Class Artificial Intelligence Videos

Voting during the Reconstruction Era

The Arc of Reconstruction (1865-1877)

Lincoln's assassination in 1865 was a turning point. His death meant the loss of a leader who might have pursued a more moderate approach to rebuilding the South. Instead, Andrew Johnson took over with a much more lenient stance toward former Confederates, creating immediate tension with Congress.

The 14th Amendment (1868) granted citizenship and equal protection, while the 15th Amendment (1870) prohibited denying voting rights based on race. These were revolutionary changes. Combined with federal troops enforcing these rights, you saw that explosion of black political participation in 1868 - African Americans voting, holding office, and participating in democracy for the first time.

But when Reconstruction ended in 1877 (as part of a political compromise), federal troops withdrew. Without that protection, Southern states systematically dismantled black voting rights through poll taxes, literacy tests, and violence. That's why by 1900, black political participation had plummeted.

Booker T. Washington's Role

Washington emerged as a major leader during this difficult post-Reconstruction period. He advocated for economic self-reliance and vocational education rather than direct political confrontation - a controversial stance, but one he felt was practical given the dangerous climate.

The Great Migration

Movement during the Great Migration

Your note about 90% of black Americans living in the South in 1900, mostly trapped in sharecropping (basically a system of debt peonage), sets up why the Great Migration happened - people fled North seeking better opportunities and escape from Jim Crow oppression.

Disclaimer: This blog post was created with the assistance of artificial intelligence based on class notes from educational videos about the Reconstruction Era.