reconstruction era - study guide - american history

What was reconstruction meant to do?

U.S. government attempt to rebuild the nation after the civil war

what were the 3 main goals of reconstruction?

1- re-admit the seceded southern states back into the union

2- end slavery and protect newly emancipated slaves

3- rebuild the south after more than four years for fighting

what was the group in congress called that wanted strict conditions for reconstruction?

Union

what were the 3 things that the congressional group. mentioned in the question above, say needed to happen in order for ex-confederate states to be re-admitted to the U.S.?

-ratify the 14th amendment

-guarantee voting rights for black men

-meet strict requirements for voting rights to the union

President Lincoln wanted 2 things to happen for re-admission; list them.

1.once 10% of the people swore an oath of loyalty

2.states ratified the 13th amendment to abolish slavery in America

who became president after Lincoln was assassinated?

Vice President, Andrew Johnson

the first era of reconstruction (1865-1867) was known as what?

presidential reconstruction

why was the presidents plan for reconstruction also considered lenient

because he wanted them to rejoin the US quickly

what did the 13th amendment do?

made ex-confederate states able to rejoin the US

why did so many southerners take the loyalty oath; what was given in return?

because they had loans returned to them if they took it

what happens on Christmas day in 1868? why was this unpopular with many northerners?

President Johnson officially pardoned all former Confederates, including Jefferson Davis

what was the laws that southern states implemented to disenfranchise former slaves called?

presidential reconstruction

what types of things did these laws prevent former slaves from doing?

passing black codes to keep African Americans from gaining land, jobs, and protection under the law

what was the overall goal of the Freedman’s Bureau?

to help former slaves

why was the constitution not helpful in helping reconstruction?

it gave no guidelines on how to re-admit states to the union

list at least 2 things the Freedman’s Bureau provided for former slaves

-emergency food

-housing

-medical supplies

what was something that was promised to these former slaves, but never delivered?

40 acres and a mule

what role did education opportunists for all black Americans play on Reconstruction?

led to creation of black universities

explain what a “carpetbagger” was.

northerners moving south after the civil war

what did the 14th amendment do? which prominent government official opposed this?

included former slaves as citizens and guaranteed all citizens equal protection under the law

the second plan for Reconstruction (1867-1877) was called what?

Congressional reconstruction

list 2 things the this new plan for reconstruction wanted to focus on.

-protect the rights of former slaves

-keep confederate leaders from regaining power in the south

-more strict

how was the military used to enforce these new policies?

south was divided into 5 military zones with US troops

what were ex-confederate states required to give black males in the south?

the right to vote at the state level

why was President Johnson charged with impeachment? was he convicted of this?

by firing military generls appointed by congress to oversee southern military zones. after an 11-week trial, the senate fall 1 vote short of removing the president from office, he successfully argued that he did not commit a “high crime or misdemeanor”

who became president in 1868?

Ulysses Grant

what had finally happened by 1870?

all ex-confederate states were readmitted to the US

what did the 15th amendment do?

gave black politicians were elected to state and national offices

the 15th amendment led to the election of the first black…

1st black politicians were elected to state and national offices

what else increased for black Americans during congressional reconstruction?

-families were reunited

-marriages were legally recognized

-black workers could make their own money

what 3 new economic industries were brought to the south during reconstruction?

-iron

-steel

-textile mills

what was rebuilt in the south during Reconstruction?

built railroads and repaired the south

which political party (at the time) opposed Reconstruction and the changes it brought for former slaves?

Democrats - restricted from gaining skilled jobs or competing against white workers or forced into slavery

The supreme court event ruled against which types of laws?

Civil rights laws designed to protect African Americans

what organization was founded after the Civil War to intimidate and use violence against black Americans?

Ku Klux Klan

other than discrimination, what else did the Ku Klux Klan work to prevent black Americans in the south form doing?

challenge white supremacy

what was the political group that hoped to restore the “Old South” and taken control of most southern states by 1870?

“redeemer Democrates”

Explain how sharecropping worked

White land owners would rent parts of their fields to black people in exchange for 25-50% of the cotton they produced but many of them had no money to pay for tools or the crops so they had to take loans from the land owner which meant they basically made no money.

how long did sharecropping last in America?

lasted until the 1940s

what did the “compromise of 1877” do?

Democrats agreed to vote for Hayes as President if federal troops were removed from the south

What 2 main things did Jim Crow laws do in the south once Reconstruction ended in 1877?

-segregated southern society

-restricted black citizens from voting will poll taxes and literacy tests