How One Vote Ended Reconstruction: Jim Clyburn on the 1876 Election and Today’s Voting Rights Battle

Did Reconstruction fall apart or was it ended by a single vote?

In this episode of The Color Between the Lines, South Carolina Congressman James Clyburn explains how three razor-thin votes reshaped American history including the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, the disputed 1876 election, and the decision that effectively ended Reconstruction.

By an 87 commission vote, Reconstruction came to an end. What followed was nearly 100 years of Jim Crow.

Congressman Clyburn draws powerful parallels between the collapse of the first Reconstruction and todays debates over voting rights, Supreme Court decisions, and democratic institutions.

We also explore the extraordinary life of Robert Smalls the formerly enslaved man who stole a Confederate ship, delivered it to Union forces, helped establish free public education in South Carolina, and served in Congress.

If youve ever wondered:

What ended Reconstruction?

What was the Compromise of 1876?

How did one vote change American history?

Could democracy shift again?

This conversation connects the past to the present.

Because as Congressman Clyburn says:

The three most consequential things that happened to Black people in this country were each decided by a single vote.

The Color Between the Lines is Hosted by Esther Dillard.