Effects Of The Compromise Of 1877

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The Compromise of 1877 was brought on by the disputed election of 1876. The Democrats had clearly won but this was disputed by a few large states. This election was between Democrat Samuel J. Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Congress created a commission to try and resolve this dispute and the commission voted in favor of Hays giving him all of the electoral votes from the disputed states, which in turn gave Hayes the victory. This led to a series of compromises from the Republicans to the Southern Democrats which included: “The appointment of at least one southerner to the Hayes cabinet, control of federal patronage in their areas, generous internal improvements, federal aid for the Texas and Pacific Railroad, and most important, withdrawal of the remaining federal troops from the South” (Brinkley 363). These compromises are what jump started The “New South”. The compromises were supposed to help create a more Republican South but in turn did the exact opposite. The South went in a different direction. The “New South” had a lot of effects on of different subjects. The economy in the south grew tremendously, the politics changed and were predominantly democratic, and the African Americans were losing all of the things they had gained through reconstruction. These changes where exactly what Southern Whites wanted and in some cases it is what the Republicans hoped would happen. The “New South” was a reality by the end of the 19th century and changed the South by growing economically, becoming Democratic politically, and having even worse race relations. The economy in the south grew exponentially after reconstruction or, during the “New South” period. During this time the South became more industrialized and operations tha... ... middle of paper ... ...to do this because mill owners would fend off other stores so that there would be less competition. This meant that merchants could sell goods at whatever prices they wanted to because there was nowhere else to buy them. This would make it hard for workers to purchase goods and get out of debt. The biggest economic problem in the South was that most farmers were tenants and share croppers. This made it hard for workers to become profitable because they were constantly in debt to the land owners. There was still not a lot of opportunity for African American workers. Some industries such as the textile industry offered almost no opportunity for African American but some industries such as tobacco and iron provided some but not a lot. Even with all of the problems and discrepancies, the south still grew economically in the post-reconstruction period of the “New South”.

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