“In 1790, a thousand tons of cotton was being produced every year in the South. By 1860, it was a million tons.” When Congress called for the abolishment of slavery, thousands of southern farmers lost money because of the decline of laborers who used to do the job for them. The farmers could no longer live off what they earned because of the dropped prices of crops. The infuriated southerners decided to abuse the freed slaves which began the corruption and chaos in the …show more content…
In 1866, the Civil Rights Act issued by the Republicans insured that blacks had equal rights. Being a former Tennessean, President Johnson, vetoes the bill to try to help his Democrat friends in the South. However, this bill became the first to be passed over a president’s veto. This act most likely became one of the most significant successes of Reconstruction, but as always, the South did not strictly enforce these laws. Along with the Civil Rights Act, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment allowing all US-born people the right to be equal. The following year in 1867, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment which became confirmed officially in 1869. The amendment prevented voting restrictions due to race. Hiram Revels, a black senator, became the first out of sixteen blacks to be elected to Congress. This portion of Reconstruction succeeded for the most part, but something had to be done to stop the South from disobeying the