US History: Reconstruction and Industrial Capitalism

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering post-Civil War Reconstruction policies, constitutional amendments, political strategies, and the emergence of American industrial capitalism.

Appomattox Court House

The site in Virginia where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

10% plan

President Abraham Lincoln's Reconstruction plan requiring 10% of voters in a Southern state to swear an oath of loyalty to the Union to receive amnesty and be readmitted.

John Wilkes Booth

The individual who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1865.

Johnson's Plan

Presidential Reconstruction plan that appointed temporary governors, required Southern states to re-pledge loyalty, withdraw secession, and ratify the 13th Amendment, but refused to extend voting rights to African Americans.

Congressional Plan for Reconstruction

Reconstruction policy enforced from 1867 to 1877 that removed civilian governments in the South, placed the former Confederacy under U.S. Army rule, and allowed freed slaves to vote while temporarily denying rights to former Confederate leaders.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment ratified on December 6, 1865, that abolished involuntary servitude and slavery.

14th Amendment

Constitutional amendment ratified on July 9, 1868, that requires states to provide equal protection under the law to all persons.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment ratified on February 3, 1870, that prohibits governments in the United States from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Poll Tax

A fee forced upon voters as a method to disenfranchise African Americans.

Literacy Test

A required reading and writing exam used in the South to prevent African Americans from voting.

Grandfather Clause

A provision stating that any male could vote if his grandfather was a registered voter on January 1, 1867, allowing illiterate or poor white voters to bypass restrictions while disenfranchising African Americans.

Black Codes

Southern laws passed to restrict African American lives, preventing them from carrying weapons, serving on juries, testifying against whites, marrying whites, traveling without permits, or owning land.

Freedmen's Bureau

An agency established to help former slaves and poor white southerners by providing schooling, registering voters, finding jobs, establishing hospitals, and protecting civil rights.

Ku Klux Klan

A organization that used violence, torture, and lynching to intimidate African Americans from voting and force Northern carpetbaggers out of the South.

Tenure of Office Act

A law passed by Congress requiring Senate approval before a president could fire an appointed official, leading to President Andrew Johnson's impeachment after he fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.

Carpetbaggers

A term for Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War seeking opportunities as teachers, school administrators, or political officeholders.

Scalawags

A term for white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and collaborated with Republicans to build biracial state governments.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership of capital, including money and property.

Laissez-Faire

A policy of non-interference by the government in business operations, supporting free enterprise where individual owners make business decisions.

Social-Darwinism

The belief associated with Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer that individuals who reached the top of the business world were the fittest and deserved their power and wealth.

Entrepreneurs

Individuals who operate new business ventures and accept high levels of personal, professional, or financial risk to pursue economic opportunities.

John D. Rockefeller

Industrial leader of Standard Oil and philanthropist who created the Rockefeller Foundation.

Andrew Carnegie

Industrial leader of Carnegie Steel Company and philanthropist who funded Carnegie Hall.

J.P. Morgan

Finance and industrial leader involved in banking, steel, and railroads, who established the Morgan Library.

Cornelius Vanderbilt

Industrial leader in railroads and shipping who contributed philanthropically to Ford Hospital.

Monopoly

The exclusive control or ownership of an industry by a single person or company.

Oligopoly

Control or ownership of an industry divided among two or more companies.

Trusts

Combinations of companies formed to decrease competition and increase profits by exchanging stock for trust certificates.

Pools

Secret agreements between competing railroad lines to set and charge identical high fares.

Holding Company

A corporation organized solely to hold stocks of several business entities within the same industry.

Vertical Integration

A business growth strategy that involves acquiring companies across all levels of the production process.

Horizontal Integration

A business growth strategy involving the purchase and consolidation of competing companies within the same industry.

Robber Barons

A derogatory nickname for wealthy millionaires accused of stealing from the public, draining natural resources, eliminating competition, and maintaining poor working conditions.

Captains of Industry

A positive nickname for business leaders credited with increasing the supply of goods, providing jobs, building factories, and expanding markets.

Philanthropists

Industrialists who donated large portions of their wealth back to the community and public causes.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890)

An 1890 federal law that made it illegal to create a trust that interfered with free trade between states or foreign nations.