Notes for Exam 1.docx

Reconstruction Era

The period from 1865 to 1877 during which the United States worked to reintegrate the Southern states from the Confederacy and define the new rights of freed slaves.

13th Amendment

The amendment to the United States Constitution that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states post-Civil War to limit the rights of African Americans and ensure they remained available for cheap labor.

Radical Republicans

A faction within the Republican Party during Reconstruction that demanded civil rights for freedmen and wanted to impose strict regulations on Southern states.

Freedmen’s Bureau

A federal agency established in 1865 to assist formerly enslaved people by providing food, housing, education, and legal assistance.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

The first federal law to define citizenship and affirm that all citizens are equally protected by the law.

14th Amendment

The amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and guaranteed all citizens "equal protection under the laws."

15th Amendment

The amendment that prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude.'

Impeachment

The process by which a legislative body levels charges against a government official, with the intent of removing them from office.

The Compromise of 1877

The agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election and resulted in the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Sharecropping

A system of agriculture where a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on the land.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

A white supremacist hate group formed in the 1860s that aimed to maintain white dominance and suppress African American civil rights through terror and violence.

Spanish-American War

The conflict in 1898 in which the United States defeated Spain, leading to significant territorial gains for the U.S.

Open Door Policy

A U.S. policy established in 1899 that aimed to ensure equal trading rights in China and prevent any one nation from monopolizing trade.

Panama Canal

A man-made waterway completed in 1914 that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, significantly aiding global trade.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine that the expansion of the United States throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

Social Darwinism

A belief that the principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest should be applied to human societies, often used to justify imperialism and racial inequalities.

Liberal Republicans

A faction from the Republican Party in the early 1870s that called for reforms to end corruption and was critical of the Reconstruction policies.

People v. Hall

An 1857 California Supreme Court case that ruled Chinese Americans could not testify against white citizens in court, demonstrating racial discrimination.

Racial violence

Acts of violence directed against individuals or groups based on their race, particularly evident during the Reconstruction era.

Civic nationalism

A form of nationalism that emphasizes shared citizenship and the active participation of individuals in civic life.