New Groups Take Charge of Reconstruction

1. New Groups Take Charge of Reconstruction With the right to vote African Americans are elected to government positions.

2. 15th Amendment • In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified granting all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of race

3. In the South, African Americans held major positions but never in proportion to their population. At the national level, 16 African Americans served in the House and 2 in the Senate between 1869 & 1880 African Americans in Government

4. Hiram Revels was an African American senator elected in 1870. (Mississippi) He started a school for freed Blacks and served in the Union army. Famous Black leader Frederick Douglas campaigned for Revels Hiram Revels

5. Blanche K. Bruce was an African American Senator elected to the Senate in 1874. (Mississippi) He was a former runaway slave who became educated and taught in an African American school. Blanche K. Bruce

6. Carpetbaggers were black and white politicians, government agents, businessmen, and adventurers from the North who traveled to the South during Reconstruction. Some were from the Freedmen’s Bureau and other government agencies set up to help freed Blacks. Some were humanitarians there to help. Some were seeking to exploit political and financial problems in the South. Carpetbaggers

7. Many carpetbaggers were able to broaden black voting activity, improve education, and aid in the restoration of the South. Some carpetbaggers were corrupt, looking only to make money. A scalawag was a southern Unionist who cooperated with carpetbaggers. Carpetbaggers & Scalawags

8. 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 and members killed, beat and wounded many blacks and their white friends. They burned black homes, schools, and churches. The Freedmen’s bureau and carpetbaggers fought to stop the KKK and similar organizations. Resistance to Reconstruction

9. Reconstruction brought important changes to education in the South. Education improved for both blacks and whites. The Freedmen’s Bureau and private charities played a major role in spreading education. By 1870 about 4,000 schools had been established, with 200,000 students. More than half the teachers were black. Improvements During Reconstruction

10. Reconstruction governments began creating public schools for both races, which had not existed before the war Within a few years, about 50% of white children and 40% of black children were enrolled in public schools. Generally, blacks and whites attended different schools. Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida required that schools be integrated- include both black and white- but the laws were not enforced. Public Schools

11. Some African Americans were able to buy land with help from the Freedmen’s bank. Most failed to get their own land and had to become sharecroppers. Farming the Land