Chapter 15

What event did the meeting on January 12, 1865, between Black leaders and Union generals foreshadow?

The radical changes of Reconstruction, where the meaning and boundaries of American freedom and citizenship would be redefined.

What was the purpose of Sherman's Special Field Order 15?

To set aside land along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts for Black families, allocating forty-acre plots and mules.

How did Garrison Frazier define freedom?

As placing Black individuals where they could reap the fruit of their own labor and take care of themselves.

What was the significance of the Freedmen's Bureau established in 1865?

It was created to protect the legal rights of former slaves and assist with their education, jobs, health care, and landownership.

What did the introduction of the Black Codes signify in Reconstruction?

It indicated a response to Reconstruction efforts, aiming to regulate the lives of former slaves and limit their rights.

What was the purpose of the Reconstruction Act of 1867?

To temporarily divide the South into military districts and establish new state governments that would allow Black men to vote.

Who were the primary leaders of the Radical Republicans?

Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens.

What did the Fourteenth Amendment achieve?

It granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States and prohibited states from denying equal protection under the law.

Why was the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 significant?

It was one of the first laws aimed at ensuring equal rights for Black Americans after the Civil War.

What were the Enforcement Acts designed to do?

To outlaw terrorist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and allow the president to use the army against them.

Why did the Radical Republicans push for the Fifteenth Amendment?

To ensure that Black men could not be denied the right to vote based on race.

What role did Black churches play during Reconstruction?

They served as central institutions for community organization, education, and political engagement.

What was sharecropping?

A type of farm tenancy developed after the Civil War in which landless workers farmed land in exchange for a share of the crop.

How did the economic conditions affect white farmers in the postwar South?

Many white farmers fell into dependency as sharecroppers due to wartime devastation and continued crop failures.

What was the outcome of the Colfax Massacre in 1873?

It was a violent episode where armed whites attacked a town, resulting in the murder of many African Americans.

What impact did the economic depression of 1873 have on Reconstruction?

It weakened the North's commitment to Reconstruction and diverted attention from the South's issues.

What was the Bargain of 1877?

An agreement that settled the disputed presidential election of 1876, resulting in the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

What did the term 'Redeemers' refer to in the context of Reconstruction?

Democratic leaders who claimed to have saved the South from corruption and Black control.

What was the significance of Hiram Revels?

He was the first Black U.S. senator, representing Mississippi during Reconstruction.

What did the term 'carpetbaggers' refer to?

Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, often viewed as exploiting the region for political gain.

How did the Supreme Court respond to civil rights during Reconstruction?

It narrowed the protections provided by the Reconstruction amendments, particularly in cases like the Slaughterhouse Cases.

What led to the split in the women's rights movement during Reconstruction?

The passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, which did not grant women the right to vote.

What challenges did the Radical Republicans face in implementing their Reconstruction policies?

Resistance from Southern whites, violence from groups like the Klan, and divisions within their own party.

What led to the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson?

His violation of the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.

What was the impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1875?

It was the last piece of Reconstruction legislation that sought to outlaw racial discrimination in public accommodations.

What lasting impact did the Reconstruction amendments have on American history?

They established the principle of equality before the law and laid the groundwork for future civil rights movements.

What was the consensus among former slaves regarding the significance of land ownership?

They believed that land ownership was essential to true freedom and economic independence.

How did the methods of labor evolve in the post-Civil War South?

New systems like sharecropping emerged, which combined elements of independence with oppressive labor conditions.