reconstruction quiz

from reconstruction notes with some 13th documentary terms

13th amendment

slavery was abolished in the US with exception clause that stated slavery can be enforced as punishment for crime

14th amendment

states were prohibited from denying equal rights under the law to any American

15th amendment

voting rights were guaranteed regardless of race, color, or former enslavement

lincoln’s 10% plan

northern states didn’t want southern states to rejoin without an oath

lincoln said no penalty for southern states to rejoin the union → only 10% of voters had to swear oath

who became president after lincoln’s assassination?

johnson

confiscation act

southern land property owners had their land confiscated, which threatened southern wealth and power by taking land from confederates

act only called for the potential redistribution of land to formerly enslaved people

many white southerners responded with black codes and intimidation after these changes

what two amendments allowed for increased african american representation in congress?

14th and 15th

freedman’s bureau

created to help african americans and formerly poor whites by providing resources needed to live independently

mostly done through acquiring land

consequences of freedman’s bureau

• increase in intimidation → KKK and taxes

• southern states begin to feel that african americans are overrepresented in congress

johnson’s response to freedmen’s bureau

opposed and vetoed the expansion of the freedmen’s bureau but congress overrode his veto and continued supporting formerly enslaved people

why was johnson impeached?

violated tenure of office act → president cannot remove certain federal officials without senate approval

johnson fired secretary of war edwin stanton, someone who supported radical reconstruction, which congress saw as a direct challenge to authority

additionally, constantly blocked reconstruction efforts

how did johnson constantly block reconstruction efforts?

• vetoed civil rights and freedmen’s bureau bills

• opposed protections for african americans

• sided with southern states

radical republicans used impeachment as a way to stop him from undermining reconstruction

homestead act

gave 160 acres of land to people who moved west, provided you moved the land within the time limit

because there’s a time limit, people don’t have a home while they move

plessy vs ferguson

plessy who was only 1/8 black rode on a white train car, and even though he legally bought his first class ticket, he was forced to the colored coach, but he didn’t move, so he got put in jail

case goes to supreme court

from the dbq thing

• harlan: change has to come from a legal standpoint and work its way down

• brown: change has to come from a social standpoint and work its way up → he said a chinese person could sit on a train with a white man even though a black man couldn’t

minstrel shows

overly-exaggerated acting with a white man painted black to make fun of movements and behaviors of african americans

idea was that african americans were feeble minded with only one dark complexion and only good at one thing

hbcu

historically black college / university

the first one is howard founded 1865 (end of civil war)

• education previously denied in the american south so these turned into activism locations

period of reconstruction dates

1865-1896

convict leasing

system where incarcerated people were given to private companies for forced labor → prisoners weren’t paid but this practice was legal because of the exception clause

jim crow laws

laws that enforced segregation and discrimination against black americans mainly in the south

significant because they urged civil rights activists to act

war on drugs

issued by ronald reagan that a aimed to reduce drug use through strict laws and harsh sentencing

mandatory minimums

judges were required to impose a mandatory minimum prison sentence for certain crimes, disregarding the circumstances of the individual

people must spend at least 85% of their time in prison, no matter the crime

three-strikes laws

allow for life sentences when people are convicted of a third felony even if the third crime is small