Reconstruction Era Overview

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary and concepts related to the Reconstruction era in American history, including major legislation, figures, and societal changes.

Reconstruction

The process of rebuilding the United States, particularly the South, after the Civil War.

Restoration vs. Reconstruction

Restoration involves fixing what was broken while keeping the original structure, whereas Reconstruction involves tearing down and completely rebuilding.

Radical Republicans

A faction within the Republican Party that wanted to fully restructure and punish the South after the Civil War.

Wade-Davis Bill

A legislative proposal that aimed to impose stricter requirements for Southern states to be readmitted to the Union after the Civil War.

Freedmen's Bureau

A government agency created to aid freed slaves in the South by providing jobs, education, and housing.

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment passed in 1865 that abolished slavery in the United States.

Southern Black Codes

Laws passed in Southern states that restricted the rights of newly freed African Americans.

Military Reconstruction Act

A law passed in 1867 that divided the South into five military districts and placed them under military control.

Tenure of Office Act

A law intended to restrict the president's power to remove certain officeholders without the Senate's approval.

Impeachment

The process by which a sitting president can be accused of wrongdoing and possibly removed from office.

Plessy v. Ferguson

The landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

NAACP

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded to ensure the enforcement of civil rights.

Grandfather Clause

A provision that allowed individuals to bypass literacy tests for voting if their grandfathers had the right to vote before 1867.

Madam C.J. Walker

The first female African American millionaire, who built a successful hair care business.

Great Migration

The movement of six million African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North between 1916 and 1970.