Reconstruction Era & Civil Rights Amendments: Key Laws and Cases

Reconstruction

The period during which the USA began to rebuild after the Civil War (1865

Freedmen's Bureau

A new federal agency that helps reunite families. Slaves could now marry legally, with no more fear of being sold away from family. During Reconstruction, the freed people prioritized the creation of schools.

Black Codes

Local and state laws intended to obstruct the progress of freed slaves in the South after the Civil War.

Contract System

A system that allowed freed African Americans to work on the plantation in exchange for wages, shelter, and food.

Sharecropping

A system where workers rented a plot of land in exchange for a share of the crop.

Ku Klux Klan

A secret organization that aimed to remove Republicans and restore white control in the South through violence, terrorizing African Americans to keep them from voting and lynching them for committing 'crimes' against white people.

Amendment 11

Citizens can't sue states in Federal courts; they can sue them in state courts.

Amendment 12

Created the Electoral College, allowing presidential candidates to team up with vice presidential candidates.

Radical Republicans

A group that wanted major civil rights reforms and was in control of Reconstruction, with military districts controlling states until they met terms of readmission to the Union.

Panic of 1873

An economic crisis that worsened conditions by affecting banks, the stock market, and the railroad industry, leading to a 5

US vs. Cruikshank

(1876) A case that challenged the enforcement of the 14th amendment, allowing states to decide they can stop civil rights violations but don't have to.

US vs. Reese

(1876) A case that created a loophole in the 15th amendment, leading to voting restrictions such as using poll taxes and literacy tests that were nearly impossible to pass.

Plessy vs. Ferguson

(1896) A case that allowed separate but equal public places, which were not equal in reality.

Election of 1876

An election that made it clear that Reconstruction would not continue, with Rutherford B. Hayes (Rep) winning the electoral vote and Samuel Tilden (Democrat) winning the popular vote.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement where Hayes (Rep) wins but with conditions: federal troops must leave the South, government provides land grants linking the South to the West Coast, and at least one Democrat serves in the cabinet.

Amendment 13

The US Congress, which makes laws, consists of two parts: The House of Representatives (435) and the Senate (100).

Amendment 14

All citizens have rights that cannot be infringed, and states are not allowed to enforce any law saying otherwise. States have the power to stop civil rights violations.