Post-Civil War Reconstruction

These flashcards cover key terms, concepts, and events related to post-Civil War Reconstruction and the struggle for civil rights in the United States.

Special Field Order 15

Issued by General Sherman, set aside land for Black families, famous for 'forty acres and a mule'.

Freedmen's Bureau

Established in 1865 to aid formerly enslaved people in the South, providing food, housing, medical aid, and education.

Black Codes

Laws enacted in the South to restrict the rights of formerly enslaved people and maintain white supremacy.

Civil Rights Bill

Legislation passed in 1866 to define citizenship rights and protect Black citizens from discriminatory laws.

Fourteenth Amendment

Passed in 1868, it granted citizenship to all born in the U.S. and promised equal protection under the law.

Fifteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1870, it prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on race.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group formed in 1866 to terrorize Black people and oppose Reconstruction efforts.

Radical Reconstruction

Period from 1867 to 1877 characterized by significant federal intervention in Southern states to ensure rights for Black citizens.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

The first U.S. president to be impeached; primarily due to his opposition to Radical Reconstruction.

Sharecropping

An agricultural system where Black families would farm a portion of land and share the crop with the landowner.

Bargain of 1877

Compromise that resulted in the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Reconstruction Acts

Laws passed in 1867 that divided the South into military districts and outlined the process for readmission to the Union.

Enforcement Acts

Laws passed to protect the rights of African Americans and to counteract Klan violence.

Liberal Republicans

A faction that sought to reduce the federal government's involvement in Reconstruction and focused on economic growth.

Colfax Massacre

A violent conflict in 1873 in Louisiana where dozens of Black militia members were killed by white supremacists.

Slaughterhouse Cases

A landmark Supreme Court case in 1873 that weakened the protections for Black citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who aimed to restore white supremacy and reduce the power of Black citizens in the post-Reconstruction South.

The Klan's Reign of Terror

A campaign of violence and intimidation orchestrated by the Klan to enforce white supremacy and undermine Reconstruction.

The Cotton Pickers

An 1876 painting by Winslow Homer, depicting the dignity of Black women working in agriculture post-emancipation.

Union League

A political organization founded during the Civil War to support the Republican Party and encourage Black political participation.

Hiram Revels

The first Black U.S. Senator from Mississippi, serving during Reconstruction.

United States v. Cruikshank

A Supreme Court case that weakened federal enforcement of civil rights laws post-Reconstruction.

Economic Depression (1873)

A severe economic downturn that significantly impacted the North's support for Reconstruction.