Cultural and Symbolic Aspects of Reconstruction

Cultural and Symbolic Aspects of Reconstruction By Carina, Natori, Mia, Mike N. and Mike L.

Southern Culture: A New Beginning • The main pillars of the Southern culture didn’t vanish immediately • The war did have some immediate effects • The Cotton Kingdom and other agricultural industries that defined Southern economy, society, and way of life were decimated • Southern men who fought the war for state’s rights felt deeply betrayed and mistrustful of the planter aristocracy they once coexisted well with • Slavery was over; blacks were now free

Southern Culture: Maintaining the Past • The South attempted to maintain its cultural institutions of black inferiority through discriminatory black codes • The codes made a travesty of freedom, and gave the South a chance to return to its antebellum ways of life

Leadership: Change • The assassination of Abraham Lincoln created a vacuum of leadership in a country desperate for a steady, guiding hand who would bring the North and South together (while making sure the North maintained its values) • The new president, Andrew Johnson, symbolized a turn for the worse for African Americans • Lincoln was their hero, Johnson was their bogeyman

Leadership: Shift in Power • Johnson’s pro-South policies and easy terms for bringing states back into the Union infuriated Republicans, who began passing veto-proof laws themselves • No longer was leadership centralized in America - there was no single respected figure who could bring the Union together

Southern Culture: Northern Encroachment • The North wouldn’t allow the South uphold black suppression • Northern military stormed Southern states • The Freedmen's Bureau began providing blacks with land, supplies, even education • Congress eventually passed voting rights for freed blacks • Some Northerners saw the South as an economic opportunity and tried to take advantage of the reconstruction efforts (carpetbaggers) • The North began molding the South (primitive/backwards) into its own image • Nation was thrown into a war of cultures: North trying to change an intransigent South

Leadership: Conflict • The first four years of Reconstruction were marked by a constant war between the Republican Congress and President Johnson • The fight between Republicans and Johnson became representative of the broader North v. South conflict occurring across the United States • In a sense, the nation was even more divided than it was during the Civil War

Leadership: Taking Sides • Northern Political Parties • Mostly all Republican supporters • Southern Political Parties • Poor Southern farmers and freed slaves supported Republicans • Rich whites supported Democrats • Symbolic of the broken nation itself: the North was dominated by one faction, the South by another, and they simply could not agree

Leadership: The People React • Republicans wanted to impeach (lost by one vote) • Still unhappy with presidential interference • Symbolized American frustration • Johnson didn’t interfere with the reconstruction afterward • Country coming together in a natural way

The Amendments: 13th • Official end of slavery • In broader terms, this amendment acted as a repudiation of the cultural institution that defined the very fabric of the South • The dream of abolitionists, Republicans, and especially African Americans was now realized; but it only represented the beginning of a long, hard fight for civil rights

The Amendments: 14th • Officially made blacks United States citizens - nullifying the Dred Scott decision • Would come to have a much deeper meaning in the fight for Civil Rights, • Equal protection clause would later be used to end discriminatory Jim Crow laws that segregated blacks from whites almost an entire century later • Proved to be a long-term success in the fight for civil rights, in an era marred by failures

The Amendments: 15th • Allowed all men to vote regardless of race, color or previous conditions of servitude • Another major milestone for African Americans • Also acted as a symbol of hope for women • More women, with leaders like Susan B. Anthony, believed it was an injustice they still couldn’t vote • A new conflict was now brewing: American feminists (such as the Equal Rights Association) v. the status quo; like civil rights, it would only continue after Reconstruction ended

Society: Southern Institutions and their Longevity • The Southern idea of white supremacy didn’t fade just because slavery was abolished • Blacks were given more power (for a time) • Southerners hated the North for interfering • Saw Northerners as thieves and dictators, who were trying to end their very institutions and way of life

Economy: Struggle in the South • Without slaves, the South’s economic system needed to be revamped • Sharecropping was introduced, yet another system where whites controlled blacks • Shows how the South was unwilling to make big changes • Blacks attempted to fight this new status quo by rejecting wage labor and instead working for land, in a battle for freedom against the powerful southern institutions of black agricultural labor

Economy: Southern Struggle Continues • South was seen as a better frontier than the West by carpetbaggers, who took financial advantage of the reconstruction • North wanted to help the South’s economy • South saw Northerners as invaders • Resented trying to be made in the economic image of their neighbor

Economy: Effect of Political Divisions • The political turmoil was reflected in economic instability • Since the political scene was a bigger deal at the time, the economy was sometimes put on the back burner • Both the South and, to a lesser extent, the North were experiencing the effects of living in uncertain times

Leadership: More Weakness • Like his predecessor, Ulysses S. Grant proved to be a largely ineffective head of state • Grant’s presidency represented the general feelings of malaise and lack of interest the North was starting to have toward Reconstruction

Southern Culture: Pushback • Southern resistance toward Northern control began increasing • Increasing numbers of white terrorist groups, such as the KKK, began intimidating blacks and Republicans • Slowly but surely, Democrats began snatching back Southern state legislatures from Republicans • These victories became huge symbolic victories for the South; the tide was now turning in their favor

Society: Northern Frustrations • North didn’t want to deal with the drastic changes that the South had during/after the war • Still saw themselves as morally superior to Southerners, and wanted to convert them to their Northern ideals • Economically, politically, and socially rebuilding the South • Frustrated by Southern resistance, moderates began seeking a way out • North was losing the fight to reform the South

The North Loses • In the end, southern resistance won the day • Moderate Republicans grew tired of what they saw as a lost cause • 1877 Compromise: Made by moderate Republicans and Democrats to secure the election of Rutherford B. Hayes, the Compromise removed all northern forces from the South • In a sense, Compromise was a trophy of victory for the South • No longer would the North try to change the South

Economy: What it Represented • The economic situation was a reflection of the tumultuous, divided political scene • Shows the struggle between Northern and Southern philosophies • North believed that they were superior at everything • South was angered by the North’s interference

Southern Society and Culture: What it Represented • Society during this period showed the strains on the North-South relationship that hadn’t been fully addressed • Neither side understood one another • Each side couldn’t understand why the other didn’t understand their own point of view • South was unwilling to change its ways of white supremacy and black discrimination

Leadership: What it Represented • The leadership during the period of Reconstruction was symbolic of the chaotic, divisive nature of America as a whole at the time • No central figure to unify the nation; no coherent plan to fix the Union • Leadership was defined by division and hatred, rather than constructive rebuilding

Reconstruction’s Overall Symbolism • Representative of the struggles and tensions that hadn’t been resolved during the Civil War • Struggles, hatred, and incompetence • North v. South, Whites v. Blacks, Congress v. Johnson, Republicans v. Democrats • Yin-yang effect • North: stable/developed, South: in flux/undeveloped • Struggles of trying to piece back together a broken nation • Desperately needed to come together; overcoming constant conflict proved to be extremely difficult

Reconstruction’s Overall Symbolism Cont. • The conflict ultimately resulted in Southern victory • North could not break the will of the South • The South’s desire to maintain their way of life proved far more powerful than Northern influence • Even after years of Northern occupation and numerous laws from Congress, the Southern flag continued to fly proudly • Battle of equality for all was not over - it would only continue after Reconstruction

The End

Cultural and Symbolic Aspects of Reconstruction