After 1877, how did federal policy toward the South change?

• A. Federal troops remained in the South to enforce Reconstruction.
• B. Civil rights were guaranteed nationwide.
• C. The federal government expanded Reconstruction policies into new territories.
• D. The federal government reduced its presence; troops withdrew and Hayes became president.

Answer: (D)

After 1877, the major change in federal policy toward the South was a retreat from enforcing Reconstruction. The pivotal moment was the Compromise of 1877, which settled the disputed 1876 election by promising to withdraw federal troops from Southern states and to align federal support with conservative Southern interests. Once the troops left, the federal government stepped back from actively supervising Southern governments and protecting the rights of newly freed African Americans. This shift meant that white Southern authorities regained control over state laws and institutions, and federal efforts to enforce Reconstruction-era reforms diminished for decades to come. The result was a move away from national enforcement toward local control, setting the stage for the Jim Crow era and a long period of limited federal intervention in civil rights.

The other ideas don’t fit because there wasn’t a continuation of federal troops in the South, nor broad nationwide guarantees of civil rights, nor expansion of Reconstruction into new territories.