Reconstruction Era | The Great Betrayal | 6

American History Tellers

Wondery

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, History, Education For Kids

4.7 • 18.3K Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In 1876, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden vied for the presidency. But when Election Day was over, no clear winner emerged. Amid reports of voter fraud, intimidation and violence, both parties claimed victory in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida, the only three Southern states where Republicans still held the reins of local government.

It was the most bitterly disputed election in American history. As the stalemate dragged on, the nation faced a Constitutional crisis. The outcome of the presidency, the fate of Reconstruction, and the futures of millions of Black Southerners hung in the balance.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, prime members, you can listen to American History Tellers add free on Amazon Music,
0:05.6	download the app today.
0:07.5	A listener note, this episode contains graphic descriptions of racial violence and may not
0:12.7	be suitable for everyone.
0:17.0	Imagine it's a cool October night in 1876 in Lake City, Florida.
0:31.1	You and your younger brother are labors on a pine plantation and you're walking along
0:35.3	a tree-lined back road heading home from a Republican party rally.
0:39.6	Election day is just a few weeks away and you're discussing the speeches you've just heard.
0:44.3	I like our candidate for sheriff.
0:46.9	If we can get a Republican in the job, maybe we could finally get some justice in this
0:51.3	county.
0:52.6	Your brother nods, but before he has a chance to respond, a sound stops you in your tracks.
0:58.8	What was that?
1:01.0	Six white men suddenly emerge from the trees and into the moonlight, they're carrying
1:05.4	shotguns.
1:06.8	You and your brother instinctively step back, but a tall man with a burly mustache steps
1:12.2	forward.
1:13.5	You boys are out late.
1:15.6	You stand frozen in fear as the man close in and form a circle around you.
1:21.0	We don't want any trouble.
1:22.5	Oh you don't, huh?
1:24.5	Is that why you're voting Republican?
	...

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