Reconstruction Flashcards
13th Amendment
Abolishes slavery; there is a loophole b/c you can only enslave someone to punish someone for a crime
Freedmen’s Bureau
- Funded by the federal government to provide assistance such as schools and clothing to Black people/newly freed slaves
Educated freed slaves to read and write - However, biggest problem is that it is not properly funded
Sherman’s Special Field Order
- Orders that all of the land of the sea ailes of the coast in Confederate areas should be confiscated and redistributed to free Black people, especially those who helped the Union
- Gave them 40 acres and a mule
- Known as a broken promise b/c Johnson takes this away
Black Codes
- Laws in Southern states that define the rights that Black people have and don’t have
- E.g. Black people can own property if they’re not slaves but Black people cannot testify against a white person in court and cannot serve on juries
Civil Rights Act of 1866
- Overturns Black codes
Everybody born in the US is a citizen and you cannot discriminate based on race - Johnson vetoed this act but Congress overrode the veto to pass the act
- Bad for Johnson b/c it shows that he is a weak president
14th Amendment
Everybody born in the US is a citizen except Native Americans
Reconstruction Act of 1867
- Passed by Radical Republicans over Johnson’s veto
- Divides the South up into 5 military districts
- In each of these districts, there is a general in charge
- States have their own governments but they are overseen by the military for reconstruction
15th Amendment
Guarantees voting rights regardless of race, but does not do the same for gender
KKK
- Founded to suppress Black voting and recreate Antebellum South
- Also created to protect white supremacy
- Used to scare Black people through violence
KKK/Enforcement Acts
- Passed by Congress and signed by Ulysses S. Grant
- Makes clan activities a federal crime
Sharecropping
- Cycle of property
- Way to meet labor needs without the slave system
- Most sharecroppers were Black and they have a share of their crops to landowners and then the rest of the crops will be sold
- However, the money will be used to buy more seeds so it doesn’t really leave a lot of money for Black people
Election of 1876
- A bunch of states are in dispute so there is no winner in electoral college
Compromise of 1877
- Issues in election cause a deal to be made
- Democrats give presidency to Republican (Hayes) in exchange for end of Reconstruction by removing the troops from the South
- Over time, this leads to the rise of Jim Crow
Tenure of Office Act
Law that says that the president needs Senate approval to remove a government official
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Outlawed racial discrimination in public places such as theaters and hotels and many parts of slavery was also considered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
