Which of the following does not help to explain the diminishing effectiveness of Reconstruction in the South?
Northerners tired of the expense and violence that supporting Reconstruction engendered.
Racism among moderate Republicans led them to ascribe Republican defeats in the South to the incompetence of black politicians.
A severe depression in 1873 distracted Northerners from the social and racial issues of Reconstruction.
The expanded presence of federal troops and officials from 1875 to 1877 brought about an escalation in southern terrorist retaliation.