Which event is commonly cited as marking the end of federal Reconstruction influence in Georgia?

• A. The Compromise of 1877 and withdrawal of federal troops.
• B. The ratification of the 15th Amendment.
• C. The Emancipation Proclamation.
• D. The passage of the 14th Amendment.

Answer: (A)

The event that marks the end of federal Reconstruction influence in Georgia is the Compromise of 1877, which led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South. During Reconstruction, federal troops helped enforce new laws and protections for newly freed African Americans and supported Republican governments in the South, including Georgia. When the Compromise of 1877 resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election, troops were removed from Georgia and other Southern states. Without that federal enforcement, white Redeemer governments regained control and rolled back Reconstruction reforms, signaling the end of federal influence in the region.

The Emancipation Proclamation freed enslaved people, but it happened during the Civil War and doesn’t indicate the end of Reconstruction. The 14th and 15th Amendments were important Reconstruction-era changes granting citizenship and voting rights, but they did not mark the end of federal involvement.