Why did the abandonment by the North cause

reconstruction to fail?

By: Maddie Tishman, Caroline Bradley, and Grayson Moran

Claim: Reconstruction failed because the North abandoned it in an effort to solve problems within the Union.

Grantism: Corruption in government

● President Grant had no political experience ● When making political appointments he selected friends

rather than people with proven ability● Internal revenue collectors accepted bribes from whiskey

distillers who wanted to avoid paying taxes this defrauded the federal gov. of millions of dollars- Grant’s private secretary was involved

● a company had skimmed off large profits from a gov. contract this was called the crédit mobilier affair exposed several leading republicans and Grant’s vice president 1

11 Danzer, , Klor De Alva, Krieger, Wilson, and Woloch. The Americans. Houghtin Mifflin Company, 2005.

Panic of 1873• In Grant’s speech to the Senete and HOR, he declares:

o “In the midst of great national prosperity a financial crisis has

occurred that has brought low fortunes of gigantic proportions”2

• The country plunged into severe economic depression• “Unbridled expansion of factories, railroads, and farms

and contraction of the money supply through the withdrawal of greenbacks helped trigger the Panic of 1873”3

• The economic problems distracted northern republicans from the south forcing them to abandon reconstruction altogether and focus on how to relieve themselves from their economic distress

2. American Government, s.v. "Ulysses S. Grant: annual message (1873)," accessed October 14, 2013. http://americangovernment.abc-clio.com/.

3. Study Notes, inc. "AP US History." Ap Study Guide.

Concern over westward expansion and Indian Wars

• The US began to create railroads (including the transcendental railway) which intruded on Indian land

• Indians lost people, land and food sources because of the US building a railways

• Indians thus started war with the US• The government became focused on Westward

expansion and fighting off the Indians they became distracted from Reconstruction, ultimately abandoning it

The election of 1876

● Hayes (Republican) vs. Tilden (Democrat) ● Tilden won popular vote, Hayes won electoral vote● Congress appointed a commission to deal with problem ● Commission was republican, thus appointed Hayes as president ● House of Representatives was democrats (approves all election results)● HOR agreed to let Hayes be president as in return for a few demands

○ First demand: withdrawl of troops from Louisiana and south carolina (2 of the 3 southern states still governed)

○ Second demand: withdrawl of troops from Louisiana and south carolina (2 of the 3 southern states still governed)

○ Third demand: withdrawl of troops from Louisiana and south carolina (2 of the 3 southern states still governed)4

4. Danzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, and Woloch, The Americans, (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005), 399.

BibliographyDanzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, and Woloch, The Americans, (Houghton Mifflin Company,

2005), 399.

(The election of 1876)Encyclopedia of Emancipation and Abolition in the Transatlantic World, s.v. "Reconstruction,"

accessed October 10, 2013, http://welproxy.minlib.net/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.credoreference.com/entry/sharpeeman/reconstruction

Reconstruction and Westward Expansion. Last modified April 18, 2006.

http://www.jamestownpublicschools.org/persell/index.php/ Reconstruction%20and%20Westward

%20Expansion.

Study Notes, inc. "AP US History." Ap Study Guide. Last modified 2006. Accessed

October 10, 2013. http://www.apstudynotes.org/us-history/topics/

the-end-of-reconstruction/.

Da