recomstruction Flashcards
a federal agency that was set up near the end of the civil war to distribute clothes, food, and fuel to the poor of the south. it ran schools for African American children and rented land to freedmen until the land could be sold
Freeman’s bureau
Abraham Lincolns Vice President who became president when Lincoln died. he believe new state governments needed to be established in the south and amnesty (pardons) should be granted to most for,ready confederate (white) southerners
Andrew Johnson
define the thirteenth amendment
this amendment to the constitution abolished slavery in the United States
laws passed in the south after the civil war designed to limit the freedom of African Americans. they were an attempt by southern whites to return former slaves to plantation labor
black codes
a group of republicans in congress after the civil war who had long urged the end of slavery. they wanted full and equal citizenship for freedmans because that’s what a true republic should have- citizenship for all. they believed the federal government should remake southern politics and society
radical republicans
the basic rights of all citizens. the radical republicans passed a bill that said all persons born in the United States (except American Indians) were citizens and that all citizens were entitled to equal rights regardless of their race. (civil rights act of 1866)
civil rights
the federal governments plan to rebuild the ruined southern states after the civil war. this took place during the years 1865- 1877
reconstruction
this act lead to radical reconstruction led by congress which divided the south into five military districts, each run by an army commander. in order to re-enter the union southern states would have to (1) approve new state constitutions that gave the right to vote to all adult men and (2) ratify the fourteenth amendment
reconstruction act of 1867
to bring an official (like the president) to trial for improper conduct in office. in 1867 the House of Representatives did this to Andrew Johnson for firing Secretary of war Edwin Stanton (congress had passed a law saying he couldn’t do this without approval from the senate) however the senate fell one vote short of removing him from office
impeach
eighteenth president of the United States who led the country during reconstruction
Ulysses s grant
southern whites who supported republicans and their reconstruction plan
scalawags
white northerners who moved to the south after the civil war to help rebuild the southern economy, society, and politics. many southerners did not like them because they thought they wanted to take advantage of the south
carpetbaggers
a secret group created by racist white southerners who aimed to keep African Americans powerless. they attacked southern blacks who were successful because they wanted to ensure that whites controlled society. some African Americans are were even lynched
ku klux klan
a system of farming by African Americans in the south by which a farmer and his family rented a play of land to farm. when harvest time came the farmer had to share the crop with the landowner. this system placed many farmers in debt that they could not recover from
sharecropping
Rutherford b Hayes became the 19th president of the United states and the republicans agreed to remove all remaining federal troops from the southern states
compromise if 1877
official separation of the races, black and white. separate but equal meant that this was legal as long as facilities existed for both blacks and whites
segregation
laws created in the south in the 1890s which made segregation the official law in streetcars, theaters, and even cemeteries
Jim Crow laws
U.S. Supreme Court decision in which segregation was declared legal. in other words, African Americans could be separated from whites as long as equal opportunities were offered
plessy vs ferguson
what natural obstacles were in the way across western America
Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada mountain s and a vast desert
where did the Union Pacific railroad build from
west from Omaha, Nebraska
where did the central pacific railroad build from
east from Sacramento, California
a railroad bridge built over a ravine or river
trestle
what were some groups of people working on the Union Pacific company
civil war veterans, freed slaves, Irishmen, Mormons, Chinese and Germans
it was decided that the two railroad companies should meet where
promontory summit, Utah
how long did it take to build the railroad
6 years (ahead of schedule)
