Reconstruction & Jim Crow (1865-1900)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, policies, and events from Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era (1865–1900).

10% Plan

Lincoln's lenient Reconstruction proposal: when 10% of voters in the 1860 election took an oath of loyalty and established a government, the state would be recognized; broad pardons for many, with protections for freedmen in new constitutions.

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (Dec 8, 1863)

Lincoln's policy to rebuild the South with loyal, not majority, rule and to pardon most Confederates; laid groundwork for the 10% plan.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Federal agency providing aid to freed slaves: education, hospitals, labor contracts, social services, and legal assistance.

13th Amendment

Constitutional abolition of slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime.

Black codes

Southern laws restricting the freedoms and labor of African Americans to preserve a pre-emancipation society.

Civil Rights Act (1866)

Congressional act granting citizenship to African Americans and prohibiting discriminatory practices; vetoed by Johnson but later overridden.

14th Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting citizenship to all born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteeing equal protection and due process.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Johnson was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing a cabinet member; acquitted by the Senate and remained in office.

15th Amendment

Prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude; ratified 1870.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, often involved in politics and Reconstruction efforts.

Scalawags

White Southern Republicans, many small farmers, who supported Reconstruction and Republican policies.

Hiram Revels

First African American to serve in the U.S. Senate (Mississippi) during Reconstruction.

Sharecropping & Debt peonage

Postwar system where tenants worked land in exchange for a share of crops; many accumulated debt, binding workers to land.

“New South”

Vision of an economically diversified postwar South (industrialization, commerce) beyond cotton.

Election of 1876

Contested presidential election between Hayes and Tilden; disputed results in several Southern states.

Compromise of 1877

Deal resolving the 1876 election: federal troops withdraw from the South in exchange for political concessions and new policy directions.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

White supremacist terrorist organization aiming to restore white control and suppress Black political rights.

Lynching

Extrajudicial killings primarily of African Americans; used to intimidate and enforce white supremacy.

Literacy tests

Reading tests used to disenfranchise Black voters and many poor whites in the late 19th century.

Poll taxes

Fees required to vote, used to disenfranchise Black voters and poor whites.

Grandfather Clause

Exemption from literacy tests or poll taxes if one's grandfather could vote before 1866; protected many white voters.

“Solid South”

Post-Reconstruction bloc of Southern states consistently voting Democratic due to disenfranchisement and intimidation.

Segregation & Jim Crow Laws

Legally mandated separation of races in public and private facilities in the Southern states.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

Supreme Court ruling that upheld “separate but equal” facilities, legalizing segregation.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated from the South to Kansas and other regions seeking land and better opportunities.

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Divided the South into five military districts and required new constitutions, black suffrage, and ratification of the 14th Amendment.

Tenure of Office Act

Law restricting the President from removing certain officeholders without Senate approval; used as grounds for Johnson’s impeachment.

Enforcement Acts

Federal laws passed to protect African American voting rights and empower federal intervention against the Klan.

White League

White supremacist paramilitary organization in the South that used violence to influence political outcomes.

Redeemers

Conservative white Southern Democrats who sought to regain control of Southern state governments after Reconstruction.

End of Reconstruction (1877)

Federal troops withdrawn and Redeemers gained control; era of Jim Crow and disenfranchisement followed.