Reconstruction Era

bankrupt

financially ruined

freedman

a person who has been released from enslavement

Reconstruction Period

the period after the American Civil War when the southern states were reorganized and reintegrated into the Union; 1865-1877

literacy

the ability to read and write

segregate

separate by race or religion

poll tax

an amount to be paid as a requirement for voting

act

a legal document that orders or commands something

economic

of or relating to production and management of wealth

amendment

a statement that is added to a proposal or document

rural

living in or characteristic of farming or country life

compromise

an accommodation in which both sides make concessions

citizen

a native or naturalized member of a state

intolerable

incapable of being put up with

discriminate

marked by the ability to see or make fine distinctions

prejudice

a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue

notorious

known widely and usually unfavorably

prosperity

the condition of having good fortune

lynch

kill without legal sanction

segregation

the act of keeping apart

disenfranchise

deprive of voting rights

inequality

lack of balance or similarity in status

enact

order by virtue of superior authority; decree

judicial

expressing careful judgment

legislation

the act of making or enacting laws

impeach

bring an accusation against

integrate

make into a whole or make part of a whole

veto

a vote that blocks a decision

racism

the prejudice that one people are superior to another

migration

the movement of persons from one locality to another

discrimination

unfair treatment of a person or group based on prejudice

intimidation

the act of scaring a weaker person to make them do something

oppression

the act of subjugating by cruelty

compromise

an accommodation in which both sides make concessions

principle

a basic generalization that is accepted as true