Chapter 13: Reconstruction and the New South ( ) Section 4: The New South Better than the old??

What’s goin’ on?? Rutherford B. Hayes has just been elected President of the U.S. Because the election was close, Democrats (Southerners), aren’t happy. The Compromise of 1877 removed the last of the federal troops from the South. Now what??

Changing Economies in the South Few whites or former slaves were willing to work for the wages planters were willing or able to pay. Many planters solved this problem through the use of a system called sharecropping.

Changing Economies in the South Under this system: A farmer worked a parcel of land owned by someone else. In return for the work, the farmer received: a share of the crop. a cabin. seed, tools, and a mule. By the end of the 1870s, many poor white southerners and most African Americans in the South worked as sharecroppers.

Changing Economies in the South A problem with sharecropping… Sharecroppers had no income until harvest time. They had to promise their crops to local merchants who sold them goods on credit. At harvest time, hopefully, a sharecropper would make enough money to pay his debts. This was called the crop-lien system.

Changing Economies in the South Under the sharecropping system, was there much opportunity for poor farmers to pull themselves out of poverty or gain independence? Does the system help the South industrialize?

Changing Economies in the South Many believe that the sharecropping system kept the South from industrializing. Without industry, who is the South dependent on? The North Some southerners tried to find northern investors to contribute money towards industrialization. Southern factory workers, however, were often paid very little.

The Rise of Jim Crow For African Americans, the New South looked a lot like the old one. They were tied to the land through sharecropping and were excluded from most factory jobs. Democrats had taken over state governments and continued to deny them their rights.

The Rise of Jim Crow Democrats could not take away the African Americans’ right to vote, but they could pass laws to make it difficult. poll taxes – taxes paid by voters literacy tests – tests that barred those who could not read from voting These tests were often waived for poor, illiterate whites.

The Rise of Jim Crow Jim Crow Laws Laws passed in the South to enforce segregation, or separation, of the races. The first of these laws was passed in Tennessee, segregating railway cars. By the 1890s, all southern states had legally segregated public transportation and schools. Segregation soon spread to cemeteries, parks, and other public places.

The Rise of Jim Crow African Americans in the South will attempt to sue for equal treatment, but the Supreme Court will refuse to overturn the Jim Crow laws. Plessy v. Ferguson The Supreme Court stated that “separate but equal” facilities did not violate the U.S. Constitution.

Chapter 13: Reconstruction and the New South ( ) Section 4: The New South Not so much better than the old…

African American Life Some African Americans were successful farmers, and did own their own land. Some formed cooperatives, in which several African Americans pooled their finances and purchased land or businesses together.

African American Life Often, these cooperatives would hire other African Americans, and would donate a portion of their profits to organizations which worked to improve the situation for African Americans in the South and throughout the country.

Responses to the Jim Crow Era Despite the success of some, African Americans continued to encounter widespread discrimination. Two important leaders differed in their approaches to solving this problem.

Responses to the Jim Crow Era Booker T. Washington believed that African Americans should concentrate on achieving economic independence urged African Americans to seek practical training in trades and professions discouraged protesting, arguing that it only increased whites’ hostility

Responses to the Jim Crow Era Ida B. Wells believed African Americans should protest unfair treatment focused on stopping the lynching of African Americans urged African Americans to leave the South

To sum up… The official end of Reconstruction is the year Some good laws were passed: The Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Thirteenth Amendment: abolition of slavery The Fourteenth Amendment: equal protection The Fifteenth Amendment: right to vote extended to African American men Some bad things happened, though, too: The Black Codes The Jim Crow Laws Plessy v. Ferguson

To sum up… Lots of people were terrorized, assaulted, and murdered. Overall, it was a bit of a disaster, and one of those periods in American history that we would like to forget. The events of Reconstruction, however, will shape the future of the country.