Reconstruction (1865-1877)

Question 1

Reconstruction Era

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Radical Republicans

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Reconstruction Act

Answer 3

act placing Southern states under military rule and barring former supporters of the Confederacy from voting

Question 4

Carpetbaggers

Answer 4

Northerners who moved south to take control of political and social positions when the South was severely weak.

Question 5

Scalawags

Answer 5

term used in the South for white Southern Republicans

Question 6

Ku Klux Klan

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Compromise of 1877

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

freedmen

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Ten Percent Plan

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Wade-Davis Act

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

pocket veto

Answer 11

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

Question 12

tenant farmers

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Answer 13

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

Question 14

13th Amendment

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

14th Amendment

Answer 15

ratified in 1868, and gave citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. It also prevented Confederate supporters form holding office

Question 16

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

Answer 16

congressional act to limit Johnson’s influence. It took away his role as commander in chief and stated that Congress had the right to remove appointees by Johnson. In 1868, Johnson attempted to fire a Secretary without Congressional approval, leading to his impeachment hearings.

Question 17

impeachment

Answer 17

the process of removing an elected public official from office. Several states adopted ways to make this easier during the Progressive Era. Presidential impeachment only requires the House of Representatives but to be removed from office, the Senate must also vote.