CIVIL WAR + RECONSTRUCTION ERA TEST APUSH

Confederate States of America (CSA)

The name taken by the 11 southern states that seceded from the Union.

CSA Constitution

The governing document of the Confederacy, notably protected the institution of slavery and emphasized state sovereignty.

Jefferson Davis

The first and only President of the CSA

Cornerstone Speech

A speech by Alexander Stephens arguing that the "cornerstone" of the Confederacy was the "great truth" that the negro is not equal to the white man.

Fort Sumter

First military event of the Civil War

Lincoln's Dilemma (Fort Sumter)

The choice between upholding his oath (defending federal land) and risking border state secession, or surrendering the fort and failing his oath.

Union Advantages

Larger population, more railroad lines, more factories, and an established army/navy.

Confederate Advantages

Fighting on home ground (defensive advantage) and high-quality military leadership.

Confederate Strategy

Survive long enough to get foreign recognition/aid and play a defensive war of attrition.

Anaconda Plan

Winfield Scott’s plan to blockade the Southern coast and capture the Mississippi River to "squeeze" the South into submission.

Eastern Theatre

The area of war focused on capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Western Theatre

The area of war focused on control of the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers.

Contrabands

The term used by the Union to describe emancipated or escaped Black people who joined the Union lines.

First Battle of Bull Run

The first major battle

George McClellan

Union general known for being an excellent organizer but overly cautious and "afraid to lose" his troops in battle.

Peninsula Campaign

McClellan's failed attempt to capture Richmond by moving troops by boat

Second Battle of Bull Run

Lee defeated Union General Pope, giving the Confederacy the confidence to launch its first offensive into Northern territory.

Battle of Antietam

First major Union victory

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order freeing slaves in "rebellious states"

Battle of Shiloh

A bloody 1862 Union victory in the Western Theatre that proved the war would be exceptionally violent.

Siege of Vicksburg

Union victory that gave the North control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two.

Battle of Gettysburg

Turning point in the East

Little Round Top

Key hill at Gettysburg where a Union bayonet charge saved the line after soldiers ran out of ammunition.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln's speech redefining the war as a struggle for "a new birth of freedom" and equality.

Appomattox Court House

The location where General Lee surrendered to General Grant, effectively ending the Civil War.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment that officially abolished slavery in the United States.

Robert E. Lee

The primary General of the Confederate Army and its most successful military strategist.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union General who eventually took command of all US forces and accepted Lee's surrender.

Total War

A military strategy (used by Sherman) that involves destroying civilian resources and infrastructure to break the enemy's will to fight.

Ten Percent Plan (Rosewater Plan)

Lincoln’s lenient reconstruction plan requiring only 10% of a state's voters to swear loyalty to the Union.

Wade-Davis Bill

Radical Republican plan requiring 50% of voters to take an "ironclad oath" of loyalty

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln’s VP and successor

Radical Republicans

Congressmen who wanted to punish the South and ensure full civil rights/voting rights for freedmen.

Freedmen’s Bureau

A government agency that provided food, medical aid, education, and legal assistance to formerly enslaved people.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states to restrict the freedom of Black people and keep them in a state of semi-slavery.

Sharecropping

A system where farmers worked land they didn't own in exchange for a portion of the crops

Fourteenth Amendment

Granted citizenship to all born in the US and guaranteed "equal protection under the law."

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibited the denial of voting rights based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Carpetbaggers

A derogatory term for Northerners who moved South after the war for economic or political opportunity.

Scalawags

A derogatory term for white Southerners who supported the Republican Party and Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

A terrorist organization that used violence to prevent Black people from voting and to restore Democratic control.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that gave Hayes the presidency in exchange for removing federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.

Lost Cause

The Southern narrative that the war was a heroic defense of the "Southern way of life" rather than a fight for slavery.

Whiskey Ring

A Grant-era scandal where distillers bribed tax collectors to avoid paying millions in federal taxes.

Ex Parte Milligan

Supreme Court case ruling that the government cannot try civilians in military courts as long as civil courts are open.

Sanitary Fairs

Grand events organized by Northern women to raise money for medical supplies and relief for Union soldiers.

Navajo Long Walk

The forced removal of the Navajo people by the US military to a reservation in New Mexico during the Civil War era.

King Cotton Diplomacy

The Southern hope that European dependence on cotton would force Britain and France to intervene on the Confederate side.

Sea Islands Experiment

An early "reconstruction" social experiment where freed slaves were given land and education on islands off the South Carolina coast.

Ambrose Burnside

Union general who replaced McClellan

Coordinated Simultaneous Attack

Grant’s strategy to attack the Confederacy from multiple fronts at once to prevent them from shifting troops.

Sherman’s March to the Sea

A campaign from Atlanta to Savannah using "Total War" tactics to destroy Southern resources and morale.

Wilmer McLean

The man whose house the war effectively started in (Bull Run) and ended in (Appomattox surrender).

Pocket Veto

When a President kills a bill by not signing it within 10 days while Congress is adjourned

Swing Around the Circle

Andrew Johnson’s disastrous speaking tour where he behaved poorly and caused people to vote for Radical Republicans instead.

Vagrancy Laws

Part of the Black Codes

Reconstruction Act (1867)

Law that divided the South into 5 military districts and required states to ratify the 14th Amendment.

Redeemers

Southern Democrats who sought to oust Republicans and "redeem" the South by restoring white supremacy.

Occupation Weariness

The phenomenon where Northerners grew tired of the long, expensive military presence in the South, leading to the end of Reconstruction.

Force Act and KKK Act

Laws passed under Grant that gave the military power to protect voters and forced the KKK to disband or go underground.

Gold Corner Scandal

James Fisk and Jay Gould’s scheme to buy up the nation's gold supply to manipulate prices.

Credit-Mobilier Scandal

A corruption scandal where railroad insiders bribed Congressmen to pocket millions in government subsidies.

Peace Policy

Ulysses S. Grant’s attempt to use Christian missionaries instead of the military to manage Indian reservations.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

The final Reconstruction law outlawing discrimination in public places

Horace Greeley

The newspaper editor who ran against Grant in 1872 as the "Liberal Republican" candidate.