Civil War, Reconstruction, and Jim Crow Era Vocabulary and Key Concepts

A comprehensive vocabulary review of key terms, historical figures, legislative acts, and concepts related to the American Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Jim Crow Era.

Abolish

To officially end or get rid of something, especially a law, system, or practice.

Amendment

A change or addition made to a law or the Constitution.

Amnesty/Pardon

Forgiving a group of people for certain crimes.

Discriminate

To treat someone unfairly because of characteristics such as race, religion, or gender.

Impeach

To formally accuse a government official of serious wrongdoing.

Radical

Favoring major or extreme changes to a political or social system.

Ratify

To officially approve or accept an agreement, law, or amendment.

Secession/Secede

The act of formally leaving a country or organization.

Segregation

The forced separation of people based on race or other characteristics.

Sharecropping

A farming system where farmers worked land owned by someone else in exchange for a share of the crops, often trapping families in debt.

Suffrage

The right to vote, especially in political elections.

Abraham Lincoln

President during the Civil War who wanted to reunite the country and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Andrew Johnson

President after Lincoln (Democrat) who favored a lenient Reconstruction plan.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group that used violence and intimidation to oppose African American rights and Reconstruction.

Freedmen's Bureau

A federal agency that helped formerly enslaved people with food, education, jobs, and legal assistance.

Radical Republicans

Members of Congress who wanted stronger protections and greater rights for African Americans during Reconstruction.

Union

The states that remained loyal to the United States during the Civil War.

Confederacy

The Southern states that seceded from the United States and formed their own government.

Civil War (1861–1865)

Conflict in which the Union fought to preserve the United States while the Confederacy fought to leave the Union; ended in 1865 with a Union victory and the abolition of slavery.

Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan

A plan that aimed to bring the Southern states back into the Union relatively quickly and peacefully.

Johnson's Reconstruction Plan

A plan that allowed Southern states to return relatively easily, which permitted some former Confederate leaders to regain power.

Congressional / Radical Reconstruction

An approach in which Congress took a stronger stance and pushed for greater rights and protections for African Americans.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Legislation that divided much of the South into military districts and required Southern states to meet certain requirements before rejoining the Union.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement that ended the disputed presidential election of 1876 and led to the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that granted citizenship and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that protected voting rights for African American men.

Black Codes

Southern laws designed to restrict the freedom and opportunities of African Americans after slavery.

Impeachment of Johnson

Event where the House of Representatives impeached Andrew Johnson after conflicts with Congress; the Senate did not remove him from office.

Black Leadership in Government

The election of African Americans to local, state, and national offices during Reconstruction.

Resistance to Reconstruction

Opposition by groups and individuals against Reconstruction through political resistance, intimidation, and violence.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws that enforced racial segregation and discrimination, especially in the South, during the late 1800s through mid-1900s.

Poll Taxes

Taxes individuals had to pay in order to vote, used to prevent many African Americans and poor people from voting.

Literacy Tests

Tests used to determine voter eligibility that were often unfairly applied to African Americans.

Grandfather Clauses

Rules allowing individuals to vote if their ancestors had been eligible to vote, exempting many white voters from restrictions while excluding African Americans.

Limits on African American voting rights

Laws and practices that made it difficult or impossible for many African Americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the idea of "separate but equal."

Rights under the law vs. exercising rights

The concept contrasting having legal rights on paper versus actually being able to use them in practice.