APUSH Chapter 15 Test

freedmen's bureau

reconstruction agency established in 1865 to protect the legal rights of former slaves and to assist with their education, jobs, health care, and landowning

sharecropping

type of farm tenancy that developed after the civil war in which landless workers - often former slaves - farmed land in exchange for farm supplies and a share of the crop

crop lien

credit extended by merchants to tenants based on their future crops; under this system, high interest rates and the uncertainties of farming often led to inescapable debts

black codes

laws passed from 1865 to 1866 in southern slaves to restrict the rights of former slaves

civil rights bill of 1866

along with the fourteenth amendment, legislation that guaranteed the rights of citizenship to former slaves

fourteenth amendment

1868 constitutional amendment that guaranteed rights of citizenship to former slaves, in words similar to those of the civil rights act of 1866

reconstruction act

1867 law that established temporary military governments in ten confederate states - except tennessee - and required that the states ratify the fourteenth amendment and permit freedmen to vote

tenure of office act

1867 law that required the president to obtain senate approval to remove any official whose appointment had also required senate approval

impeachment

bringing charges against a public official; for example, the house of representatives can impeach a president for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors" by majority vote, and after the trial the senate can remove the president by a vote of two-thirds

fifteenth amendment

constitutional amendment ratified in 1870, which prohibited states from discriminating in voting privileges on the basis of race

carpetbaggers

derisive term for northern emigrants who participated in the republican governments of the reconstruction south

scalawags

southern white republicans - some former unionists - who supported reconstruction governments

ku klux klan

group organized in pulaski, tennessee, in 1866 to terrorize former slaves who voted and held political offices during reconstruction

enforcement acts

three laws passed in 1870 and 1871 that tried to eliminate the ku klux klan by outlawing it and other such terrorist societies; the laws allowed the president to deploy the army for that purpose

civil rights act of 1875

the last piece of reconstruction legislation, which outlawed racial discrimination in places of public accomodation such as hotels and theaters

redeemers

post-civil war democratic leaders who supposedly saved the south from yankee domination and preserved the primarily rural economy

bargain of 1877

deal made by a republican and democratic special congressional commission to resolve the disputed presidential election of 1876; republican rutherford b hayes, who had lost the popular vote, was declared the winner in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from involvement in politics in the south, marking the end of reconstruction

how did freedom alter relationships within the family?

many black women preferred to devote more time to their families than had been possible under slavery, and men considered it a badge of honor to see their wives remain at home

women would eventually work due to the dire poverty of the black community

describe the establishment of institutions during this period

the african american community abandoned white-controlled religious institutions to create churches of their own. the church would become a central part of the community

black colleges also proliferated during this period. examples include fisk university and howard university

true or false: the right to vote inevitably became central to the former slaves' desire for empowerment and equality

true

anything less than full citizenship, black spokesmen insisted, would betray the nation's democratic promise and war's meaning

how did the lives of white southerners change during this period?

white southerners realized that they must now submit to northern demands

the wholesale destruction of work animals, farm buildings, and machinery ensured that economic revival would be slow and painful

in 1870, the value of property in the south was 30% lower than before the war, not counting that represented by the slaves

planter families found themselves compelled to do physical labor

how did southern cities experience growth after the civil war?

as railroads penetrated the interior, they enabled merchants in market centers like atlanta to trade directly with the north, bypassing coastal cities that had traditionally monopolized southern commerce

a new urban middle class of merchants, railroad promoters, and bankers reaped the benefits of the spread of cotton production in postwar south

who was andrew johnson?

andrew johnson fell the task of overseeing the restoration of the union as lincoln's successor

he identified himself as the champion of his state's "honest yeomen" and waS a strong defender of the union

in personality and outlook, johnson proved unsuited for the responsibilities he shouldered after lincoln's death, lacking lincoln's political skills and keen sense of political opinion

although he supported emancipation once lincoln made it a goal of the war effort, he held deeply racist views

why was the establishment of the black codes under the johnson reconstruction era controversial?

the black codes completely violated free labor principles that they called forth a vigorous response from the republican north

black codes required that those who failed to sign yearly labor contracts could be arrested and hired out to white laborers

the black codes prevented certain rights such as the right to testify against whites, serve on juries or in state militias, or to vote

why did johnson veto the bills proposed by congress?

he believed that they would centralize power in the national government and deprive the states of the authority to regulate their own affairs. he also argued that blacks did not deserve the rights of citizenship

what was the significance of the first impeachment?

it removed johnson from office and exemplified his failure to carry out the duties of president, to the disappointment of many government officials

how were native american communities affected after the civil war?

native american nations that had sided with the confederacy were treated after the war as secessionists

they required tribes to cede much of their land to the federal government and provided for the construction of railroads through native territory

describe the role of the black community in politics

black voters provided the bulk of the republican party's support

2,000 african americans held public office during reconstruction marked a fundamental shift of power in the south and a radical departure in american government

african americans were represented at every level of government

describe the achievements of the new government of the south

the establishment of south's first state-supported public school, serving both black and white children

the new governments also pioneered civil rights legislation, making it illegal for railroads, hotels, and other institutions to discriminate on the basis of race

passed laws to ensure that agricultural laborers and sharecroppers had the first claim on harvested crops rather than merchants to whom the landower owed money

true or false: violence against african americans did not exist after the civil war

false

this is actually quite the opposite. african americans were assaulted and murdered for refusing to give way to whites on city sidewalks, using "insolent" language, challenging end-of-year contract settlements, and attempting to buy land

in wide areas of the south, secret societies sprang up with the aim of preventing blacks from voting and destroying org of republican party

ku klux klan was a terrorist organization that committed some of the most brutal criminal acts in american history