Anti-African American Factions and Legislation
Black Codes
The Black Codes added to the controversy that republicans denied seats in congress to all members from the eleven former Confederate States. In result, the South intended to preserve slavery as long as possible in order to guarantee a stable labor supply. This led Mississippi to pass first law which was designed to restrict the freedom of the emancipated blacks in November 1865. The Black Codes were an improvement for slavery. It viewed blacks as separate class with fewer liberties and more restrictions than white citizens. Its details varied from state to state but some universal policies applied such as these:
-existing black marriages were recognized
-blacks could testify in court cases involving other blacks
-blacks could own certain kinds of property
-required to enter into annual labor contracts and could be punished
There were also differences such as these:
-blacks could not serve on a jury and weren’t allowed to vote
-barred from renting or leasing land
In many states, blacks could not carry firearms without a license. Freed slaves basically had nothing after their emancipation, no shelter, no food, no clothes, nothing. They became sharecropper farmers and then indentured servants who would be indebted to plantation owners.
-existing black marriages were recognized
-blacks could testify in court cases involving other blacks
-blacks could own certain kinds of property
-required to enter into annual labor contracts and could be punished
There were also differences such as these:
-blacks could not serve on a jury and weren’t allowed to vote
-barred from renting or leasing land
In many states, blacks could not carry firearms without a license. Freed slaves basically had nothing after their emancipation, no shelter, no food, no clothes, nothing. They became sharecropper farmers and then indentured servants who would be indebted to plantation owners.
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan or the "Invisible Empire of the South" was organized to intimidate black voters. African Americans were able to vote but only with protection of federal troops stationed in the south. Black offic holders were gradually replaced when white voters were pardoned and returned to lead southern governments. This Klan was formed to show that whites were still superior over all races. They would shoot into peoples houses, burn their houses down and lynch families of blacks. The election of 1876 and Compromise of 1877 removed military protection for political rights of freedmen and brought an end to reconstruction. Congress, outrages by their actions, passed the harsh Force Acts of 1870 and 1871. Federal troops were able to stamp out much of the "lash law," but by this time the KKK had already done its work of intimidation.
Positive Effect for African Americans
Freedmen's Bureau
The Freedmen’s Bureau was formed to aid and protect newly freed blacks in the south after the Civil War. It was originally supposed to function for only one year after the war ended. There was a bill extending its life but it was vetoes by Johnson who viewed it as an unconstitutional continuation of war powers in peacetime. This sparked the conflict with President Johnson and Republican Congress. The bill was eventually passed over ohnson’s veto. It was one of the most powerful tools of Reconstruction.
It served for five main activities:
-Relief work for blacks and whites in war stricken areas
-Regulation of black labor under new conditions
-Administration of justice in cases concerning blacks
-Management of abandoned and taken property
-Support of education for blacks
When a new state government based on black suffrage was organized in the south under congressional plan, the Bureau was discontinued but the education activities were carried on for another three years.
It served for five main activities:
-Relief work for blacks and whites in war stricken areas
-Regulation of black labor under new conditions
-Administration of justice in cases concerning blacks
-Management of abandoned and taken property
-Support of education for blacks
When a new state government based on black suffrage was organized in the south under congressional plan, the Bureau was discontinued but the education activities were carried on for another three years.
Social Changes for African Americans and Southerners
As the Reconstruction Era came to an end, the social status of both African Americans and Southerners were changing. Blacks could now attend school but it would be an all-black school, and they weren't seen as slaves or property any more. African Americans could now make their own living once they've escaped their indebtment to the Plantation owners. Southerners on the other hand, their social change wasn't as positive. Wealthy Plantation owners lost their slaves and labor which resulted in either selling parts of their land or moving elsewhere. Losing the slaves was very depressing to the South because their economy took a downfall. Southerners began rebuilding their fortunes as soon as they could. Sharecropping became a big impact in their way to restore their life.
Election of 1876
The Election of 1876 was one of the most disputed presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York won the popular vote over Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes' 165, with 20 votes uncounted. These 20 electoral votes were in dispute in three states, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Each State declared the winner of their vote with the exception of Oregon. The 20 disputed electoral votes were ultimately awarded to Hayes after a bitter legal and political battle, giving him the victory. Many historians believe that an informal deal was struck to resolve the dispute: the Compromise of 1877. In return for the Democrats' agreement in Hayes' election, the Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction. The Compromise effectively yielded power in the Southern states to the Democrats.
Citations
S.C. Black Leaders Fought
Racist ‘Black Codes’ Law On This Day In 1865.
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Steinhoff. Birth of the "New South". 2012. mrssteinhoffamericanhistoryWeb. 25 Nov 2012. http://mrssteinhoffamericanhistory.wikispaces.com/Chapter 12, Section 3.
History of the Disputed Election of 1876. 2010. thamanjimmyWeb. 25 Nov 2012.
http://thamanjimmy.blogspot.com/2010/08/history-of-disputed-election-of-1876.html.
Rutherford B. Hayes. 2012. AnswersWeb. 25 Nov 2012. <http://www.answers.com/topic/rutherford-b-hayes>.
10 people who could have become President of the United States. 2012. The Soap
BoxWeb. 25 Nov 2012. <http://thesoapboxrantings.blogspot.com/2012/08/10-people-who-could-have-become.html>.