Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Technological Revolution

A comprehensive vocabulary review of 110 terms covering Civil War campaigns, Reconstruction policies, post-war Southern society, civil rights struggles, and the Second Industrial Revolution.

General Ambrose Burnside

Union general appointed by Abraham Lincoln to replace McClellan; his forces suffered a devastating defeat at Fredericksburg, prompting him to submit his resignation.

Battle of Fredericksburg

December 1862 battle where Robert E. Lee's Confederate army defeated the Union, causing $13{,}000$ (noted also as $12{,}000$) Northern casualties compared to $5{,}000$ Southern casualties.

General "Fighting Joe" Hooker

Union commander appointed by Lincoln following Burnside's resignation; he met Confederate troops under Lee at Chancellorsville in May 1863 and suffered defeat.

Battle of Chancellorsville

May 1863 battle (also noted as April 1863) where Confederate forces defeated General Hooker's Union army, though Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson was wounded and later died.

General "Stonewall" Jackson

Renowned Confederate general who helped secure a Southern victory at Chancellorsville, where he was accidentally wounded and subsequently died.

First Battle of Bull Run

July 1861 battle between McDowell and Beauregard where both sides expected a quick victory, resulting in Union forces being routed.

The Peninsular Campaign

May 1862 campaign between McClellan and Johnston where McClellan failed to follow through despite higher Southern losses, after which Robert E. Lee assumed command.

General Robert E. Lee

Confederate general who assumed command during the Peninsular Campaign and led the Army of Northern Virginia through major engagements including Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.

Second Battle of Bull Run

August 1862 Civil War battle where Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee defeated Union forces commanded by General John Pope.

Battle of Antietam

September 1862 clash between McClellan and Lee that became the bloodiest single day of battle in the Civil War, resulting in $23{,}000$ soldiers killed, wounded, or missing.

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln in January 1863 declaring that all persons held as slaves within designated states and parts of states in rebellion shall be free.

Scope of the Emancipation Proclamation

The reality that the proclamation did not end all slavery and immediately affected very few enslaved people because it applied only to areas still in rebellion against the United States.

Strategic Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation

By making slavery a central war focus, Lincoln energized pro-abolitionists, sowed dissension among slaves in the South, and made it difficult for Britain and France to support the Confederacy.

Battle of Gettysburg

July 1863 three-day battle in Pennsylvania that stopped the South's winning streak and served as the turning point of the war in favor of the North.

General George Meade

Newly appointed Union general who commanded federal forces to victory against General Robert E. Lee's army at Gettysburg.

Cemetery Ridge

Elevated defensive position held by Union forces at Gettysburg which General Lee planned to assault on the battle's second day.

General James Longstreet

Confederate general who delayed his assault on Union forces at Gettysburg until $4\text{ PM}$ on Day 2.

Devil's Den and the Peach Orchard

Key battlefield locations at Gettysburg that witnessed intense and heavy combat during the afternoon of Day 2.

Little Round Top

Vulnerable hill on the Union flank at Gettysburg that Confederate forces attacked toward the end of Day 2.

Colonel Joshua Chamberlain

Union officer whose troops successfully turned back the Confederate assault on Little Round Top on Day 2 of Gettysburg.

Pickett's Charge

Famous Day 3 Confederate assault at Gettysburg where troops marched uphill in line toward the Union center under withering gunfire and were repelled.

Casualties at Gettysburg

The staggering three-day losses resulting in $23{,}000$ casualties for the North and $28{,}000$ casualties for the South.

General Lee's Retreat (July 4, 1863)

The withdrawal of Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee back toward the South following their defeat at Gettysburg.

Siege of Vicksburg

Western theater military campaign where Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to a crucial Confederate river fortress.

Surrender of Vicksburg (July 4, 1863)

The capitulation of Confederate forces to General Grant on July 4, 1863, which gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in half.

Control of the Mississippi River

Major strategic outcome gained by the Union following the surrender of Vicksburg, effectively dividing the Confederate states.

Strategic Importance of 1863

The decisive turning point marked by dual Union victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, after which the South was no longer a direct offensive threat to the North.

Gettysburg Address

Famous speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a battlefield cemetery in Gettysburg to honor fallen soldiers.

Dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery

Ceremony dedicating a portion of the Gettysburg battlefield as a final resting place for those who gave their lives so that the nation might live.

"Unfinished Work" (Gettysburg Address)

Lincoln's call for the living to dedicate themselves to completing the great remaining task and noble cause for which Union soldiers gave the last full measure of devotion.

"New Birth of Freedom"

Lincoln's resolution at Gettysburg that the nation under God would experience a renewal of liberty and that the dead shall not have died in vain.

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people"

Lincoln's concluding words in the Gettysburg Address expressing resolve that democratic self-government shall not perish from the earth.

General Ulysses S. Grant (Overland Campaign)

Union commander who took charge in the East and relentlessly pursued Robert E. Lee's forces southward through Virginia despite suffering tactical losses.

Battle of the Wilderness

1864 Virginia battle where Grant lost to Lee but, unlike previous Union commanders, refused to retreat and continued marching south.

Battle of Spotsylvania

Major 1864 battle fought in Virginia between Grant and Lee as Union armies continued their relentless movement toward Richmond.

Battle of Cold Harbor

Costly 1864 engagement in Virginia between Grant and Lee that immediately preceded the siege operations at Petersburg.

Siege of Petersburg

Extended military siege initiated by General Grant against the crucial rail center and supply depot protecting Richmond.

General William Tecumseh Sherman

Union general who moved against and captured Atlanta before leading a destructive march across Georgia.

Capture of Atlanta

Crucial Union victory achieved by General Sherman that convinced Northerners that total victory was imminent and bolstered Lincoln's 1864 reelection.

Sherman's "March to the Sea"

Military expedition through Georgia where General Sherman's troops created a path of destruction from Atlanta to the Atlantic coast.

Election of 1864

Presidential race where Abraham Lincoln defeated former general George McClellan after late Union military victories solidified Northern support.

Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865)

Town in Virginia where Robert E. Lee and his surrounded Confederate army formally surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, bringing the war to an end.

General Grant's Order at Appomattox

Grant's directive ordering Union artillery to halt celebratory gunfire after Lee's surrender, stating, "the rebels are our country men again."

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (April 14, 1865)

The murder of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre while attending a production of "Our American Cousin."

John Wilkes Booth

Famous actor and Southern sympathizer who assassinated President Lincoln on April 14, 1865, and was later shot and killed.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment passed by December 1865 that officially abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

Post-War Southern Destruction

The widespread ruin of Southern railroads, factories, farms, and homes that caused the total value of Southern property to plummet by as much as $70\%$.

Southern White Male Casualties

The loss of $260{,}000$ men in the South, representing $\frac{1}{5}$ of its white male population, with $1$ out of every $3$ killed or wounded.

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal government agency established to aid newly freed African Americans following emancipation; it was dismantled in 1869.

Post-Emancipation Freedoms

New civil liberties gained by African Americans after the abolition of slavery, including freedom of movement, to own land, to worship, and to learn.

Radical Republicans

Congressional faction that sought to punish the South and proposed stringent requirements for Southern states to rejoin the Union.

Wade-Davis Plan

Radical Republican Reconstruction proposal requiring ex-Confederates to swear an oath of past and future loyalty and state that they had never fought against the U.S.

Lincoln's Pocket Veto

Legislative action utilized by Abraham Lincoln to let the Radical Republicans' Wade-Davis bill die without signing it.

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address

March 4, 1865 address in which Lincoln advocated national healing, urging Americans to proceed "with malice toward none, with charity for all."

Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan

Lincoln's Reconstruction policy allowing Southern states to write a new constitution and resume full participation once $10\%$ of the population swore allegiance.

Lincoln's View on Secession

Lincoln's legal position that Southern states did not need formal readmission because they were never legally able to secede in the first place.

President Andrew Johnson

Southern politician who became president after Lincoln's assassination and implemented his own lenient Reconstruction plan while Congress was in recess.

Johnson's Reconstruction Plan

Presidential plan that pardoned Southerners swearing allegiance, required states to void secession and repudiate slavery, but omitted the $10\%$ loyalty oath requirement.

Black Codes

Discriminatory laws passed by restored Southern state governments under Johnson's plan to impose severe social and economic restrictions on Black people.

Curfews (Black Codes)

Provisions under Southern Black Codes stating that Black people could not go outside after sunset.

Vagrancy Laws (Black Codes)

Statutes under Southern Black Codes allowing Black individuals to be convicted of vagrancy for not working.

Labor Contracts (Black Codes)

Requirements under Black Codes compelling Black laborers to work for an entire year or forfeit all their earned wages.

Land Restrictions (Black Codes)

Restrictions under Southern Black Codes dictating that Black people could only purchase or own land in rural areas.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Federal law guaranteeing citizenship to African Americans, enacted after Congress successfully overrode President Andrew Johnson's veto.

Congressional Override of 1866

The historic action by Congress to overturn President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Fourteenth Amendment

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

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Radical Reconstruction legislation that placed the South under military rule, required male suffrage, and mandated ratification of the 14th Amendment for readmission.

Military Rule in the South

System established by the Reconstruction Act of 1867 dividing the former Confederate states into military districts to enforce federal authority.

Edwin Stanton

Secretary of War whose attempted dismissal by President Andrew Johnson triggered Johnson's impeachment.

Tenure of Office Act

Federal law passed by Congress restricting the president from removing civil officers without Senate approval, which Johnson allegedly violated.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

The formal charging of President Johnson by the House of Representatives with wrongdoing for violating the Tenure of Office Act.

Underlying Reason for Johnson's Impeachment

The intense political power struggle between President Andrew Johnson and Congress over the control and direction of Reconstruction.

Senate Impeachment Trial Vote

The Senate vote on whether to remove President Johnson from office, which failed by just $1$ vote, leaving him severely weakened.

Election of 1868

Presidential election in which Union Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant was elected president.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment guaranteeing that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved south during Reconstruction to run for political office and take advantage of Southern political conditions.

Scalawags

White Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and joined the Republican Party.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

Anti-Black terrorist organization formed in 1866 by six former Confederate soldiers that turned to widespread violence to suppress Black civil rights.

KKK Violence in Arkansas and Louisiana (1868)

Racial terror attacks in 1868 where the Ku Klux Klan murdered $300$ Republicans in Arkansas and killed $1{,}000$ people in Louisiana.

Enforcement Act of 1870

Federal legislation banning the use of force or bribery to stop people from voting on account of their race.

Causes of Reconstruction's Decline

Factors causing whites to tire of Reconstruction, including political corruption, heavy taxation increasing state debt, and white violence against Black voters.

The "Solid South"

The political bloc of Southern states dominated by the Democratic Party after pardoned former Confederates regained voting control.

Election of 1876

Disputed presidential election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden that led directly to the end of Reconstruction.

Samuel Tilden

Democratic candidate in the election of 1876 who won the popular vote but lost the contested presidency through a congressional commission.

Rutherford B. Hayes

Republican candidate named the winner of the disputed 1876 presidential election under the Compromise of 1877.

Compromise of 1877

Political agreement allowing Hayes to assume the presidency in exchange for removing all remaining federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.

Sharecropping

Agricultural arrangement where laborers lived on and farmed a portion of land in return for receiving a share of the harvest.

Tenant Farming

Agricultural system where farmers paid cash rent to land owners for the use of land and kept the entirety of the harvest for themselves.

New South Infrastructure Rebuilding

The post-war necessity of virtually rebuilding the South's entire destroyed infrastructure, including roads, railroads, bridges, and telegraph lines.

Post-War Cotton Reliance and Debt

The economic condition in which the South continued to rely heavily on cotton cultivation while accumulating massive debt to fund reconstruction projects.

Jim Crow Laws

Southern state and local statutes designed to deny Black people equal rights and force racial segregation through "separate but equal" facilities.

Disenfranchisement Devices

Voting obstacles including poll taxes, property tests, and literacy tests designed by Southern states to restrict Black citizens from voting.

Grandfather Clause

Exemption passed by Southern states allowing individuals to bypass voting restrictions if their ancestors had the right to vote before Reconstruction, protecting white voters.

Plessy v. Ferguson

Supreme Court decision upholding Jim Crow laws by ruling that separate facilities for Blacks and whites were permitted as long as they were equal.

Racial Deference Customs

Southern social customs compelling Black individuals to address white men as "mister" while white men addressed Black men as "boy" or by their first name.

Racial Lynching (1882–1892)

Mob violence and murder directed at Black individuals who overstepped racial bounds, resulting in approximately $1{,}200$ (transcribed as $1{,}2000$) deaths in that decade.

W.E.B. Du Bois

African American civil rights leader who met at Niagara Falls, Canada, to organize resistance against racial discrimination and co-founded the NAACP.

Niagara Movement

Civil rights group organized by W.E.B. Du Bois and others in Niagara Falls, Canada, to fight against racial discrimination.

NAACP (1909)

Civil rights organization formed in 1909 by Du Bois and allies that primarily challenged racial discrimination through the court system.

1915 Supreme Court Grandfather Clause Ruling

Major legal victory won by the NAACP in which state grandfather clauses were declared unconstitutional.