In the 1870s, how did Reconstruction end?

After the Civil War ended, the South needed to be rebuilt or reconstructed. There was a great deal of damage done in the South.

There were several plans developed to deal with how the South should be rebuilt. The plan that was followed was a harsh plan developed by the Radical Republicans in Congress. This plan involved dividing the South into five military districts. African-Americans also received more freedoms and rights. The southern states had to write new constitutions that abolished slavery and approved the Fourteenth Amendment.

In the election of 1876, there were disputed results in four states, which totaled twenty electoral votes. Since Samuel Tilden led Rutherford B. Hayes by nineteen electoral votes, the disputed results needed to be resolved. Congress created an independent commission to resolve the issue. The commission consisted of seven Democrats, seven Republicans, and one independent person. When the independent person chose not to serve and was replaced by a Republican, the Democrats threaten to block any results regarding the counting of the votes in the disputed states.

This led to the Compromise of 1877. The Democrats agreed to allow Hayes to become President. They also agreed to respect the rights the African-Americans had gained. In return, the Radical Republicans would remove the military from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction. This would allow the white southerners from the Democratic Party to control politics in the South. President Hayes agreed to have a southerner in his cabinet and agreed to support the building of a transcontinental railroad through the South. The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction.