Reconstruction Flashcards & Study Guide

These Reconstruction Flashcards are a comprehensive study tool designed to help review the major people, events, laws, and themes of the Reconstruction era (1865–1877).

What is Reconstruction?

Period (1865–1877) after the Civil War focused on rebuilding the South and extending rights to freed people.

Who were the freedmen?

Formerly enslaved African Americans freed by the 13th Amendment.

What was the 13th Amendment?

Abolished slavery (1865).

What was the 14th Amendment?

Granted citizenship and equal protection to all persons born in the U.S. (1868).

What was the 15th Amendment?

Gave Black men the right to vote (1870).

What were the Black Codes?

Southern laws restricting freedpeople’s rights and keeping them tied to white landowners.

What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?

Federal agency helping freedpeople with food, schools, and legal aid (1865–1872).

Who were the Radical Republicans?

Congressmen who pushed for strict Reconstruction policies and full Black rights.

What was sharecropping?

System where freedmen farmed land for a share of crops; often led to debt.

What was the Ku Klux Klan?

White supremacist group using violence and terror to suppress Black rights.

What was Lincoln’s 10% Plan?

Allowed Southern states to rejoin if 10% of voters swore loyalty.

How did Johnson’s Reconstruction differ from Lincoln’s?

Johnson pardoned ex-Confederates and allowed Black Codes; opposed Black rights.

What were the Reconstruction Acts (1867)?

Divided the South into 5 military districts and required Black male suffrage in new constitutions.

What did the Enforcement Acts (1870–71) do?

Protected Black voters and targeted KKK violence.

What was the Civil Rights Act of 1875?

Law banning racial discrimination in public spaces (later struck down by Supreme Court).

What was the Panic of 1873?

Economic depression that weakened Northern support for Reconstruction.

What was the Compromise of 1877?

Hayes became president in exchange for removing federal troops from the South → ended Reconstruction.

What did freedom mean to freedpeople?

Family reunification, education, independent churches, land, political rights.

Why did Reconstruction governments struggle?

Lack of land reform, violent resistance, corruption accusations, Northern fatigue.

Why was Reconstruction considered a success?

Abolished slavery, redefined citizenship, expanded democracy, allowed African American political participation.

Why was Reconstruction considered a failure?

No land reform, sharecropping poverty, KKK violence, abandonment by North, rise of Jim Crow laws.

What was the “Redeemers’” main goal?

Restore white Democratic control and undo Reconstruction reforms.

What year did Reconstruction end?

1877.

What came after Reconstruction in the South?

Jim Crow segregation and disenfranchisement of Black voters.

Why does Reconstruction still matter today?

It raised questions about race, equality, and federal power that remain unresolved.