Unit One American Studies: Reconstruction and Race in America: 1865-1900

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to Reconstruction and race in America (1865-1877).

Abraham Lincoln

16th U.S. president who led the Union during the Civil War and promoted preservation of the Union and a path toward Reconstruction.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States (ratified 1865).

Reconstruction Plans: moderate and radical

Two approaches to Reconstruction: Moderate plans favored Presidential leadership and quick readmission with leniency; Radical plans sought to protect freedmen’s rights with federal oversight and harsher measures against former Confederates.

Andrew Johnson

17th President who led Reconstruction after Lincoln’s assassination; favored lenient policies toward the South and faced opposition from Radical Republicans.

Black Codes

Post‑Civil War Southern laws restricting the rights and mobility of African Americans, aiming to maintain a subordinate labor system.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Federal agency (1865–1872) that aided newly freed slaves with food, housing, education, healthcare, and labor negotiations.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general and later president who supported and enforced Reconstruction, facing significant Klan violence and resistance.

Carpetbaggers

Northern newcomers who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often perceived as exploiting the region.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and Republican policies during Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist terrorist organization that used violence to intimidate Black citizens and suppress Reconstruction efforts.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Federal law granting citizenship and basic rights to freedmen, later reaffirmed by the 14th Amendment.

14th Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. and guaranteeing equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting voting discrimination based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where freedmen and poor farmers worked land for a portion of the crop, often leading to debt and dependence.

Redemption Period – Redeemers

Late 1870s Southern white conservatives who sought to reclaim political control from Reconstruction governments.

Election of 1876/Compromise of 1877

Disputed presidential election resolved by the Compromise of 1877, which ended Reconstruction and withdrew federal troops from the South.