Ch. 12.2 Reconstructing Society

1. Conditions in the Postwar SouthA. Physical and Economic Conditions• poor economic conditions: property value decreased, small farms ruined, and Confederate bonds were worthless

• population devastated: one-fifth of adult white men died in the war, many were maimed, thousands of African American men also died.

B. Public Works Programs• Republican governments of the South built roads, bridges, railroads, and a public school system• With few financial resources Southern state governments raised taxes slowing the regions recovery.

2. Politics in the Postwar SouthA. Scalawags and Carpetbaggers• Scalawags- White Southerner who joined the Republican Party after the Civil War.• Carpetbagger- A Northerner who moved to the South after the Civil War.

B. Political Differences

• Few Scalawags shared Republican commitment to civil rights.• Republican governors appointed Democrats to persuade white voters to vote Republican, upset African Americans.

3. Former Slaves Face Many ChallengesA. New-Won Freedoms

• Slaves could travel where they wanted, wanted to find jobs in Southern towns and cities.

B. Education• Africans established schools, funded by Freedman’s Bureau and African-American churches.

C. Churches and Volunteer Groups• Churches were the center of political life.• volunteer organizations- fire companies, political organizations, and drama groups. Provided financial and emotional support.

D. Politics and African Americans

• Hiram Revels- First-African American Senator from Mississippi.

4. Changes in the Southern EconomyA. 40 Acres and a Mule• Africans needed land to make money and enjoy their freedom.• Most land given to them was given back to the original owners.

B. Restoration of Plantations

• Planters needed freed Africans to help restore the plantation system.

• African Americans did not want to do this.

C. Sharecropping and Tenant Farming• sharecropping- A system in which landowners give farm workers land, seed, and tools in return for a part of the crops they raise.

• tenant farming- A system in which farm workers supply their own tools and rent farmland for cash.

D. Cotton No Longer King• Demand for cotton decreases during the war.

• Textile mills, tobacco-product manufacturing main source of income.