Name: ____________________________________ Terms for Reconstruction [Page 1]
American History CP – Gaccione Post-Civil War
1) Radical Republicans – They supported abolition, and now want african-american rights. They want to destroy the power of slave owners and give African Americans the right to vote, and full citizenship. a. Thaddeus Stevens – A Pennsylvania Representative, he was one of the radical’s leaders. He was a very strong advocate for anti-slavery notions and black rights. b. Charles Sumner – another leader of the Radicals. 2) Moderate Republicans – generally, fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Wanted to be fair to the South. 3) Amnesty – the act of granting pardon to a large group of people given to the president. 4) Terms of Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan – This lenient policy also known as the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, would pardon every Confederate except high-ranking ones and those who did crimes against POWs, as long as they swear allegiance to the Union and promise to obey the laws. When ten percent of the people agree to this, the state can become a part of the union. 5) 13th Amendment – Banned all forms of slavery within the United States. 6) John Wilkes Booth – Stage actor who shot President Lincoln in the head at the Ford’s Theatre. 7) Andrew Johnson – Very pro-Abolition president, who was tried for impeachment on 11 charges. Also, no one likes him because he switched parties. 8) Black Codes – local, unwritten discriminatory laws against blacks a. Jim Crow Laws – “black codes” that appeared later b. Civil Rights Act of 1866 – Gave African Americans citizenship and forbade all discriminatory laws. It was passed by Congress, but vetoed by Johnson. c. Civil Rights Act of 1875 – Forbade racial segregation in public places and assured African Americans the right to serve as jurors. 9) 14th Amendment – Known as the “Equal Rights Amendment”, provided constitutional basis for Civil Rights Act. All people born or naturalized had citizenship and had equal protections and liberties. It doesn’t mention women though. 10) Reconstruction Act of 1867 – Abolished all confederate governments, divided states into five military districts, and set up the requirements for readmission to the Union. 11) Impeachment – the right of citizens to overthrow the President. President Johnson was tried in March 1868, but was found not guilty in the Senate trial. 12) Carpetbaggers – Northerners who moved to the South after the war, a lot of whom wanted to reap post-war benefits for their own good. 13) Scalawags – Poor white trash Southerners who joined the Republican party, and were in favor of industrialization and supported the Union in the war. 14) 15th Amendment – Called the “last civil war amendment,” it prevented “voting discrimination” based on race, color, creed (religion) or previous condition of servitude. The radicals pushed for it. However, it never mentioned gender. 15) Solid South – the electoral support in all of the Southern United States for Democratic Party candidates after the Reconstruction era. 16) Poll Tax – annual tax to be paid in order to gain access to the voting booth. This gave rise to political machines, candidates who bribed voters with money to pay for the voting process, as well as a bonus sum. 17) Literacy Test – anti-black move which required all voters to pass a literacy test. Test administers often asked blacks harder questions or gave them tests in different languages. 18) Grandfather Clause – Allowed illiterate whites to vote if he, his father, or his grandfather was able to vote before January 1, 1867. This is important because previous slaves were not able to vote before January 1, 1867.
Name: ____________________________________ Terms for Reconstruction [Page 2]
American History CP – Gaccione Post-Civil War
19) Segregation – the separation of people based on race. a. 1896 – Plessy vs. Ferguson – A 1/8 black man is denied the right to use a train, takes the case to Supreme Court, and loses. b. 1954 – Brown vs. Board of Education – A black girl is denied her right to go to the nice school, and instead has to walk several miles to the worse school. 20) Freedman’s Bureau – assisted former slaves and poor whites in the South by giving them clothing and food. Also, they established hospitals, schools, factories and colleges. 21) Wade-Davis Bill (1864) – stated that Congress, not the President would be responsible for Reconstruction. Lincoln vetoes the bill shortly before he is killed, and Congress is outraged. When Johnson gets into the White House, Congress tries to pass it again. 22) Hiram Revels – the first ever African American senator (hailing from Mississippi) 23) Sharecropping – A method in which the landowner divides the land and gave former slaves about forty acres with seeds and tools, but at harvest time, each worker gave half of their profits to the landowner, landing an enormous amount of black people in a vicious cycle of debt.