Why did Reconstruction end, and how was segregation imposed across the South?
Analyze the end of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow, including the Compromise of 1877, Black Codes, segregation, disfranchisement, and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision (GSE SSUSH10, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on the end of Reconstruction for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the Compromise of 1877 that withdrew federal troops, the Black Codes and sharecropping, Jim Crow segregation and the disfranchisement of Black voters, and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
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What this topic is asking
SSUSH10 also asks you to analyze why Reconstruction ended and how Jim Crow segregation replaced it. You need the Compromise of 1877, the Black Codes and sharecropping, the system of segregation and disfranchisement, and the Plessy v. Ferguson decision that gave segregation legal cover. This concludes Domain 2 and explains the conditions that the civil rights movement would later fight (a connection the comprehensive Georgia course expects you to make).
The Compromise of 1877
Once federal soldiers left, there was no force protecting the rights of the freed people, and white Southern Democrats (the "Redeemers") took back control of state governments.
Black Codes, sharecropping, and Jim Crow
Disfranchisement
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy gave legal cover to Jim Crow for nearly sixty years, until the Supreme Court overturned it in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), a case the Georgia course covers in the civil rights module.
Try this
Q1. Explain how the Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction. [2]
- Cue. It settled the disputed 1876 election by making Hayes president in exchange for withdrawing the remaining federal troops from the South, removing the force that protected the freed people's rights.
Q2. Identify two methods Southern states used to disfranchise Black voters. [2]
- Cue. Any two of: poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses, which evaded the Fifteenth Amendment by indirectly removing Black men from the voting rolls.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of GaDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
GA Milestones (US History, style)1 marksIn Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court ruled thatShow worked answer →
A single-select item (Domain 2, SSUSH10).
Correct answer: racial segregation was constitutional under the doctrine of "separate but equal."
The ruling allowed states to require separate facilities for Black and white Americans, giving legal cover to Jim Crow. Markers reward identifying "separate but equal" as the doctrine Plessy established. Distractors claiming Plessy banned segregation or guaranteed equal schools reverse the decision.
GA Milestones (US History, TE)2 marksPart A: What 1877 political deal led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South and the end of Reconstruction? Part B: Select the statement that best explains its effect on African Americans in the South.Show worked answer →
A two-part evidence-based (technology-enhanced) item (Domain 2, SSUSH10).
Part A (1 point): the Compromise of 1877.
Part B (1 point): the best statement is that with federal troops gone, white Southern Democrats regained control and used Black Codes, segregation, and voting restrictions to strip away the rights African Americans had briefly gained. Markers reward identifying the Compromise of 1877 and explaining that it allowed the rollback of Reconstruction gains.
Related dot points
- Identify the legal, political, and social dimensions of Reconstruction, including the Freedmen's Bureau, the Reconstruction Acts, and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments (GSE SSUSH10, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on Reconstruction for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the competing Reconstruction plans, the Freedmen's Bureau, the Reconstruction Acts, and the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments that abolished slavery and defined citizenship and voting rights, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Evaluate key events, issues, and individuals of the Civil War, including the election of 1860 and secession, the advantages of each side, major turning points such as Antietam, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg, and leaders such as Lincoln, Grant, and Lee (GSE SSUSH9, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on the Civil War for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the election of 1860 and secession, the advantages of the North and South, key turning points (Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg), Lincoln's leadership, and why the Union won, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Analyze the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, including how the war's purpose shifted to ending slavery and the role of African American soldiers (GSE SSUSH9, Domain 2).
An EOC-level answer on emancipation for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the Emancipation Proclamation and how it changed the war's purpose, the service of African American soldiers, the Gettysburg Address, and the Thirteenth Amendment that ended slavery, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Evaluate how westward expansion fulfilled Manifest Destiny and affected the Plains Indians, including the transcontinental railroad, the Homestead Act, the Dawes Act, and conflicts such as Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee (GSE SSUSH12, Domain 3).
An EOC-level answer on westward expansion for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: Manifest Destiny, the transcontinental railroad and the Homestead Act, the destruction of the buffalo and the Plains Indians' way of life, the Dawes Act and forced assimilation, and conflicts such as Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
- Evaluate how industry, big business, and labor affected the lives of Americans after the Civil War, including the growth of railroads, the rise of corporations, and the early labor movement (GSE SSUSH11, Domain 3).
An EOC-level answer on post-Civil War industry for the Georgia Milestones US History exam: the growth of the railroads and the rise of corporations, the conditions that drove workers to form unions, major strikes and the response of government and owners, and the philosophy of laissez-faire, with worked stimulus and technology-enhanced questions.
Sources & how we know this
- United States History Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) — Georgia Department of Education (2017)
- Georgia Milestones United States History Study/Resource Guide for Students and Parents — Georgia Department of Education (2022)