AP Reconstruction

Reconstruction

Process of rebuilding the South after the Civil War from 1865 to 1877

Lincolns Plan

Pardoned Confederates who swore allegiance to the U.S.; 10% of 1860 voters needed to swear oath to reform state government

Wade Davis Bill

Radical plan requiring 50% of a state to swear they never supported the CSA; pocket-vetoed by Lincoln

Pocket Veto

President lets a bill expire by not signing it during the last 10 days of a congressional session

13th Amendment

1865; banned slavery in the United States

Freedmens Bureau

1865; helped ex-slaves get employment, education, food, and clothing

General Oliver O. Howard

Head of the Freedmens Bureau; established 3000 schools and taught 200000 blacks to read

Andrew Johnson

Democrat from Tennessee; Lincolns VP and successor; only Southern senator loyal to the Union

Johnsons Plan

Continued Lincolns plan; disenfranchised Confederate leaders and required states to ratify the 13th Amendment

Black Codes

Southern laws restricting freed slaves from voting, testifying, carrying weapons, and working certain jobs

Radical Republicans

Republicans who championed civil rights for blacks and opposed Johnsons lenient Reconstruction plans

Thaddeus Stevens

Radical Republican House leader who rejected Johnsons Reconstruction and wanted military rule in the South

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Granted freed slaves full U.S. citizenship rights; vetoed by Johnson but overridden by Congress

14th Amendment

1868; granted citizenship, due process, and equal protection to all people in the U.S.

Reconstruction Acts

Divided the South into 5 military districts; states had to ratify the 14th Amendment and allow black voting to rejoin the Union

Tenure of Office Act

1867; required Senate approval before the president could remove cabinet members; Johnson violated it intentionally

Impeach

Charging a public official with a crime committed while in office

Election of 1868

Grant defeats Seymour; 500000 black votes gave Grant the victory

15th Amendment

1869; no American could be denied the right to vote based on race or previous servitude

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Required equal access to public accommodations for all races; declared unconstitutional in 1883

Carpet Baggers

Northerners who went South to profit from land and Reconstruction opportunities

Scalawags

Southern Republicans who supported Reconstruction and reconciliation with the North

Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce

First two African Americans elected to Congress; both from Mississippi during Radical Reconstruction

Sharecropping

Freed slaves worked a portion of plantation land and gave owners half to two-thirds of the crop; evolved into a new form of servitude

Redemption

White Southerners retaking control of their state governments after Reconstruction ended

KKK

Founded in 1867 by ex-Confederate Forrest; used violence and intimidation to suppress black voting rights

Force Acts

1870 and 1871; gave Grant power to declare martial law in Southern states with KKK activity

Amnesty Act of 1872

Allowed former Confederate officials to return to government and vote in elections

Election of 1876

Contested election between Hayes and Tilden; resolved by a special commission that gave all disputed votes to Hayes

Compromise of 1877

Hayes becomes president; federal troops leave the South, ending Reconstruction

Poll Taxes Literacy Tests Grandfather Clauses

Methods used by Southern governments to prevent African Americans from voting after Reconstruction