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US History: 2023-2024 > Life After the Civil War > Flashcards

Life After the Civil War Flashcards

1
Q

What challenges faced the United States as the Civil War ended?

A
  • Political: 1. Seceded states needed to be readmitted to the Union; no process was outlined to do so. 2. Questions about whether southern politicians should be allowed to reenter the government
  • Economic: 1. Southern farms and businesses were destroyed during the war (most major battles occurred in the South) 2. Both the North and South had issues with high inflation.
  • Social: 1. Defining the rights of newly freed slaves. 2. Creating services to assist newly freed slaves.
  • Physical: 1. Extreme destruction to the southern infrastructure (ex. railroads) 2. High loss of life; Civil War= bloodiest war in US history.
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2
Q

How did different leaders want to approach Reconstruction?

A
  • President Lincoln:
    Provide new protections and rights for newly freed Black Americans; and Outlinea process for readmission that required 10% of eligible voters in a seceded state to swear an “oath of allegiance” to the union.
  • Radical Republicans: Create new agencies, legislation, and amendments to support the free Black population; and Disenfranchise former southern leaders who supported secession, including former government officials, military officers, and large plantation owners.
  • President Johnson: Pardoning southern officials to encourage the reestablishment of southern repressive governments; and Refuse to sign new legislation that would support and protect the rights of newly freed enslaved Black Americans
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3
Q

Who were the Radical Republicans?

A

Group of northern politicians who served in Congress as the US entered Reconstruction. They favored important services and protections for freed slaves and severe punishments for southern officials and plantation owners.

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4
Q

What positive changes were occurred for Black Americans during Reconstruction?

A
  • Creation of new constitutional rights; 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
  • Creation of new agencies to support freed slaves; Freedmen’s Bureau.
  • Opportunities to serve in political office.
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5
Q

What negative changes were occurred for Black Americans during Reconstruction?

A
  • Formation of white supremacist groups.
  • Ongoing racial violence and racial massacres.
  • Restrictive labor systems to replace enslavement.
  • Adoption of new legal measures to restrict Black freedom- limit constitutional rights and privileges
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6
Q

What did the 13th Amendment state?

A

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, shall exist within the United States.

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7
Q

What did the 14th Amendment state?

A

Provided American citizenship to formerly enslaved people and equal protection for all citizens while preventing any state from taking away an individual’s freedom without cause.

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8
Q

What did the 15th Amendment state?

A

Prohibited the federal government and states from denying individuals the right to vote based on their race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

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9
Q

Who was Hiram Revels?

A

First Black Congressman in the United States; US Senator from Mississippi.

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10
Q

What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?

A

Federal government organization formed to provide services to newly freed Black slaves; such as: job training, education, and more.

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11
Q

What was sharecropping?

A

Labor system adopted by southern plantation owners to repress newly freed slaves; often resulted in extensive debt for the laborers.

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12
Q

What is the Ku Klux Klan?

A

One of several white supremacist organizations that formed after the Civil War. Carried out acts of extreme violence to intimidate and repress the free Black population.

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13
Q

Why did southern governments adopt Jim Crow Laws?

A

To limit Black freedom after the end of legal enslavement.

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14
Q

What are some common examples of Jim Crow Laws adopted after the Civil War?

A
  • Restrictions targeting Black voters.
  • Segregation of public and private facilities
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15
Q

What were “poll taxes”?

A

Taxes charged to be able to vote; adopted to limit Black voting rights after the adoption of the 15th Amendment.

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16
Q

What were “literacy tests”?

A

Examinations given to residents seeking to register to vote; used to disenfranchise Black voters after the adoption of the 15th Amendment.

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17
Q

What conflicts occurred within the government during Reconstruction?

A
  • President Lincoln vs. Radical Republicans: Lincoln was more lenient with his desires for Reconstruction; Radicals thought he made it too easy for seceded southern states to reenter the Union.
  • President Johnson vs. Radical Republicans: disagreed over the rights that should be given to free Blacks and the way the seceded South should be handled during Reconstruction; Johnson became the first US President to be impeached.
  • Radical Republicans vs. the South: Radicals wanted to destroy the southern way of life and its political power after the war- installed federal troops to the South after the war. Southern governments began passing Jim Crow Laws in response to Radical rules.
  • President Grant vs. the South: Grant supported Military Reconstruction and moved to outlaw white supremacist groups- such as the KKK. Southerners despised Grant- not only as President- but as a former Union General.
  • White Southerners vs. Black Americans: As new laws and programs were passed to enhance Black freedom southern officials did what they could to limit this with Jim Crow Laws; southern populations also developed white supremacist groups, committed extreme racial violence, and established the sharecropping system.
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18
Q

Who was Andrew Johnson?

A

American Vice President during Lincoln’s second term who assumed the presidency following Lincoln’s assassination. Controversial Reconstruction politician due to his rejection of policies that would support Black Americans; ultimately impeached shortly before the end of his single presidential term.

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19
Q

Who was Ulysses S. Grant?

A

American President who served two terms during Reconstruction. Former successful Union General who remained deeply unpopular in the South; supported Military Reconstruction and banning the KKK.

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20
Q

When did Reconstruction end?

A

Following a compromise made to settle the Election of 1876; neither Hayes or Tilden had the election votes to win due to extreme issues on election due in the South; Hayes had to agree to remove troops from the South.

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21
Q

Why did Reconstruction end?

A

Both northerners and southerners tired of Reconstruction by 1876; Northerners viewed the process as a strain on the economy and budget; Southerners were furious that federal troops remained in the South- forcing them to abide by new rules that threatened their way of life.

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22
Q

What factors contributed to increased technology after the Civil War?

A
  • Widespread availability of natural resources in the United States.
  • Enthusiasm for new opportunities after a brutal war.
  • Creativity that emerged due to wartime military innovations.
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23
Q

What were some important new innovations that emerged after the Civil War?

A
  • Bessemer Process
  • Steam Powered Drill
  • Typewriter
  • Telephone
  • Transatlantic Telegraph
  • Kodak Camera
  • Incandescent Light Bulb
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24
Q

What was the Bessemer Process?

A

Process through which steel was mass produced. Allowed for an increase in railroad and skyscraper construction.

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25
Q

What was the Steam Powered Drill?

A

Drill used to access oil beneath the surface. Refined oil helped provide kerosene for lamps; oil was also used to power small motors/engines.

26
Q

What was the Incandescent Light Bulb?

A

New form of electric light developed at Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park lab. Allowed for decreased reliance on kerosene lamps (that often caused fires).

27
Q

How did new innovations impacted American life after the Civil War?

A
  • Many new innovations made life easier.
  • Major construction projects (railroads, skyscrapers, bridges)
  • Created new jobs for women (typewriter, telephone)
  • Improved communication (telephone, transatlantic telegraph)
  • Electric light allowed for longer working hours (with less fire risk)
28
Q

Why did the American Northeast become the industrial center of the United States?

A
  • Less Civil War destruction.
  • Access to financing for companies after the Civil War.
  • Larger populations– caused companies to build factories in Northeast cities (ex. NYC)
29
Q

How did industrialization impact the American economy?

A
  • The American economy grew into the largest of any nation in the world by the start of the 20th century.
  • Resulted in some of the wealthiest Americans in American history.
  • Created large inequalities between the few wealthy and many poor.
30
Q

What was the Gilded Age?

A

Period of economic growth that occurred after the Civil War. Resulted in extreme wealth for a few Americans, but also extreme poverty for most urban Americans.

31
Q

Who was Andrew Carnegie?

A

Wealthy businessman of the Gilded Age. Scottish immigrant, who worked as a child laborer during his youth. Developed Carnegie Steel Co. in Pittsburgh during the Gilded Age.

32
Q

Who was John D. Rockefeller?

A

Richest man in US history. Started Standard Oil Co. in Cleveland Oil. Controlled 90% of the US oil supply at the peak of his power.

33
Q

How did living conditions change in the Northeast during the Gilded Age?

A
  • Most Americans were forced to live in cramped tenements.
  • Towns were very overcrowded and unsanitary; diseases spread rapidly.
34
Q

What is a tenement?

A

Overcrowded apartments where many workers lived in urban communities. These apartments often house a dozen poplin a single room, and lacked electricity, running water, and indoor bathrooms.

35
Q

How did working conditions change in the Northeast during the Gilded Age?

A
  • Workers increasingly worked in factors.
  • Workers faced long working hours (12 hours/day; 6 days/week)
  • Workers were paid VERY little ($1/day or less)
  • Workers faced dangerously and deadly conditions.
  • Small children worked to help support their poor families.
36
Q

How did laborers attempt to bring attention to their poor working conditions during the Gilded Age?

A
  • Workers began organizing and joining labor unions.
  • Labor unions used a variety of tactics to challenge their employers to improve conditions (ex. boycotts, sabotage, strikes, collective bargaining)
37
Q

What was the American Federation of Labor (AFL)?

A

Largest skilled labor union of the Gilded Age. Headed by Samuel Gompers, who promoted using less aggressive tactics to improve working conditions and contracts for laborers.

38
Q

What was the Homestead Strike?

A

Strike that occurred at Carnegie Steel’s plant in Homestead, Pennsylvania. Henry Clay Frick hired a private militia to break up the strike; the conflict between workers and the militia resulted in several deaths.

39
Q

Why did many settlers want to move West after the Civil War?

A
  • The East (especially South) was facing physical destruction after the war; the West offered new opportunities for those who needed them.
  • Freed slaves could escape southern violence and repression; also job opportunities as cowboys.
  • Affordable land.
40
Q

What is Manifest Destiny?

A

The belief held by many Americans that it was America’s God-given right and responsibility to settle the West, spreading democracy and Christianity across the continent.

41
Q

What factors made it easier for settlers to move West after the American Civil War?

A
  • The completion of the transcontinental railroad and railroad expansion.
  • The Homestead Act granted 160 acres of land, FOR FREE, to any head of household willing to farm the land; only had to pay a small paperwork fee.
    – The Homestead Act made land ownership a possibility for people not allowed or able to own land in other parts of the country: Civil War widows, freed slaves, new immigrants.
42
Q

What challenges faced western settlers after the Civil War?

A
  • Treeless grasslands; no wood to build a home.
  • Lack of food sources upon arriving.
  • Severe weather patterns (Blizzards, drought, fires, tornadoes).
  • Wild animals (buffalo) and insects (locusts) destroyed crops.
  • Conflicts with Native American populations.
43
Q

What is a Soddy?

A

Makeshift homes built on the Great Plains after the Civil War; constructed of mud bricks and sod.

44
Q

Why did conflict frequently break out between western settlers and Native populations?

A
  • Land disputes.
  • Broken treaties
  • Discovery of gold or other valuable resources.
  • Cultural misunderstandings and disrespect (ex. killing of the buffalo)
45
Q

How did the federal government approach conflicts with Native populations?

A
  • The federal government often sent military forces to remove Natives from the land; often resulting in violent/deadly outcomes.
  • The federal government agreed to unfair treaties with the Native population.
  • The federal government developed programs to remove Natives from their land (ex. Dawes Act, creation of reservations)
46
Q

How did the federal government justify their policies regarding Native Americans?

A
  • The government characterized the Native populations as uncivilized; argued that they were benefitting a savage population by bringing them democracy and Christianity.
  • The government pointed the blame at the Natives for not abiding by treaties formed or attacking white settlers and soldiers. Characterized the Natives as the violence people.
47
Q

What was the Sand Creek Massacre?

A

Attack onNatives living in Colorado by the US Army. Started after gold was discovered near Pike’s Peak. Over 100 Native women and children were killed and mutilated.

48
Q

What was the Battle of Little Bighorn?

A

Conflict that broke out after the US Army sent Lt. Col. Custer to force Natives off their land soon after gold was discovered nearby. It is a rare example of a Native victory over the US military.

49
Q

What was the Wounded Knee Massacre (aka. Battle of Wounded Knee)?

A

Violent attack against Natives living in Dakota carried out after US officials mistook a Native Ghost Dance ceremony for a warrior dance. Over 300 Natives were killed; Plains Natives struggled to recover after this violent attack.

50
Q

What was the Ghost Dance Movement?

A

*Cultural movement developed among the Native populations in the Dakota Territory. Natives believed if they performed in a cultural ceremony, they’d be protected from the white man’s bullets.
* Contributed to the start of the Wounded Knee Massacre.

51
Q

What was the Dawes Act?

A
  • Federal government legislation created in an attempt to civilize and assimilate” the Native population.
  • The federal government redistributed all Native lands, allowing individual Native “families” a small plot to build a home on and live.
  • Natives lost 13 million acres of land altogether.
52
Q

What is assimilation?

A

Government effort to “Americanize” Native populations, erasing their “uncivilized” ways of life and culture.

53
Q

How did farming change on the Great Plains?

A

Despite early challenges settling the Great Plains, the region became the “breadbasket” of America.

54
Q

What challenges did western farmers experience after the Civil War?

A
  • Couldn’t afford new steel farm tools.
  • Economic instability after the war.
  • Lack of political influence and representation.
  • Lack of knowledge about western land and soil.
55
Q

Why did farmers alliances, such as the Grange, form after the Civil War?

A
  • Farmers united to help one another overcome their many challenges (since the government isn’t helping much).
  • These organizations provided services like: shared farm tools, offered agricultural education, and held social events (like square dances).
56
Q

Why did the Populist Party form in 1892?

A
  • Leaders within the farmers alliance movement felt that the Democratic and Republican Party were not representing the interests of western farmers.
  • These leaders came to Omaha, NE to create a political party that would represent western interests.
57
Q

Who was William Jennings Bryan?

A

Most successful Populist Party politician; represented the interests of many poor Americans- including western farmers- in the Election of 1896.

58
Q

What ideas were supported by members of the Populist Party?

A
  • One-term limit for President
  • “Secret ballot” for voting
  • 8-hour work day limit
  • immigration limits
  • Bimetallism.
59
Q

What is bimetallism?

A
  • Printing more money; Backing that money in US government vaults, not only with gold, but with silver as well to limit the impact of inflation.
  • Supported by Populists and American poor; Opposed by wealthy proponents of the “Gold Standard”
60
Q

What is an economic panic?

A
  • An economic downturn, similar to a recession today. Characterized by slow economic growth and high unemployment.
  • The Panic of 1893 was among the worst economic downturns in American history (the worst before the Great Depression)

US History: 2023-2024 (10 decks)

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