1870s

• In 1870, the 15th Amendment forbade the denial of the vote to any man on basis of colour, race or ‘previous condition of servitude’.
• The number of black people in north remained as less than 5% until after 1877.
• In 1870s, 22 BAs were elected to Congress, 20 to House of Representatives and 2 (from Mississippi) to Senate.
• Hiram Revels, minister of religion, sat in Senate for a year.
• Blanche K. Bruce sat for the full 6 year term. He was the first black leader who had an important political career after war. However he lacked support and was unable to increase civil rights.
• The Freedman’s Bureau was closed in 1872, showing that the north was losing its enthusiasm for matters in south.
• Reconstruction ended in 1877 and the southern steps regained political control over own territory and used ‘state’ rights to retain old way of life and limit AAs.
• The Slaughterhouse Case (1873) was the fed Supreme Court deciding that citizen rights should stay under state control. Ruled that 14th Amendment protected individual and not civil rights.
• By early 1870s, most southern states developed own Redemption Governments.
• The Civil Rights Act in 1875 that made it clear that equal rights applied to public areas (e.g. drinking houses and public transport) was not enforced.
• US v. Cruikshank (1876):

  • Riot in Louisiana
  • 70 AAs and 2 whites dead
  • Over 100 white men arrested by feds
  • White men freed when Supreme Court ruled that the Enforcement Act empowered fed officers to take action against states not individuals.
• The Hayes Compromise of 1877 agreed that Democrats would accept Hayes as president and he promised to withdraw remaining troops from south. Reconstruction ended.
• Due to 15th Amendment, southern states used poll tax, property qualifications, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses to limit BAs from voting.