US History

U.S. History Study Guide

Reconstruction Dwindles During the 1870’s, the Radical Republicans lost influence in Congress with the death of two important leaders, Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens. The reports of corruption in “reconstructed” governments tired Northerners’ interest for Reconstruction. Then, economic panic and political scandal diverted the nation’s attention. Another key factor contributing to the interest in Reconstruction were the rulings of the Supreme Court. In a series of decisions, the Court reversed many of the movements the Radicals had begun. The Supreme Court Rebuts Reconstruction In a series of cases in the 1860’s and 1870’s, the Supreme Court established a narrow reading of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. The Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment only protected the rights of national citizenship, not state citizenship, and allowed for a number of restrictions on state voting privileges. In the years following this decision, many Southern states imposed literacy tests, poll taxes, property requirements, and grandfather clauses (which allowed only those men to vote whose grandfathers had voted) in an effort to limit voting among blacks. Since many blacks were poor and uneducated, and their grandfathers had not voted, they could not pass these new voting requirements. The Court limited the extent of the Fifteenth Amendment. Since the Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871 served to strengthen the Fifteenth Amendment, the Court declared key parts of the acts invalid. 14.17 Reconstruction under Grant Administration 1869-1877 Although a great general, Grant did not make a great president, he was naive and many times taken advantage of by friends and advisors. Grant's administration went down as an administration of corruption and he is ranked one of the worst presidents in U.S. history, along with Andrew Johnson. Corruption and Opposition In 1868, the Union Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Democratic candidate for president, Horatio Seymour. Grant’s two terms in office were laden with scandal, including the 1869 “Black Friday” scandal, the 1875 “Whiskey Ring,” and the 1876 “Belknap Scandal.” The widespread corruption in Grant’s administration weakened the Republican Party and diverted the nation’s attention from Reconstruction. • Black Friday , Grant’s brother-in-law conspired with two powerful businessmen to corner the gold market • Whiskey Ring , Grant’s personal secretary was proven to have taken bribes from a group of distillers seeking to evade millions of dollars in taxes • Belknap scandal , Grant’s secretary of war, William E. Belknap, was impeached for accepting bribes to sell Native American trading posts in Oklahoma.

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