From 1865 to 1877 the word "negro" was very popular in newspapers. One example from the Memphis paper uses the word very often. They use it as a way to separate African Americans from the rest of society and humanity. They are obviously biased towards white supremacy and the stories are often about crimes African Americans committed and how law enforcers caught and punished them. As expected, they are written to be viewed in a bad light in this time period.

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Reconstruction ended in 1877 because of the compromise of 1877. The Democrats let Hayse become president if he took federal troops out of the south. Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana became democratic states again and the Reconstruction era had ended. Republicans no longer dominated and the fight for equal rights was put to a pause.

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