Reconstruction in Virginia, 1861-1902

Virginia did not vote in the 1868 elections for US Congess or President
Virginia did not vote in the 1868 elections for US Congess or President
Source: Library of Congress, Presidential elections, 1880-1892 (Hart-Bolton American history maps, 1919)

The Union Army occupied portions of Virginia starting in May, 1861. A political bargain after the disputed 1876 election led to withdrawal of the remaining Federal forces from Southern states. However, the period of "reconstruction" in Virginia did not end with the compromise that put Rutherford B. Hays into the White House in March, 1877. Stating in 1861, the possibility of creating a multi-racial society in Virginia flickered, briefly thrived, and then disappeared with the adoption of a new state constitution in 1902.

The first stage in the failed effort to transform society in Virginia began with the military occupation of Alexandria on May 24, 1861.


Source: Chicago Humanities Festival, Eric Foner: Reconstruction and the Constitution

1902 Constitution of Virginia

Disfranchisement in Virginia

First Military District, 1867-1870

From a "Museum of Democracy" to a Two-Party System in Virginia: the End of the Byrd Machine

Legal Segregation and "Jim Crow"

Race and Virginia

Links

Virginia voted for the Republican candidate for President, Ulysses S. Grant, in 1872
Virginia voted for the Republican candidate for President, Ulysses S. Grant, in 1872
Source: Library of Congress, Presidential elections, 1880-1892 (Hart-Bolton American history maps, 1919)


Government and Politics
Population of Virginia
Virginia Places