The Collapse of Reconstruction

and .

Settling the West

1868-1896

Grant Administration->Grant had won the

Presidency in 1868• However, Grant believed

the president's role was to carry out laws, and leave everything else to Congress

->This meant the Presidency was weak and ineffective

->Eventually, this led to a split in the Republican party.

Republicans Split• During Grant’s first term, the Republican-

controlled Congress enforced Reconstruction• Congress expanded programs in the South->The Republicans taxed imports, paid off debts,

and started re-building the Southern economy.• Some of these taxes included “sin taxes”, on tobacco

and alcohol

->Democrats attacked these policies though.• They said the policies (especially the sin taxes) hurt the

poor - who paid most of the sin taxes.

->Democrats argued that wealthy Americans were gaining too much influence in the government.

Republicans Split• Some Republicans agreed with the

Democrats.->They were called Liberal Republicans.

• These Republicans were concerned that corrupt officials were dominating the Republican Party.

• The Liberal Republicans tried to prevent Grant from being nominated for a second term. • When that failed, they left the Republican party, and nominated

their own candidate, Horace Greeley.

->In order to get support in the South, the Liberal Republicans said they would pardon all former Confederates.

->As a result, the Democrats joined with the Liberal Republicans and nominated Greeley too.

Grant’s Second Term• Even though Greeley had support

from the Liberal Republicans and the Democrats, he still lost the election.

• Grant was elected for a second term in 1872.

->However, his second term was not perfect - there was a series of scandals that hurt his reputation

->William Belknap: Grant’s secretary of war accepted bribes from merchants in the West. Belknap resigned.

->“Whiskey Ring” Scandal:• The Whiskey Ring was made of government officials and distillers• Distillers make alcohol (whiskey in this case)• They filed false tax reports and cheated the government out of

millions of dollars.

The Panic of 1873• During Grant’s second term, there was also a huge

economic crisis. ->The Panic of 1873

->The banking firm Jay Cooke and Co. made a series of bad railroad investments, and declared bankruptcy

->People feared that the economy was collapsing, and so panicked and pulled their money from the banks.

->This made many banks close, and caused the stock market to plummet.

• Thousands of businesses were shut down.• Tens of thousands of people were out of work.

Connection to Current Events:How is the Panic of 1873 similar to the current recession?How is it different? Answer in your notebooks.

Reconstruction Ends• Because of the Panic of

1873, and the scandals during Grant’s second term, the Republicans lost popularity.

• Northerners were sick of the struggle to reconstruct the South - they wanted to fix their own economy.

-> In the South, Democrats were regaining power.

-> Some Democrats wanted to “redeem” the South - to “save” it from “Black Republican” rule.

Political Cartoon: This political cartoon is titled “Colored Rule in a Reconstructed? State”. What type of person drew this cartoon?

Reconstruction Ends-> Southern Democrats wanted to

“redeem” the South, and “save” it from the “Black Republicans”.

-> Democrats won back the support of many white southerners (who had briefly supported the Republicans)

-> Democrats also resorted to election fraud. • Some would stuff ballot boxes• Others would steal boxes from

Republican districts and “lose” them. • Many purposely intimidated and threatened African Americans, to

scare them into not voting at all.

• By 1876, the Democrats had taken control of almost all Southern state governments. • Only South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida remained to support the

Republicans.

The Compromise of 1877• Republicans decided not to nominate Grant for a 3rd term (at

this point, there was no limit on how long a person could be President)

-> Instead, Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio.• Hayes wanted to end Radical Reconstruction. -> However, there were issues with the election:

• On Election Day, Tilden (the Democratic Candidate) won 184 electoral votes.

• This was 1 away from a majority• Hayes won 165• There were 20 votes that were unclear. These 20 would win

the election.

The Compromise of 1877-> A special commission was created of 15

people from the House, Senate, and Supreme Court. • There were 8 Republicans and 7

Democrats. • The commission voted along party lines

to give the Presidency to Hayes.

• However, it needed to be approved bythe House and Senate.• Ultimately, both voted to give the Presidency to Hayes.

-> However, Hayes could not have won the election without support from some Southern Democrats.

-> Though we don’t know for sure, it’s likely that Hayes made a deal with these Democrats.

-> This is called the Compromise of 1877. • After Hayes was elected, Union troops were pulled out of the

South, officially ending Reconstruction.

What do you think?In at least 5 sentences,

explore the following questions:

1. Should Hayes have been elected?2. Tilden had more Electoral College

votes - did he deserve to be President instead?

3. Do you think Hayes made a deal with the Democrats?

4. If he did make the deal, why do you think he did it?

What do you think?

The “New South”• When he was elected, Hayes said he wanted to move beyond

Reconstruction and get rid of sectionalism. -> Many Southern leaders called for a “New South”

• The Civil War had eliminated the old South economy - planter elite, slave workers

-> The New South would be based in an industrial economy.

-> Southern Industry• Railroads spread through the south-> Iron and steel industries grew-> Cotton, tobacco, and other agricultures also became profitable.

• HOWEVER: This was still the “Old South” for most African Americans.• Most of the industry was based in agriculture• It was very difficult for African Americans to get jobs that were not

in agriculture.

Sharecropping• The collapse of

Reconstruction hurt many African Americans. It ended hopes of them owning their own land.• Systems like the

Freedmen’s Bureau had collapsed

• Instead, many African Americans had to return to plantations. Many became sharecroppers.

-> Sharecroppers were (usually African-American) farmers who rented land from white plantation owners. -> The sharecroppers would give a share of their crops to

the landlord in order to use the land. Sometimes this was more than 1/2 of the crops produced.

Do Now: Sharecropping - Project Grade

• You are a sharecropper. You find work at a local plantation.

• The plantation owner gives you:• Land: 80 acres Mule: 1• Wage: $100 signing bonus• Salary: 1/2 annual yield (of crops), which you can sell• Work contract: You must work for 1 year.

• In return, you will give the plantation owner• A great harvest! The better the harvest, the more money

everyone makes. • You will get half of whatever you grow! • Sound like a deal? Remember… the chances of you

finding work anywhere else are very slim.

Do Now: Sharecropping• But, before you can grown any crops, you need supplies… • You can buy the following:

• Pitchfork and plow - Buy: $50 Rent:$35• Seeds - Buy: $20• Food - Buy: $40/year Grow: $20/year• Housing - 2 rooms: $30/year 1 room: $15/year• Clothing - New:$15/person Homemade:$10/person• Other expenses - $5

In groups of 4, decide what to buy and how to spend your money. Fill out your choices on your sheet.

It is okay to spend more money than you have - everyone does it - the plantation owner will loan you the money.

Remember, you will get your salary at the end of the year! You can use this to pay back any debt!

Results: Sharecropping• The harvest is in! It’s worth $30!

You owe 1/2 of the harvest for rent. But that still leaves you with $15!

But… you still have to pay off your debts from the beginning of the year.

Do you still owe money?Did you break even?Did you make a profit?

If you owe money… you have to work for another year, minimum. You must work until you pay off your debt.

What do you think?1. Why do you think so many people became sharecroppers?2. Is this a fair system?

Sharecropping• Many African Americans had to return to the farms and

became sharecroppers.-> Sharecroppers did not pay their rent in cash – instead,

they gave half of their crops to their plantation owners. • This usually covered the cost of seed, fertilizer, any animals they

needed, and other supplies, as well as the yearly rent.

• However, many sharecroppers needed more seed or supplies than their landlords could provide.

-> The sharecroppers went to local suppliers called furnishing merchants. -> Furnishing merchants would loan supplies to the sharecroppers –

but with interest rates as high as 40%.

-> To make sure sharecroppers paid their debts, the merchants borrowed crop liens. • This meant that the sharecroppers would have to pay their debt

from their crops.

Sharecropping• Sharecropping was not a fair

system. However, many sharecroppers became trapped on their land.

• Between the crop lien system and the high interest rates for borrowed supplies, many sharecroppers could not afford to leave the farms they worked.

-> This was called debt peonage. -> Debt peonage trapped sharecroppers on the land because

they could never make enough money to pay off their debts and leave.

-> Failure to pay off these debts could lead to imprisonment (jail) or forced labor (working for free under harsh conditions).

-> This meant that, though they were technically free, many African Americans were stuck in an unfair system.

Mining• When settlers moved west they found

more than land.-> Many people started finding deposits

of gold, silver, and other minerals. -> News of a mineral strike in an area

would cause thousands of people to move to the town.

• Many people hoped to strike it rich. -> Early prospectors (people looking

for gold/silver etc.) practiced placer mining and used simple tools like picks, shovels, and pans.

• After these surface deposits got smaller, corporations would move in.

-> The corporations would begin quartz mining which dug deep beneath the surface.

Ghost Towns-> Prospectors would rush to an area that had gold/silver and a town could spring up practically overnight.•People living in the area needed food, supplies, places to live, etc. -> However, once the minerals were harder to mine, an entire

town could also empty.•People would have no reason to stay, and would abandon the town.•Even today there are still “ghost towns” in the American West, abandoned by prospectors and their families who moved on to a different area.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

• While many Americans moved west to search for gold, some began building cattle ranches in the West, on the Great Plains.

-> In the early 1800s, many did not think that cattle ranches were practical.

-> However, a new breed of cow from Texas made it more reasonable. This was the Texas Longhorn.

-> The cattle industry grew because of the open range – a vast area of grassland owned by the U.S. government.

• The open range covered most of the Great Plains. • This gave ranchers free land to use for their cattle.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

• Mexican ranchers had introduced cattle ranching in New Mexico, California, and Texas before these areas were added to the U.S.

• These Mexican ranchers developed the tools and techniques for rounding up and driving cattle.

-> Ultimately, American cowboys learned how to herd cattle from the Mexican ranchers.

• The words “lariat”, “lasso” and “stampede” all come from Spanish – taught to cowboys by the Mexican ranchers.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

• Before the Civil War, beef prices were low.• There was no need to round up the longhorns in the

Southwest. It was not practical.-> However, during the Civil War, most of the cows in the

Union and Confederacy had been killed to feed the armies.

• Beef became very expensive. It would be good, financially, to be able to move cows from the West into the East.

-> Also, by the 1860s, railroads had reached the Great Plains.

• Lines ended in Kansas and Missouri.-> Ranchers realized that if the longhorns were rounded up

and driven north (several hundred miles) to the railroad, they could be sold for a huge profit.

Ranching and Cattle Drives

• In 1866, ranchers rounded up cattle in Texas and drove 260,000 of them to Missouri. Although only a small fraction of the cows survived the trip, the drive was a huge success – it made a lot of money!

-> This long drive – from Texas to the railroads – proved that cattle could be driven north and sold for 10 times the price that they would be sold for in Texas.

• More routes East began opening. These long drives could be very profitable for the cowboys and ranchers!

Ranching and Cattle Drives

• A long drive began with the “spring roundup”.• Ranchers would hire cowboys to round up the herds

from the open range.• Cows belonging to many different owners made up each

herd – they could be identified by brands.-> Stray calves that had been born were called mavericks,

and in the spring these were divided and branded.

• The combined herds moving along the trail couldbe anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 cattle.

-> They were driven East by cowboys.

Cowboys• Cowboys worked for the ranchers. It was a cowboy’s job

to round up the cattle and drive them east to the train.-> Who became cowboys?

-> Former Confederate soldiers who were trying to escape the Reconstruction era South-> Former slaves who were looking for jobs that were not based in farming

• Cowboy life…•Cowboy life was hard – it demanded discipline, endurance and courage. •However, you could make a lot of money as a cowboy.-> Also, many cowboys exaggerated their own stories – leading to cowboys becoming heroes of dime novels and early movies.

End of the Cowboys• Eventually, ranchers started competing for access to the

Great Plains.• This led to range wars - battles that broke out to

compete for access to the plains land. • This led to ranchers fencing off land, usually using

barbed wire.• Although this made it easier to keep track of the cattle,

and helped divide land amongst the ranchers, this put an end to the long drive.

• Also, investors from overseas and the East Coast poured money into the cattle industry, which caused an oversupply of animals, and flooded the market.

• Weather in the plains also became an issue - it no longer made sense to keep cattle free on the range.

Farming the Plains• Many people thought that

the Great Plains were a desert - there is very little rainfall there (les than 20” a year).

-> The Plains were home to buffalo and Native American groups who hunted them.

• White American settlers began moving West when railroads spread to the areas.

• This settlement of the Great Plains was supported by the government.

Farming the Plains-> The government passed the Homestead Act.-> For a $10 registration fee, you could file for a

homestead. -> A homestead was a tract of public land that was

available for settlement. A homesteader could claim up to 160 acres of land.

• After living there for 5 years, a homesteader would own the land.

• With property rights secured, people were more likely to move to the Plains.

Farming the Plains• Living on the Plains was not easy. • There were very few trees and

little water.• The first homes were made of dirt

and grass.• Summer temperatures could rise

past 100 degrees, but in winter there were severe blizzards.

• Prarie fires were common and spread quickly.

• Sometimes, swarms of grasshoppers swept over farms and destroyed the crops.

• Despite this, people stuck it out and lived on the plains.