Freedmen's Bureau
distributed food and clothing to destitute Southerners and eased the transition of blacks from slaves to free persons
Black codes
sought to keep ex-slaves subordinate to whites by subjecting them to every sort of discrimination; no guns, can't vote, no jury duty; insulting gestures & language by blacks a criminal offense
Civil Rights Act of 1866
nullified the black codes by affirming African Americans' rights to "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property as is enjoyed by white citizens.
14th Amendment
made all native-born or naturalized person American citizens and prohibited states from abridging the "privileges and immunities" of citizens, depriving them of "life, liberty, or property without due process of law," and denying them "equal protection of
Military Reconstruction Act
divided the south into five military districts. Each district was placed under military leadership and new elections were held with voting only allowed by Congress' approved voters, which were mostly former slaves.
15th Amendment
prohibited states from depriving any citizen of the right to vote because of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Carpetbagger
Northerners (or others) who stuffed all their belongings in a single carpet-sided suitcase and headed south to "fatten on" the "misfortunes" of the southerners
Scalawag
white Southerner who collaborated with northern Republicans during Reconstruction,
Ku Klux Klan
social club of Confederate veterans who terrorized and killed to restore white supremacy
Sharecropping
is a system of agriculture in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on their portion of land.
Redeemers
Democrats in the South who promised to oust Radical Republican coalition of freedmen, carpetbaggers, and scalawags.
Compromise of 1877
informal, unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election, pulled federal troops out of state politics in the South, and ended the Reconstruction Era.
To what extent did Lincoln's wartime plan for reconstruction reflect the concerns of newly freed slaves?
He wanted a rapid restoration. He wanted to fix the broken Union. His plan did not include social or political rights to ex-slaves
When the southern states passed the black codes, how did the U.S. Congress respond?
Congress refused to seat Southern representatives, passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, passed the 14th Amendment
Why did Congress impeach President Andrew Johnson?
Congress had passed over Johnson's veto, the Tenure of Office Act, which said that the President could not dismiss Cabinet level officers without Congressional approval. Andrew Johnson fired the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton without Congressional app
How did politics and economic concerns shape reconstruction in the South?
Lincoln's plan was to offer full pardon, restoring property (except slaves) and political rights to most rebels who renounced succession and accepted emancipation. 10% of a states' voting population had to take an oath of allegiance, organize a state gove
Why did northern support for reconstruction collapse?
by a series of events; America went through a severe depression in 1873; 1000's of businesses filed for bankruptcy, widespread unemployment, slowdown in railroad and factory building (northerners more concerned about their well-being); Democrats became th
Why and how did the federal government retreat from defending African Americans' civil rights in the 1870s?
As part of a Compromise of 1877, Republican President Rutherford B. Hayes agreed with Southern Democrats to remove Federal troops from the Southern States as a way to win the election. At the same time, many white Northerners were tired of of wasting reso
Why was distributing plantation land to former slave such a controversial policy?
Ex-slaves believed that they deserved a right to the plantation land because of the amount of time they worked without being compensated. President Johnson talked tough about punishing rebels but eventually returned plantation land to their southern owner
Why did Congress reject redistribution as a general policy?
Congress rejected redistribution as a general policy because many believed freedom was all that was owed to ex-slaves not land.
After emancipation, how did ex-slaves exercise their new freedoms, and how did white Southerners attempt to limit them?
Ex-slaves found ways to educate their children, they searched for kin who had been sold away, established churches, and worked for wages. White Southerners adopted black codes, requiring them to pay high annual taxes, poor black children had work for plan
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