8 ChaPter^1
paid in full. The sale of every cropper’s part of the cotton [is] to be made
by me when and where I choose to sell, and after deducting all they owe
me.... Work of every description... is to be done to my satisfaction, and
must be done over until I am satisfied that it is done as it should be.Meet the New South, Same as the Old South?
The emergence of sharecropping, which kept Blacks in a position more like
slaves or even serfs, signaled the failure of racial Reconstruction. The social
system that had prevailed for over 250 years would persist, though the legal
institution of chattel slavery had been banned. With that refusal to grant
equality or civil rights to African-Americans, along with the re-establishment
of the old southern elite in power, it was clear that the Reconstruction had
run its course. The disastrous Johnson administration was replaced in 1868
when war hero General Ulysses S. Grant was elected president, but his admin-
istration was not a model of success either. He was plagued by scandal and
financial crises, and most importantly he put an end to the attempt to recon-
struct American society after the brutal war between the states. By 1872, the
Democrats had regained control of the South because Whites were a major-
ity of voters, and even many Republicans believed that simply providing
Blacks with citizenship and the vote was all that was needed to give them
political and civil rights.
By 1876, the Democrats had taken control of the House of Representatives
and ran virtually every state of the old Confederacy. By that time, Grant was
unpopular so the Republicans chose Rutherford Hayes of Ohio to be their
candidate for president, to run against the Democrat Samuel Tilden. Neither
candidate had any radical visions on race or Reconstruction, and were willing
to accept the status quo. The election was incredibly close, and, like the Gore-
Bush election of 2000, disputed votes prevented a winner from being named
on Election Day. In January 1877, Congress established a commission to
decide the election and, voting along party lines, the Republican majority
chose Hayes. But that victory came with a series of deals and compromises.
The new president promised the South extensive aid for internal improve-
ments [roads, bridges, waterways, and the like], control of federal projects in
their areas, aid for new railroad developments, federal support for business