What was the idea of the New South and how successful was it?
Cheyenne (Varner) Richardson
The New South was a reconstruction to get the South back on its feet, economically speaking. Much of the area had been damaged in the war, down to whole cities being wiped out. There was also the problem of freeing African-Americans from slavery. After the Civil War ended, the United States had to reintegrate both a formerly slave population and a formerly rebellious population back into the country, which was a challenge to be taken on by Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and Andrew Johnson took over. Lincoln’s post-war idea was to make reunion and reconciliation easier, and Andrew Johnson’s guiding …show more content…
But in the end, Republican governments failed in the South. There were important achievements however, such as a school system which, while still segregated, did attempt to educate both African-American and white children. Even more importantly, they created a functioning government where both white and African-American citizens could participate. Reconstruction ended because 1. things like schools and road repair cost money, which meant taxes, which made Republican governments very unpopular because people hated taxes. And 2. white Southerners could not accept African-Americans exercising basic civil rights, holding office, or voting. So for many, the best way to return things to the way they were before reconstruction, was through violence. Especially after 1867, most of the violence toward African-Americans in the South was politically motivated. The worst act of violence was probably the massacre at Colfax, Louisiana, where hundreds of former slaves were murdered. Between intimidation and discriminatory laws, not as many African-American men voted, which allowed white democrats to take control of state governments in the South, and returned white Democratic congressional delegations to Washington. These southern politicians called …show more content…
Hayes. In 1876 there was an electoral dispute between South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. In these situations, there is a constitutional provision that says that Congress should select the winner, but Congress proved unable to accomplish something. They appointed 15 men to choose the winner, 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats, who ended up choosing President Rutherford B. Hayes. In order to win the support of the men appointed to choose, Hayes’ people agreed to give up control of the South and to stop interfering with Southern business and also build a transcontinental railroad in Texas. This is called the Bargain of 1877 because it basically destroyed reconstruction. Without troops in the states and without being firmly in the hands of white democrats the states were free to go back to restricting the freedom of African-Americans, which they did. Social and economic mobility for African-Americans in the south declined rapidly. The reconstruction laws that were passed granted African-Americans political freedom and rights, especially the vote. But to give them what they really wanted, plots of land to make them economically independent, would require confiscation, and that violation of property right was too much for most Republicans. And that
Cheyenne (Varner) Richardson
The New South was a reconstruction to get the South back on its feet, economically speaking. Much of the area had been damaged in the war, down to whole cities being wiped out. There was also the problem of freeing African-Americans from slavery. After the Civil War ended, the United States had to reintegrate both a formerly slave population and a formerly rebellious population back into the country, which was a challenge to be taken on by Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, and Andrew Johnson took over. Lincoln’s post-war idea was to make reunion and reconciliation easier, and Andrew Johnson’s guiding …show more content…
But in the end, Republican governments failed in the South. There were important achievements however, such as a school system which, while still segregated, did attempt to educate both African-American and white children. Even more importantly, they created a functioning government where both white and African-American citizens could participate. Reconstruction ended because 1. things like schools and road repair cost money, which meant taxes, which made Republican governments very unpopular because people hated taxes. And 2. white Southerners could not accept African-Americans exercising basic civil rights, holding office, or voting. So for many, the best way to return things to the way they were before reconstruction, was through violence. Especially after 1867, most of the violence toward African-Americans in the South was politically motivated. The worst act of violence was probably the massacre at Colfax, Louisiana, where hundreds of former slaves were murdered. Between intimidation and discriminatory laws, not as many African-American men voted, which allowed white democrats to take control of state governments in the South, and returned white Democratic congressional delegations to Washington. These southern politicians called …show more content…
Hayes. In 1876 there was an electoral dispute between South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida. In these situations, there is a constitutional provision that says that Congress should select the winner, but Congress proved unable to accomplish something. They appointed 15 men to choose the winner, 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats, who ended up choosing President Rutherford B. Hayes. In order to win the support of the men appointed to choose, Hayes’ people agreed to give up control of the South and to stop interfering with Southern business and also build a transcontinental railroad in Texas. This is called the Bargain of 1877 because it basically destroyed reconstruction. Without troops in the states and without being firmly in the hands of white democrats the states were free to go back to restricting the freedom of African-Americans, which they did. Social and economic mobility for African-Americans in the south declined rapidly. The reconstruction laws that were passed granted African-Americans political freedom and rights, especially the vote. But to give them what they really wanted, plots of land to make them economically independent, would require confiscation, and that violation of property right was too much for most Republicans. And that