Mike Lorrey writes
> In the post civil war era, there was a significant scandal during
> reconstruction where it was found that former slave holders were using
> local law enforcement to put freed slaves back into a state of peonage
> and to prevent voter registration, as well as passing local laws which
> prevented freed slaves from being armed to defend themselves and their
> land against lynching and seizure of property. Congress put together a
> commission about this matter, which resulted in them proposing what
> became the 14th Amendment, which congress mandated rebel states ratify
> before they would be readmitted to the union, and specifically mandated
> that freed slaves be allowed to arm themselves, and those who failed to
> enforce it lost reconstruction funding. Most southern states refused to
> accept reconstruction funding rather than enforce the 14th amendment
> locally, which is why the south languished economically until WWI.
That sounds very strange to me. From the 1870s to the 1920s,
the southern states languished economically because they didn't
receive "reconstruction funding"? That can't be correct.
Thanks,
Lee
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