* RECONSTRUCTION WITH CHATGPT ANSWERS - Condensed Flashcards
Who were the opposing sides in the US civil war and what did they want?
(Remember to refer to both sets of flashcards for more detail, this is mostly for definitions and more detail.)
The US Civil War was fought between the Union ( North) and the Confederacy (South) from 1861 to 1865. The Union was composed of 23 Northern states, and the Confederacy was composed of 11 Southern states that had seceded from the Union in the wake of the election of President Abraham Lincoln, who was opposed to the expansion of slavery into new territories.
The war was fought over a range of issues, including slavery, states’ rights, and economic and political differences between the North and South.
What did the 13th Amendment achieve/ aim to achieve?
It abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as a punishment for a crime.
Following the 13th Amendment, many slaves had no where to work or the skills and money to build new lives and find new homes - Sharecropping was the short term solution; what was this?
Sharecropping was a system of agricultural labor that emerged in the United States after the Civil War and was particularly prevalent in the Southern states. Under the sharecropping system, landowners would allow farmers, often former slaves, to work a portion of their land in exchange for a share of the crop produced. The landowner would provide the tools, seed, and other necessary materials, and the farmer would work the land and harvest the crop.
The sharecropper was often left with little to no profit, as the landowner would often charge high prices for the supplies provided and for any debts that the sharecropper had accrued during the season. As a result, many sharecroppers fell into debt and were unable to break free from the cycle of poverty and dependence on the landowner.
It helped to perpetuate the economic and social systems of the Old South, including racial inequality and the legacy of slavery.
Southern states combatted reforms with black codes, what were these?
Black codes were a series of laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War with the intention of restricting the freedom and rights of African Americans and maintaining white supremacy.
They aimed to control jobs, movement and the behaivour of AAs with harsh penalties for minor crimes.
How were the Black codes combatted by congress?
They were eventually repealed or replaced by the more comprehensive and far-reaching civil rights legislation of the Reconstruction era, listed in further flash cards.
What was the Freedman’s Bureau?
The Freedmen’s Bureau was a US government agency established during the Reconstruction era to help newly emancipated slaves transition from slavery to freedom. It provided food, clothing, medical care, schools, and employment assistance to African Americans. The Bureau also helped to settle disputes between former slaves and white landowners.
What did the 14th Amendment aim to do/do?
It aimed to grant citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, regardless of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. The amendment also guaranteed due process of law, prevented states from depriving any person of their rights without due process of law, and enabled the federal government to intervene in state affairs to protect the rights of citizens.
What was the 1866 Civil Rights Act, why was it different to the 14th Amendment.
This was the predecessor to the 14th amendment and essentially guaranteed the rights to vote and equal protection under the law for any citizen without consideration of other factors such as race or gender.
It was twisted and did not always hold up in court to support AAs as it meant to, so it was reinforced by the constitutional 14th amendment which is much harder to overturn or ignore. The 14th also specified that AAs were citizens.
The President in 1866 tried to veto the 1866 CRA - why was he not successful, and why did he try to veto it?
Following Lincoln’s assassination, Democrat, Andrew Johnson took over. He was not sympathetic to the AA cause and sought to inhibit progress.
However, congress was dominated by progressive Northern republicans who wanted the advancement of AA rights; they countered AJs veto with their own veto and passed this Act a long with other acts which would see the development of AA rights.
Why was the Republican agenda to develop AA rights?
Primarily, the republicans supported free market economics and believed that having a large amount of their population essentially being economically inactive did not allow for optimal economic growth and opposed the free market, they may have considered it more beneficial for AAs to contribute more to the economy than being cheap labour.
There may have also been the social element, but it must be considered a less prevalent factor.
What was the 15th Amendment? What did it achieve?
It aimed to grant African American men the right to vote and prohibit states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of race, colour, or previous condition of servitude. It provided the federal government with the power to enforce the amendment and protect voting rights from state infringement. The amendment was a significant achievement in the struggle for civil rights, although other forms of voter suppression persisted.
What was the name of the first act passed by congress in 1867, which saw the passing of a number of other progressive acts which helped to reconstruct the South to allow for AAs to coexist there?
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 were a series of federal laws passed by Congress during the Reconstruction era. The acts were designed to implement the provisions of the 14th Amendment and to provide a framework for the readmission of the Confederate states into the Union. The acts divided the former Confederate states into five military districts, required them to create new constitutions providing for universal male suffrage, and authorized the use of federal troops to enforce the new laws and to protect the civil rights of African Americans. The Reconstruction Acts represented a major federal intervention into the affairs of the former Confederate states and paved the way for the establishment of new state governments that were more representative and provided greater protection for the civil rights of African Americans.
What were the three enforcement acts?
The three Enforcement Acts, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Acts, were a series of federal laws passed by the United States Congress in 1870 and 1871 in response to the widespread violence and intimidation perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups in the South during the Reconstruction era.
The three Enforcement Acts were:
The Enforcement Act of 1870, also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1870, which made it a federal crime to interfere with a citizen’s right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It also gave the president the authority to use federal troops to enforce the law.
The Force Act of 1871, which gave the president the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus, the legal principle that requires a person to be brought before a court or judge before being detained, in order to combat the Ku Klux Klan and other paramilitary groups.
The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which expanded on the previous two acts by making it a federal crime to conspire to deprive someone of their civil rights, including the right to vote or hold office, and by giving the president the power to use the military to suppress domestic violence and enforce the law.
What was the 1875 CRA?
All citizens were entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of inns, public conveyances theatres of other places of public amusement. - Removing the segregation of services essentially.
The White reaction to the change was hostile, particularly in the South; many people joined the KKK - In Louisiana how many deaths and injuries were sustained by AAs in 1868?
2000
