White Southern Republicans One group to emerge consisted of white southerners who supported the new Republican governments. Many were businesspeople who had opposed secession in 1860. They wanted to forget the war and get on with rebuilding the South.
Many whites in the South felt that any southerner who helped the Republicans was a traitor. They called the white southern Republicans scalawags, a word used for small, scruffy horses.
Northerners in the South Northerners who came to the South after the war were another important force. White southerners accused the new arrivals of hoping to get rich from the South's misery. Southerners jested that these northerners were in such a hurry to move south that they had time only to fling a few clothes into cheap suitcases, or carpetbags. As a result, they became known as carpetbaggers.
In fact, northerners went south for various reasons. A few did hope to profit as the South was being rebuilt. Many more, however, were Union soldiers who had grown to love the South's rich land. Others, both white and black, were teachers, ministers, and reformers who sincerely wanted to help the freedmen.
African Americans African Americans were the third major new group in southern politics. Before the war, they had no voice in southern government. During Reconstruction, they not only voted in large numbers, but they also ran for and were elected to public office in the South. African Americans became sheriffs, mayors, and legislators in the new state and local governments. Sixteen African Americans were elected to Congress between 1869 and 1880.
Two African Americans, both representing Mississippi, served in the Senate. Hiram Rhodes Revels, a clergyman and teacher, became the nation's first black senator in 1870. He completed the unfinished term of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis. In 1874, Blanche K. Bruce became the first African American to serve a full term in the Senate.
Revels's election had a powerful impact. It was an important victory for African American politicians. He served on the Committee on Education and Labor, where he opposed legislation that would segregate, or separate, schools for African Americans and whites. He also promoted opportunities for African American workers.
Based on this information answer this Identify new forces in Southern politics
Some new forces in Southern politics during Reconstruction included white southern Republicans, northerners in the South (carpetbaggers), and African Americans who became actively involved in politics, voting, and holding public office. These groups played a significant role in shaping the political landscape of the post-Civil War South.
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In addition to these new forces in Southern politics, other emerging influences included the Freedmen's Bureau, a federal agency established to assist newly freed slaves in the South by providing food, housing, medical care, and education. The Freedmen's Bureau also played a role in helping African Americans exercise their newly acquired rights, including the right to vote.
Another significant force in Southern politics during Reconstruction was the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist terrorist organization that used violence and intimidation to suppress African American participation in politics and maintain white supremacy in the South. The Klan targeted African American politicians, voters, and supporters, as well as white Republicans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags.
The conflict between these various forces, including the efforts of African Americans to participate in politics and the violent resistance of groups like the Ku Klux Klan, shaped the political landscape of the post-Civil War South and had lasting implications for the region's social and political development.
Conservatives Resist Reform
Most white southerners who had held power before the Civil War resisted Reconstruction. These Conservatives resented the changes imposed by Congress and enforced by the military. They wanted the South to change as little as possible. Conservatives were willing to let African Americans vote and hold a few offices. Still, they were determined that real power would remain in the hands of whites. This tension caused social problems in the South during Reconstruction that impacted free African Americans and Conservatives.
A few wealthy planters tried to force African Americans back onto plantations. Many small farmers and laborers wanted the government to take action against freedmen, who now competed with them for land and power.
Most of these white southerners were Democrats. They declared war on anyone who cooperated with the Republicans. “This is a white man's country,” declared one southern senator, “and white men must govern it.”
The Problem of the Ku Klux Klan Some white southerners formed secret societies to help them regain power. The most dangerous was the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK. The Klan worked to keep African Americans and white Republicans out of office.Dressed in white robes and hoods to hide their identities, Klansmen rode at night to the homes of African American voters, shouting threats and burning wooden crosses. When threats did not work, the Klan turned to violence. Klan members murdered hundreds of African Americans and their white allies.
The Social and Political Impact of the Klan Many moderate southerners condemned the violence of the Klan. Yet, they could do little to stop the Klan's reign of terror. Freedmen turned to the federal government for help. In Kentucky, African American voters wrote to Congress:
“We believe you are not familiar with the Ku Klux Klan's riding nightly over the country spreading terror wherever they go by robbing, whipping, and killing our people without provocation.”
—Records of the U.S. Senate, April 11, 1871
In 1870, Congress made it a crime to use force to keep people from voting. Although Klan activities decreased, the threat of violence remained. Some African Americans continued to vote and hold office, but others were frightened away from the ballot box.
based on this information answer this Describe how southern conservatives resisted Reconstruction
Southern conservatives resisted Reconstruction by resenting the changes imposed by Congress and enforced by the military. They wanted the South to change as little as possible and were determined to ensure that real power remained in the hands of whites. They were willing to allow African Americans to vote and hold some offices, but they sought to limit their influence and maintain white supremacy.
Conservatives, largely Democrats, declared war on anyone who cooperated with the Republicans and believed that white men should govern the country. Some wealthy planters tried to force African Americans back onto plantations, while small farmers and laborers wanted the government to take action against freedmen who competed with them for land and power.
To regain power, some white southerners formed secret societies, with the most dangerous being the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The Klan used violence, intimidation, and terror tactics to keep African Americans and white Republicans out of office. They committed acts of violence, including murder, against hundreds of African Americans and their white allies. Despite condemnation from moderate southerners, the Klan's reign of terror persisted, impacting social and political stability in the South during Reconstruction.
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Southern conservatives resisted Reconstruction by opposing changes and wanting to maintain white power. They resented African American advancement and formed groups like the Ku Klux Klan to use violence and intimidation. They declared war on those who cooperated with Republicans and sought to keep African Americans and white Republicans out of office. This resistance to change and violence had a significant impact on the social and political landscape of the post-Civil War South.
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Southern conservatives resisted Reconstruction by opposing the changes imposed by Congress and the military. They wanted to maintain white supremacy and power in the South. This resistance led to the formation of groups like the Ku Klux Klan, which used violence and intimidation to prevent African Americans and white Republicans from gaining political influence. The Klan's reign of terror had a profound impact on the social and political stability of the region, leading to widespread violence and fear among African Americans and their allies. Despite efforts to uphold white dominance, Reconstruction ultimately brought about some advancements for African Americans, such as voting rights and political representation.
Political Problems and Legislative Reform
Reconstruction governments tried to rebuild the South. They built public schools for both black and white children. Many states gave women the right to own property. In addition, Reconstruction governments rebuilt railroads, telegraph lines, bridges, and roads. Between 1865 and 1879, the South laid 7,000 miles of railroad track. However, political problems due to controversial government policies and political corruption impacted southerners and hindered progress.
Taxation Without Representation Rebuilding cost money. Before the war, southerners paid low taxes. Reconstruction governments raised taxes sharply. This created discontent among many southern whites.Many former Confederate officers and officials were denied voting rights during Reconstruction and thus were being taxed without representation. The tax increases also caused some landowners to lose their land.
Corruption Plagues Reconstruction Southerners were further angered by widespread corruption in the Reconstruction governments. One state legislature, for example, voted $1,000 to cover a member's bet on a horse race. Other items billed to the state included hams, perfume, and a coffin. Corruption was not limited to the South. After the Civil War, dishonesty plagued northern governments, as well. Most southern officeholders, however, served their states honestly.Attempts at Legislative Reform State legislative reform programs in the South met with mixed success. New state constitutions allowed all adult men to vote, removed restrictions for holding office, and made public officials elected rather than appointed. Executive branches were also given increased power to provide government services.
However, legislation to enroll voters was hindered by new voting restrictions that kept many African Americans from making use of their new voting rights. Many of the laws preventing former Confederates from voting and holding office did not last. In Georgia, African Americans were forced from the state legislature.Economic Problems During Reconstruction
In the first months after the war, freedmen left the plantations on which they had lived and worked. They found few opportunities, however.
Limited Opportunities for Freedmen Some Radical Republicans talked about giving each freedman “40 acres and a mule” as a fresh start. This idea stemmed from a field order given by General William Tecumseh Sherman in 1865. Thaddeus Stevens suggested breaking up big plantations and distributing the land. Most Americans opposed the plan, however. In the end, former slaves received—in the words of a freedman—“nothing but freedom.”
Through hard work or good luck, some freedmen were able to become landowners. Most, however, had little choice but to return to where they had lived in slavery. At the same time, some large planters found themselves with land but nobody to work it.
Economic Problems Confront the South Before the Civil War, Southern planters enjoyed prosperity because of strong demand for cotton, tobacco, and other farm products in the North and in Britain. During the war, a Union blockade had prevented the South from selling most of its products in those markets. As a result, prices for those products rose, and suppliers in Latin America, India, and other parts of the world began producing more tobacco, cotton, sugarcane, and rice. When the war ended and southern farmers returned to the market, they faced much greater competition from foreign producers, resulting in lower prices according to the laws of supply and demand.
Based on this information answer this question ":Analyze the economic, political, and social challenges facing Reconstruction governments