United States History Student Edition

03 The South During and After Reconstruction

Southern Politics During Reconstruction GUIDING QUESTION How were African Americans prevented from participating in civic life in the South? Republicans controlled Southern politics during Reconstruction. Groups in charge of state governments supported the Republican Party. These groups included African Americans, some white Southerners, and white newcomers from the North. African Americans in Government Although they had fewer rights than white Southerners, African Americans greatly influenced Southern politics. During Reconstruction, African Americans played important roles as voters and as elected officials. In some states, their votes helped produce victories for Republican candidates—including African American candidates. For a short time, African Americans held the majority in the lower house of the South Carolina legislature. Approximately 2,000 African American men held public office around 1877. Those in the legislatures worked to revise state constitutions and pass laws to support public education and civil rights. At the national level, 16 African Americans were in the House of Representatives and 2 served in the Senate between 1869 and 1880. Carpetbaggers and Scalawags Some Southern whites supported the Republican Party. These were often pro-Union business leaders and farmers who had not been slaveholders. Former Confederates who resented those who had been pro-Union called these people scalawags (SKA•lih•wagz), a term meaning “scoundrel” or “worthless rascal.” scalawag a name given by former Confederates to Southern whites who supported Republican Reconstruction in the South

READING STRATEGY Analyzing Key Ideas and Details Read carefully to determine what changes Reconstruction brought to the South. As you read, use a diagram like the one shown here to record details about how African Americans were impacted by Reconstruction.

Key Idea:

Details:

FLORIDA BENCHMARKS

• SS.8.A.1.2 • SS.8.A.4.3 • SS.8.A.5.8 • SS.8.CG.1.3 • SS.8.CG.2.2 • SS.8.CG.2.3 • SS.8.CG.2.4 • SS.8.CG.2.5 • SS.8.E.1.1 • SS.8.E.2.2 • SS.8.E.2.3 • SS.8.G.1.2 • SS.8.G.3.1 • SS.8.G.4.2 • SS.8.G.5.2 • ELA.K12.EE.1.1 • ELA.K12.EE.4.1 • ELA.K12.EE.5.1

This card shows South Carolina’s first state legislature following the end of the Civil War. The members included numerous African Americans.

Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division [LC-DIG-ppmsca-30572]

485

GO ONLINE

Explore the Student Edition eBook and find interactive maps, time lines, and tools.