U2L4 The Aftermath of Reconstruction Flashcards
What corruption did President Grant bring to America?
President Grant appointed many friends to government offices. Some used their position to steal large sums of money from the government.
What caused people to lose faith in Grant?
Even though Grant won re-election, many northerners lost faith in Republican policies due to corruption in the government.
What did the Amnesty Act do?
It restored the right to vote to nearly all white southerners, including former Confederate officials who had lost voting rights due to the Fourteenth Amendment.
After the Amnesty Act, what party did the southern states mainly vote for?
Democratic
Which southern states were still under Republican control (meaning they mainly voted Republican)?
South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee
In the election of 1876, who were the two representatives for democratic and republicans?
The Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden, governor of New York, for President. The Republicans chose Ohio governor Rutherford B. Hayes.
What did both candidates of the 1876 election vow to fight?
Corruption
What did Congress do when Inauguration Day drew near but had no president?
Congress set up a special commission to settle the crisis. The commission, made up mostly of Republicans, decided to give all the disputed electoral votes to Hayes.
What was the Compromise of 1877?
The Southerners agreed to support the commission’s decision in return for a promise by Hayes to end Reconstruction.
After the compromise of 1877, what happened to the blacks?
Black southerners steadily lost most of their political rights.
What are poll taxes?
Requiring voters to pay a fee each time they voted. As a result, poor freedmen could rarely afford to vote
What are literary tests?
Required voters to read and explain a section of the Constitution. Since most freedmen had little education, such tests kept them away from the polls.
Why were literary tests unfair to blacks that could read?
Blacks who were able to read often had to answer much more difficult questions than whites on literacy tests.
Why was the grandfather clauses made?
Many poor whites could not pass the literacy test. To increase the number of white voters, states passed grandfather clauses.
What are grandfather clauses?
These laws stated that if a voter’s father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on January 1, 1867, the voter did not have to take a literacy test. No African Americans in the South could vote before 1868, so grandfather clauses ensured that white men could vote.
