Learn about the Redeemers in the South after the Civil War. Review the Redeemer Democrats' beliefs about Reconstruction, how they opposed it, and their legacy.
Updated: 11/21/2023
The Redeemers of the South | Overview, Legacy & Beliefs
Table of Contents
- Who Were the Redeemers?
- What Were the Goals of the Redeemers in the South?
- How Did the Redeemers' Efforts Affect Reconstruction?
- What Was the Southern Redeemers' Legacy?
- Lesson Summary
- FAQs
- Activities
Writing Prompts for Redeemers in Reconstruction:
Writing Prompt 1:
Imagine you are an African American in the South in the 1880s. You were born into slavery and freed by the 13th Amendment. At first, you acquired rights such as equality before the law and the right to vote, but now you fear for the future of those rights and the safety of your family in the South. Write a letter to your friend, who lives in the North, discussing the recent occurrences that make you fear for your rights and life. Remember that your friend lives in the North, so he or she will need details on how the political and social atmosphere has changed since the end of Reconstruction in 1877.
Writing Prompt 2:
Compare and contrast the goals of northern Republicans and southern Democrats during Reconstruction. What did each side desire, what strategies did they use to achieve their goals, and how successful were they?
Additional Questions to Consider:
In what ways did Redeemers seek to disenfranchise African Americans in the South?
Besides restricting African Americans rights, Redeemers sought to cut government spending in a number of areas. In what areas did they cut state spending? What long term consequences do you think such financial cuts might have for southern states?
Why did they call themselves the Redeemers?
Redeemers were called this because their goal was to "redeem" the South. This meant eliminating the influence of freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags.
What strategy did the Redeemers follow?
The Redeemers used multiple strategies, both legal and otherwise. They passed laws that restricted the rights of freedmen. Redeemers also used violence to intimidate freedmen and their supporters. They encouraged all white men to join the Democratic Party and labeled white Republicans as traitors.
What role did the Redeemers play in ending Reconstruction?
The Redeemers opposed Reconstruction through legal means, such as poll taxes, and through violent paramilitary groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan. These tactics successfully prevented Black men from voting and ensured that Democrats would regain control of Southern states.
Who were the Redeemers in the South?
The Redeemers in the South were white supremacists who opposed the federal government's Reconstruction policies and wanted to restore the pre-Civil War racial hierarchy in the South.
Table of Contents
- Who Were the Redeemers?
- What Were the Goals of the Redeemers in the South?
- How Did the Redeemers' Efforts Affect Reconstruction?
- What Was the Southern Redeemers' Legacy?
- Lesson Summary
The Redeemers were a political group established in the American South in the 1870s. Their goal was to "redeem" the South by removing Republicans from power and restoring white supremacy. Most Redeemers were white landowning farmers who benefited from the old social order in the South. The Redeemers dominated the Southern wing of the Democratic Party through the end of the 19th century. In addition to legal means, Redeemers relied on violence and intimidation. During Reconstruction, various white supremacist paramilitary and militia groups formed in the South.
The first such organization to gain widespread traction was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The Klan was founded in 1865 by a group of former Confederate officers in Tennessee. Other chapters soon appeared across the South. The Klan began as a fraternal social club. Members of the group shared a belief in white supremacy and a distaste for Republican Reconstruction policies. Eventually, the KKK turned violent. Members wore hooded robes to conceal their identities and went on rampages at night, terrorizing Black people and their white supporters. In 1870, the federal government passed laws targeting the KKK for prosecution. This led to the decline of the Klan, though it was resurrected in a new form in the 20th century.
After the Klan's downfall, smaller local groups emerged. These groups did not gain the national notoriety of the Klan, but they employed similar tactics. The first such groups were known as rifle clubs. In Mississippi, and later the Carolinas, rifle clubs morphed into white supremacist gangs known as the Red Shirts. Named for their trademark garb, Red Shirts disrupted Republican gatherings and used the threat of violence to intimidate Black and Republican voters.
In Louisiana, Confederate veterans formed a similar group called the White League or White Man's League. Chapters of the White League emerged throughout Louisiana. Unlike the Ku Klux Klan, the White League and Red Shirts did not hide behind anonymity. They openly attended rallies and parades in support of the Democratic party. Working with these paramilitary organizations, Democrats eventually succeeded in establishing new Redeemer governments in the Southern states.
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Redeemers wanted to return the South to the status quo prior to the Civil War. Redeemers sought to restore the Democratic Party, white supremacy, and limited rights for African Americans in the South. They felt that the federal government had overstepped by interfering with Southerners' way of life. Redeemers also hoped to limit the government's power through a program of minimal state budgets, tax cuts for planters, and reduced funding for social welfare programs such as education and healthcare. These policies would benefit wealthy white planters to the detriment of freedmen, who relied on social welfare programs.
The Redeemers strongly opposed granting political rights to freedmen. Redeemer Democrats also resented so-called carpetbaggers, Northerners who migrated to the South in the wake of the Civil War, and "scalawags," white Southerners who supported the Republican Party.
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Reconstruction was the period immediately following the Civil War up until 1877. During the Reconstruction era, the federal government oversaw a military occupation of former Confederate states. Congress disbanded the legislatures of these Southern states, removing Democrats from power.
Republicans passed a series of Constitutional amendments aimed at expanding the rights of freedmen. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed equality under the law, and granted voting rights to all men. Newly enfranchised Black men flocked to the Republican Party, joining white Republicans to form a multi-racial coalition. With its expanded voter base, the Republican Party gained control of state governments across the South. The party was aided by laws that temporarily restricted the voting rights of former Confederates, the majority of whom supported the Democratic Party.
The rise of the Redeemers can be attributed to Confederate veterans returning to the ballot box. With ex-Confederates able to vote again, the Democratic Party regained power in the South. Redeemers attempted to legally strip freedmen of their newly-granted rights. Although the 15th Amendment meant they couldn't disenfranchise Black voters, Redeemers used other tactics to curb African Americans' voting rights, including poll taxes, redistricting, and the removal of Black politicians from the ballot.
Poll taxes were laws that required voters to pay a fee to cast their vote in an election. Because many freedmen were unable to find good-paying jobs, the poll tax disproportionately affected Black voters. To ensure that poor white voters were not impacted, many Southern states added a grandfather clause. These loopholes allowed men whose grandfathers had voted to bypass the poll tax requirement. Redeemers used the same tactic to allow white voters to get around literacy tests, another law intended to keep Black men from voting.
In addition to legal means, Redeemers relied on violence to achieve their goals. White supremacist paramilitary groups, such as rifle clubs, the Red Shirts, and the Ku Klux Klan, intimidated Black would-be voters. They conducted nighttime raids and patrolled polling stations on election days. Redeemers also employed the rhetoric of white supremacy to discourage white men from joining the Republican Party. Redeemers portrayed the Democratic Party as the white man's party. They campaigned on the idea that Republicans would put incompetent Black leaders in charge and that white men who joined the Republican Party were traitors to their race.
By 1876, Redeemer Democrats had taken control of state governments in nearly all former Confederate states. Republicans' enthusiasm for Reconstruction was waning, thanks in large part to the persistence of the Redeemers. During the presidential election of 1876, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes faced off against Democrat Samuel Tilden. When neither man earned a majority of votes, the election went to the House of Representatives. There, Republicans struck a deal with Democrats. If Hayes became president, he would withdraw federal troops from the three Southern states where they remained: Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. This deal ended the occupation of the South. Redeemer Democrats regained control of the entire region.
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The withdrawal of federal troops from the South and the subsequent end of Reconstruction marked a major victory for the Southern Redeemers. Though they had lost the Civil War, Redeemers prevented Black people in the South from enjoying their full civil rights. It would be nearly a century before Black Southerners could vote.
The success of the Redeemers led to the rise of the Jim Crow period. During this period, Southern Democrats passed Jim Crow laws, which enforced segregation and ensured that Black Southerners would be second-class citizens. Black and white students attended separate schools. Black travelers were banned from white spaces and interracial marriage was banned.
In the 1896 case Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Jim Crow laws under the doctrine of "separate but equal." The Court declared that segregation was acceptable as long as each race had equal access to facilities. This ruling kept the Jim Crow system in place until the civil rights movement of the mid-20th century.
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The Redeemers, also known as Redeemer Democrats or Southern Redeemers, were a loosely-organized political group during the Reconstruction era. Redeemers opposed the federal government's Reconstruction policies. The Redeemers sought to restore the pre-Civil War social order in the South. This included limited rights for African Americans, white supremacy, and rule by the Democratic Party. As Confederate veterans regained voting rights in the wake of the Civil War, the Redeemers rose in power. They supported policies such as tax cuts for planters, minimal state budgets, and reduced funding for social welfare programs. White supremacist militia groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, enforced the rule of the Redeemers. They also used legal means, such as poll taxes, redistricting, and the removal of Black politicians from ballots, to curb the voting rights of Black men.
The Redeemers' success led to the rise of the Jim Crow period. As Reconstruction ended, Jim Crow laws kept the South segregated and ensured Black Southerners remained second-class citizens. The Jim Crow period lasted until the middle of the 20th century when the civil rights movement finally brought an end to legal segregation.
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Video Transcript
Rise of the Redeemers
A period known as Reconstruction enveloped the nation following the end of the American Civil War. The ethos behind the Reconstruction Era was to establish pro-union governments in the South as well as to punish those who participated in the rebellion. Republicans, carpetbaggers, freed people, and scalawags all flocked south in an attempt to encourage the revival of democracy while protecting the newly-acquired rights of African Americans.
The optimism of a renewed society did not last, however. White supremacists eventually regained ahold of the South by inflicting domestic terrorism throughout the region. By the beginning of the 1870s, a group known as the Redeemers surfaced with guarantees of restoring the old order of the South.
Who Were the Redeemers?
The Redeemers were an eclectic group of individuals comprised of wealthy businessmen, farmers, and merchants. This was an all-white, pro-Democratic Party group, and they shared a general disdain for Republicanism as well as for the rights of African Americans.
The collective goal of the group was to destroy the political institutions and race relations that were formed during Reconstruction. This meant that the Redeemers sought to end Republican-controlled state governments as well as remove African Americans from political positions and restrict their overall right to equality.
Redeemers Ideology
Redeemers did not believe in federal intervention, nor did they view a 'hands-on' state government as necessary in the South. Instead, the Redeemers sought to limit the power of the various state governments. State budgets were overwhelmingly reduced in areas such as education, healthcare, and transportation (areas where equality could be supported with funding), and taxes were cut for thousands of white planters who struggled to pay their property tax under the Republican regime.
The education system was crippled by the Redeemers. Spending on an African American student was drastically reduced to the point of negligibility. While spending on education was reduced, financial penalties against African Americans skyrocketed. Any type of crime was punishable by a significant fee. If the suspect was unable to pay the penalty, he or she would be immediately jailed. Most would then be required to stand trial before a white jury.
Voting standards were also curbed under the Redeemer faction. While African Americans were still permitted to cast votes, they did so under harsh requirements or the fear of potential repercussions. Redeemers slowly eliminated many Black politicians from the government and the ballot. Redistricting was an important part of the Redeemer agenda, as was supporting a poll tax and literacy test in order to vote. Needless to say, white supremacy thrived once again by the end of Reconstruction in 1877.
How Did Redeemers Succeed?
There are two main reasons as to why the Redeemers were able to take control of the South. First, white domestic terrorist groups made it difficult for the federal government to ensure the success of all Reconstruction programs. Groups such as the Rifle Club, Red Shirts, and Ku Klux Klan spread fear throughout much of the South, especially against those who attempted to forward the civil rights of African Americans. The federal government had some success in stopping these groups, but it was not possible to permanently end the turmoil.
Second, soldiers who served the Confederacy slowly began to cast their ballot once again. Most of these individuals were forced to swear allegiance to the Union following the end of the Civil War. Southern states had no choice but to encourage this program in order to reapply for statehood in the Union. Those who chose to avoid taking an oath of allegiance were suppressed. It took the better part of Reconstruction for Confederate veterans to begin voting for candidates that represented their values. The rise of the Redeemers encouraged these individuals to get to the ballot box. Power and fear, in addition to the failing programs of Reconstruction, helped the Redeemers achieve a stranglehold on the South and revive the Democratic Party.
Legacy
The rise of the Redeemers and the rebirth of white supremacy caused a whirlwind of change in the southern political landscape. Reconstruction eventually ended in 1877 and with it ended the occupation of the South. White people once again assumed control of every aspect of life in the South, including the denying African Americans of their newly-acquired rights.
Eventually, with support of white southerners, a period known as the Jim Crow Era fell across the United States. African Americans were considered second-class citizens and were forced to abide by the policy of separate-but-equal. The Redeemers played a significant role in the revival of segregation and white supremacy.
Lesson Summary
Let's review.
After the end of the Civil War, the United States went into an era known as Reconstruction to rebuild and establish pro-union governments in the South. However, during the 1870s, an eclectic group of individuals comprised of wealthy businessmen, farmers, and merchants called the Redeemers started to take over the South once again. This was an all-white, pro-Democratic Party group that attempted to suppress the rights of African Americans.
They were able to succeed in their agenda through establishing groups that made it difficult for the federal government to ensure the success of Reconstruction programs and through the voting of Confederate veterans. The Redeemers eventually gave rise to the Jim Crow Era, in which African Americans were considered second-class citizens and were forced to abide by the policy of separate-but-equal.
Redeemers in Reconstruction: Terms & Explanations
 |
| Terms | Explanations |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction Era | following the end of the American Civil War, Northerners migrated to the South to encourage pro-union politics and the punishment of Confederate participants |
| Redeemers | all-white, pro-Democratic Party group of wealthy businessmen, farmers, and merchants who shared a general disdain for Republicanism and the rights of African Americans; they determined to destroy Reconstruction reforms |
| Redeemers' ideology | did not believe in federal intervention, nor did they view a 'hands-on' state government as necessary in the South |
| Redeemers' politics | removed funding from education and cut taxes for white planters; restricted voting rights and engaged in redistricting; increased financial penalties toward African Americans |
| Jim Crow Era | Reconstruction and occupation of the South ended in 1877, and African Americans were considered second-class citizens |
| Separate-but-equal | policy forced on African Americans in the South during the Jim Crow Era |
Learning Outcomes
Absorb the information presented in this lesson then measure your ability to:
- Outline the historical context of the rise of the Redeemers
- Characterize the Redeemers and discuss their ideology
- Explain the way in which the Redeemers were able to succeed in the South
- Describe the Redeemers' legacy
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