Reconstruction (last) Flashcards
(40 cards)
Why were black people unequal before 1865?
- The Declaration of Independence had declared all men as equal but throughout society black Americans were inferior and under slavery.
Why were black people kept as slaves?
- They solved the issue of labour shortage within the largely agricultural south.
What percentage of black Americans lived in the south?
- Above 90%
What was the Emancipation Proclamation?
- Abraham Lincoln’s plea that slavery could continue in states that returned to th Union before January 1863
- After that, all enslaved people in enemy territory would be freed by the Union.
4 reasons for the 13th Amendment?
1) Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery throughout the United States, so the aboltionists campaigned for a constitutional amendment to end slavery.
2) Lincoln worried that the Emancipation Proclamation wouldn’t be legitimate in times of peace.
3) Republicans felt that slavery had caused terrible conflict and might do so again if it returned to normality.
4) Northerners recognised former enslaved people’s effort to their war victory.
Why was the southern economy transformed after the 13th Amendment?
- Since there were no slaves, landowners had to find workers and pay them.
Why were black people trapped into sharecropping?
- All they knew was how to farm the land and with no land of their own, they worked for landlords and shared half of the crop profits.
Why were there social tensions after the 13th Amendment?
- White southerners were bitter about losing the Civil War and the fact that inferior black people were demanding more rights and equality which went against their history.
- Memphis mob killed over 40 black men in the race riots of the summer of 1866.
Why was there the need for a political settlement?
- There were disputes between southerners and northerners, with southerners trying to prevent black people from the vote, but the Republicans claiming that black people would boost their position of power if they could vote.
Who was Andrew Johnson?
- Lincoln’s vice president who took over after Lincoln’s death
What was the time period known for reviving the South’s political, social and economic systems?
- Reconstruction Era
Why did Andrew Johnson side with the old Confederates?
- He was a southerner
- He believed if he helped the south, he’d be re-elected
- He saw black Americans as inferior
- He believed in states’ own rights
What were the Black Codes?
- Impositions within southern states which were designed to make it impossible for black Americans to:
- Purchase or rent land
- vote
- obtain education
- receive lawful protection
What was an issue with President Johnson’s reconstruction?
- It involved restoring the Confederate Vice President, Alexander Stephens
- As well as restoring 58 Confederate congressmen.
What was the 14th Amendment?
- Constitutional Amendment that stated that all people born or naturilised in the United States were citizens.
What did the 14th Amendment provide for black Americans?
- Citizenship equality before the law
- Federal Government intervnetion if any states denied citizens their rights
- Banned most of the old Confederate elite from holding office
How did southern Governments respond to the 14th Amendment?
- Southern Governments didn’t ratify the 14th Amendment
What 3 things triggered Military rule in the south?
1) rise and violence of the KKK
2) rejection of the 14th Amendment in the south
3) 1866 Race riots in the summer.
Which act declared military rule in the south?
- Military Reconstruction Act 1867
3 main provisions of military rule in the South
1) It removed the old white Confederate elite from the US congress and from state governments
2) It stated that southern Governments could only return to the union if they obliged with Republican reform.
3) Imposed Government by military commanders.
What was the 15th Amendment?
- The promotion of black Americans gaining the right to vote
Why did black Americans vote for the Republicans?
- Lincoln was seen as the leader of the ‘Freedom Party’ (Emancipation Proclamation)
- Republicans supported black rights through the 14th and 15th Amendment as well as the Military Revolutionary Act.
How many black males registered to vote against white males during Radical Reconstruction?
- 700,000 black males registered vs 600,000 white males
Positives of black enfranchisment?
- Revolutionary move of black people gaining political rights for the first time
- Black legislators contributed to the passage of laws that helped black Aamericans
- Increase in black confidence and political awareness.
