USH Reconstruction Vocab

Amnesty

The act of granting a pardon to a large number of people

Carpetbagger

The name given to northerners who moved to the south after the Civil War and supported republicans

Black Codes

laws passed in the South just after the Civil War aimed at controlling freedmen and enabling plantation owners to exploit African American workers 

corporation

an organization that is authorized by law to carry on an activity but treated as though it were a single person

entrepreneur

one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise

crop lien

obligation placed on a farmer to repay a debt with crops

scalawag

name given to Southerners who supported Republican

Reconstruction of the South

graft

the acquisition of money in dishonest ways, as in bribing a politician

sharecropper

farmer who works land for an owner who provides

equipment and seed and receives a share of the crop

sin tax

federal tax on alcohol and tobacco

tenant farmer

farmer who works land owned by another and pays rent either in cash or crops

poll tax

a tax of a fixed amount per person that had to be paid before the person could vote

segregation

the separation or isolation of a race, class, or group

Jim Crow laws

statutes or laws created to enforce segregation

Gross national product

the total value of goods and services produced by a country during a year

Laissez-faire

policy that government should interfere as little as possible In the nation’s economy

Land Grant

a grant of land by the federal government especially for roads, railroads, or agricultural colleges

Trust

a combination of firms or corporations formed by a legal agreement, especially to reduce competition

pocket veto

indirectly vetoing a bill by letting a session of Congress expire without signing the bill