1.2 Grant Flashcards
What political party was Grant?
Republican and was in favour of radical Reconstruction
What was the Republican election campaign focused on in 1868?
Focused on Radical Reconstruction and the issue of voting rights for African-Americans in the South. The Democrats described reconstruction as revolutionary and unconstitutional. The election was also fought on the emotive legacy of the Civil War and the Republicans presented themselves as the party of patriotism and principle, portraying the Democrats as disloyal. As Grant was a Civil War hero, he was referred to as the ‘Man Who Won The War’.
Who ran for presidency from the Democrats in the 1868 election?
Andrew Johnson had optimistically hoped to run for the presidency again, but the Democrats preferred Horatio Seymour, who had been wartime governor of New York.
What was the result of the 1868 election?
Grant was elected, carrying 3/4 of the states, but the margin of victory was deceptively narrow; Grant’s total of the popular vote was only 300,000 more than Seymour’s.
Where did many of Grant’s votes come from in the 1868 election?
Republican strategists realised how much Grant’s victory had depended on 7,000,000 votes from African-Americans in the South. It made Republicans even more determined to strengthen the provisions for black voting rights.
What was one of the first achievements of Congress after Grant’s election victory?
Republicans in Congress moved quickly to propose the Fifteenth Amendment. This went much further than the Fourteenth Amendment, insisting that the right to vote was not to be ‘denied on account of race, color, or previous servitude’.
When was the Fifteenth Amendment passed and when was it ratified?
It was passed by Congress in February 1869, even before Present Grant was inaugurated. It was ratified by a sufficient majority of the states in 1870.
What did all Reconstruction policies depend on to be effective?
The presence of the US Army in the South. In the eyes of the federal government and Republican reformers, these troops were just a necessary precaution at a time of transition, but many Southerners bitterly resented them as an ‘army of occupation’.
What was the reaction of the South to Radical Reconstruction?
From the beginning, there was intense, often violent resistance in the South against the policies of Reconstruction, including the violent actions of the Ku Klux Klan.
What was the ‘White Terror’ in the South?
The KKK was the best-known of the racist extremists in the South but there were many other paramilitary groups, such as the White League in Louisiana and the Red Shirts in South Carolina and Mississippi. The men in these militias were often ex-Confederate soldiers. Violent intimidation took many forms, especially lynching (beating and hanging victims by mob justice without any trial). The white terror made intervention by federal troops essential for the protection of African Americans
How did the federal government deal with Southern opposition to Radical Reconstruction?
The federal government passed three Enforcement Acts in 1870 and 1871, to strengthen the provisions of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments in respect of equal rights for African-Americans and to try to limit discrimination.
What were the Enforcement Acts often referred to as and why?
The Ku Klux Klan laws because the key motives behind the Acts was to target the ‘White Terror’ of the KKK and other groups, banning the use of intimidation or bribery of black voters.
Under what circumstances was the Civil Rights Act passed?
It had originally been proposed in 1870 by the Radical REpublican Senator for Massachusetts, Charles Sumner. It was intended to guarantee equal treatment in issues such as jury service and public transport. It was passed by Congress in February 1875. Grant supported and signed this measure.
What were opinions on the Civil Rights Act in Congress?
Even some Republicans regarded it as an extreme interference with state governments, and there was a long struggle before it was passed. By 1875 there was mounting opposition to such policies and Radical Reconstruction was losing momentum.
What were the main forms of opposition to Radical Reconstruction?
-Extreme opposition from the ‘white terrorists’
-Political opposition from Southern state legislatures, which gathered strength after the ex-Confederate States were gradually re-admitted to the Union and Democrats fought against Republican majorities
-Powerful reaction from the Democratic Party in the South who called themselves the Redeemers
