Problem with Reconstruction government were high taxes and what?

Answer 1

Wow! Looks like the Yanks need somebody to defend 'm !

In that case I'd say, the problem was: Southern opposition.

There was simply not enought native SUPPORT for these governments... in fact, very HOSTILE, often highly organized opposition and steps to take them down. (I'll mention some of the means below.)


Frankly, your question appears to be a fill-in-the-blank from a workbook/sheet. If so, t almost certainly has something specific in mind that's found in the material it's connected to (the chapter in the book, or your reading assignment). That means, even if we all provide you with answers that are factually correct, they may NOT be the answer you're being asked for.

That said, I'll try to offer a suggestion of two of what they MIGHT want, and what I believe (check the book, etc. to see whether any of this fits).

One possible answer is something like the extremely difficult ECONOMIC conditions -- so much had been destroyed, so many had died, and now the region's whole economic system (esp. the agricultural base) needed to be rebuilt in a different form.

Another possibility is the need to somehow integrate (into the economic system, then also the political system) this huge population of freed slaves, most of whom had been given no education or preparation for this transition.

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To pick up on what others have said --

I very much doubt your book says "carpetbagger" (unless its at least half a century old!) -- though it MAY say "corruption". That is what some Southerners claimed (and some still do) about these governments. And they specifically blamed the Northerners involved in them (derisively called "carpetbaggers") along with Southern whites who supported these governments, sometimes even joined them (mocked as "scalawags").

These two groups, plus freed blacks who entered government were, in the minds of those who HAD been in charge of the government, in it for themselves, for the power and esp. the money. They supposedly were very corrupt.

Nice story--and it DID help undermined these governments. Only there's not much to it. Over the past 50 years or so most historians have abandoned, or highly qualified this view. Yes, there was SOME corruption - but amidst the rapid change and the many needs (for rebuilding, educating freed blacks, etc) and with that the higher taxes that's not totally surprising. But it was not anything like what was claimed, and far less than in OTHER state governments of that time.. (Also interesting to compare the corruption in the governments AFTER "redemption"!)

Also, the 'carpetbaggers' were MOSTLY people honestly trying to help rebuild, many of them idealistic, and doing so at great personal cost and risk.

And the "scalawags"? These too were not terribly corrupt *as a group*. A large proportion of these folks had ALWAYS been Unionists. They had not wanted to secede, or even openly opposed secession. (Significant regions of several Confederate states were strongly Unionist.) This included remnants of the Southern Whigs, who maintained many of their views (including many in sync with old national Whig, and now Republican, economic policies). They were not "traitors" as the formerly dominant group of Southern whites charged.
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This actually gets us to what I believe WAS the biggest problem for the survival of the Reconstruction governments. It was the firm opposition of groups of Southern whites who believed THEY were the better ones to run things, and who often despised and/or feared the recently freed blacks and those who supported the rights of these 'freed men'.

This is all very sad, but somewhat understandable. Here was a population had been suppressed for so long, had been deprived of education, and in some places outnumbered the white population. It was not surprising they might begin to fear insurrection, and imagine it was happening, even when the evidence was not there.

This opposition took many forms. Some were more "benign", This would include the charges of corruption, a good political move, helping esp to gain support among other Southerners.

Other methods were violent, such as the efforts of new white supremacist groups like the KKK. One major target was Republican, and esp. black voters. Threats lynchings, riots... all finally broke the will of many blacks... so they just stopped voting.

For a time the North used its limited military presence to try to quell all this, but the Northern states grew tired of the effort and the expense (esp. when the country slipped into a depression beginning in 1873). There simply was not political support for sending troops, so Grant had to gradually pull back.and leave the remaining states to be "redeemed".

(Hayes has been criticized for removing the last of the troops, but that was already in the works, and with no political will left to fight for the freedman's rights [and yes, Northern prejudice against blacks DID play a role in this] there was little choice.)

Answer 2

You are certainly correct about the taxes but it went beyond simply taxing. The direct tax (of 1861) was levied against the States of the Confederacy and decided that those States would have to collect said tax themselves. Failure to collect the tax would result in a ‘50%’ penalty applied to those States. Additionally was the corruption within those sent south as agents of the Union. For example, when someone could not pay the tax their land was sold to cover that tax. In most proceedings the proceeds realized from such sales would have the amount of the tax owed deleted from the sale amount with the remaining amount going to the former land owner. However, that didn’t occur in these cases because the agents kept all of the monies realized from these sales including that beyond the tax amount.

Then there was the ‘Captured and Abandoned Property Act of 1863, the Confederate governments prior acquisition of most of the cotton crop (as well as abandoned plantations) provided the rational for Union Treasury Officials to confiscate said cotton. However, since these Union agents were corrupt, they simply confiscated all cotton even when it was owned by private parties.

This corruption was so bad that President Lincoln’s (new) Secretary of the Treasury in 1865, stated, “I am sure I sent some honest agents South; but it sometimes seems doubtful whether any of them remained honest very long.” This was apropos when it was realized that with in excess of 100 million dollars of property confiscated, the government (Union) received only 30 million dollars.

In addition there was the federal excise tax on cotton which before it was repealed in 1868 took another 68 million dollars from the South.

While there was a Union program to resettle freed slaves to land that was abandoned plantations, it was more likely that freed slaves would be compelled to work (albeit for wages) on plantations under supervised conditions on plantations yet owned by Southerners or plantations to white Northerners.

The issue which caused (and still does) much consternation was the issue of session. That is, did the States secede legally (constitutionally), or did they rebel and yet remain as States of the Union. This came to a crux (subsequent to the war) when facing the legality of the elected State legislatures and the elected representatives to the United States Congress. Several issues impacted this challenge. For example, the black codes passed in these southern States following the war. These codes made the northern legislatures irate. Many threats were made and many of the elected (Southern) representatives to the United States Congress were refused their seats. In addition there was the 14th Amendment which was rejected by many of the southern States’ legislatures. The Union subsequently dismissed many of these legislatures and replaced them with hand picked individuals which subsequently ratified (1868) the 14th Amendment which was the only way it ratified.

The question then becomes is this legal and does the 14th Amendment stand or is it null and void. This question was answered when the case of Texas v. White [1869] reached the Supreme Court. Here the court opined that the Union federal government had the right to do this due to the ‘Right of Conquest” The union over the Confederacy. Of course this then raises the question, can States of the Union be conquered by the Federal government. If not then the Confederate States were free, independent, Sovereign States of a foreign country. That would mean that secession was legal and that the American War of the 1860s was initiated by the invasion of the Confederacy by the foreign country of the United States.

Answer 3

good question. And for the above poster..."The greater money you're making the greater money you should pay in taxes". actual, the greater money somebody makes the greater money they already DO pay in taxes. in keeping with Obama's proposed tax plan i do no longer understand the way it must be seen patriotic: somebody making $18,000 money a 300 and sixty 5 days could get an added $40 5.00 a month. somebody making: $66,000 money a 300 and sixty 5 days could get an added $80 4.00 a month. He desires to tax the utmost actual share (the actual .a million%) above $2.87M an added $seven-hundred,000 a 300 and sixty 5 days. the actual a million% $six hundred,000 to $2.87 M an added $one hundred fifteen,000 a 300 and sixty 5 days. ok, so if taxes are raised on the actual earners so severely the growth of their organisation/ organisation will go through. yet howdy, then they are able to in basic terms lay human beings off with the intention to pay their taxes. perhaps 35 of their $20,000 a 300 and sixty 5 days workers or approximately 10 of their $66,000 a 300 and sixty 5 days workers. Then i assume the greater desirable $$ for those interior the 60% of taxpayers selection won't count for them whilst they have not got a job .

Answer 4

Carpetbaggers

Answer 5

military dictatorship, if state legislators did not agree with Union generals they were shot, only ex-slaves could vote, Northerners who were elected to office plundered state treasury. I am sure there were more problems but this is all I can think of.

gatita_63109