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Difficulty: MediumResistance to Reconstruction and its Ultimate Collapse

Read the passage below and answer the following question.

"I am now fully of the opinion that the terrorism established by the White League is such that no freedom of opinion or of action can be tolerated for a moment... The White League is an organization which is armed and disciplined, and has for its object the overthrow of the State government, and the exclusion of the colored people from any participation in the control of public affairs."
— General Philip Sheridan, dispatch to Secretary of War William W. Belknap, January 1875

The conditions described in the dispatch most directly contributed to which of the following developments by the late 1870s?

  1. A
    The drafting of the Fourteenth Amendment to define citizenship rights for formerly enslaved people
  2. B
    The transition from Congressional Reconstruction to Presidential Reconstruction to appease Southern Democrats
  3. The decline of Northern public support for continued federal military intervention in the SouthAnswer
  4. D
    The use of popular sovereignty to determine the legal status of slavery in the remaining territories

Answer

The decline of Northern public support for continued federal military intervention in the South
The systematic violence carried out by white supremacist organizations like the White League aimed to dismantle Republican governance and suppress Black political participation. Over time, the persistent instability in the South, combined with Northern economic distress following the Panic of 1873, exhausted Northern political will to maintain military occupation, leading to the ultimate collapse of Reconstruction.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the historical context and contents of the stimulus.
The dispatch from 1875 describes systematic violence and voter intimidation by the White League designed to overthrow Reconstruction state governments and disenfranchise African Americans.
Understanding the source and the timeline helps connect the rise of Southern resistance to subsequent policy changes.
2
Identify the cause-and-effect relationship between Southern political violence and Northern political resolve.
Widespread violence and resistance in the South, alongside economic troubles in the North, led to Reconstruction fatigue among Northern voters and politicians.
This links the instability described by General Sheridan to the eventual abandonment of military enforcement in the South.
3
Evaluate the choices to find the option that correctly describes this outcome.
The erosion of Northern support for military intervention is the correct historical development, culminating in the Compromise of 1877 and the collapse of Reconstruction.
Other options represent incorrect timelines or pre-Civil War concepts.

Key Concept

Resistance to Reconstruction and its Ultimate Collapse
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Resistance to Reconstruction and its Ultimate Collapse

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