AMSTUD Unit 5 Part C Vocab

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1863)

Lenient Reconstruction plan allowing a Southern state to rejoin the Union once 10% of voters took a loyalty oath and accepted emancipation.

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

Radical Republican plan requiring 50% loyalty oaths and stronger safeguards for Black rights; Lincoln pocket-vetoed it.

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal agency created in 1865 to assist freedpeople with food, education, labor contracts, and legal protection during Reconstruction.

Andrew Johnson

17th president who opposed Radical Reconstruction, pardoned ex-Confederates, and vetoed civil rights legislation.

Radical Republicans

Congressional faction that sought to punish the South, protect freedpeople, and transform Southern society through federal power.

Charles Sumner

Leading Radical Republican senator advocating equal rights and strong federal action in Reconstruction.

Thaddeus Stevens

Radical Republican in the House who pushed for land redistribution and full political equality for freedpeople.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment (1865) abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Federal law granting citizenship and legal protections to African Americans; first major override of a presidential veto.

Fourteenth Amendment

Guaranteed birthright citizenship, due process, and equal protection; cornerstone of Radical Reconstruction.

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Divided the South into military districts, required new state constitutions, and mandated ratification of the 14th Amendment.

Ulysses S. Grant

18th president who supported Radical Reconstruction but faced corruption scandals and declining Northern commitment.

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous enslavement, though still excluded women.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party, often viewed as traitors by other Southerners.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction, some to help rebuild, others to profit politically or economically.

Hiram Revels

First African American U.S. senator (from Mississippi), symbolizing political gains under Radical Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist terrorist organization formed in 1866 to intimidate Black voters and undermine Reconstruction.

Force Acts (1870 & 1871)

Federal laws allowing the government to use troops and legal action to suppress Klan violence and protect Black voting rights.

Black Codes

Southern state laws passed immediately after the Civil War to restrict the freedoms and labor mobility of freedpeople.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where freedpeople rented land for a share of the crop, creating long-term economic dependency.

Convict leasing

System where Southern states leased incarcerated people—disproportionately Black—to private employers for labor, creating a new form of coerced servitude.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement ending Reconstruction: Democrats accepted Hayes as president in exchange for withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

Rutherford B. Hayes

19th president whose disputed election led to the Compromise of 1877 and the end of federal Reconstruction efforts.