1. Racial Advancements and Tensions

2. Reconstruction
Reconstruction – a period of time after the end of the Civil War when the federal government protected the rights of newly freed slaves

3. Purpose of Reconstruction
NOT meant to rebuild the Southern economy
Reconstructed southern society so that:
African Americans could have a role as free citizens
Southern states could be fully involved in the national government

4. Abraham Lincoln
Never recognized that South Carolina and the rest of the south had seceded from the Union

5. First Reconstruction Plan
Proposed by Abraham Lincoln
Confederate leaders were still in power
They did not protect the rights of newly freed slaves

6. 13th Amendment
South Carolina ratified the 13th amendment which granted slaves their freedom.
However, SC leaders passed Black Codes – laws that restricted the rights of freed slaves so that they were free in name only

7. Second Reconstruction Plan
Was passed by Congress
Stripped the power from the former Confederate leaders

8. 14th Amendment
SC was forced to ratify the 14th amendment which recognized the right of African Americans to be treated as citizens of the US.
The state also had to write a new state constitution that recognized these rights.

9. Rights of African Americans
Many African Americans were elected to serve in the convention that wrote the new South Carolina constitution.

10. 15th Amendment
Congress also passed the 15th Amendment which guaranteed African Americans the right to vote.

11. End of Day 1

12. Racial Tensions

13. South Carolina’s Resentment
The SC elite resented the national interference and the political roles that African Americans could now play in the state government.

14. South Carolina’s Resentment
SC whites called anyone who cooperated with the state government a “scalawag.”

15. South Carolina’s Resentment
SC whites also called northerners who came to the South as missionaries or for economic opportunities “carpetbaggers.”

16. South Carolina’s Resentment
They accused “carpetbaggers” of trying to take advantage of the troubles of the state after the war.
Although some were corrupt, many made positive contributions to the state.

17. Racial Tensions
Increased as African Americans gained rights and opportunities
Many whites refused to participate in the state government so long as African Americans were able to vote and hold office.

18. Klu Klux Klan
Some South Carolinians resented the freedmen and tried to intimidate them by burning their homes and churches so that they would not vote or exercise their rights.

19. Klu Klux Klan
They were active in South Carolina, especially in the upcountry.
Some killed African Americans and their white supporters.
The national government wasn’t able to eliminate the Klan.

20. Public Education System
The new state constitution required the establishment of the public education system.

21. Public Education System
Positive:
Enabled poor whites and former slaves to get an education

22. Public Education System
Negatives:
It intensified racial tensions because whites did not want to go to school with African Americans
Two separate school systems were created
These segregated schools were not equal.

23. Economic Changes
It took a while for the economy to change after the Civil War.
Fertile land and a suitable climate for agriculture meant that cotton would continue to be a dominant crop.
Sharecroppers provided
the labor.

24. Economic Changes
However, farmers were soon caught in a cycle of debt and poverty.
By the end of the 21st century, entrepreneurs began to build textile mills in the state.

25. Economic Changes
The availability of natural resources, such as swift flowing rivers, impacted the states recovery.
Textile mills used water power to run the machines that turned cotton into cloth.