Slavery
Being owned by another person and forced to work without wages or personal freedom. In the US, slavery existed from the 1600s until 1865 and became based on race.
Reconstruction
After the Civil War, this was a plan to rebuild the South, reunify the U.S., and provide rights to formerly enslaved Black Americans. "Reconstruction" is used to describe the 10 years or so after the Civil War.
sharecropping
When a wealthy landowner lets someone rent and farm their land. The sharecropper must give the landowner most of the crops as payment. Both white and Black sharecroppers became stuck in a cycle of poverty and debt in the South after the Civil War.
Black Codes
These were laws created in Southern states by white governments that prevented Black Americans from exercising their right to vote, own guns, hold certain jobs, or move freely.
racial segregation
the separation of people based on their race; one race is seen as superior to others and given more rights and privileges in society
Amendment
An official change to the U.S. Constitution
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery in the U.S. at the end of the Civil War in 1865; however, it states that people who are imprisoned can be forced to work for free.
14th amendment
(1868) Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection under the law (no one can be treated differently under U.S. laws).
15th amendment
Gave all American men the right to vote no matter their race.
Freedmen's Bureau
A government agency created to help people (especially former slaves) recover from the Civil War and build a new life. It created schools, hospitals, jobs, roads, railroads, and reunited families separated by war. It was supposed to distribute land to fre
Jim Crow Era
Era in the South after Reconstruction until 1960s. Black Americans were freed from slavery and Black men could legally vote, but these rights were not enforced or protected. White Southerners created a system of laws that segregated and oppressed Black Am
Poll Tax
A fee or payment required to vote. One method used to prevent Black citizens from voting in elections.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
An organization that used terrorist tactics and violence to try to restore white supremacy in Southern states after the Civil War.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
A US Supreme Court case that made racial segregation legal. The justices argued that as long as facilities were "separate but equal," for each race, then segregation was acceptable.