After the end of the Civil War, North Carolina experienced a great deal of changes and turmoil as a result of their sound defeat as a part of the South. More than 30,000 people died in North Carolina as a result of the war, and the economy was decimated by the millions that the Confederacy spent to keep the war going. Racial and economic tensions rose as the state, and the country, attempted to heal from the wake of the devastating Civil War.
One of the biggest changes and conflicts in this era was the impact of the freeing of all slaves on the North Carolinian consciousness. Many whites resented the wealth or the resources they lost as a result of freeing heir slaves, falling into sharecropping along with blacks. Others were fine with giving them their freedoms, but hated the concept of granting them social equality at the same time. During Reconstruction, North Carolina started to pass what were known as "Black Codes," which put many restrictions on the freedom of former slaves. The Ku Klux Klan began to form a presence in North Carolina, among other states, in order to terrorize those African-Americans who were freed and remained in the state. In 1871, the Ku Klux Klan Act was passed, allowing Klan members in North Carolina to be severely prosecuted, but this did not stave off anti-freedmen sentiment in the state. Many groups cropped up to prevent former slaves from getting equal rights or the ability to vote, including the Red Shirts and individuals in Piedmont.
One of the biggest movements in Reconstruction politics was the appeal to white supremacy, which helped conservatives get the legislature back in 1870. In order to bring stability back to North Carolina, the president put North Carolina under temporary military rule, pardoning all southerners who were not wealthy or in leadership positions and who would swear an allegiance to the Union. William W. Holden was appointed by President Andrew Johnson to provisionally govern North Carolina, but state treasurer Jonathan Worth soon defeated him in the following election, quickly bringing back many of his Confederate brethren into Congress. However, these delegates were not allowed to be seated, because of their actions during the Civil War and their continued use of the Black Codes. However, once North Carolina accepted the terms of the 14th amendment, they were readmitted to the Union in 1868. This is further evidence of the growing pains that occurred as a result of years of animosity having to suddenly be reversed.
In conclusion, North Carolina during Reconstruction saw a great deal of changes, both social and political, that changed the lives of those who lived there forever. Due to the forced reconciliation and assimilation of freed slaves into normal society, there were many conflicts and calls to violence by groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Attempts by Republican leaders to maintain control over the South were often stymied as former Confederates found their way back into Congress. The white political upper class started to regain control and slowly suppress civil rights once more, leaving blacks in a grey area between slavery and equality.
Works Cited
Bolton, Charles C. Poor Whites of the Antebellum South: Tenants and Laborers in Central North Carolina and Northeast Mississippi. Duke University Press, 1994.
Du Bois, W.E.B. Black Reconstruction in America, 1860-1180.New York: Harcourt Brace, 1935
Ready, Milton. The Tar Heel State: A History of North Carolina. University of South Carolina
Press; 2005.
