Unit 10-Reconstruction Lesson 59-Life in the South During Reconstruction

Review After President Johnson created his plan of “restoration,” Republicans of Congress used their power of majority to make sure his plan would be rejected. Through the creation of many laws and amendments, Congress was able to create and enforce their plan of Reconstruction. Failing to impeach the president, Republicans maintained power in the election of 1868.

Republicans Take Control During Reconstruction, Republican Party took control of Southern politics. Three groups from the South supported the Republicans: African Americans, white Southerners who supported Republican policies, and white settlers from the North. These three groups dominated the state constitutional conventions and new state governments.

African Americans in Government African Americans (South) played an important role in politics during Reconstruction as voters and officials. African American majorities in some states helped Republicans gain victories in the South. African Americans never controlled any state governments, but in some states they held important positions.

Hiram Revels At the national level,16 African Americans served in the House of Representatives & 2 in the Senate during Reconstruction. Hiram Revels was one of the African American senators from the state of Mississippi. Revels, an ordained minister, had recruited African Americans to the Union Army.

Hiram Revels Revels had also started a school for freed African Americans in St. Louis, Missouri, during the Civil War. Revels remained in Mississippi following the war, and was elected to the Senate in 1870.

Hiram Revels

Blanche K. Bruce Bruce, the other African American senator, also from Mississippi. A former runaway slave taught in a school for African Americans in Missouri at the beginning of the Civil War. In 1869, he went to Mississippi and entered politics and became a superintendent of schools. In 1874 he was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Blanche K. Bruce

Scalawags White Southerners who supported Republican policies were called scalawags by former Confederates. Most scalawags were non-slaveholding farmers or business leaders from the South. The term scalawag means “scoundrel” or “worthless rascal.”

Carpetbaggers Many Northerners moved to the South to serve as Republican leaders during Reconstruction. People called them carpetbaggers because they arrived with all their belongings in suitcase made of carpet fabric. Seen as being greedy by taking advantage of the situation in the South.

Carpetbaggers

Most carpetbaggers were not taking advantage of the situation. Many were former Union army soldiers or members of the Freedmen’s Bureau who liked the South and wanted to settle there. Others were reformers, including lawyers, doctors, and teachers, who wanted to help reshape Southern society.

Southerners Resist Reconstruction Most white Southerners struggled with the idea of giving more rights to African Americans. Plantation owners would tell African Americans that they were not allowed to leave or refused to rent land to freedmen. Employers would refuse to hire African Americans and store owners refused to give them credit.

Ku Klux Klan Some Southern whites used fear and force to keep freed men in line. Violence towards African Americans & white supporters was common during Reconstruction. Secret societies organized to prevent freed men and women from using their rights and to help whites regain control, were the cause of much of the violence committed.

Ku Klux Klan In 1866, a terrifying group/society, the Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, formed. They wore white sheets and hoods on “midnight rides” against African Americans, burning their homes, churches, and schools. The KKK also murdered African Americans and their supporters.

Ku Klux Klan

Ku Klux Klan violence increased before elections to scare African Americans from voting. The KKK had the support of many Southerners, including planters and Democrats, who viewed the violence as a defense against Republican rule.

Improvements in Education Education in the South improved for whites and African Americans, who viewed education as important to a better life. African Americans created their own schools in many regions of the South, providing both labor and money to build the schools.

Improvements in Education Northern women and free African Americans, paid for by the Freedmen’s Bureau and private charities, came South to teach in the new schools. By 1870, about 4,000 schools had been opened, with over 200,000 students. More than half of the teachers in these schools were African Americans.

Improvements in Education

Public Schools Governments began creating public schools for both races in the 1870s. Public schools had not existed in the South before the Civil War, allowing only the wealthy whites to be educated. Within a few years, more than 50% of white children and about 40% of African American children in the South were attending public schools.

Public Schools African American and white students usually attended different schools. Only Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida required schools to be integrated, or include both whites and African Americans, but the laws were not enforced.

Farming the Land Some African Americans were able to buy land with assistance of the Freedmen’s Bank, established in 1865, but most failed to get their own land. Most common farmwork for African Americans was sharecropping, where they would rent land, along with a shed, some seeds, and tools.

Farming the Land In return, the sharecropper, or farmer, had to share a percentage of the crop grown with the landowner. After sharing the crop, the sharecropper usually had little left to sell, and sometimes barely enough to feed their families. Sharecropping was considered only a little better than slavery.

Conclusion During Reconstruction, life for African Americans slowly improved with voting and education. Although life seemed to be getting better, many groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, tried to hold back the positive changes that had been made. Life for many African Americans in the South was just slightly better than slavery.

Assignments Answer the four review questions for this lesson. You will have an END OF COURSE exam after you complete Lesson 60! Please review and study your notes.