Reconstructing Society

Reconstructing Society Chapter 12 Section 2

I Conditions in the Postwar SouthA. Physical & Economic Conditions • Even after all the S states were back in the Union, Rep. did not end the process of reconstruction because they wanted tp make econ changes in S • Most battles fought in Sregion being destroyed & battle scarred • S planters find that value of their prop. Had fallen • Ppl who invested in Confed. bonds wouldn’t collect their $

B. Public Works Programs • Republican gov’ts began public works program to rebuilf & provide social services • Roads/bridges/canals/orphanages • Dev. 1st public school system in the south • These programs made state governments bigger and spent more $ • Econ probs. Made rebuilding the south dif. • N investors reluctant to invest because the war damaged many of the S assets • Raised $ by raising taxes (poll/property/sales/luxury) • The econ. Struggle in the south slowed the regions recovery after the Civil War

II Politics in the Postwar SouthA. Scalawags & Carpetbaggers • Another dif. Of rebuilding south was that the 3 groups w/in Rep. Party often had conflicting goals • Scalawags & carpetbaggers were neg. terms given to them by Democrats (pol opponents) • Scalawags=white southerners who joined the Republican Party • Wanted S to industrialize quickly and thought Rep. would do it faster than Dem. While other supported Union during the war

Carpetbaggers= Northerners who moved S after the war • Belief that they carried so little belongings that they carried it in a bag made of carpet fabric • Some were Freedman’s Bureau workers/ other were ppl who wanted to buy land/businessmen

B. African American Voters • 3rd and largest group was African Americans • Gained voting rights under 15th Amendment • Many voted for first time during reconstruction • 8 out of 10 supported Republicans • Nearly 90% voted

C Political Differences • Diff. among Scalawags, Carpetbaggers, & African Americanlack of unity in Republican Party • Scalawags didn’t support civil rights & suffrage for Af Am  many return to Dem. Party • Republican gov. appoint Dem. To office to persuade whites to vote Republicans • Backfired because it convinced few whites and made blacks feel betrayed • The new status of Af. AM. Depended on change of attitude in S • Some supported Rep. recon. Because they believed it would benefit the S (Northern investment would help recovery) • Many, though, still refused to accept their new status and resisted equal right

II Former Slaves Improve Their LivesA. New-Won Freedoms • First decision as free men & women Af. Amer. Had to make was whether to remain where they were • Moved to town and cities where they could find jobs • Also traveled to track down family members who were separated due to slavery • Freedman’s Bereau assisted some in finding fam. Members • Were able to marry and have children w/o fear of being separated • Assumed traditional roles (Man=breadwinner/Women=stopped working to raise children)

C. Education • 90% of freed slaves were illiterate because they were forbidden to learn as slaves • Quickly organized their own schools, colleges, & universities • Teachers were first mostly northern white women but Af. American teachers quickly outnumbered white teachers • Some white southerners were outraged at the idea of African American edu.violence towards learned Af. Amer.

D. Churches & Volunteer Groups • Slaves began their own “praise meetings” after attending racist white churches • Praise meetings= religious gatherins that features singing, shouting, & preaching by self taught preachers • After warfound their own churches usually Baptist or Methodist & hold services similar to earlier praise meetings • First institution that Af. Amer. Fully controlledpreachers becoming influential in society & community politics • Created their own volunteer organizations

E. Blacks in Reconstruction • Not only voted but organized their own conventions to demand civil rights • Held office in local, state, & fed many of whom were preachers or teachers edu in the N • Although Af. Amer. Were the maj. Of pop. They were not maj. In state leg. And no S state elected Af. Amer. Gov. • By 1866 may S Rep. gov. repealed the black codes & made moves to desegregate public trans. But they were not enforced

III Changes in the Southern EconomyA. 40 Acres & a Mule • Gen. Sherman promises Af. Am. Who join his army 40 acres per fam & a use of army mules • About 40,000 freed persons settle in coastal Gerogia and S Carolina on abandoned and seized lands from confed. • Kicked off land until pres. Johnson allows landowners to reclaim their land and evict former slaves • Former slaves claim most of their land was gained by their work so they deserve part of it

Some radical rep. agree and come up w/ plan to seize plantations of “chief rebels” and redistribute to former slaves • Failed because most rep. considered private prop. A basic Amer. Right that could not be violated • EX of the rejection of this idea is the 1866 Homestead Act • Set aside land for freed blacks and loyal whites but the land was swampy and unsuitable for farming

B. Restoration of Plantations • Planter class wanted to restore the plantation system which focused on one cash crop such as cotton • Northern merchants & textile mill owners encouraged planters for economic reasons • Planters claim to make the system work they needed to have complete control of laborers • Feared they couldn’t make a profit since they had to pay wages and can no longer force long workdays

Planters also faced a labor shortage • Death toll of war reduced # of able bodied workers • Af. Amer no longer wanted to work the fields after freed • Left for better work or better treatment at another plantation • Some freed Af. Amer. Tried to sustenance farm • Growing just enough food for their families • To stop this trend, S whites were determined to percent Af. Amer. From getting land

C. Sharecropping and Tenant Farming • w/o land freed slaves could not provide for their famsign labor contracts w/ planters • Provided w/ wages, food, & housing in return for working in fields • Freedmen believed whites had too much control and whites often did not have cash to pay wages sharecropping & Tenant Farming • Sharecropping= landowners divide their land and give a few acres to each owner w/ seeds and tools • Each worker then gives a art of the harvest to the owner

Those who could save enough to buy their own tools could rent land for cash in a a system called Tenant Farming • Could potential earn enough to become an owner of their farm • This rarely happened because farmers bought their supplies on credit • High prices and a return of the workers future cropsfarmers not harvesting enough to pay past debt and future supplies • Rarely had enough to buy their own farms

D. Cotton no longer King • Demand for cotton begins to fall during Civil Wardrop in prices • S planters tried to make up for loss by growing more cotton rather than diversifying further drop in prices • New industry of Tabaco manufacturing sprang up which helped but did not compare to wages in the N • Banks under stress w/ confederate debt in Sfailing banks • Less availability of credit in S than in N • White frustration w/ poor sit. In the S taken out on Af. Amer.groups that use violence & terror to force Af. Amer. Into giving up their rights

Reconstructing Society