Reconstruction Flashcards
black codes
Southern laws that restricted the rights of African Americans and enforced racial segregation
impeachment
the act of charging and trying a government official with misconduct
carpetbagger
- a nonresident who seeks gain/election from an area (derogatory)
- a Northerner who immigrated to the South after the Civil War to profit from Reconstruction (derogatory)
poll tax
tax levied on every adult, excluding income or resources, in order to vote
literacy test
test that examines a person’s ability to read or write
universal manhood suffrage
the right for all adult males to vote, regardless of wealth, property ownership, or status; primarily focused on white males
grandfather clause
- clause excepting specific people based on class
- clause enacted by several Southern states that denied voting rights to men who were allowed to vote, easily disenfranchising African American men
segregation
division of people based on race, class, or ethnicity
sharecropper
a farmer who lives on another’s land who gives a portion of his crops as rent
martial law
temporary emergency replacement of government with military authorities when civil authorities cannot function
Ku Klux Klan
US Protestant-Christian, white-supremacist, far-right hate organization
the first one established right after the Civil War ended and disbanded in 1870. The second began in 1915 and persists to the present day.
Amendment 13
1/3 Reconstruction Amendment
illegalized slavery across the US and in territories owned by the US, only allowed for punishment
Amendment 14
2/3 Reconstruction Amendment
explained that everyone born on American land is an American citizen, including former enslaved people
everyone is protected equally under the law; government should not discriminate
Amendment 15
3/3 Reconstruction Amendment
grants voting rights to all male citizens regardless of race or former slave status
