U.Grant 1869-1877

• Ulysses S. Grant


  Renowned general in the Civil War, key in ending the war, not a great president during Reconstruction
• Grant initially supported Johnson but split from him over issues including the sacking of Stanton
• Grant was selected as the Republican candidate in 1868 but was not enthusiastic about politics
• Grant won 214 electoral college votes against 81 for Horatio Seymour, receiving 52% of the popular vote in part due to black votes in the South
• 15th Amendment


  Proposed in 1869, ratified in 1870, stated the right to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
• Southern states found ways around the 15th Amendment, including poll taxes, literacy tests, and the grandfather clause
• The main way of stopping black votes during Reconstruction was through violence and intimidation
• Reconstruction is considered a failure as it did not prevent the Jim Crow era and ongoing racial issues in America
• In 1873, the South Carolina House of Representatives had 123 members, 100 of whom were black
• Republican party tended to place white men in key offices, trying to attract white votes despite the reliable black vote
• Carpetbaggers


  Northerners who moved South, accused of profiting
• Scalawags


  White Southerners who supported the Republican party, viewed negatively by other whites
• Force Acts of 1870 and 1871


  Prohibited discrimination, gave federal courts power to enforce, gave president power to use military to uphold
• Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871


  Made KKK intimidation tactics federal offenses, authorized president to suppress KKK, prohibited KKK members from serving on juries
• Grant's 1872 election victory was confusing due to a split in the Republican party and the death of his opponent Horace Greeley
• The economic crisis of the 1870s led to a loss of focus on Reconstruction, boosting the Democrats
• The collapse of the Freedmen's Bank had long-term negative economic impacts on the black community
• The 1875 Civil Rights Act was largely ineffective due to lack of federal power over state-level segregation