Constitutional Amendments and Federal Legislation of the Reconstruction Era

Vocabulary flashcards covering key Constitutional amendments and federal legislation passed during the Reconstruction Era.

Thirteenth Amendment

Passed and ratified in 1865; served as the final step toward full emancipation of slaves by preventing Southern states from reestablishing slavery after the war.

Freedmen's Bureau Act (1865)

1865 act providing oversight of resettlement and labor for former slaves; involved the federal government directly in relief, education, and assisting the transition from slavery to freedom during its seven-year career.

Southern Homestead Act (1866)

1866 act meant to provide black people preferential access to public lands in five southern states, though thwarted by lack of capital and poor federal land quality.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Legislation defining rights of national citizenship that marked an important change in federal-state relations by tilting the balance of power to the national government.

Fourteenth Amendment

Passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868; prohibited states from violating citizen rights, strengthened the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and guaranteed all citizens equality before the law.

Military Reconstruction Acts (1867)

1867 acts initiating Congressional Reconstruction by setting new rules for the readmission of former Confederate states into the Union and securing black voting rights.

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

1867 act requiring congressional approval to remove any official whose appointment required Senate confirmation; challenged the president's dismissal authority and led to President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial.

Fifteenth Amendment

Passed in 1869 and ratified in 1870; established the basis for black voting rights by guaranteeing the right of all American male citizens to vote regardless of race.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in jury selection, public transportation, and public accommodations; rarely enforced and declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883.

president Johnson

opposed to black suffrage, silent on protection of black civil rights opposed to land redistribution