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What was the result of the 1867 election to the Georgia General Assembly?

A. Some African Americans were elected, but their white colleagues did not accept them.
B. Only former Confederate leaders were elected, and the US government rejected the results.
C. Widespread voting riots made the election impossible to complete.
D. The orderliness of the election helped convince the US Congress that troops could be removed.

User Mog
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

The outcome of the 1867 Georgia General Assembly election saw the election of African Americans who were subsequently expelled by white conservative members. President Grant's intervention led to the restoration of black legislators and the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment.

Step-by-step explanation:

The 1867 election to the Georgia General Assembly resulted in a Republican majority, with African Americans elected to the legislature for the first time. However, conservative whites in the legislature moved to expel the black members. This was made possible because the Johnson administration failed to act against the white members who themselves were ineligible to serve due to being ex-Confederates barred by the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite a state court ruling that blacks had the right to serve in the government, the legislature did not reverse the expulsion.

In response, Republicans and anti-suffrage Democrats in Georgia worked together, hoping to compel Congress to protect black rights, but Georgia's elected representatives were not seated by Congress, which initially did little else to intervene. It was only after President Grant's push in December 1869 that Congress decided to return Georgia to military rule, eventually leading to the ousting of the ex-Confederates, seating of the black legislators, ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment, and the re-admittance of Georgia to the Union in 1870. These Republican gains were short-lived, as the Democrats regained control in 1871 and eroded the progress that had been made.

User James Tobin
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