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African American History from the Civil War to the Present. dr. Liz Bryant. The end of reconstruction…. African Americans during Reconstruction. Could vote Could hold political office Due to Radical Reconstruction. Issue: Idea of “Negro Supremacy”. Idea That Blacks Were Less Than Human.
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African American History from the Civil War to the Present dr. Liz Bryant
African Americans during Reconstruction • Could vote • Could hold political office • Due to Radical Reconstruction
Election of 1876 • Rutherford B. Hayes (165) • Samuel Tilden (184)
Election of 1876 • Needed 185 Electoral Votes to win the presidency
Election of 1876 • Issue: where would the votes for Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana go
Joint Electoral Commission • Created to determine who would get the presidency
Painting of the “Electoral Commission of 1877 (Florida Case)”
Compromise of 1877 • ENDS RECONSTRUCTION
Compromise of 1877 • Disputed votes go to Hayes (Republican) • Military rule in the south is ended
Compromise of 1877 • What does this mean for African-Americans? • All civil and political rights gained during Reconstruction are quickly lost
The “New South” • Whites ensure that African-Americans have no social or political rights
African-Americans in the New South • All of the gains blacks had made during Reconstruction are gone
Blacks and the Republican Party • African-Americans felt as if they had been betrayed by the Republican Party
Blacks and the Democratic Party • Blacks would not support the Democrats on a large-scale basis • White, southern, conservative political party
Who Could Blacks Support? • Greenback Party • Readjuster Party
3rd Parties • Never able to achieve the same success as the Democrats or the Republicans • Goals of African-Americans are never their primary focus
Populist Party • Seen as the best alternative to Southern racism • Wanted farmers of all races to unite against the government • Most popular in the South and Midwest
African Americans and the Populist Party • Promised African-Americans civil and political rights • Did NOT promise social equality
The South and the Populist Party • White supremacy remained more important than Populist ideals • Whites were not willing to vote against the Democratic Party
The Populist Party • Were incorporated into the Democratic Party by 1896 • Stopped being a viable alternative for change
Blacks and Politics • Blacks still saw Republicans as the “Party of Lincoln” • Democrats and Republicans know this • Have no incentive to change their politics
Disfranchisement Techniques • Target anyone who opposed the Democratic Party (scalawags, carpetbaggers) but mostly impacted African Americans
Disfranchisement Techniques • Poll Tax • Grandfather clause • Literacy test • “Understanding” • White primary • Residency requirement • Property Qualifications • Moral Stipulations • “Good Character” Clause
Impact of Disfranchisement Techniques: Immediate and Tremendous • Louisiana • 1894- 130,300 Black Voters • 1900- 1350 Black Voters
Reaction of Northern Whites • Not really concerned • Focused on issues in the north • Racist