Describe how reconstruction politics play out in section VI of "The Haunted House" by George W. Cable?

Section VI demonstrates the reconstruction politics of the time clearly and unequivocally. In the section, members of the White League terrorize teachers into expelling their black students. As my colleague has already documented the important details for you, I will concentrate on the type of reconstruction politics that led to this terrible state of affairs.

After the Civil War, President Johnson continued what was called Presidential Reconstruction, which lasted from 1865 to 1867. However, unlike his predecessor, Lincoln, Johnson was pro-slavery. He allowed each of the Southern states to decide on the best course of reconstruction, and pro-slavery legislators took full advantage of this. In many cases, former Southern legislators who were pro-slavery and who fought on the side of the Confederacy were returned to power. States like Louisiana enacted what was called the Black Codes, which essentially denied freed blacks the same rights as white citizens.

This state of affairs infuriated the Radical Republicans, who wanted to ensure that freed slaves received the full rights they gained as a result of the Civil War. In 1866, the election saw two thirds of congressional seats gained by Radicals who were now able to overturn any of Johnson's presidential vetoes. After the election, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which required any Southern state that wanted to join the Union to ratify the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution. These states had to accept the right of freed slaves to vote, to hold public office, and to become judges and members of law enforcement.

Meanwhile, pro-slavery Southerners were furious at the new developments. In New Orleans (where Section VI is set), school integration had already taken place, and this angered white supremacists who insisted that integration was anathema to social stability. So, supremacist organizations such as the White League formed in order to terrorize freed blacks as well as their white supporters.

In New Orleans, the White League was especially strong. Members participated in random and indiscriminate raids and lynchings. The main purpose of the killings was to terrorize the entire city into compliance. A major event, the Battle of Liberty Place, was fought on September 14, 1874 on the streets of New Orleans. The purpose of the battle was to wrest back control of New Orleans from the Radicals and to thwart the further integration of freed slaves into society. Read about the Battle of Liberty Place from the online encyclopedia of Louisiana.

After taking back control of New Orleans from the Radicals, the White League and members of other supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan were able to set their own politicians in power. This led to a series of school riots in December of 1874, where White League members terrorized whole schools, demanded the removal of suspected black students, and vandalized buildings in New Orleans. So, the events in Section VI are realistic: black students really were forced to leave their schools under duress, and white mobs often waited for them.

Because of white supremacist organizations, the South was terrorized into completely rejecting the major tenets of Reconstruction. As my colleague states, the Southern Democrats did take over much of the South after these events. For more, please read PBS's excellent account of Reconstruction (1865-1877).