BDC CH.1 Flashcards
The Failure of Reconstruction + The Triumph of White Supremacy
What was the area known as the Black Belt + what states had a black majority population?
- where majority of blacks in US were concentrated (from S VA to E TX) (known for soil fertility for plantations)
- Louisiana + Mississippi + South Carolina = black majority states
(LMS)
What events/legislation took place the officially marked the end of slavery?
- Confederacy Defeat
2. 13th Amendment
CT
What were the privileges given to new “freedmen” in the South?
- marriages legally recognized
- able to form independent families
- religious freedom
- right to private property
- free from white supervision
(MARRF)
What was one of the first actions taken by African Americans as freedmen?
- many went searching for family members on other plantations
What actions did African American Southerners take to gain freedom prior to the passing of the 13th Amendment/Civil War?
- released (manumitted) by masters
- bought their way out
RB
What made the free African Americans in the South prior to the Civil War so important for the future of African Americans nationally?
- were first black group to acquire basic literacy + skills + property
- formed backbone of future black leadership
What were the demands being made by black leadership to politicians after the Civil War?
- “full equality”
- land + property + legal right (trial by jury) + education
What actions did the freedmen take to assert their freedom?
- resisted signing labor contracts w/ former masters
- if compelled to work for whites: shortened work day + limited work week + demanded women not work in the fields
(SLD) - left white churches to form their own
(RIL)
What were the opinions of the Democratic/Republican Party at the time after the Civil War about the status of the freedmen?
Democrats - opposed abolition + thought blacks as inferior
Republicans - formed to stop spread of slavery + fought in Civil War to end it
Who were the Radicals in the Republican Party + who were they led by?
- small group that believed in racial equality
- led by Thaddeus Stevens + Charles Sumner
What was the opinion of Abraham Lincoln regarding the freedmen in the South?
- educated/literate blacks + former black Union soldiers should get voting rights
- did not compel states to do this (merely suggested)
What circumstances following Lincoln’s assassination took place that persuaded the Republican Party to become more supportive of complete black liberation?
- Andrew Johnson policies
-Black Codes - convinced Republicans blacks need federal protection
AB
What was so dangerous about President Andrew Johnson to the status of blacks in the South?
- was a staunch racist
- restored self-government to South
- sympathetic towards Southern Whites
- allowed Confederate representatives in Congress
(WRSA)
What were the Black Codes enforced by the Southern states following the Civil War?
discrimination laws that placed blacks under white control
- prevented blacks testifying against whites in Court
- limited property available for blacks to buy
- required license fees for blacks to start businesses
- vagrancy laws to compel blacks to work for whites
- ridiculous fines
(PLRVR)
Where did race riots take place that helped convince Republicans to go forward w/ Reconstruction?
Memphis + New Orleans (1866)
MN
What important political events occurred between 1866-1868?
- Republicans win control of Congress (1866)
- Republicans returned South to military occupation
- impeached Andrew Johnson (1868)
(RRI)
What was the impact of the 14th Amendment?
- struck down Black Codes
- made freedmen full citizens = given “equal protection”
What was the impact of the 15th Amendment?
- gave black men right to vote
What was the political impact for blacks when universal suffrage was accepted?
- saw blacks not just vote but hold public offices
How did education progress for blacks under the new Reconstruction policies?
- Freedmen’s Bureau/north Churches set up system of private/public blacks schools
What was the biggest flaw of Radical Reconstruction that caused it to fail?
- failed to give promised land to freedmen
- “forty acres + a mule”
What was the result of the government not promising African Americans any private land?
- many worked as sharecroppers for white landlord
- many never able to escape their debt
What was another way the federal government besides a lack of land rights failed the freedmen during the Reconstruction era?
- did not ensure their education
- South out of money from war - incapable of properly funding schools
- Congress shut down Freedmen’s Bureau (1870) + denied further money to public education
What was the impact of the lack of education funding from the federal government on African Americans?
- 50% white vs 31% black kids enrolled in school (1890)
- 15% white vs 65% black kids illiterate
What was considered the worst failure of Reconstruction?
- gov. didn’t enforce racial equality policies
- weak in execution
What actions did the federal government take that led to an immediate backlash against the policies in the South from angry whites?
- enfranchisement of blacks + disenfranchisement of former Confederates
(ED)
What strategies did white southerners utilize to try to eliminate Reconstruction efforts in the South?
- intimidation + violence
IV
What factors caused violence against blacks to escalate in the south during Reconstruction?
- enfranchisement of blacks + return of military occupation + Republicans winning state elections
(ERB)
When/where was the Ku Klux Klan founded?
Pulaski, TN (1866)
- members were white Democrats
What was the political violence that was happening in predominantly black populated states + what was the result?
- KKK killed/beat both white Republicans + blacks to prevent elections going Republican
- would end many Republican controlled governments
What events occurred that officially ended Radical Reconstruction in 1877?
- Democratic takeover of Louisiana + Mississippi + South Carolina
(LMS)
What was the Republican Party’s response to the political violence that was happening in the South?
- deployed troops
- formed state militias
- suspended habeas corpus
- prosecuted Klansman
(DFSP)
What caused the violence in the South to continue even after Republican intervention?
- Klansman broken up but new groups replaced them
- violence too widespread for troops to contain all
- too well supported for convictions to kill spread
- coercion became popular among Northern voters
(KVTC)
Why did the Republican Party decide to allow the Democrats to recapture the South + allow white supremacy to take hold?
- felt they could retake White House w/o black support
What were the goals of the Democratic Party about the freedmen once they reclaimed the South?
- tolerated black voting but unwilling to share political power w/ blacks
- wanted to suppress black vote entirely eventually
(TW)
What actions did the Democratic Party take to try to suppress black influence in the South as much as possible + to prevent federal intervention?
- gerrymandered election districts
- abolished elective posts
- created complicated voting procedures
(GAC)
What was the Eight Box Law of 1882?
- SC law that required a separate ballot box for each contested post
- secret ballot made voting more difficult for illiterates
What became a common phenomenon in Southern state elections once these policies were put into place?
Fraud
What was the popular opinion of white southerners about the suffrage privileges given to blacks?
- didn’t like any black political participation whatsoever
Why were white southerners concerned with blacks being able to vote even after all the repressive voting measures they took?
- blacks still voting in large #s
- Republicans still formidable in elections
- disaffected whites were abandoning Democrats for independent 3rd party
- independent whites + Republican blacks could team up to take out Democrats from power
(BRDI)
What action did the state of Mississippi take to repress the black vote even more?
- adopted new constitution that required voters to be able to read any portion of it
- plummeted # of black voters in the state
What did the federal government do about the laws implemented by Mississippi + what was its effect?
- allowed it to continue
- decision encouraged other states to take similar action
What event in 1892 gave hope to African Americans?
- formation of the Populist Party