ere shrewd, narrow,
conservative, honest, and parsimonious, the constant fighting of fire
with fire scorched all. In the bitter discipline of reconstruction, the
pleasantest side of Southern life came to an end. During the war and
the consequent reconstruction there was a marked change in Southern
temperament toward the severe. Hospitality declined; the old Southern
life had never been on a business basis, but the new Southern life
now adjusted itself to a stricter economy; the old individuality was
partially lost; but class distinctions were less obvious in a more
homogeneous society. The material evils of reconstruction may be only
temporary; state debts may be paid and wasted resources renewed; but
the moral and intellectual results of the revolution will be the more
permanent.

CHAPTER XIII. RESTORATION OF HOME RULE

The radical program of reconstruction ended after ten years in failure
rather because of a change in public opinion in the North than because
of the resistance of the Southern whites. The North of 1877, indeed,
was not the North of 1867. A more tolerant attitude toward the South
developed as the North passed through its own period of misgovernment
when all the large cities were subject to "ring rule" and corruption,
as in New York under "Boss" Tweed and in the District of Columbia
under "Boss" Shepherd. The Federal civil service was discredited by the
scandals connected with the Sanborn contracts, the Whisky Ring, and the
Star Routes, while some leaders in Congress were under a cloud from the
"Salary Grab" and Credit Mobilier disclosures.*

* See "The Boss and the Machine", by Samuel P. Orth in "The
Chronicles of America".

The marvelous material development of the North and West also drew
attention away from sectional controversies. Settlers poured into the
plains beyond the Mississippi and the valleys of the Far West; new
industries sprang up; unsuspected mineral wealth was discovered;
railroads were built. Not only bankers but taxpaying voters took an
interest in the financial readjustments of the time. Many thousand
people followed the discussions over the funding and refunding of
the national debt, the retirement of the greenbacks, and the proposed
lowering of tariff duties. Yet the Black Friday episode of 1869, when
Jay Gould and James Fisk cornered the visible supply of gold, and the
panic of 1873 were indications of unsound financial conditions.

These new developments and