Reconstruction Era Test Flashcards
(48 cards)
Radical Republicans
The people who wanted a harsher approach/requirements for southern states to be admitted back into the Union, they wanted the Southerners to have to really pay for their actions against the Union.
13th Amendment
Slavery and involuntary servitude will not exist in the United States, except for punishment for a crime. The South created “black codes” that included things such as being required to have a ‘legitimate’ job, which many black people could not meet, so it gave a reason for southerners to put black people in jail and again be working for no pay.
14th Amendment
All people born in the US are citizens of the state in which they reside. States cannot make laws to take away the privileges of these citizens. States cannot take away a person’s life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Because African-Americans generally voted Republican, literacy tests were put in place to help prevent them from voting, but to allow white illiterate people (who generally voted for the Confederacy) to vote, the ‘Grandfather” clauses allowed for a person to vote if their grandfather did.
15th Amendment
A citizen’s right to vote will not be denied by the United States or by any individual State based on race, color, or previous servitude condition. Some groups still used voting obstacles to reduce/prevent African-American voters, but it was now deemed unconstitutional. There were large poll taxes that you had to pay in order to be able to vote, to prevent some African-Americans from voting.
Carpetbaggers
That described some Northerners who would carry no more than a bag made out of carpet to the South in hopes of seeking public office for a short-term gain, and leaving when they were no longer benefiting from being in the South.
Scalawags
It was considered a derogatory term used by Southerners that described Southerners that were in support of the North’s reconstruction efforts. It is similar to carpetbaggers, but carpetbaggers were in reference to northerners, and scalawags to native southerners.
Freedmen’s Bureau
A federal US agency that was established to help millions of formerly enslaved people and poor whites during their transition to freedom and citizenship following the Civil War. Some things that they did was provide food, healthcare, clothing, shelter, and schools.
Sharecropping
A system where formerly enslaved people who had few employment opportunities and no assets or money would sign onto work for a rich white person in the fields in exchange for part of the harvest (sharecropping). The farmers relied on the landowners for land, seeds, clothing, shelter, etc, however they often owed more than they could drive the landowner and so the sharecropper could not leave for a long time, so long as he was still in debt. It was a rigged system for the poor white and black people of America.
Compromise
of 1877
Southern Democrats accepted Hayes as the new President, a republican. In exchange, the Republicans withdrew the remaining federal troops from the southern states, basically signalling the end of the Reconstructive Era. Additionally, this allowed the southern Democrats to regain control of their state governments in the way that they chose. Finally, the Republicans agreed to appoint at least 1 democrat to Hayes’ cabinet, which was Postmaster General David M. Key of Tennessee.
Jim Crow Laws
They were state and local rules that were enforced to mandate racial segregation in public facilities such as schools, playgrounds, restaurants, or bathrooms as an effort to keep black and white people separate and black people ‘below’ white people.
Why was Tennessee not under occupation?
Tennessee was not under occupation because it ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and was readmitted to the Union before the military districts were created.
Which states took the longest to be re-admitted? Why do you think that was?
Mississippi, Texas, Virginia, and Georgia were the states that took the longest to be re-admitted into the Union. I think that this is because those states are the most resistant to the change that is required to be admitted into the Union, probably because they have large black populations and do not want to have to give those black individuals their freedom.
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
1865, Lincoln was the first president to ever be assassinated. Following his death, he was succeeded by his Vice President, Andrew Johnson.
13th Amendment Ratified
1865, Slavery and involuntary servitude could no longer exist in the United States; all of the previously enslaved people were freed.
Reconstruction Acts Passed
1867, All of the former Confederate States were split into 5 military districts, except Tennessee, where the federal government would rule the states until they were accepted back into the Union.
President Johnson Impeached
1868, Presidential power was weakened, and Congressional power increased. Congress also overrode Johnson’s vetoes, and stricter measures were put into place to protect the civil rights of formerly enslaved individuals.
14th Amendment Ratified
1868, Every US-born citizen had equal protection under the law, and the Bill of Rights applied to States, meaning that they could not deny rights to black individuals.
Ulysses S. Grant Elected
1868, Grant was able to stabilize the post-war economy of the Nation, supported Congressional Reconstruction, the 15th Amendment, and prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan.
15th Amendment Ratified
1870, This granted all free black men the right to vote in the US. However, Jim Crow laws were created to discourage/prevent black individuals from voting.
Freedmen’s Bureau abolished
1872, The federal aid and support that was provided to recently freed black individuals decreased significantly, such as education opportunities, buying property, and getting jobs.
PBS Pinchback becomes 1st Black governor
1872, He contributed significantly to the Reconstruction of the Union in Louisiana, securing voting rights, and creating Southern University.
Rutherford B. Hayes Elected
1876, As a part of an agreement, federal troops were withdrawn from the South, marking the end of the Reconstruction Era.
Reconstruction Ends
1877, The Union was returned to white democratic rule and Democrats were able to regain control of the South.
Why did Reconstruction come to an end?
The Reconstruction era came to an end as part of Hayes’ agreement when he was elected to office to remove all Federal troops from the Southern states.
