Reconstruction Era Vocabulary (OpenStax Chapter Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the Reconstruction-era chapters (OpenStax).

Reconstruction (1865–1877)

The period after the Civil War when the United States attempted to readmit the former Confederate states and redefine rights for freed people, including amendments and federal laws.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional abolition of slavery in the United States (ratified 1865).

Lincoln's 10% Plan

Lincoln's lenient plan for readmission: 10% of voting citizens in former Confederate states must pledge future allegiance to the United States and emancipation must be acknowledged.

Wade–Davis Bill

Radical Republican proposal requiring a majority of white male citizens who had not supported the Confederacy to take loyalty oaths; stricter terms than Lincoln's plan; vetoed by Lincoln.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 executive order declaring enslaved people in Confederate-held areas free; its practical effect expanded after war and helped spur abolition at the constitutional level.

Juneteenth

June 19, 1865: celebration of emancipation in Texas, marking the announcement that all slaves were free and signaling a shift toward equal rights.

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal agency (founded 1865) aiding freed people with food, labor contracts, education, family reunification, and basic services; supported public schools and missionary groups.

American Missionary Association (AMA)

Christian organization that helped establish and run schools for freed people in the postwar South with teachers from diverse backgrounds.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Law declaring that all persons born in the United States are citizens with equal protection under the law; allowed federal intervention in state matters to protect rights.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment defining citizenship, guaranteeing equal protection and due process, abolishing the three-fifths compromise for representation, and addressing debts and insurrection.

Black Codes

Southern state laws (1865–66) designed to maintain a white supremacist social order by restricting civil rights and economic opportunities of freed people.

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibits denying the right to vote based on race (and former condition of servitude); guarantees male suffrage, while not addressing literacy tests or poll taxes.

National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA)

Organization founded in 1869/1870 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to push for a federal constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote.

Union Leagues

Networks formed during and after the Civil War to promote loyalty to the Union and Republican Party; helped enroll Black voters and support civil projects and schools.

Hiram Revels

First African American U.S. Senator (Mississippi, 1870); noted for advocating desegregated schools in Congress.

Carpetbaggers

Northern whites who moved to the South after the war; portrayed as opportunists by Southern whites and seen as political actors shaping Reconstruction.

Scalawags

White Southern Republicans who supported Reconstruction; viewed by many Southerners as traitors to the South.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

White supremacist terrorist organization founded in 1866 that used violence to intimidate Freedpeople and suppress Reconstruction gains; later targeted Unionists and Black leaders.

Enforcement Acts (Force Acts)

Laws passed in 1870–1871 to curb Klan violence, outlaw intimidation at polls, and permit federal prosecution of crimes against Freedpeople; authorized martial law and habeas corpus suspension in some cases.

Colfax Massacre (1873)

Massacre in Colfax, Louisiana, where white supremacists killed many Black supporters and US Freedmen, illustrating violent resistance to Reconstruction.

Redemption

Southern white-Democratic movement aimed at restoring white supremacy and rolling back Reconstruction gains; culminated in Democratic control of Southern state governments.

Compromise of 1877

Political bargain ending Reconstruction: Hayes awarded presidency, federal troops withdrawn from the South, and Southern Democrats gained influence, effectively ending federal enforcement of Reconstruction.

Sharecropping / Crop-Lien System

Postwar labor arrangement where Freedpeople farmed land in exchange for a share of the harvest or credit from store owners; led to debt cycles and economic dependence.

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

Law restricting the President's ability to remove certain officials without Senate approval; used as a basis for impeaching Johnson.

Command of the Army Act (1867)

Law requiring the President to issue military orders through the army's commander, restricting presidential bypass of military authority.

Andrew Johnson Impeachment

1868 impeachment by the House for violating the Tenure of Office Act and other clashes with Congress; the Senate acquitted Johnson by one vote short of removal.