Unit 4: The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Jim Crow Era

Suffrage

The right to vote, particularly for women and African Americans.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

The first women's rights convention in the United States, held in New York, where activists gathered to discuss and promote women's suffrage and other rights.

The Declaration of Sentiments

A document issued at the Seneca Falls Convention, outlining grievances and demands for women's rights, including the right to vote. Modeled after the Declaration of Independence.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831)

A violent uprising in 1831 in Virginia, aimed at ending slavery by attacking slaveholders and sparking a wider rebellion.

Abolition

The movement to end slavery and emancipate enslaved people in the United States.

Frederick Douglass

A prominent African American abolitionist, writer, and orator who escaped from slavery and became a leading voice in the fight for emancipation and equality.

Lynching

The unlawful execution of individuals, often by a mob, typically targeting African Americans and used as a tool of racial terror in the post-Civil War era.

Sojourner Truth

An African American abolitionist and women's rights activist who was born into slavery and became famous for her speeches and advocacy for both causes.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

A legislative agreement passed in 1820 to maintain the balance of free and slave states, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Fugitive Slave Act (1850)

Legislation that required the return of escaped slaves to their owners, enforcing stricter penalties for aiding fugitives.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the harsh realities of slavery and contributed to the anti-slavery movement in the United States.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

A controversial law that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing settlers to decide on the legality of slavery through popular sovereignty, leading to violent conflict.

Bleeding Kansas (1854-61)

A series of violent confrontations between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas, sparked by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, reflecting the national tensions over slavery.

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

A landmark Supreme Court ruling that denied citizenship and rights to African American slaves, stating that Congress had no authority to regulate slavery in the territories.

Harriet Tubman

An African American abolitionist and political activist who escaped slavery and subsequently helped others escape via the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad

A secret network of routes and safe houses used in the 19th century to assist enslaved African Americans in fleeing to free states and Canada.

John Brown

An American abolitionist who believed in armed insurrection to overthrow the institution of slavery. He is best known for his raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.

Harper’s Ferry Raid (1859)

An attempted slave revolt led by John Brown, where he and his followers seized a federal armory in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, aiming to arm enslaved people.

Abraham Lincoln

The 16th President of the United States who led the country during the Civil War and worked to end slavery.

The Election of 1860

The pivotal election that brought Abraham Lincoln to the presidency, leading to significant political and social upheaval and ultimately the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

A presidential decree issued by Abraham Lincoln that declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate states.

Gettysburg Address (1863)

A speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War at the dedication of a cemetery for Union soldiers, emphasizing the principles of liberty and equality.

13th Amendment (1865)

The constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States, officially enacted in 1865.

14th Amendment (1868)

The constitutional amendment that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment (1870)

The constitutional amendment that granted African American men the right to vote, enacted in 1870.

Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)

A federal agency created to assist freed slaves during the Reconstruction era by providing food, housing, education, and medical care.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States, enacted from the late 19th century until the mid-20th century.

Poll Tax

A fee required to vote, often used to disenfranchise poor and minority voters.

Literacy Test

A requirement for voters to demonstrate reading and writing skills, often used to disenfranchise African American citizens during the Jim Crow era.

Grandfather Clause

A provision that allowed individuals to bypass literacy tests and poll taxes if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War, effectively exempting white voters from these restrictions while disenfranchising African Americans.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist hate group founded in the post-Civil War era, known for using intimidation, violence, and terrorism to maintain white dominance and opposition to racial equality.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine, which legitimized Jim Crow laws and disenfranchised African Americans.

Rights Denied to Woman in the 1800s

Education, Property, Money, Voting

“Ain’t I A Woman”

A famous speech delivered by Sojourner Truth in 1851, advocating for the rights of women and emphasizing the intersection of race and gender in the struggle for equality.

Southern Defenses for Slavery

Profitability, Better than factory conditions, Defend from Northern Attacks, Worry of strong federal government

Abraham Lincoln’s Views on Black Citizenship

He believed that black people were not equal to white people and should not be given citizenship.

Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination and Reconstruction

Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865, impacting the Reconstruction era's policies and leadership.

End of Reconstruction

Removal of federal troops from the South