Ratification Of The 14th Amendment

To please the crowds Governor Hutchinson arrested the soldiers and promised the people that there would be a trial. John Adams and Josiah Quincy took the defense of the soldiers and Preston. The soldiers went to trial in September and they and captain Preston pleaded innocent. The eight men and Preston were tried separately and only two were found guilty. The others were acquitted while the two found guilty were branded on the hand and released, an easy penalty for murder. Preston was found innocent. Adams was successful in proving the soldiers fired in self-defense.

Most of the officeholders were white men who had been on the political margins before the Civil War. In the Deep South, African Americans whom had just been freed from slavery were allowed to serve as state representatives and senators, county commissioners, treasurers, and occasionally sheriffs. They regarded the civil enfranchisement and the political empowerment of African Americans as the grossest of illegitimacies and the direst of threats. Initially through vigilante bands such as the Ku Klux Klan, but eventually through organizations with close ties to the Democratic

Along with being left with nothing but wasted years, casualties, and deeper in debt, the Confederates lost their cause and this made them angry. The Ku Klux Klan offered protection and support along with what they thought was justice. “To protect the weak, the innocent, and the defenseless, from the indignities, wrongs, and outrages of the lawless, the violent, and the brutal; the relieve the injured and oppressed; to succor the suffering and unfortunate and specially the widows and orphans of the Confederate soldiers.” This support and understanding that the Ku Klux Klan offered was attractive to the poor white Southerners. The Ku Klux Klan imposed extreme fear on African American, their purpose to discourage the African American vote for the Republican party. This in turn defeated the whole purpose as to why the Fifteenth Amendment was passed. A direct quote from: Political Terrorism by the Ku Klux Klan. “Q: What are they afraid of? A: Of being killed or whipped to death. Q: What has made them afraid? A: Because men that voted radical tickets they took the spite out on the women when they could get at them.” This primary document only adds to the point that African Americans during the Reconstruction period were terrorized and pressured to do what the Confederates demanded. Although all African Americans were free and Reconstruction had taken effect, African Americans in the South were still not living in peace during

When blacks were given the right to vote, it was only somewhat successful. Many blacks did use their new political power to vote as it is shown in Harper's Weekly (Document G), but whites still tried to stop them. Literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and fear caused by the Ku Klux Klan were used to keep blacks from exercising their right to vote. Another issue of reconstruction was the banking and currency system. In an attempt to uniform the currency, Senator John Sherman gave a speech saying that with "a currency and a medium of exchange, we shall have a broader and more generous nationality" (Document B). At the time many states had their own currency and a change needed to be made to unite the states. A sense of nationality was needed as the nation was in turmoil after the attempted secession of the South. Reconstruction came to an end in 1877 with the Compromise of 1877. Rutherford Hayes became president for agreeing to end federal support for Southern Republicans and building a transcontinental railroad. In this compromise he also withdrew troops from the South. This, along with the rejection of laws protecting blacks from discrimination, brought reconstruction to an end in 1877.

     Hayes won the disputed election. Four states submitted irregular returns. It was disputed if the Republican president of the Senate or the Democratic Speaker of the House should count them. It was decided that an electoral commission made up of fifteen men. There were eight Republicans and seven Democrats, so the Republicans won. The Democrats would only accept this with conditions, one of which was to remove troops from the south.

This lecture Dr. David Blight talked and touched and John Brown. How John Brown died and his imagination was filter by his Christian faith. John spoke living for the slaves and dying for the slave. John Brown capture was discussed. I learned in this lecture about the importance how the republic party would be and how it would it threaten the south. At this time an election was planned. Steven Douglas was a candidate who made slips ups. I was surprised that in 1860 the Democrat party was the only party at this time. I was also surprised that Democrats came up with a slave code. The wanted it to be a constitution amendment. They had a 2/3 rule went lead to division because of the lack of success. This division was the southern democrats and northern democrats. During this slip the southern and the northern democrats nominated two candidates. In 1860 election there were an huge amount of votes. Strangely,60% didn't vote for Lincoln. I really enjoyed watching this lecture. I learned so much from Dr. David Blight's lectures because he is detailed in each

“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.” In the 1880’s poll taxes and literacy requirements that afterward advocated African Americans to vote. Meanwhile Klan violence frightens from police and employers, blacks were still “protesting”about voting rights. As a result, there were over two dozen blacks serving in state congress across some

Rutherford B. Hayes had one of the most controversial presidential elections. In 1876, Hayes won the Republican presidential nomination. Nearing the end of the election, South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida had trouble with the ballot. To solve the problem, a group of representatives voted on where all the aforementioned states votes would go. The majority of the panel were Republican, Hayes’s party and he was voted into office. The Democrats were outraged. There was an agreement made, and many troops in the south were called back. This officially ended the Reconstruction of the states. Rutherford B Hayes was named the president by the council and began his term March 4, 1877.

neither side was willing to compromise. Consequently, both pro-slavery and anti-slavery partisans flooded Kansas and

Forever. 170). The Klan were white southerners who were organized and committed to the breaking down of Reconstruction. By methods of brutality, “the Klan during Reconstruction offers the most extensive example of homegrown terrorism in American history” (Foner. Forever. 171). The Ku Klux Klan as well as other groups killed or tormented black politicians or threatened the blacks who voted in elections. The Klan strongly disagreed with the northern idea that slaves should become part of the government. The Historian Kenneth M. Stampp states, “for their [the North] supreme offense was not corruption but attempting to organize the Negroes for political action” (Stampp. Era. 159). This corresponds with Foner’s idea that the South was not open to the idea of change but more so consumed with the idea of recreating a society similar to one of the past. However, the goal of white power groups was not just politics. The Klan wanted to restore the hierarchy once controlling the South. Foner observes that, “the organization took on the function of the antebellum slave patrols: making sure that blacks did not violate the rules and etiquette of white supremacy” (Foner. Forever. 172). Like the power the southern whites formerly held over the slave population, the Ku Klux Klan wanted to control the African American population still living in the South. They did not want the freedmen to become integrated into their society because they saw them as lesser people. By suppressing and

In contrast to Douglass, Washington’s famous speech known as the “1865 Atlantic Compromise” was not a protest or challenge of the political system, nor did he speak about the lack of social equality. Instead he focused his efforts on what blacks could accomplish, how they could compromise. He believed the militant rhetoric of Douglass and others distracted blacks from the path of liberty, equality, and economic success. Washington’s speech emphasized that it was the dual responsibility of blacks and whites to make the blacks a more

Youtube.com). Hate groups started to develop and the actions put forth by congress were not very effective at this time. One popular hate group was the Klu Klux Klan. “The KKK was formed in Tennessee and was created to terrorize blacks” (pinzler.com). Members of the Klu Klux Klan wore white robes and pointed hats. These hate groups main goals were to terrorize blacks in the South, but they also did other things. “These groups kept African Americans and white republicans from voting” (Sparknotes.com). There were consequences for people that were involved in hate groups; “If anyone attempting to prevent a person from voting [usually blacks or white republicans] would be fined or imprisoned” (visitthecapital.gov). Something known as the Klu Klux Klan Act was passed around 1871. “Between May 1870 and February 1871 congress passed three bills called the enforcement acts” (Visitthecapital.gov). Overall, these acts were meant to protect blacks on a state and a local level. Besides Black Codes and the groups there was another problem in the south which had to do with the 14th and 15th amendments. The 14th amendment was created on July, 9 1868 during the time of reconstruction. According to

Victory was won in the Electoral College for Lincoln. This election firmly established the Republicans who held presidency for 60 of the next 100 years. He helped form the new Republican Party, drawing on remnants of the old Whig, Free Soil, Liberty and Democratic parties.

In 1876, Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden were competing for the presidency of the United States. Tilden was winning by a landslide. Already winning the clear majority of the popular vote, Tilden had also amassed 184 of electoral votes, just one short of a majority. To arbitrate the returns, Congress established a 15 member electoral commission. By a straight party vote 8-7 the commission awarded the distributed electoral votes as well as presidency to Rutherford Hayes. Angered Democrats threatened to filibuster, to prevent the electoral votes from being counted. This must have worried the Republicans quite a bit for they met with Southern Democrats February 26 in Washington. In Washington, the two parties came to an informal understanding,

After the War of Northern Aggression, the South was cast into chaos, as many whites were forced to confront their previous slaves as equals. The majority of white southerners were emotionally and economically crushed by the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865. Many of the largest and most successful Southern cities were destroyed during the Civil War. The South remained deeply rural for many years to come after the Civil War, developing a strong sharecropping culture that served as a widespread solution to the vast economic turmoil. Political factions, such as the Redeemers, were a conservative, pro-business extension to the Democratic Party that pursued the removal of carpetbaggers and scalawags throughout Reconstruction. Many laws were passed in Southern states that alienated African-Americans during Reconstruction, such as state passed voting laws.