U.S. History 1 Honors - Presidential vs. Congressional Reconstruction

Lincoln's ______________________ Plan wanted to readmit states to the Union if only 10% of registered voters swore an oath of allegiance.

Ten-Percent

Why was the Ten-Percent Plan bad?

It only took in account 10% of people, which should be more.

Lincoln would pardon all ______________________ involved with the Confederacy except the powerful leaders.

Southerners

What did Lincoln push for?

A lenient way to ease the South back into the United States, but it did not address slavery at all.

True/False: Lincoln was a Democrat.

False

____________________________ was a Southerner from Virginia and saw mostly eye to eye with Lincoln.

Andrew Johnson

What did Andrew Johnson want to do?

Wanted to have states withdraw their claims to secession, swear allegiance to the Union, annul Confederate war debt, and ratify the 13th Amendment.

What did Andrew Johnson hope to do?

Continue the trend of Lincoln and keep the readmission of Southern states easy.

What did Andrew Johnson's plan not answer?

What happens to slavery after the 13th Amendment. We don't know they're citizens or even have rights.

Congress creates the __________________________________ at the end of the Civil War to assist free blacks and poor whites.

Freedmen's Bureau

The passing of the ________________________________________________ gave African Americans citizenship and forbade states from passing discriminatory laws.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

What does the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 mean?

Republican factions banded together to override any veto that President Johnson could give to a law. This created the 14th Amendment which states "all citizens born or naturalized in the United States" are full citizens. This gives the South more Congressional representation because African Americans now count as full citizens and not as ⅓'s of a person.

In the Reconstruction Act of 1867, new ______________________________________ would be drafted which included African Americans as delegates.

State Constitutions

In the Reconstruction Act of 1867, for a state to be re-entered into the Union, they must allow free black men to vote and approve the ____________________________. Tennessee was re-admitted early in 1866.

14th Amendment

What happens after the Reconstruction Era?

A railroad from Texas to the Pacific Coast was made, troops were removed from the South, and there was more representation in the President's Cabinet.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

This was originally a social club for Confederate veterans in 1866 that was founded in Tennessee. Membership spread through every state in the South by 1868. The organization quickly resorted to terrorist activity by attacking black businesses, killing black leaders, and attempting to restore white supremacy in the South.

What was the focus of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?

African Americans, sympathetic whites, and to intimidate Republicans who were in the South and use voter intimidation and violence to ensure the Democrats were elected.

Why weren't anyone arresting the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?

Many people who were elected officials, law enforcement, or judges were secretly a part of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

Economic Pressure

An intimidation tactic put in place to put feat into black businesses and scare any patron from using those businesses. Property was often destroyed, and the focus was to have African Americans work under white owners for little pay.

Segregation

A separation of people based on race.

Plessy vs. Ferguson

Homer Plessy took a seat in a "white only" portion of a train in 1896. He refused to and ultimately was arrested. Plessy was ⅛ African American.

What happened when Plessy challenged the policy of the railroad to the Supreme Court?

He lost the case, and the policy of segregation was enforced legally in the United States.

What was the impact of segregation in the South?

It was great. The separation of white and black businesses as well as schooling was created. Unequal accommodations were made for whites and blacks in numerous areas including restaurants, restrooms, waiting rooms, and transportation.

Despite the efforts of the ____________________________, many African Americans in the South did not have the right to vote.

15th Amendment

What was the rule if African Americans wanted to vote?

They had to comply in a series of tests.

Literacy Tests

Something anyone in the South had to pass if they wanted to vote. It would be to translate an excerpt from the state constitution.

What was the purpose of literacy tests?

To easily reject black voters because answers were open ended and did not have clear answers.

Poll Tax

An enacted law in the South that required people to pay a tax to vote. It was known that you had to pay $1 a year (1877), which is $28.21 today (2023).

What was the result of the Poll Tax?

Low black voter and poor white voter turnout.

Grandfather Clause

A rule put in place to ensure that there would be low black turnout. It stated that if your grandfather voted before 1867, you could be eligible to vote. This greatly restricted voting rights for freed slaves due to the 15th Amendment passing in 1870.

How were Southern governments allowed to do all of this?

There was great resentment by Southerners towards the Republican Part. Many Northerners looking for political gain moved to the South and ran for political office. Since many Southerners were Democrats and did not like these tactis, they were given the name Carpetbaggers.

Carpetbaggers

People who put their belongings into bags made of carpet and moved down South to run for office.

Scalawags

Southerners who ran as Republicans. Efforts were made to intimidate voters into not voting these Republican candidates and the efforts were extremely successful. They made up the biggest group of delegates to the Radical Reconstruction-era legislatures. Some of these people were established planters who thought whites should recognize Blacks' civil and political rights while still retaining control of political and economic life.

True/False: Texas was the last state to have ended slavery.

True

Juneteenth

The day that federal troops arrived in Texas to officially end slavery in the state nearly 2.5 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. It was recently named a federal holiday that is celebrated on the 19th of June every year.

13th Amendment

Outlaws slavery.

14th Amendment

Grants citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves who were emancipated after the American Civil War.

15th Amendment

Guarantees the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, granting African-American men the right to vote.

Freedmen's Bureau

Formally known as the Bureau of Refugees, it was established in 1865 by Congress to help millions of former Black slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the Civil War. It provides food, housing, and medical aid, establish schools and offered legal assistance.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

To protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the means of their Vindication.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

An act that divided the South into 5 military districts that were controlled by the Union Army.

What were the pros of the Freedman's Bureau?

It helped millions of former black slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the Civil War. It provided food, housing, and medical aid, establish schools and offered legal assistance. It also negotiated labor contracts for ex-slaves legalize marriages and locate lost relatives. Lasty, it assisted black veterans and was instrumental in building thousands of schools for Blacks.

What were the cons of the Freedman's Bureau?

The program was prevented from fully carrying out due to shortage of funds and personnel, along with the politics of race and Reconstruction. It would impose a huge financial burden on the federal government. among other issues. The Bureau agents were also frequently the only federal representatives in Southern communities, who were often subjected to ridicule and violence from whites, including the KKK.

Andrew Johnson

A union man, but his roots were in the South. He reportedly said, "This is a country for white men, and as long as I am president, it shall be a government for white men."

What Andrew Johnson believe?

The Acts to be wrong and unconstitutional, and repeatedly blocked their enforcement.

By just __ vote, President Johnson escaped removal from office on May 16, 1868. For the remainder of this term, he continued to veto reconstruction bills, but Congress overrode his vetoes.

1

The Compromise of 1877

An informal agreement between Southern Democrats and allies of the Republican Rutherford Hayes to settle the result of the 1876 presidential election and marked the end of the Reconstruction era.

What did the Compromise of 1877 end?

The Reconstruction Era.

What amendments were the Reconstruction Amendments?

14th and 15th Amendment

True/False: The promises of the Southern Democrats to protect the civil and political rights of Black people were not met, ending the federal interference in southern affairs.

True

What were the conditions of the Compromise of 1877?

The Democrats agreed to not block Hayes' victory if Republicans withdrew all federal troops from the South, therefore strengthening Democratic control over the region.

________________________ was the first African-American lawmaker to serve in the United States Congress. He was a preacher and educator in at least nine states before pursuing public office in Mississippi in 1868.

Hiram Revels