Chapter 12: Section 4The End of Reconstruction

A Sharecropper’s Voice

What do you think about Odell McNeal’s story about life as a sharecropper?

How did his family get tricked into working on another plantation?

Do you think that education is a pathway to freedom?

Was Mr. McNeal’s father threatened?

How did Mr. McNeal describe the amount of supplies given to him and his family?

What is your perspective on “sharecropping” after this video?

Key Terms

Ku Klux Klan

The Enforcement Act of 1870

“Solid South”

The Compromise of 1877

Terror in the South The Ku Klux Klan, formed in 1865 in

Pulaski, TN.

Formed as a secret society by ex-Confederate soldiers.

Goal was to remove Republicans from the South and enforce white dominance over freedmen.

Nathan Bedford Forest was elected as the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan

How could racial violence in the South hurt Democrats?

Federal Response to Terror

Congress passed anti-Klan legislation in 1870 and 1871.

Enforcement Act of 1870 – helped to protect peoples’ right to vote from violent force and threats

Although thousands were arrested it proved difficult to get a conviction of someone. What does this show us about the southern perspective of the Ku Klux Klan?

Who is going to protect them?

What do you think happened when they began to withdraw?

The End is Near Grant’s Presidency was marred with corruption by

members in his cabinet.

How would this effect Republican support?

Reconstruction was expensive in an effort to develop infrastructure in the South.

Taxing and spending put the nation into an economic downturn.

Violence began to become more prevalent as the military withdrew.

Democrats slowly returned to power. Start to form the “Solid South”

The Supreme Court and Reconstruction

The Supreme Court played a role in finishing Reconstruction.

Rulings narrowed the scope of the 14th and 15th amendments.

States had the authority on civil rights for their citizens.

How is this going to affect the effectiveness of the government to protect these legislations?

The End of Reconstruction The Presidential Election of 1876:

Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden.

Congress organized a commission to resolve the close election. Hayes ruled the winner.

Democrats had gained enough power to challenge the ruling and make a deal.

The Compromise of 1877 – Hayes would win, but he had to remove federal troops from the South and give money for further infrastructure developments in the South

No more civil rights legislation.

Was Reconstruction a failure or a success?

Which leaders had the best and most realistic understanding of what was needed?

How did the results of Reconstruction shape the politics of the reconstructed states and the nation at large?