APUSH vocab for lily!

Copperheads

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War, criticized Lincoln, and pushed for an immediate peace settlement with the Confederacy.

Conscription/Draft

The 1863 Union policy requiring eligible men to serve in the army, allowing exemptions or substitutes, and sparking public resentment.

New York Draft Riots

Violent July 1863 uprising in New York City against the Union draft, driven by class and racial tensions, resulting in widespread destruction and deaths.

Habeas Corpus suspension

Lincoln’s wartime decision to allow military arrest without immediate trial in order to suppress dissent and secure Union troop movement.

Contraband

Term used for enslaved people who fled to Union lines and were treated as confiscated property, enabling early steps toward emancipation.

54th Massachusetts Regiment

One of the first African American Union regiments, known for its assault on Fort Wagner and its role in proving Black soldiers’ combat effectiveness.

Reconstruction

The post–Civil War effort to reintegrate Southern states and define the rights and status of freed African Americans between 1865 and 1877.

Presidential Reconstruction

Lenient 1865–1867 policies under Johnson that rapidly restored ex-Confederate states with minimal requirements and weak protections for freedpeople.

Radical Reconstruction

Period beginning in 1867 when Congress imposed military rule on the South, demanded new state constitutions, and expanded rights for freedpeople.

Radical Republicans

Congressional faction that sought to punish the former Confederacy and secure full political and civil rights for African Americans.

Wade-Davis Bill

1864 congressional plan requiring 50 percent of voters to take a loyalty oath and banning ex-Confederate leaders; vetoed by Lincoln.

Freedmen’s Bureau

Federal agency established in 1865 to provide food, education, labor contracts, and legal protection for formerly enslaved people.

Black Codes

Southern state laws passed after the Civil War to restrict the freedom, mobility, and labor rights of African Americans.

Thirteenth Amendment

1865 constitutional amendment abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude nationwide.

Fourteenth Amendment

1868 amendment granting birthright citizenship, equal protection, and due process under federal law.

Fifteenth Amendment

1870 amendment prohibiting voting discrimination based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Reconstruction Acts (1867)

Congressional laws placing the South under military districts, requiring new constitutions, and mandating Black male suffrage for readmission.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

1868 congressional action charging Johnson with violating the Tenure of Office Act; he was acquitted by one vote.

Tenure of Office Act

1867 law preventing the president from removing certain officials without Senate approval, used to restrict Johnson’s power.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

First federal law guaranteeing citizenship and equal civil rights to African Americans, countering Black Codes.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction, often Republican supporters seeking political or economic opportunities.

Scalawags

White Southern Republicans who backed Reconstruction and allied with freedpeople and Northern migrants.

Sharecropping

Postwar labor system where freedpeople farmed landowners’ plots in return for a share of the crop, creating long-term debt and dependency.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist organization formed in 1866 that used terror to undermine Black political participation and Reconstruction governments.

Compromise of 1877

Political deal resolving the disputed 1876 election by withdrawing federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.