VS 8 - Reconstruction

In 1865, the Civil War ended when General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House.

When the war ended, slavery was now illegal, and the Southern states needed to rejoin the Union.

What was Virginia like in 1865, following the Civil War?  Millions of freed slaves needed housing, clothing, food and jobs.  Virginia’s economy was in ruins: o Money had no value. o Banks were closed. o Railroads, bridges, plantations and crops were destroyed.

Virginia, and other Southern states had to RE-Build. Another word we use for the time of rebuilding is RECONSTRUCTION. What can be done to solve some of the problems that Virginians (especially the newly freed slaves) faced after the Civil War?

Problem: Solutions: Millions of freed slaves needed housing, clothing, food and jobs. Freedman’s Bureau: a government agency that provided food, schools, and medical care for freed slaves and others in Virginia.

Sharecropping: White owners rented land to freed slaves or poor white farmers. The renters farmed the land and paid for their rent with the crop that was harvested.

Immediately following the Civil War, African-Americans had more rights than ever before. They were no longer slaves, and were even granted the right to vote. African-American men could hold positions of power in the government.

Gradually, these new freedoms and rights were taken away when Jim Crow laws were passed in the south.  Jim Crow laws established segregation of the races. o Segregation means to separate. Examples of the separation of races were separate drinking fountains for blacks and whites, separate schools, different seating arrangements on buses, white-only restaurants and stores. o Jim Crow laws were an example of how African-Americans were discriminated against, or treated unfairly.

How Jim Crow laws affected African-Americans in the South:  African Americans were given the right to vote, but had to pay a poll tax, or take an unfair tests to place a vote.  African Americans were forced to use separate drinking fountains.  African Americans and white children attended different schools. VS 9 Desegregation and Massive Resistance

African Americans were discriminated against from the times of Reconstruction (1865-1870) through the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Around this time, African Americans began demanding equal treatment and recognition of their rights as United States citizens. This is called the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans wanted to desegregate (meaning not to be separate), and they wanted integration (being together) in the schools.

During the Civil Rights Movement, some very important things happened, that helped change the way that African Americans were discriminated against, and to change segregation.

 In 1954, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional, and that all schools needed to integrate (African American and white students would come together in one school).

o Some leaders in Virginia, and people living in Virginia did not want this to happen.

. Virginia’s government, headed by Harry F. Byrd started a movement called “Massive Resistance”. Byrd wanted to “resist” the integration of Virginia schools, and wanted to keep segregated schools. Keeping schools segregated was illegal. . Some schools in Virginia closed so that they would not be integrated!

. The policy of Massive Resistance failed, and Virginia’s schools were integrated.

Important Accomplishments of African Americans in the twentieth century (1900’s).

. Maggie Lena Walker became the first African-American, woman, bank president in Richmond, Virginia.

. Arthur Ashe was the first African-American winner of a major tennis championship. He was also an author, and tried to change the way African-Americans were treated.

How did the state of Virginia change following the Civil War and Reconstruction? Virginia was no longer able to depend on agriculture as the main way to make money because old ways of farming were no longer effective and crop prices were low.

Virginians needed to find new ways to make a living. People moved from rural areas to more urban areas with factories and businesses.

Railroads were very important in expanding businesses and industries. Railroads transported people and products and helped small towns grow into larger cities.

Towns that grew into larger cities with higher populations of people:  Roanoke became an important railroad center.  The railroad brought new people and jobs to Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News.  Petersburg, Alexandria, and Lynchburg grew rapidly.  Coal deposits were found in Tazewell County in southwest Virginia and became an important industry in Southwest Virginia (Appalachian Plateau).