Reconstruction (1865-1877) Flashcards
Reconstruction Era
period after the civil war where Northern leaders created plans for the governance of the South and procedure for former Southern states to rejoin the Union. Southern resentment of this lasted well into the 1900s
Radical Republicans
congressional group that wished to punish the South for its secession from the Union. Pushed for measures that gave economic and political rights to newly freed Blacks in the South and made it difficult for former Confederate states to rejoin.
Reconstruction Act
act placing Southern states under military rule and barring former supporters of the Confederacy from voting
Carpetbaggers
Northerners who moved south to take control of political and social positions when the South was severely weak.
Scalawags
term used in the South for white Southern Republicans
Ku Klux Klan
group founded in 1866 and is responsible for many of the violent actions during the Reconstruction era. They represented the resentments of many southerners due to changing political, social, and economical landscape.
Compromise of 1877
political compromise due to the presidential election of 1876. It awarded Rutherford B. Hayes electoral votes to win the presidency and all federal troops were pulled from the South.
freedmen
term used for free Blacks in the South after the Civil War. They gained the ability to hold office, education, and some economic well-being. Most of these gains were lost after the end of Reconstruction
Ten Percent Plan
Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction where full pardons would be given to civilians of Confederate states who took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. and once 10% of people had taken this oath, the state could begin to rejoin the Union. Radical Republicans felt that this was too lenient and advocated for more extreme measures.
Wade-Davis Act
Bill passed in 1864 in response to Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan. All former officers of the Confederacy would be denied citizenship, and to vote, they must take an oath that they never helped the Confederacy. They also proposed that 50% of white men in a state had to take an oath for the state to be readmitted. Lincoln used a pocket veto to reject this.
pocket veto
a method a president can use to prevent congressional legislation at the end of a congressional term. They opt to avoid signing the bill instead of vetoing it, leaving it to die after session
tenant farmers
A step-up from sharecropping in the Reconstruction South. The farmer rented land from the owner, leaving him from the harsh supervision that sharecroppers dealt with.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
act that struck down Black Codes and defined the rights of all citizens. It also gave the federal government the ability to act when civil rights were violated at the state level. This was passed by Congress over the veto of Andrew Johnson
13th Amendment
amendment abolishing slavering in the U.S. and all of its territories. Final approval of this depended on the ratification by Confederate states rejoining the Union.
14th Amendment
ratified in 1868, and gave citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. It also prevented Confederate supporters form holding office