US History Ch 16-19

Study Guide

Lincoln's Conflict

Lincoln proposed a lenient Ten Percent Plan, which many in Congress, especially the Radical Republicans, saw as too forgiving toward the South.

Johnson's Conflict

After Lincoln's assassination, President Andrew Johnson attempted to carry out a lenient policy similar to Lincoln's. Congress opposed his approach, especially his resistance to civil rights protections for freedmen.

Economic ruin

Problems faced by southern society during Reconstruction due to the Civil War.

Black Codes

Laws that restricted African American rights during Reconstruction.

Sharecropping

Transition from slavery to sharecropping, which often resulted in continued poverty and dependency.

Ku Klux Klan

A group that perpetrated widespread violence and terrorism during Reconstruction.

Racial tensions

Deep racial tensions and resistance to integration faced by southern society during Reconstruction.

Loss of Northern interest

One reason why Reconstruction ended.

Political compromise

Growing political compromise between North and South contributed to the end of Reconstruction.

Election of 1876

An election that, along with the Compromise of 1877, resulted in the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, ending military Reconstruction.

Benefited groups

Southern white elites (Redeemers), Northern industrialists, and Democrats regained control after Reconstruction.

Suffered groups

African Americans lost protections and rights as Reconstruction gains were rolled back, leading to the rise of Jim Crow laws.

Achievements of Reconstruction

Passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, establishment of Freedmen's Bureau, some gains in Black political participation and education.

Limits of Reconstruction

Failure to redistribute land or ensure long-term protections; rise of white supremacist violence; return to white Democratic control in the South.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery throughout the U.S.

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship to all born or naturalized in the U.S. and promised equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Prohibited denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Candidates of 1876

Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) vs. Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat).

Results of 1876 election

Tilden won the popular vote, but disputed electoral votes led to no clear winner.

Compromise of 1877

Democrats agreed to allow Hayes to become president in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan

Lincoln's proposal that allowed Southern states to rejoin the Union once 10% of voters pledged loyalty to the Union and accepted emancipation.

Radical Republicans

A faction in Congress that advocated for full civil rights for freedmen and harsher punishment for the Southern states.

Wade-Davis Bill

A stricter Reconstruction plan requiring 50% of a state's white males to swear loyalty; pocket-vetoed by Lincoln.

Reconstruction Amendments

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments aimed at securing rights for former slaves.

Freedmen's Bureau

Government agency created to assist freed slaves with education, legal aid, healthcare, and employment.

Tenure of Office Act

Law that restricted the president's ability to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval; used to impeach Johnson.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

White supremacist group that used terror and violence to intimidate Black voters and reverse Reconstruction efforts.

Southern Redeemers

White Democrats who sought to 'redeem' the South from Republican control and restore white supremacy.

Jim Crow Laws

Segregation laws that enforced racial separation in public places, disenfranchised Black citizens, and institutionalized racism.

Harsh and unfamiliar geography

Challenges of settling the country west of the Mississippi, including arid land, vast plains, and mountainous terrain.

Conflicts with Native American tribes

One of the challenges faced when settling the West.

Lack of infrastructure

Absence of roads, railroads, and services that hindered settlement in the West.

Droughts, locusts, isolation, and lawlessness

Additional challenges faced by settlers in the West.

Military force

Method used to remove tribes from their homelands, exemplified by events like Little Bighorn and Wounded Knee Massacre.

Concentration Policy

Policy implemented to confine Native American tribes to specific areas.

Assimilation Policy

Policy aimed at integrating Native Americans into American society.

Dawes Severalty Act

Legislation that divided tribal lands into individual plots.

Carlisle Indian School

Institution where Native children were sent to be 'Americanized'.

Gold Rush of 1849

Major event that prompted many Americans and others to move to the West.

Homestead Act of 1862

Legislation that provided free or cheap land to settlers.

Railroads

Transportation development that made travel faster and opened land for settlement in the West.

Bonanza of dreams

Term describing the West's allure due to discoveries of gold, silver, and other minerals.

National Grange

Organization that emerged to support farmers against railroad monopolies and price manipulation.

Little Bighorn (1876)

A major victory for the Lakota and Cheyenne over U.S. troops led by Custer; also known as 'Custer's Last Stand.'

Ghost Dances

A spiritual movement among Native Americans hoping for a revival of their way of life and the departure of white settlers.

Wounded Knee Massacre (1890)

U.S. troops killed hundreds of unarmed Lakota at Wounded Knee Creek; marked the end of major Native American resistance.

"Concentration" Policy

A U.S. government policy that confined tribes to small, designated areas to open more land to white settlers.

"Assimilation" Policy

Aimed to integrate Native Americans into white society by eradicating their cultures, especially through laws, education, and religion.

Dawes Severalty Act (1887)

Divided tribal land into individual plots, undermining tribal unity and resulting in large losses of Native land.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

First major federal law to restrict immigration, targeting Chinese laborers due to racism and economic fears.

Exodusters

African Americans who migrated from the South to the West (especially Kansas) after Reconstruction, seeking freedom and land.

National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry

A farmers' organization that aimed to combat railroad monopolies and improve rural life through cooperation and political advocacy.

Jackson Turner's "Frontier Thesis"

A theory arguing that the American frontier was central to the nation's democratic character and innovation, though criticized for ignoring the role of Native Americans and minorities.

Railroads and the West

The transcontinental railroad (completed in 1869) was essential to westward expansion. It enabled faster migration, the shipping of goods, and expansion of towns.

Environmental Impact

Overgrazing, mining, and large-scale agriculture transformed ecosystems and contributed to the near-extinction of species like the buffalo.

Role of Women

Western women often worked on farms, ran businesses, and some gained suffrage earlier than in the East (e.g., Wyoming in 1869).

Violence and Lawlessness

Vigilante justice, clashes with Native Americans, and conflicts over land and water rights were common in many frontier towns.

Natural resources

Coal, iron, oil, and land that were abundant in the United States.

Labor force

A growing number of immigrants and rural Americans that fueled industry.

Innovations

Technological advancements like the telegraph, telephone, and electric power that changed production and communication.

Capital investment

Financial support provided by wealthy business leaders and banks to grow companies.

Steel industry

An industry that used new mass production techniques and became essential for railroads, bridges, and buildings.

Andrew Carnegie

Leader of the steel industry who used vertical integration to control every step of production.

Oil industry

An industry led by John D Rockefeller and Standard Oil, which used trusts and monopolies to dominate the market.

Corporate power

The influence and control exerted by major industries in the United States.

Advertising

Methods that created national demand for mass-produced products.

Mail-order catalogs

Publications that made consumer goods available to rural families.

Wage earners

Individuals, including immigrants, women, and children, who worked in factories, railroads, or mining with little safety and low pay.

Labor unions

Organizations formed by workers like the Knights of Labor and the American Federation of Labor to demand better wages and conditions.

Homestead Strike

A major labor strike at a steel plant in 1892 that turned violent and symbolized conflict between labor and business.

Industrial economy

The economic system that shifted from agriculture to industry in the United States.

Urbanization

The process of cities growing rapidly due to industrialization and immigration.

Plessy v Ferguson

A Supreme Court decision in 1896 that upheld the idea of separate but equal.

Settlement houses

Community centers that provided services to the urban poor and helped immigrants adapt.

National American Woman Suffrage Association

A group formed in 1890 to advocate for women's right to vote.

New Immigrants

Immigrants who arrived between 1880 and 1920, mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe.

Social Darwinism

The belief that social progress came from survival of the fittest, used to justify class inequality.

Women's Christian Temperance Union

An organization of women committed to social reform, especially the prohibition of alcohol.

Booker T Washington

An African American leader who promoted vocational education and founded a school for Black students in Alabama.

Lynching

The illegal killing of individuals, often African Americans, by mobs as a tool of racial terror.

Urban reform movement

Efforts to address issues like overcrowding and unsafe working conditions in growing cities.