APUSH Unit 6: 1865 - 1898

Andrew Johnson

He was from Tennessee, and as VP when Lincoln was killed, he became president. He opposed radical Republicans who passed Reconstruction Acts over his veto. The first U.S. president to be impeached, and he survived the Senate removal by only one vote. He was a very weak president.

Wade-Davis Bill

1864 Proposed far more demanding and stringent terms for reconstruction; required 50% of the voters of a state to take the loyalty oath and permitted only non-confederates to vote for a new state constitution; Lincoln refused to sign the bill, pocket vetoing it after Congress adjourned.

Radical (Congressional) Reconstruction

Reconstruction strategy that was based on severely punishing South for causing war

Black Codes

Southern laws designed to restrict the rights of the newly freed black slaves

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Passed by Congress on April 9, 1866 over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. The act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition.

Thirteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude.

Fourteenth Amendment

The constitutional amendment adopted after the Civil War that states, "no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Charles Sumner

Radical Republican against the slave power who insults Andrew Butler and subsequently gets caned by Preston Brooks

Thaddeus Stevens

A radical Republican who believed in harsh punishments for the South. Leader of the radical Republicans in Congress.

Fifteenth Amendment

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Military Reconstruction Act

It divided the South into five military districts that were commanded by Union generals. It was passed in 1867. It took the power away from the President to be Commander in Chief and set up a system of Martial Law.

Tenure of Office Act

In 1866, it was enacted by radical congress that forbade the President from removing civil officers without senatorial consent. It was to prevent Johnson from removing a radical republican from his cabinet.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Johnson was impeached for the charge of High Crimes and Misdemeanors on February 24, 1868 of which one of the articles of impeachment was violating the Tenure of Office Act. He had removed Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, from office and replaced him with Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas.

Black Reconstruction

Derisive label applied to political efforts by African Americans after the Civil War, exaggerating black political influence that was in actuality limited mainly to voting. Blacks could vote and had rights, but black codes kept them virtually enslaved. They did get more political power; helped protect former slaves, and education for many.

Hiram Revels

Black Mississippi senator elected to the seat that had been occupied by Jefferson Davis when the South seceded.

Sharecropping

System in which landowners leased a few acres of land to farmworkers in return for a portion of their crops.

Scalawags

Term used to describe Southern white Republicans who had opposed secession.

Carpetbaggers

A northerner who went to the South immediately after the Civil War; especially one who tried to gain political advantage or other advantages from the disorganized situation in southern states

Redeemers

Largely former slave owners who were the bitterest opponents of the Republican program in the South. Staged a major counterrevolution to "redeem" the south by taking back southern state governments. Their foundation rested on the idea of racism and white supremacy. Redeemer governments waged an aggressive assault on African Americans.

Ku Klax Klan

White-supremacist group formed by six former Confederate officers after the Civil War. Name is essentially Greek for "Circle of Friends". Group eventually turned to terrorist attacks on blacks. The original Klan was disbanded in 1869, but was later resurrected by white supremacists in 1915.

Ulysses S. Grant

An American general and the eighteenth President of the United States (1869-1877). He achieved international fame as the leading Union general in the American Civil War.

Credit Mobilier

A joint-stock company organized in 1863 and reorganized in 1867 to build the Union Pacific Railroad. It was involved in a scandal in 1872 in which high government officials were accused of accepting bribes.

Whiskey Ring

During the Grant administration, a group of officials were importing whiskey and using their offices to avoid paying the taxes on it, cheating the treasury out of millions of dollars.