Heimler's History: The Failure of Post-Civil War Reconstruction

Overview

• Focus on post-Civil War Reconstruction.
• Topics: Southern society and economics post-war, and the end of Reconstruction.

Southern Society and Economics Post-War

1. Black Emancipation and Efforts for Independence

   • Establishment of black schools and colleges (e.g., Morehouse, Howard).
   • Political representation: Some black men elected to office.
   • Freedmen's Bureau: Aimed to reunite families, provide education, and social welfare.

2. Challenges and Continuities

   • Sharecropping System:

     • Replaced slavery but maintained similar conditions.
     • Black workers exploited in contracts binding them to plantations.
     • Sharecropping offered in theory as a chance for independence.
     • In practice, it was akin to coerced servitude (affected poor whites too).

   • White Supremacy and Segregation

     • Constitution granted citizenship, but not true equality.
     • Formation of the Ku Klux Klan in 1867, perpetuating terror and violence.
     • Black Codes: Laws restricting freedoms (e.g., borrowing money, testifying in court, segregation).

The End of Reconstruction

1. Federal Troops and Southern Resistance

   • Federal troops stationed to ensure Reconstruction policies.
   • Concerns over conditions worsening post-troop withdrawal.

2. Compromise of 1877 and the Election of 1876

   • Election of 1876:

     • Contested between Samuel Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes.
     • Tilden won the popular vote, but electoral votes in dispute (South Carolina, Louisiana, Florida).
     • Special commission (majority Republican) awarded disputed states to Hayes.

   • Compromise of 1877:

     • Democrats conceded to Hayes' presidency.
     • Condition: Removal of federal troops from the South.
     • Resulted in Democratic dominance and worsened conditions for Southern blacks.

Conclusion

• Post-Civil War Southern society remained largely unchanged due to systemic practices like sharecropping and Black Codes.
• The Compromise of 1877 marked the official end of Reconstruction, leading to a resurgence of oppressive policies in the South.