Veronica Rainone After the Civil War, the American South was war-torn and in shambles.

The system of labor which they had relied up as an economic standard had been destroyed, and the autonomy which the plantation owners of the area had fought so hard to retain was gone. After the North reigned victorious, the South entered a period known as Reconstruction. During this period, a litany of groups attempted to shape the course of the Souths new direction. The groups that attempted to influence Reconstruction were; the rich white Southern planter elite, the yeoman farmers, the Republicans, the scalawags, the carpetbaggers, and the freedmen. When the civil war ended and slavery was officially abolished, the planter elite attempted to reestablish their political dominion. Though with the signing of the treaty of Appomattox, they surrendered their fight, and ultimately accepted the emancipation of the slaves (thereby ceasing their system of labor), the planter elite attempted to use Reconstruction to rebuild their hegemony within the South. This meant subjugating the black people into a system similar to slavery, with the only difference being that they (the blacks) had to subsist for themselves, and instead of threats of punishment, they would be faced with threats of termination. The planter elite intended to; let everything proceed as formerlythe contractual relation being substituted for that of master and slave (Foner, Short History of Reconstruction pg. 60). In the initial stages of Reconstruction this was made easier due to President Johnsons lenient policies. Because of this, the planter elite were able to establish Black Codes, which stipulated that blacks (1) could not own or lease land, (2) had to show proof of yearly employment, and (3) could not be hired by another employer until their contract was fulfilled with their current one. The planter elite were a part of, and aligned with the Southern Democrats (most of them being high ranking members). Because of this, they frequently clashed with the Radical Republicans (whose ideologies and

plans for the South clashed with theirs). One main policy that the Planter elite had was to maintain control of their land (not allowing the blacks to rent or own). Foner states; control of black labor rested upon maintaining their own privileged access to the productive land of the plantation belt. (Foner, Short History of Reconstruction pg. 60). This idea was a standard amongst nearly all the planter elite, believing that the only way to maintain economic and social dominance within this new South was to maintain control of the land. This theory however was tested because of the weak land to labor ratio. During this time, there was more land acreage than there were laborers to tend to it. Because of this, the freedmen had the advantage in determining what land they worked on; as one farmer stated; it was lucky to get a negro at any price (Foner, Short History of Reconstruction pg. 63). In an effort to alleviate this shortage of labor, the Planter class began to encourage immigration; however this still did not bring them relief. Partly due to this labor shortage, the planter elite could not reduce blacks to wage earning laborers. What they ended up doing, was establishing what was known as a system of Sharecropping. Sharecropping was when a plantation owner would employ a (generally) black family to tend to their land, and in idea be given a third of the value of crops, minus supplies. Unfortunately, the landlord was usually the only vendor for supplies, and because of this the sharecroppers ultimately received little to no revenue, and oftentimes wound up in debt to the landlord. Ultimately, sharecropping became the dominant form of black labor in the South. This was because it both; gave the planter elite economic leverage, and gave the freedmen a form autonomy over their working conditions (a motivation which they aspired for). Though sharecropping was generally an unfair pursuit, the South gave it legal backing by implementing various lien laws which granted the landlords first claim on a tenants crop. This caused freedmen to established a dependency with sharecropping.

Another policy the Planter elite established were enclosure laws which were in response towards freedmens attempts to avoid sharecropping through settling on vacant land. Many freedmen were hunting, and fishing for their own subsistence, as well as farming on unoccupied terrain. These enclosures laws contained; (1) laws that regulated hunting, and fishing, (2) taxes levied upon gun licenses and hunting dogs, and (3) prohibition of animals grazing on vacant land. While all these stipulations were enacted to maintain control over the freedmen, the enclosure laws also hurt smaller Yeoman farmers. The Freedmen were the newly freed blacks. Their motivations regarding the new Reconstruction South were based upon the things which they had previously been denied; their autonomy. Their main goals were to achieve economic independence, and to ultimately become land owners. Until they could raise the necessary funds to buy, they aspired to rent land. They refused to become wage earners in fields viewing it to similar to the previous conditions that they faced within slavery. The idea of tenant farming appealed to them, due to the fact that they could maintain control of where their families worked, and above all else they could ensure that their wives stayed out of the fields. The latter being a sign of manhood amongst male freedmen. They were unable to participate within general Tenant farming however due to the necessary credit needed to pay upfront to the landlord. The banks would not give the freedmen credit to rent out the land, and therefore had to instead partake in the newly established Sharecropping system. Those who diverged from the Sharecropping system instead began to settle on vacant land to subsist for themselves through hunting, farming, and fishing. This however was made impossible through the aforementioned enclosure laws. Because the Freedmens motivations and ideologies greatly contradicted the Southern planter elite (who were Democratic), along with the fact that it was the party who freed them, the

Freedmen were aligned with the Republican party. Prior to laws which disenfranchised them, many freedmen took an active role in the Republican party of the South; many even serving as elected officials in state legislations. The Carpetbaggers was a derogatory term used to describe the Northern people who migrated to the South during reconstruction. They received this name because a majority of them would come to the South with all their belongings packed into a carpetbag. Carpetbaggers were Northerners who purchased land, leased plantations, and formed partnerships within the South. Many of them were soldiers who were motivated to come to the South by profit, and in some cases ideological change. Foner writes of one Carpetbagger who upon coming South stated; I am going to introduce new ideas here in the farming line and show the beauties of free over slave labor. (Foner, Short History of Reconstruction pg. 68). The carpetbaggers attempted to reform the South using economic regeneration assisted by scientific methods previously utilized in the North. The Southern planters were skeptical that these methods would be embraced and welcomed by the freedmen. The skeptics had credence as the closely supervised work, changes in routine, challenged the pace of work the employed freedmen were previously accustomed to, and directly contradicted their desire to direct their own labor. The Carpetbaggers, as well as much of the North were doubtful of the Freedmens ability to control their own labor the New York Times even writing; If the freedmen were to become productive free laborers, it must be done by giving them new masters (Foner, Short History of Reconstruction pg. 67). The Carpetbaggers were also very influential in the Deep South, in reforming the state legislations, and adapting Northern policies into the South. Scalawags were white Southerners who supported the federal reconstruction plan. Castigated by the Southern Planter elite as white negroes; they were viewed as men who had

betrayed the South in their quest for political office, and status. The Scalawags were composed of outside men of prominence and rank, wartime unionists, entrepreneurs who advocated a new modernized south and Yeomen farmers who sought to preserve semi subsistent agriculture. The Scalawags were firmly aligned with the Radical Republicans, and their view of a Reconstructed South. Many of the underlying reasons for this alliance were their motivation for financial benefit. Along with this, the Scalawags were also involved in an alliance with the Freedmen, sharing many mutual goals for the South. This alliance was perceived by many as a marriage of convenience with both groups mutually benefitting the other. The Yeomen farmers were the smaller non-plantation farmers that resided in the South. During the time of Reconstruction, many laws implemented by the Planter elite in order to castigate and subjugate the Freedmen also had adverse effects upon them. The aforementioned Enclosure laws, more specifically the law stipulating the illegality of free grazing seriously hindered the Yeomens ability to provide for themselves. This continued with the planter elites enforcement of a Tax Code which revised the tax laws so that the bulk of taxes would be levied on holders of personal, rather than real property. While real property refers to land and real estate, personal property consisted of everything excluding this, including houses, tools, and business capital. This Tax Code meant that while the Planter Elite would pay little to no taxes, the Yeomen would pay the bulk of them. These policies added on to the already resentful attitude the Yeomen farmers had towards the Planter elite. In the early years of Reconstruction the Yeomen were the ones not paying the bulk of taxes, however these codes changed things. The Republican party was a single entity with a litany of different motivations and strategies for Reconstruction in the South. President Andrew Johnson had a weak post war strategy towards reforming the South. His plan entailed leniently restoring the Souths former

status, and letting them essentially retain their autonomy. His policy towards the Southern states was much more lax compared to other groups within his party. This basically allowed the Southern planter elite to establish the Black codes, and initially restore things to the status-quo (excluding slavery). President Johnsons main motivation for implementing this strategy was to appeal to his Southern supporters. He believed in a Reconstruction that would make the Southerners swear oaths of loyalty, and implement a proscription towards rebels; not rights for African Americans. The Radical Republicans led by Thaddeus Stevens believed that the South should be dealt with using a firmer approach. Foner states that; the driving force of radical ideology was the utopian vision of a nation whose citizens enjoyed equality of civil rights seen to by a powerful beneficial nation state. (Short History of Reconstruction pg. 65) Because they controlled the House of Representatives, the Radical Republicans were able to take control of Reconstruction efforts. They began this takeover, by refusing to seat the representatives from Southern states. By doing this, they now had the two thirds majority necessary to override Presidential vetoes, and therefore controlled much of the executive process of passing laws, which granted them executive power. The main objective of the Radical Republicans was to destroy the aristocratic power of the planters and create an interracial democracy within the South. Though the idea of blacks having economic rights was debated within the Republican party, what was mutually agreed upon by all factions was that they should have political rights. In response to the Black codes, the Radical Republicans passed the Fourteenth Amendment which made all freedmen citizens, along with the Fifteenth Amendment which made it unconstitutional to deny a person the right to vote based on race(the former amendment making the black codes illegal, while the latter amendment aiding the franchisement of African Americans). The main facet of establishing the period of Reconstruction known as Radical

Reconstruction was the implementation of the Reconstruction Acts. These acts disbanded the state governments within the South, and placed the entire area under martial law (breaking the region down into five districts). The Reconstruction Acts also established and supported government agencies such as The Freedmens Bureau. The Freedmens Bureau assisted the African Americans with gaining land and finding employment, as well as building schools and hospitals. The Republicans also had another subgroup within their party whose motivations were more industrially based. Going into Reconstruction, this group of Republicans viewed the freedmen as a check on the previously unchallenged power of the planter class. The groups aligned with the Republicans were the freedmen, the carpetbaggers, and the Scalawags. These groups shared common interests with one another in regards to Reconstruction. The Northerners had grown increasingly malcontent with the way that Reconstruction had been going. They were tired of deploying troops to break up racial disturbances in the South, and they were revolted by the corruption that was common in urban political machines, and the Senate. Overall they were fed up with Reconstruction, feeling that their job was done. Along with this sentiment of discontent, economic problems were confronting them, which caused their priorities to shift. The Panic of 1873 brought forth with it a depression which ultimately distracted them from Reconstruction. Reconstruction ultimately ended with the presidential election of 1876. Rutherford B Hayes the Republican nominee and Samuel J Tilden the Democratic party nominee from New York were caught in a controversial election wrought with corruption throughout various states voting systems, bringing forth an electoral crisis. With some returns disputed neither candidate had the necessary number of electoral votes in order to take the presidency. In order to rectify this situation, a backroom deal was struck which gave

Hayes the presidency in exchange for the troops to leave the South, and therefore cease Reconstruction. Reconstruction ultimately failed to establish racial equality and black freedom due to the fact that those in charge (the Radical Republicans) did not carry out all their intentions for the South. An early promise that they made to the freedmen was that they would redistribute the land seized during the war and give them each forty acres and a mule. Though the idea of government redistribution of personal property was illegal, the Republicans believed that it could be done because the South had seceded, and were no longer (initially) part of the United States of America, could in fact be treated like an occupied territory which they seized. If the land had actually been redistributed, this would of given the freedmen the economic independence necessary for establishing political institutions, and making strides towards forming an interracial democracy. This plan was not implemented however, due to the fact that the driving force behind the Radical Republican party was the industrial class, who feared that this would set a precedent which would threaten their own property (the radical working class at this time was calling for the nationalization of factories in the North). Reconstruction was a period within the South directly after the Civil war. The South was war-torn, and ravaged by the destruction of conflict. There economic system (slavery) was defunct, and its people were forced to regroup and reestablish themselves. The planter elite, the Yeomen farmers, the freedmen, the carpetbaggers, the scallywags, and the Republicans were groups that each had a distinct (yet sometimes overlapping) vision for what direction Reconstruction would pull the South in. These groups intentions shaped the South into what it became.