Reconstruction Test Study Guide

10 percent plan (Lincoln) vs. Wade-Davis Bill (Radicals)

- Wade Davis bill required a majority of a state’s residents to take an oath of loyalty to the union
- Lincoln only required 10% of voters to take said oath of allegiance

Andrew Johnson impeachment

- failed by 1 vote
- attempted impeachment because he dismissed a radical in his administration

Radical Reconstruction

under radical rule, former confederates were denied the right to vote

Cotton and Tobacco

most widely raised cash crops

"Solid South"

- heavy handed radical rule led to the creation of a solid democrat voting block in the south
- refers to the near-unanimous support for the democratic party in the south

Grant Administration Corruption

Ulysses G. Grant’s administration is considered by many historians to have been one of the most corrupt in history

William Tweed

corrupt NYC official who defrauded the city

Thomas Nast

political cartoonist who advocated reforms - made fun of William “Boss” Tweed

Horace Greeley

newspaper editor who ran for president in 1872

Samuel Tilden

reform minded lawyer who sought to end corruption in NYC

Rutherford B. Hayes

won the most disputed presidential election in American history up to that time

Hiram Revels

first black person to serve in the U.S. congress

Radical Republicans

a republican minority who wanted to deal harshly with the south

Impeachment

indictment of a political official

Carpetbagger

a northern radical who moved to the south

Scalawag

southern unionists (radicals)

Disenfranchisement

when someone is denied the right to vote or has their vote taken away

sharecropping

- system that was set up to allow freed slaves to farm the land without paying them directly
- south was so economically devastated that they were unable to pay workers

Redeemer

- southerner who wanted to overthrow or oust republican rule
- white majority rule

"Grantism"

term used to describe political corruption

Liberal Republicans

opposed radical republicans in the 1872 location

Greenbacks

paper money not backed by precious metals (silver and/or gold)

Thirteenth Amendment

abolished slavery everywhere in the U.S.

Fourteenth Amendment

guaranteed citizenship rights

Fifteenth Amendment

gave all men the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Military Reconstruction Act

divided the south into 5 military districts - congress selected military governors for each district

Black Codes

attempted to regulate the conduct or behavior of former slaves

Reconstruction

- governments attempt to rebuild the south
- identified by most people as the radical republican version of reconstruction

Tenure of Office Act

designed to protect cabinet members from being fired by the president

Panic of 1873

most severe depression in the first 100 years of American history

Freedmen's Bureau

designed to help former slaves after the war

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

opposed radical reconstruction and attempted to prevent blacks from voting

Credit Mobilier Scandal

involved the criminal use of funds intended for railroad construction

Compromise of 1877

- political agreement which would allow federal troops to be removed from the south
- in exchange, the democrats to allow Rutherford B. Hayes to be president

Presidential Reconstruction (Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson) vs. Congressional Reconstruction (Radical Republicans in Congress)

Johnson supported Lincoln's view of reconstruction

Public schools in the South

universally agreed upon benefit that came out of reconstruction

Washington and Lee University

Robert E. Lee accepted the position of president of Washington and Lee university (at the time it was just Washington college)

Fisk and Gould Scandal

had to do with manipulating the price of gold

Tammany Hall Corruption

democrat leaders needed its help to get votes and win elections (vote buying corruption)

"Waving the Bloody Shirt"

- political tactic whereby republicans would blame democrats for the war
- generations after the civil war, anyone in the republican party was a union veteran

What was the effect of the Military Reconstruction Act on the South?

- Divided the 10 former states of the confederacy into 5 military districts
- Each military governor was appointed by congress and their directive (orders) were to keep the peace through military courts or force if necessary

What good did Reconstruction accomplish? Why was it still resented by the South?

Good:
- Universal male suffrage
- Public schools
- Rebuilding of roads
- Building of railroads/transportation
- Internal improvements

Bad:
- Didn’t like being occupied
- Didn’t like being disenfranchised