8B Social Studies
Section 4: End of an Era
Chapter 17: Rebuilding the Nation (1864-1877)
Background:
1876, millions visited the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia
Celebrated first 100 years of the United States
Modern industry displayed: telephone, elevator, giant steam engine four stories high
Looking to the future, most lost interest in Reconstruction
Late 1870s, conservative whites had regained control of the South
I.
Radicals in Decline (p. 496)
A. Radical Republicans hurt by corruption in Grant’s office
B. 1872, Congress passes law pardoning former Confederate officials, and they solidly
voted Democratic
C. Southern whites terrorize African Americans trying to vote
II.
End of Reconstruction (p.497)
A. Election of 1876 between Samuel Tilden (Dem. Gov. of NY), who was known for
fighting corruption, and Rutherford B. Hayes (Rep. Gov. of OH), who vowed to fight
dishonesty in government
B. Problems with the votes during election especially Southern Republican states of
Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina
C. Hayes ends Reconstruction, removed federal troops from SC, FL, and LA
III. Separate but NOT Equal – Voting Restrictions (p. 499)
A. Poll Taxes: required voters to pay a fee to vote (poor freedmen can’t afford)
B. Literacy Tests: required voters to read and explain a difficult part of the Constitution
(kept blacks and some illiterate whites from voting)
C. Grandfather Clauses: allowed whites to vote without taking the literacy test if their
father or grandfather had been eligible to vote
D. Jim Crow Laws: segregation laws for black and whites dealing with schools,
restaurants, theaters, trains, hospitals, etc.
segregation: separation of people of different races
E.
Plessy v Ferguson: makes segregation legal as long as facilities were equal (which
they rarely were)