Home Rule Quiz

1. Home Rule Quiz • Who were the “Redeemers”? • Name any of the Supreme Court cases that limited the effectiveness of Radical Reconstruction. • Name one reason why Northerners no longer supported reconstruction by 1876. • Who became President as a result of the Compromise of 1877? • What happened to reconstruction after the start of “Home Rule”?

2. Who Killed Radical Reconstruction? A Historical Mystery

3. The Redeemers The Amnesty Act, passed in 1872, restored the right to vote and hold elected office to 150,000 former Confederates. These new voters held a deep-seated resentment toward the Republican Party and Radical Reconstruction. They joined the Democratic Party. As these new Democrats became more politically powerful, a new political strategy began to develop. It was called Redemption. The Redeemers sought to return power in the South back in the hands of white elites. By 1875, Democrats recaptured the state governments of AL, AR, GA, MS, NC, TN, TX and VA.

4. Supreme Court During the 1870s, a moderate Supreme Court began to examine Radical Reconstruction legislation. The Supreme Court began to question whether Congress had the power to create the laws that became the foundation of Radical Reconstruction. These laws included the 14th and 15th Amendments. The Slaughterhouse Cases (1873) limited what were “civil rights”. Most rights were granted by the states, not federal government. US v. Cruikshank (1876) federal government could not enforce laws that protected freedmen from violence. This is a state power. US v. Reese (1876) ruled the 15th Amendment did not give people the power to vote, but limited states ability to restrict voting rights.

5. Northern Apathy During the mid-1870s, Northerners appetite for Reconstruction began to fade. Why? The Panic of 1873 Political corruption in Grant’s and Carpetbagger gov’ts Death of Sumner and Stevens – lost of ideological leaders Big Business and the West

6. Moderate Republicans The Election of 1876 is the most controversial Presidential election in US history. The Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes. The Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden. Even though Tilden won a clear majority of the popular vote, the electoral was less clear. Tilden won 184 votes to Hayes’ 165 (20 votes were disputed). Someone needed 185 to win! Congress created a special commission to resolve the crisis. Moderate Republicans made a deal with Southern Democrats that gave Hayes the Presidency in exchange for: • Removal of all remaining troops in the South. • Federal money for Southern transportation improvements. • Hayes needed to have a Southerner on his cabinet. This is called the Compromise of 1877.