12.2 Flashcards
What was a carpetbagger?
A Republican who relocated to the South after the Civil War to gain wealth from the South’s misfortune. (New land, new careers, etc.)
What was segregation? Give an example?
Separation of the races
Ex) white schools and black schools
What was integration?
The combination of races.
What was sharecropping? What was a problem with this?
A farmer tended a portion of a planter’s land in return for a share of the crop; farmer and owner received portions.
Problem: often in debt to landlord year after year
What was share-tenancy? What was a positive?
Similar to sharecropping, but the farmer decided the crop and bought his own supplies.
Positive: Farmer had more control, able to save money
What was tenant farming? What were the positives?
A system in which a farmer paid rent to a landowner for the use of the land.
Positives: most independent method. Farmer needed to have good money and management skills.
Who were the Ku Klux Klan?
A secret organization founded during Reconstruction whose aim became to terrorize African Americans; didn’t start out as such.
What were the Enforcement Acts?
1870 and 1871 laws that made it a federal offense to interfere with a citizen’s right to vote.
What were the immediate effects of Reconstruction?
Struggle for political control: African Americans used their voted to elect many representatives from mayors to the U.S. Senate
Groups (like the Ku Klux Klan) aimed to limit African American freedom and turn them back to prewar times. These newly freed African Americans were finding it hard to adapt socially, politically, and economically.
What kinds of people did the Republican Party attract?
Those who sought change, challenge, and opportunities to make money in the south.
Ex) scalawags and carpetbaggers… Opportunists who made their fortune off the South’s misfortune.
What was initially created to help the South and what were some problems with it?
Public school systems: made education more easily available to everyone
Problems: segregation. Having two schools in every town cost more money than just one integrated school, but integration was unpopular.
What opportunities did Reconstruction give to both black and white women in the south that they could not find in the north?
New roles in the south: In medical facilities In orphanages In relief agencies In the newly created public school system
What problems did the South face that made Reconstruction challenging?
Many illiterate southerners Poor quality medical care Poor quality housing Slower economic production than the north Limited protection for African Americans Racial violence Rampant corruption
Where did freed African Americans find opportunities and places to build their lives?
Cities: jobs as cooks, blacksmiths, or carpenters
Rural Areas: farming, lumbering, and rebuilding railroads
Black Churches: established black churches that became centers of their communities
Freedmen’s Bureau Schools: sought education through these schools which taught reading, writing, math; and life skills such as health, nutrition, and looking for a job.
What did the Ku Klux Klan do?
Burned Black churches and schools
Terrorized African Americans
Kept them from voting
