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The Era of Reconstruction and the Gilded Age 1865-90 > Chapter 1: The Weaknesses Of Federal Government > Flashcards

Chapter 1: The Weaknesses Of Federal Government Flashcards

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1
Q

What were the black codes?

A

-introduced by new state governments in the South t replace old slave codes
-accepted basic rights of formerly enslaved people e.g. right to marry
-imposed harsh restrictions e.g. segregation and forbidding interracial marriage

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2
Q

How did the black codes affect formerly enslaved people?

A

-under the codes black people could not testify against white people in court
-had difficulties gaining economic freedom from work on the plantation- still heavily reliant on plantation owners

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3
Q

What was reconstruction?

A

an era of rebuilding after the civil war which lasted from 1865 to 1877

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4
Q

What was the Emancipation Proclamation?

A

released by Abraham Lincoln in 1865 granting freedom to enslaved people in the Southern states

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5
Q

What was Reconstruction heavily dependant on?

A

actions and authority of the federal government

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6
Q

What was the 1865 US constitution based on?

A

separation of powers and a system of checks and balances to ensure no one branch of govt. became too powerful

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7
Q

Why was the federal govt. viewed as weak?

A

-president faced difficulties gaining support from Congress- challenging to pass legislation
-small in scale so there was no large bureaucracy to implement policies nationwide
-much political power reserved to state governments whos local/sectional interests could obstruct/frustrate Congress

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8
Q

What are the 3 branches of the US government?

A

legislative, executive and judiciary

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9
Q

What were the other weaknesses of the federal govt. specific to the crisis situation after the Civil War?

A

-fierce resentment in the South which made it hard to agree on a policy for Reconstruction or enforce it
-fractured party loyalties- main political parties divided into factions and end of war weakened forces that had held together rival politicians in a common cause

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10
Q

What was Presidential Reconstruction?

A

progress for reconstruction set up by Andrew Johnson in May 1865 in an attempt to shortcut to national reconciliation

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11
Q

What was the result of Presidential Reconstruction?

A

-4 chaotic years of bitter disputes
-Republican party split
-Southerners alienated
-Johnson massively unpopular and politically isolated

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12
Q

What happened to Johnson in 1868?

A

impeached by Congress and only narrowly escaped being convicted

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13
Q

What were the three phases of Reconstruction?

A

-Presidential
-Congressional
-Radical

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14
Q

How many states still did not have approved reconstruction governments under Johnson?

A

7

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15
Q

How did Johnson attempt to bring the South back into political mainstream?

A

announced he would issue pardons to all southerners apart from confederate soldiers and rich plantation owners if they swore an oath of allegiance to the Union

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16
Q

How many pardons did Johnson issue?

A

13,000

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17
Q

What did these pardons lead to?

A

opened the way for state conventions to set up new lawful state governments which would accept the abolition of slavery and renounce the illegal action of breaking away from the Union in 1861

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18
Q

Why did Johnson’s shortcut to reconciliation fail?

A

met by intense opposition from Republicans and his original plan to prosecute confederate leaders for treason was dropped

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19
Q

What was the problem with the new state governments?

A

-dominated by the same old southern elites and the men elected to represent the South in Congress were mostly former confederate politicians and military officers
-every state brought in “black codes”
-several states refused to ratify 13th amendment which abolished slavery

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20
Q

What was Johnson’s motivation behind Presidential Reconstruction?

A

he knew it was vital to reconcile the South and prevent those who had supported the confederacy from becoming a degraded and debased people

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21
Q

Why did Northern liberals feel betrayed by Johnson’s actions?

A

undermined the status of black people and had allowed old confederate leaders back into politics

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22
Q

What was Congressional Reconstruction?

A

policies initiated by Congress in opposition to Johnson after the failure of Presidential Reconstruction

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23
Q

What 4 competing political factions did Johnson face in December 1865?

A

Democrats, Conservative Republicans, Moderate Republicans and Radical Republicans

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24
Q

What heightened the conflict and political tensions between these factions?

A

Johnson was high handed and inept in his attempts to override his opponents through the use of the Presidential veto

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25
What was the first thing Johnson vetoed in February 1866?
renewal of the Freedmen's Bureau for 3 more years and to strengthen its powers to prosecute offenders guilty of discrimination against formerly enslaved people
26
What was the Freedmen's Bureau?
established by Lincoln in March 1865 to assist and protect formerly enslaved people
27
What was the second thing Johnson vetoed in March 1866?
Civil Rights Act
28
What was the Civil Rights Act
reinstated equal rights of African Americans and authorised federal intervention to enforce them
29
What was the third thing Johnson vetoed in July 1866?
another Freedmen's Bureau Act
30
What did the alliance between moderate and radical Republicans force Congress to do in April 1866
adopt the 14th Amendment to the constitution in order to secure the Civil Rights Act
31
What was the 14th Amendment?
guaranteed equal citizenship and voting rights to formerly enslaved people as well as disqualifying from political office anyone who had supported the confederacy
32
Why did the 14th Amendment lead to a major political confrontation?
-Johnson refused to compromise and denounced it -South regarded it as unfair Northern revenge
33
Why were the 1866 midterm elections disastrous for Johnson?
Republicans won 2/3 of the seats in the house of representatives an gained an even stronger hold on the Senate which marked the end of Presidential Reconstruction
34
When did Congress pass the Reconstruction Act?
February 1867
35
What did the Reconstruction Act state?
-all previous attempts to reintegrate the South declared void -Tennessee only state to be recognised -other 10 ex-confederate states abolished and put under temporary military rule until elected delegate agreed to ratify 14th Amendment
36
Why did the leader of the Radicals Thaddeus Stephens feel the Reconstruction Act was too moderate?
he wanted to confiscate estates and redistribute land to African Americans as he knew economic freedom would be just as important as political freedom
37
How did President Johnson feel about the Reconstruction Act?
felt it went to far and did much to obstruct it
38
Describe one way President Johnson tried to obstruct the Reconstruction Act?
placing conservative military in control of the 5 military districts
39
What was the South's reaction to Congressional Reconstruction?
-open defiance to new laws passed by Congress and deep resentment of Northerners sent to rule over the South -KKK formed -Summer of 1866- major race riots in Southern cities such as Memphis and New Orleans
40
How had attitudes towards Reconstruction changed in the South by 1868?
entrenched opposition to Reconstruction throughout the whole South
41
When was the KKK formed?
December 1865 (by a small group of ex-confederate soldiers in Tennessee)
42
What was the focus of the Republican campaign in the 1868 election?
-Radical Reconstruction and issue of African-American voting rights in the South -presented themselves as a party of patriotism and principle
43
What was the Democrat approach to Reconstruction in the 1868 election?
that is was revolutionary and unconstitutional
44
What is the 15th Amendment?
passed by Congress in February 1869 stating that the right to vote was not to be "denied on account of race, colour or previous servitude"
45
When was the 15th Amendment ratified?
1870
46
How were the Reconstruction policies implemented under Grant?
by federal govt., by state govts. with a Republican majority and organisations such as the Freedmen's bureau
47
What did Radical Reconstruction policies depend on in order to be effective?
presence of the US army in the South
48
How did the South react to the Radical Reconstruction policies?
intense and often violent resistance from the South especially from organisations such as the KKK
49
How did the federal govt. deal with Southern opposition to Radical Reconstruction?
-passed 3 Enforcement Acts in 1870 and 1871 to strengthen provisions of the 14th and 15th Amendments to try and limit discrimination and ensure equal rights for African Americans
50
What are the Enforcement Acts often referred to as?
KKK laws
51
When was the 2nd Civil Rights Act passed by Congress?
February 1875
52
What was the aim of the 2nd Civil Rights Act?
to ensure equal treatment in issues such as jury service and public transport
53
Why was the Civil Rights Act unpopular?
viewed as an extreme interference with state govts.
54
Who opposed Radical Reconstruction?
-white terrorists -Southern state legislatures -the Redeemers
55
Who were the Redeemers?
people who fought for the redemption of the South- to free Southern states from govts. that had been unfairly imposed on them
56
Why was opposition against Reconstruction effective?
violence and intimidation reduced Republican vote from African Americans
57
What was the Colfax massacre?
murder of 3 white people and an estimated 150 pro-Republican African Americans in 1873
58
What happened in New Orleans in September 1874?
5000 members of the White League carried out a rebellion against Republican governor William Pitt Kellogg
59
What happened in the Battle of Liberty Place?
3 days of fighting between rebels and state militia over whether Republican or Redeemer candidate should hold title of Governor of Louisiana
60
How was the Redemption of the South helped?
quieter, outwardly legal forms of discrimination e.g. voters were disfranchised by measures such as vagrancy laws and literacy tests
61
What was the position of the Redeemers by 1876?
had won back white Democratic control of the most of the ex-confederate states except Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina
62
Why did Radical Reconstruction fail?
-support was fading in Congress as there were many sympathisers with Southern opposition -Republicans were not in a sufficiently strong political position to carry through unpopular policies
63
What was the Amnesty Act 1872?
allowed large numbers of ex-confederate soldiers to return to political life after being disqualified by previous laws
64
Why was Grant's position as President significantly weakened?
-economic depression which followed stock market panic of 1873 -distracted by indigenous American policy and renewed outbreaks of war e.g. Red River War of 1874 and Black Hills War of 1876 -tide of accusations of political and financial corruption
65
What was the Black Friday scandal?
conspiracy between Jay Gould and Jim Fisk to control the New York stock market exposed in 1869
66
Why was Grant affected by the Black Friday Scandal?
suffered political damage as his brother in law had ties to Gould and Fisk
67
Why was the New York Custom House Ring scandal damaging?
drew attention to the notorious Tweed Ring that was poisoning local politics in 1870s New York
68
What was the Tweed Ring?
-system of patronage and corruption ran by William Tweed, boss of Democratic political machine in New York -Tweed had power and influence in city and state politics, banks and Erie railroad -ring controlled courts, police, legislature and supervision of elections -Tweed and his associates looted at least $45 million from New York
69
Give 2 examples of later scandals during Grant's presidency
-his personal secretary was caught accepting bribes from the Whiskey room -his secretary of war was caught taking bribes to sell indigenous American trading posts

The Era of Reconstruction and the Gilded Age 1865-90 (6 decks)

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