Reconstruction and Its Effects 395
B
Vocabulary
amnesty: a pardon
granted by a
government,
especially for
political offenses
LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE
To curtail Klan violence and Democratic intimi-
dation, Congress passed a series of Enforcement Acts in 1870 and 1871. One act
provided for the federal supervision of elections in Southern states. Another act
gave the president the power to use federal troops in areas where the Klan was
active. However, President Grant was not aggressive in his use of the power given
to him by the Enforcement Acts, and in 1882, the Supreme Court ruled that the
1871 Enforcement Act was unconstitutional.
Although federal enforcement of anti-Klan legislation was limited, it did con-
tribute to a decrease in the Klan’s activities in the late 1870s. However, the reason
for the reduction in Klan violence was the Klan’s own success—by 1880, terrorist
groups had managed to restore white supremacy throughout the South. The Klan
no longer needed such organized activity to limit the political and civil rights of
most African Americans.
SHIFTS IN POLITICAL POWER
By passing the Enforcement Acts, Congress
seemed to shore up Republican power. But shortly after these acts went into effect,
Congress passed legislation that severely weakened the Republican Party in the South.
With the Amnesty Act, passed in May 1872, Congress returned the right to
vote and the right to hold federal and state offices—revoked by the Fourteenth
Amendment—to about 150,000 former Confederates, who would almost certain-
ly vote Democratic. In the same year Congress allowed the Freedmen’s Bureau to
expire, believing that it had fulfilled its purpose. As a result
of these actions, Southern Democrats had an opportunity
to shift the balance of political power in their favor.
Scandals and Money Crises Hurt
Republicans
As Southern Republicans struggled to maintain their hold
on Reconstruction governments, widespread political cor-
ruption in the federal government weakened their party.
During the early 1870s, scandals plagued the Grant admin-
istration. These scandals diverted public attention away
from conditions in the South.
FRAUD AND BRIBERY
President Grant was considered
an honest man. However, he had had no political experi-
ence before becoming president and found it difficult to
believe that others might use him for their own political
advantage. When making political appointments, he often
selected friends and acquaintances rather than people of
proven ability. Too frequently, Grant’s appointees turned
out to be dishonest.
Beginning in 1872, a series of long-simmering scandals
associated with Grant’s administration boiled over. First,
the New York Sun exposed the Crédit Mobilier affair, in
which a construction company had skimmed off large
profits from a government railroad contract. This scandal
involved several leading Republicans, including Grant’s
first vice-president, Schuyler Colfax.
REPUBLICAN UNITY SHATTERED
A group of Repub-
licans, angered by the corruption, called for honest, effi-
cient government. They formed the Liberal Republican
Party in 1872, hoping to oust Grant in that year’s presi-
dential election.
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
B
Identifying
Problems
Why was the
government weak
in its ability to
confront the Klan?
THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Although the United States
focused largely on domestic prob-
lems during Reconstruction, the
nation did have one significant
dealing with a foreign power. In
1870, President Grant attempted
to annex the Dominican Republic,
one of two nations sharing the
Caribbean island of Hispaniola
(the other being Haiti).
This action aroused a storm of
controversy. The plan’s support-
ers believed that annexation
would increase Caribbean trade
and spread “the blessings of our
free institutions.” Opponents
pointed out that the Dominican
Republic was caught up in a civil
war and felt that the United
States should avoid involvement
in the conflict. The Senate reject-
ed the annexation treaty.