Freedman's Bureau
Created by Congress to help former slaves. Provided food, medical care, schools, teachers, helped them find jobs with fair wages and good working conditions, and distributed some land.
13th Amendment
abolished slavery in the U.S.
14th Amendment
Granted citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. and guaranteed all citizens equal protection under the law
15th Amendment
Declared that states cannot deny anyone the right to vote because of race or color or because that person was once a slave.
Plessy v. Ferguson
legalized segregation as long as "separate-but-equal" facilities were provided.
Jim Crow Laws
Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites
Black Codes
Laws that limited the rights and freedoms of African Americans
President Johnson's Reconstruction Plan
Made states ratify the 13th Amendment but it also allowed for the black codes to be passed.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Declared freedmen full citizens with the same civil rights as whites.
Sharecropping
system in which landowners leased a few acres of land to farmworkers in return for a portion of their crops. Usually led to a life of poverty and debt.
Military Reconstruction Acts
Dissolved the government of all the Confederate States except Tennessee and divided the remaining Southern States into five districts. Sent troops to put in new governments and protect African Americans and their rights.
Enforcement Acts
Congress in response to the KKK and and violence against African Americans, passed these acts to protect African Americans. It created penalties on person who interfered with any citizen's right to vote. Outlawed the activities of the KKK.
Amnesty Act
Law which granted civil rights to ex-confederates and so set the stage for them to regain control of the south
The Compromise of 1877
Deal that settled the 1876 presidential election contest between Rutherford Hayes (Rep.) & Samuel Tilden (Dem.); Hayes was awarded presidency in exchange for the permanent removal of fed. troops from the South
poll tax
A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote. Often used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
literacy test
A test administered as a precondition for voting, often used to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
Carpetbaggers
A derogatory term applied to Northerners who migrated south during the Reconstruction to take advantage of opportunities to advance their own fortunes by buying up land from desperate Southerners and by manipulating new black voters to obtain lucrative go
KKK (Ku Klux Klan)
Group created to intimidate, beat, and or kill African Americans in order to prevent African Americans from exercising their right to vote.
3 Goals Congress was trying to achieve when they established the military districts?
1) To form legal Southern States with new Constitutions
2) To give Freedmen in the South full Citizenship
3) To allow Freedmen in the South the right to vote
Which military district was made up of 3 states?
District 3
Which former Confederate state met the standards for readmission before the military districts were established, and was therefore not included in any military district?
Tennesse
Other than trying to control the freedman, what were three other purposes of the black codes?
1) To limit the rights of the Freedman
2) To help planters find workers to replace their slaves
3) To keep Freedmen at the bottom of the social order
What are some examples of the limits on Freedmen's rights caused by the Black Codes?
Freedmen could not vote or serve on juries
What is an example of how the Black Codes were used to try to help planters find workers to replace their slaves?
Freedmen were required to work and have a job. Those without jobs could be arrested. Once arrested, they would be hired out to planters as prison labor.
What is an example of how the Black Codes were used to keep Freedmen at the bottom of the Social Order?
Most Codes called for the segregation of blacks and whites in public
What impact did the military reconstruction acts have on southern states?
They divided the southern states into five military districts, each governed by the federal military.
What were the five parts of President Johnson's Reconstruction plan?
(States could rejoin the union once they...)
1) had written a new State Constitution
2)Elected a new State Government
3) Repealed its act of secession
4) Canceled its war debt
5)ratified the 13 Amendment