to

the South Congress believed that the South deserved more of a

punishment The Radical Republicans believed that the South lost their

rights when they rebelled and should be treaty like a foreign territory

They also wanted a slower reconstruction and demanded protection for freedmen


In December 1863, Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction This granted amnesty to all those who took an oath of

allegiance to the Union It also allowed for new governments to be set up as

long as 10% of the population took the oath (Ten Percent Plan)

Three states accepted the plan in 1864: Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas

Congress resented Lincoln’s effort to control the reconstruction process They wanted stricter conditions for readmittance


Why was Congress so upset? Radical Republicans wanted black suffrage to be a

condition for readmission back to the Union Also, most members of Congress did not trust the

white Southerners to participate in the new government

Both sides argued over who had the true power to readmit states back into the Union Lincoln believed the president had the power since it

was individuals, not states, who seceded Congress believed that the states had forfeited their

rights and it should retain the power to readmit them


In July 1864, Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill This required 50% of the voters in a state to take the oath

of loyalty and swear that they never supported the Confederate government before the restoration process could begin

Once that occurred, then constitutional conventions would be set up to create new state governments

Lincoln refused to sign it into law before Congress’ session ended (pocket veto) This forced Radical Republicans to issue the “Wade-Davis

Manifesto” attacking Lincoln’s policies and accusing him of trying to buy southern votes with his policies


While the two sides were at odds over how to proceed with reconstruction, they were successful in passing through two major pieces of legislation

On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment This officially brought an end to slavery It was ratified on December 6, 1865

On March 3, 1865, Congress passed the Freedman’s Bureau Bill This created the Freedman’s Bureau to help freed ex-

slaves in the South

Andrew Johnson (April 15, 1865-

March 4, 1869)

Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction

On April 15, 1865, Lincoln died from the assassination attempt the day before at Ford’s Theater Soon after, Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn

in as the 17th U.S. PresidentJohnson had been a Senator from Tennessee

but remained loyal to the Union This allowed him to participate in politics in

Washington during the course of the Civil War He was not a strong supporter of antislavery policy

and was a white supremacist but was willing to endorse Lincoln’s emancipation policy


Lincoln had chosen Johnson as his running mate in 1864 in order to increase his chances at reelection Not only was Johnson a Democrat but he was a southern

Unionist

Republicans initially support Johnson as he was seen as enemy of planter class that had dominated southern politics for so long Many in Congress were hoping that he would push

through more harsher policies towards the south than Lincoln had

However, this support was not going to last long


Johnson quickly moved to a lenient policy based on the claim the South had never left the Union

First proclamation offered amnesty to most Confederates who would swear an oath of allegiance to the Constitution and the Union Those who had been leaders or had property worth more

than $20,000 would have to apply for individual pardons The latter part was designed to prevent the planter class

from dominating politics However, Johnson began issuing thousands of pardons,

which let many Confederates and planters to return to the newly created state governments


Second proclamation accepted the reconstructed government of North Carolina and prescribed steps by which others could reestablish state governments President would appoint a provisional governor who

would call a state convention composed of those loyal to the U.S. Only those who took the Oath of Allegiance were allowed

to participate Convention would ratify the 13th Amendment, void

secession, repudiate Confederate debts, and elect new state officials and members of Congress


Once the new governments agreed to those terms, Johnson believed that reconstruction was finished

All southern states had completed Johnson’s plan and sent members to Congress by December 1865 Unfortunately many had been leaders in the Confederacy

and some were not even pardoned yet Congress refused to seat them even after Johnson granted

them amnesty

No state convention provided for black suffrage or protection for their civil rights


Conventions then went on to pass “Black Codes” Freedmen were subject to new laws and regulations

Some of these codes included: Forced apprenticeship of minors who could be abused by

their “masters” Contracts for labor; if a black violated the contract by

leaving, he could be hunted down and returned to work for free

If a black could not pay a fine, he would be auctioned off for labor

Blacks could not own firearms It was illegal to sell alcohol to blacks and for blacks to

purchase alcohol


To many in Congress, these codes looked like a new version of slavery with a different name

Johnson supported the codes He wanted to give the white southerners free reign on

how to deal with freedmen in the southIn 1865, a number of these Confederate

leaders were elected to Congress This was due to the thousands of presidential pardons

granted by Johnson However, Congress refused to seat them Johnson then granted amnesty to them so they could

serve Congress still refused

Lyman Trumball Co-author of the

Thirteenth Amendment

Congress Challenges Johnson’s Authority

As Johnson’s plan was not popular in Congress, many realized that they would have to have an alternative plan to promote for the 1866 elections

Since Johnson and the Democrats believed that Reconstruction was over, there was no chance for a conservative coalition Instead, the development of a plan would have to

come down to the moderate and radical Republicans


The moderates in Congress wanted a reconstruction that would put the power into the hands of the federal government, not the states This way, it could guarantee certain rights to the

freedmen

At first, Congress was willing to continue with Johnson’s plan but with two key modifications

In February 1866, Congress extended the Freedman’s Bureau Bill Johnson vetoed the bill This was eventually overridden by Congress


In March 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act It was designed to counteract the Black Codes While it did not guarantee voting rights, freedmen

would have “full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persona and property as is enjoyed by white citizens.”

Johnson vetoed it However, on April 9th, Congress had the necessary

votes to override the president’s veto


Many in Congress were outraged by Johnson’s vetoes This was especially true of the moderates who had

hoped Johnson would do something proactive against the radical policies of the new southern governments

The Republicans were fearful that their ideas would never see light of day Many believed that this legislation would not be

enforced in the south Others were afraid that these laws would be deemed

unconstitutional by the courts Congress decided it was time for another

constitutional amendment


On June 13, 1866, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed by Congress This was designed to ensure equal rights to all citizens

regardless of color The amendment included:

Citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. (with the exception of American Indians living on reservations)

Creating new civil rights guaranteeing due process and equal protection under the law, all of which could be protected by federal courts

Penalizing states that did not give the vote to freedmen by reducing their representation in Congress

It guaranteed the Federal war debt would be paid and repudiated the Confederate debt


Johnson did not support the amendment He believed that it put too much power into the hands

of the federal government at the states’ expense He then used all of his influence to prevent the

amendment from being ratified This was effective as 12 southern and border states

refused to ratify the amendment It was not ratified until 1868 when Congress made

ratification a requirement for readmission into the Union

Election of 1866

Election of 1866

As Johnson had clearly lost the support of the Republicans in Congress, he attempted to influence the 1866 Congressional election

This began with the meeting of the National Union Convention in August 1866 The hope was to bring together moderate/conservative

Republicans and Democrats to break the hold the radicals had on Congress

Over 7,000 politicians attended the convention The idea was to continue with Johnson’s plan of

allowing the southern states back into the Union without any qualifications

Election of 1866

Johnson then went on a speaking tour around the country to garner support for his policies He was well known as an effective stump speaker

However, this “swing around the circle” tour did more harm than good During his campaigning, he used virtually the same speech This led many to not only predict what he was going to say

but heckle him as well This led to a number of vulgar altercations and even violence Some said he was drunk a number of times as well

Republican newspapers said that he was “a vulgar, drunken demagogue who was disgracing the presidency”

Election of 1866

When the elections finally took place, the northern states went against Johnson’s policies

Republicans won by a huge majority In the House of Representatives, the Republicans

gained 37 seats, bringing the total to 173 (2/3 majority) In the Senate, they also got a two-thirds majority

This meant that the Republicans now had the numbers necessary to override any of Johnson’s vetoes This gave strength to the radicals in Congress to push

through its own reconstruction policies

Thaddeus Stevens R-Pennsylvania

Radical Reconstruction

With their landslide win in the 1866 Congressional elections, the Republicans saw this as approval for their plan

However, they realized that the governments set up by Johnson in the south would be unwilling to make any drastic changes set up the way they were The only action Congress could take was to reorganize

all of the southern states This led to a series of Reconstruction Acts between

1867 and 1868 that became known as the Radical Reconstruction


The First Reconstruction Act passed on March 2, 1867 This reorganized the south into five military districts It defined a new process for readmission whereby

qualified voters—including blacks but excluding unreconstructed rebels—would elect delegates to state constitutional conventions that would write new constitutions guaranteeing black suffrage

After new voters of the states had ratified these constitutions, elections would be held to choose governors and state legislatures

When a state ratified the Fourteenth Amendment, its representatives to Congress would be accepted, completing readmission to the Union


The was followed up with the second Reconstruction Act on March 23rd that put military commanders in charge of supervising elections

There was a split in Congress over duration of federal protection Radicals recognize need for long period of protection However, most wished that the military occupation

would be shortMany in Congress also ran under the

assumption that black suffrage was sufficient to empower freedmen to protect themselves


Johnson responded to this by: Vetoing the Reconstruction acts Removing cabinet officers and others sympathetic to

Congress Hindering the work of the Freedmen’s Bureau agents Replacing radical generals with conservative Democrats Limiting the activities of military commanders in the South

Congress then responded by restricting presidential powers on matters of Reconstruction

The key one was the Tenure of Office Act This required Senate approval for the dismissal of all

cabinet members and officials that required appointment by the Senate

The Impeachment Crisis


With Johnson’s actions, there was a call for his impeachment

It was not successful until 1867 after Johnson tried to fire Secretary of War Stanton The Republicans believed that he had violated the

Tenure of Office Act Johnson argued that it did not apply to Stanton

because he had not appointed him, Lincoln had

On February 24, 1868, the House overwhelmingly voted for his impeachment 126-47


The trial before the Senate began on March 13, 1868 The prosecution argued that Johnson abused his powers

to prevent the Congressional Reconstruction plan from its fruition

The defense argued that according to the Constitution, he could only be tried for “high crimes and misdemeanors” and that violation of the Tenure of Office Act was not an indictable offense

The trial lasted for three months Seven Republicans refused to vote “guilty” thus

bringing the total vote to 35-17 in favor of conviction As 2/3 vote was required for impeachment, this meant

he was acquitted by one vote


Radical Republicans were seen as subversive of Constitution and lost public support However, this meant that the Reconstruction

continued the way the majority of Congress wanted it to

Also, during the trial, Johnson pledged to enforce the Reconstruction Acts which Congress could now use to guarantee they would be implemented without resistance from the president

Thomas Nast’s interpretation of the failure to impeach Johnson

Reconstructing Southern Society

There were three contending interests in South: Southern whites who sought to keep newly freed

blacks inferior Northern whites who sought to make money or to

"civilize" the region Blacks who sought equality

The struggle between these three groups would lead to chaos and violence Only federal intervention would prevent this but that

only lasted so long

Reorganizing Land and Labor

The only way for recovery to truly begin in the South was to find an economically feasible alternative to the slave labor system

For many of the ex-slaves, they had a dream of “forty acres and a mule”

The Freedmen’s Bureau took control of abandoned or confiscated lands in the South They gave 40-acre grants to freedmen for three years,

after which they could purchase the land at a low price

Johnson, in turn, pardoned the owners of these lands


The failure of Congress to provide land for the freedmen resulted in a new economic dependency on their former masters though there were major changes in southern agriculture

A land intensive system replaced the labor intensity of slavery Land ownership was consolidated into huge holdings These farms concentrated on one cash crop, usually

cotton, and were tied into the international market A new credit system was created which forced most

farmers, black and white, into dependence on local merchants


At first, the freedmen signed work contracts with white landowners and worked in gangs as if slavery still existed Freedmen wanted more independence They resented having their entire families required to

work This was the major impetus for the change from the

contract system to tenancy and sharecroppingContract work was replaced with sharecropping

A family would independently farm a small parcel of land and pay usually ½ share of the crop in rent

This meant that they were vulnerable to price changes in cotton


Almost all sharecroppers were forced to live in debt until the harvests came in Debt peonage replaced slavery as a way to maintain a

cheap labor force The sharecroppers were forced to pay high prices for

goods on credit that had to be paid back at the time of the harvest

By that point, they had no net profit at the end of the year

Many southerners tried to tie the freedmen to their land for extended periods of time This was done through legal and illegal means

Republican Rule in the South


With President Johnson neutralized, national Republican leaders could prevail

In 1867, the Southern Republican party was organized and included: Businesspeople want government aid White farmers want protection from creditors Blacks form majority of party, want social and political

equality

As many white southerners refused to vote, the local Republicans were overwhelmingly elected to state constitutional conventions in the fall of 1867


Diverse coalitions made up the new governments elected under congressional Reconstruction, though, except for the lower house of South Carolina, they were predominantly white Old Whig elite of bankers, industrialists and others

interested more in economic growth and sectional reconciliation than in radical social reforms

Northern Republican capitalists who saw the South as an opportunity for investment and Union veterans, missionaries and teachers inspired to help the freedmen

Moderate African Americans, many of whom were mulattos and owned land, and the majority of whom were literate


Primary accomplishment of Republican rule in the South was to eliminate undemocratic features from prewar state constitutions All states provided universal male suffrage and

loosened requirements for holding office Underrepresented counties got more legislative seats Automatic imprisonment for debt was ended and laws

were enacted to relieve poverty and care for the disabled

Many southern states passed the first divorce laws and provisions granting property rights to married women and lists of crimes punishable by death were shortened


Republican governments financially and physically reconstructed the South by overhauling the tax system and approving generous railroad and other capital investment bonds Providing more services, such as education, resulted

in higher taxes and increased debts Corruption existed in these governments but not

worse than in the North at the time


The Republican coalition lasted longer in the deep South but did not survive in general In Virginia Republicans ruled hardly at all In South Carolina, African American leaders’

unwillingness to use their power to help black laborers, contributed to their loss of political control

Class divisions in Louisiana helped weaken the Republican regime

In Alabama, a flood of northern capital created a new industrial and merchant class to rival the old planter aristocracy

1868 Election

The 1868 Election

The Republican Party nominated General Ulysses S. Grant for the 1868 election He was an extremely popular war hero in the north At the Republican National Convention, he ran

unopposed and unanimously won the nomination House Speaker Schuyler Colfax was chosen as his

running mateThe Democratic party nomination did not go

as smoothly After 22 ballots, former governor of New York, Horatio

Seymour, was nominated Johnson only received a few votes

The 1868 Election

Grant did not run on the campaign trail nor did he make any promises “Let us have peace,” a line from his acceptance speech,

became the theme for the RepublicansRadical Republicans attacked Seymour

vehemently They branded him as a traitor and said that if he was

elected there would be a new civil war They even went so far as to say that mental illness ran

in his familyThe press also denounced him

The New York Post called him “…feeble, insincere, timid, inept, too weak to be enterprising”

The 1868 Election

Seymour did not react to the insults thrown at him Instead, he made a few campaign speeches outlining

his policy of a conservative, limited government and opposition to the Reconstruction plan of Congress

Some historians believe that Seymour might have been an excellent president as he had the intellect and temperament to bring the country together

The popular vote was close with Grant winning 3 million to 2.7 million However, in the Electoral College, Grant won by a

landslide 214-80

1868 Election Results

Retreat from Reconstruction

The period from 1868 to 1876 was plagued with problems that forced the government to turn its attention away from southern Reconstruction

However, there still remained one major piece of legislation for Congress to push through in 1869: the Fifteenth Amendment This gave blacks the right to vote It angered many feminists who had been trying to get

the right to vote It was ratified in 1870

The Money Question

The big question during Grant’s administration was what to do with all of the paper money (“greenbacks”) that had been circulating since the war

In 1862, Lincoln had paper money issued to help pay the rising costs of the war This paper money did not have the backing of

precious metals which meant that it lost value very quickly

Starting in 1866, the U.S. government was supposed to retire the “greenbacks”

The Money Question

However, in 1868 a small business recession started due to the contraction of the currency

Two sides began to emerge on the issue: Those who supported the continuing use of paper

money were known as “greenbackers” and who believed that more money should be issued to stimulate the economy

On the other hand were those who preferred specie, or hard currency in the form of silver and gold

Grant decided to take a middle of the road approach to the argument

The Money Question

One of Grant’s first pieces of legislation in 1869 was to extend the life of the greenback This way the economy would be stimulated by their

circulation much to the happiness of the greenbackers They would only remain in circulation until they equaled in

value to their worth in gold which humored the specie supporters

Congress also exchanged the old war bonds for new ones that would not be payable for at least ten years This was designed to protect the public credit

However, these plans were not going to last long

Nast’s cartoon of Columbia stopping the White Men’s League (c. 1871)

Conservative Response to Reconstruction

As the new Republican governments did not have a stable base of support, white supremacists began to dominate Southern government

They exploited a number of aspects of the Reconstruction polices in order to regain control

The first of these was the “Negro Rule” Namely they played off the fear that the “ignorant blacks”

would be running the government However, this was not the case as blacks did not make up a

majority of voters at the time


The conservatives also attacked those who supported the Republican Party Those who had moved from the north to the south

were called “carpetbaggers”—corrupt businessmen who were trying to take advantage of the south

Those who were native southerners and supported the Party were given the derogatory name of “scalawags”

Next to be attacked were the tax policies of the Republican governments While the costs were necessary in order to rebuild the

south, these attacks were popular especially to the small yeoman farmers


While the corruption of the Republican governments was the norm of the time period, the conservatives made it out to be unique to the south Specifically, they blamed the corruption on giving

uneducated blacks the right to vote

Finally, many conservatives resorted to violence White supremacy groups and secret societies like the Ku

Klux Klan became very popular in the south They persecuted blacks and Republicans in order to

prevent them from setting up Republican governments

Ku Klux Klan

Reign of Terror in the South

The most successful threat to the Republican regimes in the south came from secret societies such as the Ku Klux Klan

Organized in Tennessee in 1866, the Klan’s popularity quickly spread throughout the south Its original tactics included terrorizing active Republicans

During the 1868 campaign, the Klan was effective at preventing blacks from voting in Louisiana The clan killed over 1,000 people in that state alone


After the election, the Klan focused its attacks on the Republican governments Virtual insurrections broke out in many of the

southern states These were effective in undermining the Republicans

so much that by 1870 Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee were able to elect Democrat governments

The federal government responded with the passage of the Force Acts in 1870-1 These were specifically designed to protect the voting

rights of blacks


Many jurisdictions in the south refused to prosecute cases where whites attacked blacks All-white juries almost never indicted whites even in

lynching cases

In 1871, a race riot broke out in the city of Meriden, Mississippi The governor refused to intervene when 300 armed

whites attacked the city going after freedman who were escaping from forced labor contracts

In South Carolina, the governor requested federal aid in putting down the Klan


In response, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1871 It was also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act This allowed the president to use federal troops to

enforce the Force Acts and allowed people to sue states over civil rights violations

It also allowed the president to suspend habeas corpus to put down insurrections

While thousands of Klansmen and other insurrectionists were arrested in the next couple of year, hardly any received punishment It did allow for a peaceful election in 1872

Nast’s “Worse Than Slavery” (Harpers Weekly, October 24, 1874)

Spoilsmen versus Reformers

Over the course of Grant’s first term, the Republican Party transformed itself Many of the old time Radical Republicans had left

office They were replaced with “spoilsmen” who helped the

party shift from one of moral reform to one of material interest

When Grant started aligning himself with these “spoilsmen,” he lost the support of the reform minded Republicans

Also during his first four years, his administration was rocked with scandal


In 1869, Grant’s brother-in-law, Abel Corbin, participated in a scheme by Jay Gould to corner the gold market Gould used Corbin to influence Grant to not sell the

government’s gold and to have the assistant Treasurer notify Corbin if the government planned on selling its gold

In the meantime, Gould bought up large amounts of gold, driving the price of gold up

When Grant found out about this he sold $4 million worth of gold

It led to the Black Friday of September 24, 1869 when the value of gold plummeted


Right before the election of 1872, the Crédit Mobilier Scandal was uncovered which involved Vice President Colfax Crédit Mobilier was a construction company that had

been siphoning off profits from the Union Pacific Railroad

It bought off influential Congressmen (Coflax was House Speaker at the time) with stock to prevent an official inquiry into their practices

While Grant was not personally involved in these scandals, many believed that he knew about them and did nothing to stop them


Tired of the corruption and scandals, reform minded Republicans created the Liberal Republican Party in time for the 1872 election It called for the reform of civil service to prevent

corruption It called for more laissez-faire styled economics with the

end of government funding to the railroads, lower tariffs, and support of hard money

It also called for restoring “self-government” to the South

While it was reform minded, it was very conservative in its policies regarding the rights of blacks and the impoverished

The Election of 1872

Election of 1872

In June 1872, the Republican Party unanimously nominated Grant to run for a second term However, it voted for Massachusetts Senator Henry

Wilson to be his running mate instead of Colfax Grant’s campaign essentially focused on the success of

his government through the previous four years

Both the Liberal Republican Party and the Democrat Party nominated Tribune editor Horace Greeley The Democrats supported him mainly because he

wanted to give control of the south back to the states

Election of 1872

Grant was able to secure many Republican votes even with all of the scandals This was because they were afraid of ex-Confederates

returning to power in the SouthGrant easily won the election with 55.6% of

the popular vote Greeley received 43.8% but died before the electoral

votes could be taken Therefore, Grant received 286 electoral votes while

Greeley’s were divided up amongst other candidates Three still voted for Greeley posthumously but those

were rejected

Results of the 1872 Election

Continued Scandals

Grant’s second term was plagued with even more scandals

In 1875 the Whiskey Ring scandal was exposed After the Civil War, the tax on liquor was raised

significantly to pay off the war debt Distiller’s bribed Treasury Department officials into

giving them tax stamps at a lower price Over 230 indictments were issued, including to Grant’s

personal secretary, Orville E. Babcock There were 110 convictions but Babcock escaped

persecution thanks to Grant’s testimony that he was innocent

Continued Scandals

In 1876, Grant’s Secretary of War, William W. Belknap resigned from office He had been accused of accepting bribes from

companies to be allowed to trade on American Indian reservations

This became known as the Indian Ring Scandal Many Congressmen felt that Belknap had resigned to

avoid impeachment Even still impeachment hearings took place The House impeached him but the Senate did not get

the necessary 2/3 vote Once again, Grant fought for Belknap’s innocence

Nast’s “Probe Away” March 18,

1876

Great Epizootic Epidemic of 1872

Grant’s second term was also plagued with economic crises

In 1872, the country was hit with an equine influenza epidemic The disease originated in just north of Toronto with the

first reported case occurring on September 25, 1872The disease spread from Toronto all the way

down south throughout the U.S. Anywhere from 80-99% of horses were affected by the

disease Since the transportation industry was heavily

dependent upon horses, the epidemic brought it to a standstill

Great Epizootic Epidemic of 1872

The railroads were forced to temporarily shut down Coal could not be delivered from the mines to the railroads

Other industries were forced to a standstill as well as shippers could not transport or unload their goods

Many fire departments had been dependent on horse-pulled wagons so they were paralyzed as well On November 9th, fire broke out in Boston but the city did not

have any horses to pull the fire wagons Over 770 buildings were destroyed in the fire

The U.S. cavalry was forced to fight without horses with the Apache Indians

Coinage Act of 1873

The Coinage Act of 1873 put the U.S. on the gold standard It set gold as the only coin and demonetized silver This meant that people could no longer have silver

minted into coins or use silver to purchase goods Those who supported silver interests saw this act as

the “Great Crime of 1873” It did strengthen U.S. currency but at the same time

made it more scarce, thus making it harder to pay off debts

Panic of 1873

On May 9, 1873, the Vienna Stock Market crashed This was known as the Gründerkrach or “founders' crash” Over-speculation and corruption led to the crash

On September 18, 1873, banking firm Jay Cooke and Co. declared bankruptcy The bank had been a major supplier of government loans

after the Civil War It had been a major investor in the railroad industry and

had sought investments for the Northern Pacific Railway It had overextended itself and collapsed

Panic of 1873

Cooke’s bankruptcy led to fears not only on Wall Street but throughout the country

There was a run on the sales of investments Many lost money as the stock market dropped The stock market was forced to shut down for ten

days to prevent any more panic selling

Banks called in loans requesting immediate payments Many businesses and farmers could not pay back their

loans

Depression of 1873-1879

The country fell into a depression that lasted until 1879 There were massive wage cuts and many jobs lost During this period unemployment jumped to 16% Over 18,000 businesses failed between 1873 and 1875

alone

Congress attempted to help stimulate the economy in 1874 by issuing more greenbacks The hope was to help those who were heavily in debt Grant vetoed the bill

Depression of 1873-1879

In 1875, Congress passed the Specie Resumption Act It called for the trade-in of greenbacks for silver coins and

the reduction of greenbacks from $382 million to $300 million

Specie payments were to resume by January 1, 1879, meaning the government would no longer pay off its debts in greenbacks

This act outraged many of the small farmers, especially in the west They were heavily in debt and the deflation of the currency

hurt them even moreIn 1876, the Greenback Party was formed to

support the use of greenbacks

Nast’s response to the South trying to prevent blacks from voting in the 1876 election Dec. 30, 1876

New Departure and Redemption

With federal oversight of the 1872 elections, the Republican Party was able to hold on to most of its power in the South

The Democrat Party reacted with a shift in policies that became known as the New Departure They shifted their energies from race-based politics to

economic issues They supported state’s rights over federal control and

openly appealed to white supremacy They also saw the Republican governments as corrupt and

blamed them for the depression in the South Supporters of this New Departure were known as

“Redeemers”


There was also a change in the way voters were terrorized in the South Instead of secret societies, these agents of violence

acted openly

In the “Mississippi Plan,” local Democratic clubs formed armed militias They marched defiantly through black areas, breaking

up Republican meetings, and provoking riots to justify killing hundreds


Also during this time, many in the North were losing interest in using federal resources in the South to protect the Republican governments They associated the party with corruption and scandal Many saw the administration as “holding up” bad

governments for personal or partisan reasons

The last time Grant used force down in the South was to quell an insurrection by the White League in Louisiana in 1874 After that, the reformers put pressure on him to stop

this policy


When race riots broke out in Mississippi right before an election, Grant did not send troops in It is not surprising that the Democrats won that election

By 1876, the Republican lost all the southern states with the exception of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina

Democrats called their victory “redemption” They succeeded with a combination of persistent white

southern resistance, including violence and coercion, and a failure of northern will


Congress did try to stem the tide of racial oppression in the South with the Civil Rights Act of 1875 It stated that every person, regardless of race, color,

or religious background was entitled to enjoy “the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of inns, public conveyances on land or water, theaters, and other places of public amusement”

It was designed to prevent discrimination on the basis of race

However, in 1883, the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional

1876 Campaign poster for Hayes and Wheeler

The 1876 Election

In June 1876, the Republican National Convention nominated Ohio Governor, Rutherford B. Hayes He was selected because of his relative anonymity and

lack of scandal His running mate was New York Representative

William A. WheelerThe Democrats chose New York Governor

Samuel J. Tilden He was famous for his battles against the corruption

of Tammany Hall in New York City Thomas A. Hendricks, Governor of Indiana, was his

running mate

The 1876 Election

The focus of both parties was in civil service reform and bringing about an end to Reconstruction

There was heavy mud-slinging on both sides The Democrats accused the Republicans of being corrupt

and focusing too much effort on the Civil War (“waving the bloody shirt)

The Republicans responded with “Not every Democrat was a rebel, but every rebel was a Democrat”

In the South, Democrats used white supremacy groups and variations of the Mississippi Plan to intimidate Republican and black voters

The 1876 Election

The election became one of the most disputed in U.S. history

While Tilden won the popular vote, Hayes won the electoral college vote Tilden received 51.5% of the popular vote but 184

electoral votes Hayes received 47.5% of the popular vote but 185

electoral votes

In Oregon, an elector was under dispute He was replaced with a Democratic elector and voted

for Tilden even though the state voted for Hayes

The 1876 Election

In Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina there were charges of fraud and intimidation tactics against voters This mean that there were another 19 electoral votes under

dispute

Congress set up a Electoral Commission to investigate the results of the election It was made up of seven Republicans, seven Democrats and one

independent However, the independent resigned and was replaced with a

Republican South Carolina’s ballots were recounted and Hayes won that

state with 899 votes, the second closest presidential election in U.S. history (Florida in 2000 was the closest)

The 1876 Election

The Commission decided to give Hayes all 20 disputed votes They voted 8-7 on the issue The Republican controlled Senate approved it

This was the first time that a president who won the popular vote did not win the election

The Democrats, who dominated the House, planned to filibuster They wanted to delay the counting of the votes until

after inauguration day This way neither candidate would have the majority

and the House would decide who the winner was

The 1876 Election

The Democrats ended their protests with the Compromise of 1877 which included: The promised to remove the last of the federal troops

from the South The appointment of a former Confederate general to

the cabinet Federal aid for economic and railroad development in

the South The promise to let southerners handle race relations

themselves

The Compromise marks the end of Reconstruction

Results of the 1876 Election

UNIT 1 Reconstruction (1863-1876) U.S. History II HIS-112.

Documents

south congress

reconstruction process

congress lincoln

slower reconstruction

war reconstruction efforts

arkansas congress

congress session

members of congress