Reconstruction to Jim Crow (Vocabulary) - Video Notes

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from Reconstruction, the New South, and Jim Crow as presented in the video notes.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War (c. 1865–1877) focused on reintegrating Southern states, rebuilding the economy, and determining the status and rights of freed slaves.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

Freedmen's Bureau

US government agency that aided formerly enslaved people with food, housing, education, and legal help during Reconstruction.

Freedmen's towns

Communities established by newly freed Black people in the South.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often to seek political or economic opportunity.

Scalawags

White Southern Republicans who supported Reconstruction and allied with Northern factions.

HBCUs

Historically Black Colleges and Universities; institutions established to educate Black Americans during/after slavery.

14th Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting birthright citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the US.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude (for men).

40 acres and a mule

Wartime idea to redistribute land to freed slaves; never implemented widely.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where tenants farm land in exchange for a share of the crop; often led to debt.

Black Codes

Laws in the South that restricted the rights and mobility of newly freed Black people.

Mississippi Plan

1890s strategy to disenfranchise Black voters through intimidation and changes to election laws.

Poll tax

A fee required to vote, used to disenfranchise poor Black and white voters.

Literacy test

Tests used to assess literacy for voting; often biased and used to suppress Black votes.

Convict leasing

System where convicts were leased to private businesses for labor; exploited Black labor after slavery.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

White supremacist organization that used violence and intimidation to resist Reconstruction.

Enforcement Act of 1870

Federal law giving the president and federal government power to suppress the KKK and protect civil rights.

Civil Rights Act of 1871

Federal law strengthening protections for civil rights and enabling prosecutions of violations by the KKK.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Law dividing the South into military districts, requiring ratification of the 14th Amendment for readmission.

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

Law restricting the president's ability to remove cabinet members without Senate approval; led to Johnson's impeachment.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

House impeachment followed by Senate trial; Johnson was acquitted and remained in office.

End of Reconstruction

Period circa 1877 when federal enforcement declined and Southern states began disenfranchising Black voters.

Jim Crow

System of racial segregation and disenfranchisement in the South from the late 19th century into the 1960s.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1892)

Supreme Court case upholding racial segregation; established the idea that segregation was legal if facilities were 'separate but equal'.

Separate but equal

Doctrine that racial segregation was legal as long as facilities for different races were equal.

Henry Grady

Atlanta journalist who promoted the 'New South' and industrial modernization after the Civil War.

New South

Vision of the South transforming from a cotton-based, rural economy to a diversified, industrial economy.

Fall line

Geographic feature where mills were built to use water power; a key site for early Southern industry.

Big tobacco

Growth of tobacco manufacturing in the South, including cigarette production.

Land-grant colleges

Universities funded by federal land grants to support agriculture and engineering (e.g., Penn State, Cornell).

Homestead Act

1862 law granting 160 acres of public land to settlers to promote western settlement.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad system that connected the East and West Coasts, spurring economic growth and westward expansion.

Sherman’s March through Georgia

Union campaign during the Civil War that devastated the Southern economy and infrastructure.