Chapter 17 Reconstruction and the New South (1865-1896)

Section 3 The South During Reconstruction

A. AB. B

In your opinion, should President Johnson have been removed from office?A. Yes

B. No

0%0%

In what ways did government in the Southern states change during Reconstruction?

African Americans in Government• African American voters

played an important role in Reconstruct

• Contributing to Republican victories in the South

• Some African Americans were able to win seats as elected officials

• In South Carolina, African Americans held a majority in the lower house of the legislature

• In other states, African Americans held important positions, but never in proportion to their numbers

At the National Level• 16 African Americans served in

the House of Representatives (1869-1880)

• 2 African Americans served in the Senate (1869-1880)

• One was Hiram Revels- an ordained minister

• Revels had recruited African Americans for the Union army

• He also started a school for freed African Americans in Missouri

• He also served as chaplain of an African American regiment in Mississippi

• Revels stayed in Mississippi and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1870

Blanche K. Bruce• The other African

American senator• Also from Mississippi• A former escaped

slave• Taught in a school for

African Americans in Missouri

• In 1869 he went to Mississippi, entered politics, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1874

Scalawags and Carpetbaggers• Some Southern whites

backed the Republicans• Former Confederates called

them scalawags (scoundrel or worthless rascal)

• Some Northern whites moved to the South after the war and supported the Republican party

• Critics called these Northerners carpetbaggers

• Some were dishonest, but many were reformers who wanted to help the South

• Many Southerners accused the Reconstruction governments of corruption

A. AB. BC. CD. D A B C D

0% 0%0%0%

Southern whites who supported Republicans were calledA. scalawags

B. sharecroppers

C. carpetbaggers

D. freedmen

Resistance to Reconstruction• Most Southerners

opposed efforts to expand African Americans’ rights

• Most white landowners refused to rent land to freed people

• Store owners refused them credit and employers would not hire them

• Secret societies, such as the Ku Klux Klan, used fear and violence to deny rights to freed men and women

• The KKK wore white sheets and hoods

The KKK• Klan members killed 1000s of

African Americans and their white friends

• Wounded many more• Burned African American

homes, schools, and churches• Many southerners, especially

planters and the Democrats, back the KKK

• They saw violence as a defense against Republican rule

• 1870 and 1871- Laws were passed to stop the violence of the Klan

• But most Southerners refused to testify against those who attacked African Americans and their white supporters

Education• During Reconstruction, African

Americans created their own schools

• The Freedmen’s Bureau also helped spread education

• 1870s- Reconstruction governments created public schools for both races

• Within a few years about 50% of white children and 40% of African American children in the South were enrolled

• Northern missionary societies set up academies

• These academies grew into African American colleges and universities

• Fisk University in Tennessee and Morehouse College in Georgia

• Only a few states required that schools be integrated, but the laws were not enforced

Farming• Some African Americans

purchased land with the help of the Freedmen’s Bank

• Most were unable to get land• The most common form of

farmwork for freed people was sharecropping

• A landowner rented a plot of land to a sharecropper

• An a crude shack, some seeds, and tools (also maybe a mule)

• In return, sharecroppers shared a percentage of their crops with the landowners

• After paying the landowner, sharecroppers often had little left to sell

• For many, sharecropping was little better than slavery

A. AB. BC. CD. D

A B C D

0% 0%0%0%

What was the relationship between sharecroppers and landowners?A. Landowners owned

sharecroppers.

B. Landowners sold small parcels of land to sharecroppers.

C. Sharecroppers rented a parcel of land from a landowner.

D. Sharecroppers worked the landowner’s land for asmall annual salary.

In what ways did government in the Southern states change during Reconstruction?

-Before the Civil War, only whites could vote or hold office in the South- During Reconstruction, African American men gained these rights-African American voters mostly supported Republicans, helping Radical Republicans take control of Southern state governments-Several African Americans were elected to office

Chapter 17 Section 3 Quiz

African American voters were supporters of the Republican Party.

True

False

50%50%A. TrueB. False

Hiram Revels was a plantation owner.

True

False

50%50%A. TrueB. False

A carpetbagger was a poor person from the South who tried to make money in the North.

True

False

50%50%A. TrueB. False

Many Democrats supported the actions of the Ku Klux Klan.

True

False

50%50%A. TrueB. False

The Freedmen's Bank lent money to help African Americans buy land.

True

False

50%50%A. TrueB. False

Southern whites who supported Republican policy throughout Reconstruction were

called

carp

etbag

gers.

Repub

lican

hostag

es.

scala

wags.

freed

men.

25% 25%25%25%A. carpetbaggers.B. Republican

hostages.C. scalawags.D. freedmen.

Northerners who moved to the South and supported the Republicans were called

carp

etbag

gers.

Repub

lican

hostag

es.

scala

wags.

freed

men.

25% 25%25%25%A. carpetbaggers.B. Republican

hostages.C. scalawags.D. freedmen.

One way some Southerners made life difficult for freed African Americans was to

keep

them

from hold

i..

keep

them

out of s

ch...

refuse

to give

them

w...

supply

them w

ith dis.

..

25% 25%25%25%A. keep them from holding government positions.

B. keep them out of schools.

C. refuse to give them work.

D. supply them with diseased food.

What did Southerners who had the most to gain from the reestablishment of white supremacy see

as a defense against Republican rule?

votin

g rights

violen

ce

coopera

tion

Democra

tic Part

y

25% 25%25%25%A. voting rightsB. violenceC. cooperationD. Democratic Party

What did African Americans find to be little better than slavery?

integ

ration

mov

ing to th

e North

share

croppin

g

land o

wnership

25% 25%25%25%A. integrationB. moving to the

NorthC. sharecroppingD. land ownership

Participant Scores

0 Participant 10 Participant 20 Participant 30 Participant 40 Participant 5

Team Scores

0 Team 10 Team 20 Team 30 Team 40 Team 5