Challenges Faced by Freedmen and the Formation of the Ku Klux Klan

These flashcards cover key terms and concepts related to the challenges faced by freedmen during Reconstruction and the formation and activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

Freedmen

Former enslaved individuals who gained their freedom during and after the Civil War.

Sharecropping

A system where landowners provide land and supplies to laborers, who in return give half of the crop to the owner after expenses.

Tenant Farmers

Farmers who own their own livestock and equipment but rent land to cultivate crops.

Cotton Production

The primary agriculture focus of the South post-Civil War, which struggled for many years.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

A terrorist group that emerged from a social club in 1867, targeting freedmen and Republicans to maintain social control.

Nathan Bedford Forrest

A prominent Confederate general who became the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

Violence and Intimidation

Methods used by the KKK to discourage blacks from exercising their new rights and freedoms.

White Supremacy Laws

Legislation promoted by the KKK to maintain a white-dominated society in the South.