Reconstruction, Westward Expansion, and Urbanization in U.S. History

Wartime Reconstruction

Initial phase of the Reconstruction era, started in 1863 while the Civil War was still being fought.

10% Plan

A Southern state could be readmitted into the Union once 10% of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union.

Presidential Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War when Andrew Johnson led the effort to let former Confederate states rejoin the Union.

13th Amendment

Formally abolished slavery; Southern states had to ratify it during Presidential Reconstruction.

Congressional Reconstruction

1867-1877, Congress made actions to reconstruct the Union and reunite everyone after the Civil War.

Freedmen's Bureau

Supported by Radical Republicans in Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South.

Black Codes

Designed to restrict freed blacks' activity and ensure their availability as a labor force after slavery was abolished.

Sharecropping

Black families would rent small plots of land in return for a portion of their crop to be given to the landowner.

Ku Klux Klan

An American white supremacist and right-wing extremist terrorist hate group that emerged in the post-Civil War South.

Compromise of 1877

An informal and unwritten deal that settled the highly disputed presidential election and ended Reconstruction in the South.

Jim Crow

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern states, leading to many debates and court cases.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Court case that upheld the 'separate but equal' doctrine, ensuring limited success for Reconstruction.

Beauvoir

Historic estate in Biloxi, Mississippi where Jefferson Davis lived for the final 12 years of his life.

Lost Cause mythology

An ideology that attempted to rewrite the history of the American Civil War, downplaying the role of slavery.

Homestead Act

Gave an applicant ownership of farmland at no cost, typically 160 acres of land west of the Mississippi River.

Pacific Railroad Act

A law signed by Abraham Lincoln that provided government loans and land grants to build the first transcontinental railroad.

Union Pacific

Created to build the western portion of the nation's first transcontinental railroad, extending westward from Omaha, NE.

Central Pacific

An American railway company incorporated in 1861 that built the western half of North America's first transcontinental railroad.

Sitting Bull

A Lakota Sioux chief and spiritual leader who united native American tribes to resist U.S. government expansion.

Dawes Severalty Act

Split up reservations held communally by Native American tribes into smaller units and distributed these units to individuals within the tribes.

Henry Pratt

Founded the Carlisle Indian School in 1879.

Carlisle Indian School

First off-reservation boarding school founded by Richard Henry Pratt in 1879, aimed to assimilate Native American children into white culture.

Exogenous Domination

A form of control or subjugation exercised by an external or outside force over a local population and territory.

Destruction for Replacement

Represents a core concept found across several distinct fields, including urban development, macroeconomics, and social history.

Knights of Labor

An organization seeking the eight-hour day, abolition of child labor, equal pay for equal work, and political reforms including the graduated income tax.

Terence Powderly

Head of Knights of Labor, a union seeking the eight-hour day and other labor reforms.

American Federation of Labor

Led by Samuel Gompers, it strived for higher wages and better working conditions, excluding unskilled workers for better political power.

Samuel Gompers

Head of American Federation of Labor who promoted organization and collective bargaining for labor rights.

Haymarket Riot

A labor protest rally that turned into a riot after a bomb was thrown, resulting in eight deaths and convictions of radical labor activists.

Pullman Strike

A walkout by Pullman Palace Car Company workers after negotiations over declining wages failed, crippling railroad traffic nationwide.

Social Darwinism

Claims to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology and politics.

New Immigration

Immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe between 1870-1914, characterized by reluctance to assimilate.

Push Factors

Reasons why the 'donor' country influences individuals to leave, such as no land, natural disasters, and religious persecution.

Pull Factors

Factors that influence immigrants to migrate to the US, such as cheap transportation and economic opportunity.

Chinese Exclusion Act

Banned Chinese immigrants from entering the US in 1882 due to hostility, not repealed until 1943.

Jacob Riis

Photographed and exploited the poor conditions of the lower class to raise awareness among the Middle Class.

Tammany Hall

Democratic Party political machine that played a major role in controlling New York City politics and helping immigrants rise in politics.

People v Hall

A 1854 California Supreme Court case ruling that Chinese immigrants had no right to testify against white citizens in court.

Organic City

A settlement that grows gradually and naturally over time in response to everyday needs and geography, rather than a pre-planned layout.

Wartime Reconstruction

Initial phase of Reconstruction (1863-1865) starting during the Civil War, focused on how the Union would be restored and what status formerly enslaved people would hold.

10% Plan

Lincoln's lenient proposal allowing a Confederate state to reenter the Union once 10% of its voters took an oath of allegiance to the Union.

Presidential Reconstruction

The lenient post-Civil War period under President Andrew Johnson that restored Southern state governments quickly with minimal protections for freedpeople.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that formally abolished slavery throughout the United States.

14th Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting citizenship and equal protection of the laws to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting African American men the right to vote.

Congressional Reconstruction

The period (1867-1877) where Radical Republicans used federal authority and military occupation to protect Black citizenship and rights in the South.

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal agency established during Reconstruction to provide food, medical care, land, and education to formerly enslaved people and poor white Southerners.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War to restrict African American freedom and compel them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt.

Sharecropping

A Southern labor system where tenant farmers worked land owned by someone else in exchange for a portion of the crop, often trapping Black families in cycle of debt.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist terrorist group formed during Reconstruction that used violence to suppress Black political participation and restore white dominance.

Compromise of 1877

An informal political deal that awarded Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency in exchange for withdrawing federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.

Jim Crow

A system of state and local laws across the post-Reconstruction South that mandated legal racial segregation and political disenfranchisement.

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld state racial segregation laws under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Beauvoir

The Mississippi home of Confederate president Jefferson Davis that became an important physical site for cultivating Confederate memory and Lost Cause ideology.

Lost Cause mythology

A post-Civil War ideology that romanticized the Old South and Confederacy, minimized the role of slavery in the war, and criticized Reconstruction.

Homestead Act

1862 federal law offering 160 acres of free western land to settlers who lived on and improved it, driving westward expansion and Native land loss.

Pacific Railroad Act

1862 legislation providing government loans and land grants to finance the construction of the nation's first transcontinental railroad.

Union Pacific

Railroad company commissioned to build the transcontinental railroad westward starting from Omaha, Nebraska.

Central Pacific

Railroad company commissioned to build the transcontinental railroad eastward starting from Sacramento, California.

Sitting Bull

Hunkpapa Lakota leader and spiritual chief who led Native American resistance against U.S. military expansion and forced relocation.

Dawes Severalty Act

1887 law dividing communally held Native reservation land into individual private allotments, leading to massive Native land loss and forced assimilation.

Henry Pratt

Founder of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School who championed the total cultural assimilation of Native American youth into white society.

Carlisle Indian School

First off-reservation boarding school established to forcibly assimilate Native children by stripping away their culture, language, and traditions.

Exogenous Domination

Control or authority imposed upon a local population and territory by an external, outside power.

Destruction for Replacement

The policy pattern of displacing or destroying existing Native societies, cultures, and land systems to replace them with American institutions and settlement.

Knights of Labor

Late 19th-century union with broad membership (including women and African Americans) advocating for the 8-hour workday, labor reforms, and economic restructuring.

Terence Powderly

Leader of the Knights of Labor who expanded its membership and championed broad social and economic reforms for workers.

American Federation of Labor

Labor union founded in 1886 strictly for skilled craft workers, focusing on pragmatic workplace goals like higher wages and shorter hours.

Samuel Gompers

Founder and longtime president of the AFL who focused labor strategy on practical gains (wages, hours, conditions) rather than broad social reform.

Haymarket Riot

1886 Chicago labor rally that turned deadly when a bomb exploded, leading to a public backlash that linked labor unions to violence and radicalism.

Pullman Strike

1894 nationwide railroad strike where the federal government intervened with troops and court injunctions to force workers back to work.

Social Darwinism

19th-century belief applying biological 'survival of the fittest' to economic and social hierarchy, justifying extreme wealth inequality and non-intervention.

New Immigration

Wave of immigrants arriving between 1870 and 1914 primarily from Southern and Eastern Europe, contributing to rapid industrial urban growth.

Push Factors

Adverse conditions in a donor country—such as poverty, religious persecution, or military conflict—that drive individuals to emigrate.

Pull Factors

Favorable conditions in a destination country—such as job opportunities, high wages, and personal freedom—that attract immigrants.

Chinese Exclusion Act

1882 federal law prohibiting Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States, representing the first major racial restriction on U.S. immigration.

Jacob Riis

Muckraking journalist and photographer whose book How the Other Half Lives exposed the harsh living conditions of tenement slums to provoke middle-class reform.

Tammany Hall

Powerful Democratic political machine in New York City that provided social services and job patronage to immigrants in exchange for political votes.

People v. Hall

1854 California Supreme Court ruling that established Chinese immigrants could not testify against white citizens in court.

Organic City

An urban center that develops dynamically and without a centralized plan through the complex interactions of diverse neighborhoods, businesses, and immigrants.

O-P-C-I Formula

Four-step framework for historical image analysis: Observe details, analyze Purpose/Perspective, Contextualize with history, and Interpret significance.

4-Part Identification Formula

Writing structure for historical identification prompts: Sentence 1 (WHAT), Sentence 2 (WHEN/WHERE), Sentence 3 (EVIDENCE), and Sentence 4 (WHY it matters).

Dawes Act vs. Carlisle Indian School

The Dawes Act sought Native assimilation through private land ownership, whereas the Carlisle School pursued assimilation through mandatory education and cultural erasure.

Knights of Labor vs. AFL

The Knights welcomed diverse workers to pursue broad social reform, whereas the AFL organized skilled craft workers to focus strictly on workplace goals.