1302exam1 Flashcards
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)-
U>L.Sta
SButEq
S is Not Dis
Upheld Louisiana statute requiring “separate, but equal” accommodations on railroads on railroads. Declared that segregation is not necessarily discrimination.
Supreme Court decisions affecting Black Civil Rights (1875-1900).—Civil Rights Cases (1883)-
Struck down Civil Rights Act of 1875. Declared that Congress may not legislate on civil rights unless a state passes a discriminatory law. Declared the Fourteenth Amendment silent on racial discrimination by private citizens.
Know the cultural differences that led to battles between the Plains Indians and whites.—
The Indians viewed the buffalo as an absolute necessity, but the settlers saw the animal as an obstacle to western expansion since the herds interfered with construction by knocking over telegraph poles and fences and derailing trains during stampedes. Anglo-Americans viewed capitalism as fostering competition and frontier living promoting rugged individualism. The Plains Indians were taught to put the interests of the group over the interests of the individual. Emphasis was placed on cooperation rather than competition. Chiefs did not have the final word in group matters and relied on the advice of a council to make decisions. Whites were incorrect to believe that an individual Indian could make agreements and decisions that would be assumed legal by the rest of the group. Most Native Americans did not view land as something to own, but to be held in high regard as sacred. Whites saw land, plants, and animals as resources to be exploited
Kiowa, Apache, and Comanche Know the nations and locations of the Plains Indians
T.NM
present-day Texas and New Mexico
Pawnee-Know the nations and locations of the Plains Indians:
w.N.
present-day western Nebraska
Cheyenne, Crow, and Arapaho Know the nations and locations of the Plains Indians:
CenPl
present-day Central Plains
Blackfoot Know the nations and locations of the Plains Indians:
I.M
present-day Idaho and Montana
Know the nations and locations of the Plains Indians:Sioux
M,D
present-day Minnesota and the Dakotas
Williams v. Mississippi (1898)-Supreme Court decisions affecting Black Civil Rights (1875-1900).—
USL, literacy Tst Vt, DisBlks no discrimination in law. allowed illerterate w to V.
Upheld state law requiring a literacy test to qualify for voting. Refused to find any implication of racial discrimination in the law, although it permitted illiterate whites to vote if they “understood” the Constitution. Using such laws, southern states rapidly disfranchised Blacks.
Supreme Court decisions affecting Black Civil Rights Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)-
SbutE Acc Rail Seg not Disc
Upheld Louisiana statute requiring “separate, but equal” accommodations on railroads on railroads. Declared that segregation is not necessarily discrimination.
Supreme Court decisions affecting Black Civil Rights
Civil Rights Cases (1883)-
Struck down Civil Rights Act of 1875. Declared that Congress may not legislate on civil rights unless a state passes a discriminatory law. Declared the Fourteenth Amendment silent on racial discrimination by private citizens.
Supreme Court decisions affecting Black Civil Rights United States v. Harris (1882)-
Declared federal laws to punish crimes such as murder and assault unconstitutional. Declared such crimes to be the sole concern of local government. Ignored the frequent racial motivation behind such crimes in the South.
Supreme Court decisions affecting Black Civil Rights (1875-1900).—Hall v. DeCuir (1878)-
Str Dwn Lw Pro Disc on RSB
Dec Lw A Burd on InterSt Commer Whch St Hd No Auth
Struck down Louisiana law prohibiting racial discrimination by “common carriers” (railroads, steamboats, buses). Declared the law a “burden” on interstate commerce, over which states had no authority
What was the feminist response to the 15th Amendment?
Many feminists were bitterly disappointed that the amendment did not extend the vote to women as well as freedmen. A militant wing of the women’s rights movement, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, was so angered that the Constitution was being amended in a way that, in effect, made gender a qualification for voting that they campaigned against ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment. Another group of feminists led by Lucy Stone supported the amendment on the grounds that this was “the Negro’s hour” and that women could afford to wait a few years for the vote. This disagreement divided the woman suffrage movement for a generation to come.
What were the terms of the “Compromise of 1877?”
The Election of 1876 resulted in a controversy over twenty electoral votes between Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) and Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat). A special commission of five senators, five representatives, and five Supreme Court justices was created to settle the disputed electoral votes. Eight of the commission members were Republicans and seven were Democrats. The election was decided along party lines. The Democrats agreed to not dispute the electoral count and Hayes was declared President.***After his inauguration, Hayes removed the last of the federal troops out of the South, appointed a former Confederate general to his cabinet, supported federal aid for economic and railroad development in the South, and promised to let southerners handle race relations themselves.
What signified the end of Reconstruction and the Republican Party’s shift from moral reform to material interest?—
Shortly after Grant’s second inauguration, the Panic of 1873, caused by railroad mismanagement and the collapse of some eastern banks, began a depression lasting throughout the mid-1870s. In these times of hardship, economic issues diverted attention from the freedmen. Politicians were concerned with more Grant scandals , unemployment, and public works projects, the currency, and tariffs.
With the passage of the 15th Amendment, came white hostility for Black male suffrage (voting rights). How was the vote of Blacks protected from domestic terrorism?—
According to historians George Tindall and David Shi, “whites were hostile to Republican governments because of their inclusion of Blacks and not because of rampant corruption. Most white southerners were so conditioned by slavery that they were unable to conceive of Blacks as citizens or even free agents. Terrorist groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Louisiana’s Knights of the White Camellia used threats, physical assault, and murder to prevent Blacks and their white supporters from voting. *Congress responded with the Enforcement Acts (1870-1871). The first levied penalties on persons who interfered with any citizen’s right to vote. The second placed the election of Congressmen under surveillance by federal election supervisors and marshals. The third (the Ku Klux Klan Act) outlawed the characteristic activities of the Klan-wearing disguises, intimidation, and resisting officers-and authorized the president to suspend habeas corpus where necessary to suppress “armed combinations.” (habeas corpus-A written warrant requiring that a prisoner be brought to court to determine legality of confinement.)
Who won the Election of 1868?Was he a good President? Know the scandals connected with his presidency
—Former Union General Ulysses S. Grant won the election over the Democrat contender, New York Governor, Horatio Seymour. Grant was a great military leader, but as President, he was susceptible to the deceit of influence peddlers and awed by men of wealth to whom he was very loyal. According to historians, Gary Nash and Julie Jeffrey, “the scandals of his administration touched his relatives, his cabinet, and two vice presidents. Under Grant’s appointments, outright graft, as well as, loose prosecution and generally negligent administration, flourished in a half dozen departments. Most scandals involved large sums of public money. The Whiskey Ring affair, for example, cost the public millions of dollars in lost tax revenues siphoned off to government officials. Jay Gould’s attempt to corner the gold market almost succeeded with the unwitting aid of Grant’s Treasury Department and the President’s brother-in-law. Credit Mobilier, a dummy railroad corporation supposedly building the transcontinental railroad, received generous bonds and contracts in exchange for giving congressmen gifts of money, stocks, and railroad lands.”
How did Blacks test their new freedom?
Blacks tested their freedom by taking to the roads to search for husbands, wives, and children separated by sale and inheritance practices. Many also rushed to have their marriages legalized by the state. Blacks moved away from close proximity to their former masters and patterned their family structure like that of whites with the women and children not working the fields. This would not last as the necessity of survival would involve the financial input of all family members.
Who is P.B.S. Pinchback and what is his relevance to the political history of the United States?
Pinckney Benton Stewart Pinchback was the first Black Governor in United States history. He was Governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873. Pinchback was born free May 10, 1837 and served as a Union Army Officer during the Civil War. In 1868, Pinchback won election to the Louisiana Senate, which later named him Pro Tem. One of his bills created Southern University. He became Lieutenant Governor when the incumbent died and Governor after the impeachment of Governor Warmouth. Elected to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, on challenge, Congress declined to seat him. Pinchback studied law and was admitted to the bar. He died on December 21, 1921. (Information from an historical marker on the campus of Southern University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
What were some notable achievements during Republican rule?
UMS
NID
RUDP
NFDeF
OTS
RI
AWR
The Republicans were able to pass legislation for: universal male suffrage (voting rights); no more imprisonment for debt; reduced use of the death penalty; an increase in the number of facilities for the poor, orphans, mentally ill, deaf and blind; an overhaul of tax structures; rebuilding the infrastructure of the South (harbors, railroads, and bridges), and the acquisition of women’s rights in divorce and possession of property.
Know the difference between carpetbaggers and scalawags.—
Carpetbaggers were described as northern opportunists who allegedly rushed South with all of their belongings in carpetbags to grab the political spoils. They were more often than not Union veterans who had arrived as early as 1865 or 1866, drawn by the hope of economic opportunity and by other attractions that many had seen in Union service. Many other so-called carpetbaggers were teachers, social workers, or preachers animated by a missionary impulse. Scalawags were former Whig planters or merchants who were born in the South or had immigrated to the region before the war and now saw a chance to realize their dreams for commercial and industrial development.
What is “sharecropping” and did it help Blacks become economically independent?—
Southern states adopted the sharecropping system as a compromise between former slaves who wanted land of their own and former slave owners who needed labor. The landowners provided land, tools, and seed to a farming family who in turn, provided labor. The resulting crop was to be divided between them with the farmers receiving a “share” of 1/3 to ½ of the crop. The sharecropping system kept many of the former slaves economically bound to their employers (debt peonage, or debt slavery). At the end of a year, the sharecropper tenants might owe most, or all of what they had made to their landlord.
***What did the prosecution cite as the reason for Andrew Johnson’s removal as President of the U.S.?
Why did some Republicans vote to acquit (not remove) Johnson, rather than impeach him?—The prosecution’s case was that Johnson had abused his powers of his office in an effort to sabotage the congressional Reconstruction policy. Obstructing the will of the legislative branch, they claimed, was sufficient grounds for conviction even if no crime had been committed. The Republicans who broke ranks to vote for acquittal could not endorse such a broad view of the impeachment power. They feared that removal of a president for essentially political reasons would threaten the constitutional balance of powers and open the way to legislative supremacy over the executive.
What were the five military districts and the states within them resulting from the Reconstruction Act of 1867?
1.V
2.NC, SC
3.A G
4.AR M
5.T L
They are: District 1—Virginia, District 2-North Carolina and South Carolina, District 3—Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, District 4—Arkansas and Mississippi, and District 5—Texas and Louisiana
What was the Reconstruction Plan suggested by Radical Republicans Senator Charles Sumner, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, and Congressman George Julian? (hint: “regeneration before Reconstruction”) Why did a majority of the Republican Congressmen find the plan unacceptable?—
Congress was now in a position to implement its own plan of reconstruction. In 1867 and 1868, it passed a series of acts that nullified President Johnson’s initiatives and reorganized the South on a new basis. Generally referred to as Radical Reconstruction, the measure represented a compromise between genuine Radicals and Moderates within the party. Consistent Radicals such as Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Congressman Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, and George Julian of Indiana wanted to reshape southern society before readmitting ex-Confederates to the Union. Their program of “regeneration before Reconstruction” required an extended period of military rule, confiscation, and redistribution of large landholdings among the freedmen, and federal aid for schools to educate Blacks and whites for citizenship. The majority of Republican Congressmen found such a program unacceptable because it broke too sharply with American traditions of federalism and regard for property rights and might mean that decades would pass before the Union was back in working order.
The Fourteenth Amendment
gave the federal government responsibility for guaranteeing equal rights under the law to all Americans. Know the goals of the Fourteenth Amendment: Section 1 defined citizenship for the first time as extending to “all persons born, or naturalized in the United States. Section 2 sought to penalize the South for denying voting rights to Black men by reducing the congressional representation of any state that formally deprived a portion of its male citizens of the right to vote. Section 3 denied federal office to those who had taken an oath of office to support the U. S. Constitution and then had supported the Confederacy. Section 4 repudiated (rejected) the Confederate debt.
What is the Freedmen’s Bureau and where did it achieve its greatest success?
The Freedmen’s Bureau was a temporary agency set up to aid the former slaves by providing relief, education, legal help, and assistance in obtaining land or employment. *The Bureau was most successful in education. It set up or supervised all kinds of schools: day, night, Sunday, and industrial schools, as well as, colleges. It cooperated closely with philanthropic and religious organizations in the North in the establishment of many institutions. Among the schools founded in this period that received aid from the bureau were Howard University, Hampton Institute (now University), St. Augustine’s College, Atlanta University, Fisk University, Storer College, and the Biddle Memorial Institute (now Johnson C. Smith University). (The American Missionary Association, as well as, the Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians were all active in establishing schools.) Education was promoted so vigorously that by 1867 schools had been set up in “the remotest counties of each of the confederate states.” *(answer from the book, “From Slavery to Freedom” by John Hope Franklin)
