Reconstructing Reconstruction

 "Although Maycomb was ignored during the War Between the States, Reconstruction rule and economic ruin forced the town to grow."

Many cities in the south didn't send troops to fight in the Civil War and were ignored by those who did. But after the war when the US government was enforcing reconstruction, when they were trying to rebuilt the south in ways that could benefit both whites and freed blacks economically, it turned out to be a mess. The "Radical Reconstruction" period militarized the south and allowed blacks and whites to work together. Many revolutionary changes were being made and there were black people being elevated into the political sphere. This lasted for about ten years. Even though the North sent troops to the south to assist with Reconstruction, there were problems. Carpetbaggers were republican supporting people who came from the north to try and ruin and take advantage of the issues in the south. Scalawags progressed the idea that yeah black people can have rights but white people are just better and should be in control of everyone's political and economic life. Then Andrew Johnson along with the Republican congress passed "black codes" minimizing the amount of labor blacks could work and inherently forcing them to work for next to nothing as the hands of their old white masters. In TKAM you see Calpurnia, not a slave but still working for a white man. To make matters worse, an economic depression hit in 1873, clouding peoples visions. White Americans didn't want to pay for reconstruction and were tired of it. Cities started seeing reconstruction as a waste that they didn't even want that was draining their money. (Maycomb was one of them.) President Ulysses Grant's horrible first term and reputation didn't help. Once the North got tired of trying to boss the South, they withdrew their troops and all the efforts of reconstruction were reversed. The south was free to their own racist devises until the Civil Rights movement or the 1960's

 

Carpetbaggers invade the South

Anti-reconstruction and Black right to vote cartoons. Black men are often portrayed as dumb

Reconstruction

Carpet baggers and scalawags