Voting more politically palatable than land reform/redistribution for unpaid labor/formerly enslaved

Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner continued to support land reform for freed people, but were opposed by a large bloc of politicians who did not want to violate property rights or redistribute capital.[227] Many radical Northerners withdrew their support for land reform in the years following the war. One reason for the shift in political opinion was fear by the Republicans that land ownership might lead Blacks to align with Democrats for economic reasons. In general, politicians turned their focus to the legal status of freed people.[228] In the analysis of W. E. B. DuBois, black suffrage[disambiguation needed] became more politically palatable precisely as an inexpensive alternative to well-funded agrarian reform.[107]-- Excerpted from "40 acres and a mule"--Wikipedia