112D: Interpretations of Reconstruction

Question 1

Politically, how harsh was the North on the South?

Answer 1

Not very harsh

Question 2

Which party controlled the South for decades?

Answer 2

The Democratic party

Question 3

What slight adverse effects did Reconstruction have on White Southerners?

Answer 3

They temporarily lost control of their Southern States

Question 4

What was there a major fall in politically for the South?

Answer 4

Political influence

Question 5

What was the conditions for the South politically before and after the Civil War?

Answer 5

They had previously held the presidency for 50 years and dominated the Supreme court but following the Civil War there was only one elected Southern President and the Southerners made up a small fraction of the Supreme Court

Question 6

What effect did Reconstruction have on the US economically?

Answer 6

A positive effect which developed into industrial power

Question 7

What did the South benefit from economically from 1867-73?

Answer 7

US prosperity and high cotton prices

Question 8

What did the South remain economically however?

Answer 8

Economically depressed with considerable poverty

Question 9

By 1870 what had the average white Southerner’s income fallen by?

Answer 9

2/5s of a Northerners income

Question 10

What did the South remain dependant on?

Answer 10

Cotton plantations as it remained a predominantly agricultural area

Question 11

How many slaves were emancipated?

Answer 11

4 million

Question 12

How many Black Senators and Representatives were elected to Congress?

Answer 12

2 Senators and 20 Representatives

Question 13

Did African Americans wield much influence in the South during and after Reconstruction?

Answer 13

No they wielded very little influence

Question 14

What were African Americans in Southern states?

Answer 14

The minority

Question 15

What is a major criticism of Reconstruction?

Answer 15

Little or no land was given to the ex slaves

Question 16

What did most African Americans become in the 1870’s?

Answer 16

Sharecroppers

Question 17

What did Reconstruction fail to guarantee for African American?

Answer 17

Civil Rights

Question 18

What were African Americans treated as by many White Southerners?

Answer 18

Second-class citizens

Question 19

By the late nineteenth century what had every state introduced?

Answer 19

Segregation including ‘Jim Crow’ laws

Question 20

What are some examples of segregation?

Answer 20

Separate schools, drinking fountains, public toilets, areas of restaurants and public transport

Question 21

What did the segregation mean to white Americans?

Answer 21

They were separate but equal

Question 22

What did segregation mean in reality?

Answer 22

Discrimination against African Americans whose facilities were invariably inferior to those of their white counterparts

Question 23

What were some positives of segregation?

Answer 23

There were black institutions, similar to those of the white Americans which gave African Americans opportunities to lead and manage

Question 24

What did some African American men become?

Answer 24

Doctors, lawyers and teachers

Question 25

What did some African Americans think of segregation?

Answer 25

Some favoured it as they had no wish to mix socially with the whites

Question 26

From which main group did many African Americans suffer intimidation and violence?

Answer 26

The Ku Klux Klan

Question 27

What did the KKK do?

Answer 27

They intimidated African Americans into not voting by beatings and lynchings

Question 28

When did the terrorist actions of the KKK peak?

Answer 28

In the years 1869-71

Question 29

Who were frequent targets of the KKK?

Answer 29

Blacks who held public office, black schools and churches

Question 30

What was the issue with convicting members of the KKK?

Answer 30

Even when they were arrested, many were too terrified to testify against them. It was also possible that a Klansman was on the jury, making it hard to convict them

Question 31

When was the KKK set up?

Answer 31

1866

Question 32

What is another example of a group of White Supremacists?

Answer 32

The White League, set up in 1873 after the Colfax massacre