1. Violence, Race, and Redemption
FRAGILITY OF DEMOCRACY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR

2. Quick Write in your notebook:
1. What makes democracy fragile?
2. What can be done to protect and strengthen democracy?

3. Redemption: synonyms:
the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.
Redemption:
the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.
synonyms:
retrieval, recovery, reclamation, repossession, return

4. Was Reconstruction “done”?
1870 and 15th Amendment passed ( th abolished slavery; th granted citizenship; 15th guaranteed the vote)
1872 federal government intervened to protect freedpeople from KKK
Didn’t think about how to sustain freedom and equality

5. Reasons for the Northern shift away from support for Reconstruction
1. fading of “war fever”
2. increase in corruption in politics
3.Panic of 1873 & economic depression
4. Racism

6. 1. End of “War Fever”
Passion to reshape the South to reaffirm the North’s victory
Faded with time
Focused on other things

7. 2. Corruption Beginning of Gilded Age Mass wealth
Mass amounts of corruption & patronage (politicians “working” for business)
Carpetbaggers
Northerners traveling south to take advantage of the unrest
Fear of “black rule” over white Americans (especially in the South) fueled racism
Blame black voters

8. 3. Panic of 1873 Spring 1873 economic collapse Depression
Labor issues, violence, and strikes
Price of wheat dropped hurting farmers
Wages dropped 50% in 1 ½ years
Unemployment
Huge debt for Southern states
Result of corruption
Blamed African Americans

9. 4. Racism
Northerners and Southerners
Saw African Americans as inferior
Blacks blamed for economic problems of South
Used as a reason to not support land redistribution
Seen as getting too much power
Not worth the cost of federal intervention

10. Challenges of Reconstruction
Challenges: violent backlashes in South
Northerners turned against federal policies that protected freedpeople
Results in a new era ( )
Increased violence
Defeat of Republicans in government (typically anti-slave, northern, pro-Reconstruction policies)
Southern Democrats rise in power
Use religious sentiment
Goal of “redeeming” the South from the “evil” of being controlled by Northerners, Republicans and Blacks

11. Re-establishing “home-rule” in the South
Use violence and intimidation
Social divisions creating vulnerable groups (perpetuates the intimidation)
Difficulties of the federal government to intervene

12. Rise of the Southern Democrats
Anti-Republican history of the South
Immigrants were voting for Democrats
Manipulation of the 15th Amendment (right to vote)
Poll taxes
Literacy tests
Regained control of the US House of Representatives
Could undo Reconstruction policies

13. “Redemption” Violence
President Grant –
Used military to enforce Reconstruction Policies
Less support because of Congress (Democrats controlled)
Violence spread unchecked
Characteristics of the violence
Planned and continued by paramilitary groups with the Democratic Party
Declared that their mission was to restore the South
Violence and intimidation affected elections
Targeted African American Republican voters and candidates
Singled out White Republicans and intimidated
Used racism to divide allies from enemies
Democrats as the “white party”
Republicans as the “black party”
White Republicans called “traitors to their race”
Not masked, out in the open (unlike the KKK)

14. The White Line & the Red Shirts
Paramilitary arm of the Democratic Party
Mississippi & Louisiana
April 1873 in Louisiana
Murdered 100 freedmen
Biggest loss of life in from racial incident in U.S. history
1874
Ambushed and killed white Republican leaders and African American witnesses
Pattern
Provoked a public racial incident
Cause a riot
White men would search the area for blacks to beat up and kill

15. Red Shirt’s official battle plan, which called for Democratic clubs armed with rifles and pistols, stated in part:
Every Democrat must feel honor bound to control the vote of at least one Negro, by intimidation, purchase, keeping him away.
We must attend every Radical meeting. Democrats must go in as large numbers as they can, and well armed, behave at first with great courtesy and as soon as their speakers begin tell them that they are liars and are only trying to mislead the ignorant Negroes. In speeches to Negroes you must remember that they can only be influenced by their fears, superstitions and cupidity. Treat them so as to show them you are the superior race and that their natural position is that of subordination to the white man. Never threaten a man individually. If he deserves to be threatened, the necessities of the times require that he should die. A dead Radical is very harmless—a threatened Radical is often troublesome, sometimes dangerous, and always vindictive.
Every club must be uniformed in a red shirt and they must be sure and wear it upon all public meetings and particularly on the day of election.

16. White Line & Red Shirts continued
Mostly in South Carolina and North Carolina
Murdered and threatened African Americans during political campaigns
Disrupted Republican rallies
Killed black state militia members
“a dead radical is harmless – a threatened Radical is often troublesome…”
Goals of Both
Intimidate African Americans from voting
Encourage more white Southerners to vote

17. Did it work? Yes, the Democrats did gain seats in Congress No
Election numbers show a rise in African Americans voters
But was successful in driving more white Southerners to the polls

18. Federal Invention Called for to control violence
Federal government’s hands were tied
Ruled that the federal government only had the right to stop STATES from denying rights to citizens. INDIVIDUALS who denied individuals from their rights could only be prosecuted by the state, not the federal government.

19. Ending Quick Write Title, date, publication
What OBJECTS and people do you see? What do they mean?
What WORDS do see? What do they mean?
What ACTIONS do you see?
What is the artist’s message? What does this mean?
Who was the audience?