Lesson 4: The Post-Reconstruction Era

Key Idea

By the mid-1870s, Northern support for Reconstruction was fading. A severe economic depression, the Panic of 1873, and political scandals shifted the nation's focus away from the South. Many Americans grew tired of the effort and expense of maintaining federal authority there.

The disputed presidential election of 1876 led to the Compromise of 1877. In this informal deal, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes became president. In return, he removed all remaining federal troops from the South. This withdrawal marked the end of Reconstruction, allowing white Democratic "Redeemer" governments to regain control.

Key Idea

While agriculture still dominated, some Southern leaders wanted to break away from the old reliance on King Cotton. They promoted the vision of a "New South" economy modeled after the industrial North.

To build this new economy, the South welcomed investors to build textile mills, tobacco factories, and steel plants. Cities like Birmingham, Alabama, began to grow as industrial centers. Despite these efforts to modernize, the change was slow. For most people, the promise of the "New South" did not match the reality, as the region remained largely rural and dependent on cash crops well into the 20th century.

Key Idea

After Reconstruction, Southern governments passed laws to stop African American men from voting. These laws were written to get around the Fifteenth Amendment, which guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race.

States required voters to pay poll taxes or pass difficult literacy tests. Since many African Americans were poor sharecroppers and had been denied education, these rules effectively blocked them from voting. This process of taking away voting rights is known as voter disenfranchisement.

Key Idea

When federal troops left the South in 1877, the era of Reconstruction ended. White Southern Democrats quickly regained political power and began to undo the progress made by African Americans.

They passed a series of discriminatory rules known as Jim Crow laws. These laws enforced segregation, the legal separation of black and white people in nearly all aspects of public life, from schools and hospitals to restrooms and water fountains. This system of inequality would define life in the South for generations.