AMSTUD Unit 5 Quiz #3

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction(1863) - Lincoln’s 10% Plan

A process for political reconstruction of the state governments in the South(reintegrating the South). It granted full presidential pardons to most Confederates who (1) took an oath of allegiance to the Union and the U.S. Constitution, and (2) accepted the emancipation of slaves. It said a state government could be reestablished and accepted as legitimate by the U.S. president as soon as at least 10 percent of the voters in that state took the loyalty oath. This plan aimed to shorten the war, give added weight to his Emancipation Proclamation, promote reconciliation, and provide a framework for rebuilding loyal state governments in the South.

Wade-Davis Bill(1864)

A bill passed by Congress(Republicans) that required 50 percent of the voters of a state to take a loyalty oath and permitted only non-Confederates to vote for a new Constitution. Congress created and passed this bill because many Republicans in Congress objected to Lincoln’s 10 percent plan, arguing that it would allow supposedly reconstructed state governments to be dominated by disloyal secessionists. Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill.

Freedmen’s Bureau

A federal welfare agency, created to aid newly freed slaves and poor whites in the South during the Reconstruction era. It provided food, shelter, and medical aid for both Black and White Americans left destitute by the Civil War. Its functions included providing basic services like education(established many schools for freedpeople), healthcare, and legal support, and helping freed people find jobs and negotiate labor contracts. Despite facing significant opposition and limitations, the bureau played a crucial role in establishing schools and laying the groundwork for future civil rights movements.

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln’s successor and the 17th U.S. President (1865–1869) whose presidency is defined by his lenient and controversial approach to Reconstruction, which clashed with the Radical Republicans in Congress. He vetoed many Congressional bills(29), many of which aided African Americans, such as increasing the services and protection of the Freedmen’s Bureau and another which nullified Black Codes and guaranteed full citizenship and equal rights to African Americans. He granted many pardons to former Confederate leaders, who were then able to be put back in office. His opposition to civil rights for African Americans led to conflict with Congress, his impeachment by the House (though he was acquitted in the Senate), and the eventual rise of Black Codes and violent groups like the Ku Klux Klan. 

Radical Republicans

Republicans who championed civil rights for Black citizens, as well as a more stringent approach to Reconstruction in the South than that favored by President Andrew Johnson. Their agenda included passing laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Reconstruction Acts, as well as pushing for the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. They endorsed several liberal causes, such as women’s suffrage, rights for labor unions, and civil rights for African Americans.

Charles Sumner

The leading Radical Republican in the Senate, from Massachusetts. He was a leading advocate for civil rights and racial equality. He was a key figure in the Radical Republican party and played a significant role in passing legislation like the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the 14th Amendment.

Thaddeus Stevens

A Radical Republican leader in the House in Congress who hoped to revolutionize Southern society through a period of military rule in which African Americans could exercise their civil rights, attend school operated by the federal government, and take ownership of lands confiscated from the planters. A key figure in shaping the 14th Amendment, he opposed President Andrew Johnson's policies and advocated for measures like land redistribution to provide economic stability for freed slaves. 

Thirteenth Amendment

The Constitutional Amendment that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as punishment for a crime, and was ratified in 1865. It marked the end of slavery, and by creating a constitutional guarantee of freedom, the amendment was foundational for subsequent civil rights legislation and movements. It was important because the Constitution now banned slavery, not just laws.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

An act that pronounced all African Americans were U.S. citizens(thereby nullifying the Dred Scott decision) and attempted to provide a legal shield against the operation of the Southern states’ black codes.

Fourteenth Amendment(1868)

The Constitutional Amendment that declared all persons born or naturalized in the United States were citizens, and it obligated the states to respect the rights of U.S. citizens and provide them with “equal protection of the laws” and “due process of law”. This amendment provided a permanent solution to help protect U.S. citizens legally. This amendment helped protect people from encroachment of their constitutional rights by state and local governments, and its clauses were the keystone of civil rights for minorities, women, children, disabled persons, and those accused of crimes.

Specifically for Reconstruction:

-Disqualified former Confederate leaders from holding either state or federal offices

-Repudiated the debts of the defeated governments of the Confederacy

-Penalized a state if it kept any eligible person from voting by reducing that state’s proportional representation in Congress and the Electoral College

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Three acts passed by Congress(Radical Republicans) that placed the South under military occupation(passed over Johnson’s vetoes). The acts divided former Confederate states into five military districts, each under the control of the Union army. In addition, the acts increased the requirements for gaining readmission to the Union: an ex-Confederate state had to ratify the 14th Amendment and place guarantees in its constitution to grant the franchise(right to vote) to all adult males, regardless of race. 

Ulysses S. Grant

The 18th President of the United States(Republican candidate in the Election of 1868 and 1872) and a commanding Union general during the Civil War, known for his aggressive tactics and leadership that secured a Union victory. Post-war, he served as president, focusing on Reconstruction and advocating for civil rights for formerly enslaved people, though his administration was also marked by corruption scandals.

Fifteenth Amendment(1870)

The Constitutional Amendment prohibiting any state from denying or abridging a citizen’s right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It banned open racial discrimination in voting laws. This amendment aimed to secure voting rights for African American men. It was ratified by Republican majorities in Congress. However, it did not prevent states from passing other restriction on voting rights that disproportionately affected African Americans. So, despite its intent, the amendment was often undermined by discriminatory practices like poll taxes and literacy tests in the South, which prevented many Black men from voting.

Scalawags

The Democrat’s nickname for Southern Republicans. These individuals(Southern Whites) who supported the Republican governments in the South during Reconstruction were usually former Whigs who were interested in economic development for their states and peace between the sections or who supported civil rights for African Americans.

Carpetbaggers

the Democrat’s nickname for Northern newcomers to the South who supported the Republican governments there. These Northerners went south for various reasons. Some were investors interested in setting up new businesses, while others were ministers and teachers with humanitarian goals. Some went simply to plunder. It was a a term used to describe these individuals as opportunistic outsiders who took advantage of the South's post-war turmoil.

Hiram Revels

An African American Senator from the South who was the first African American to be elected to the U.S. Senate in 1870, a significant breakthrough during the Reconstruction era. From Mississippi, he took the Senate seat once held by Jefferson Davis. His tenure, though brief, was marked by his advocacy for civil rights and education for African Americans. His election symbolized the political gains for African Americans after the Civil War and paved the way for future Black political leaders.

Ku Klux Klan

A secret society founded in 1867 based upon the ideas of White Supremacy with the goal of intimidating African Americans and White reformers. This “invisible empire” burned Black-owned buildings and flogged and murdered several thousand freedmen to keep them from exercising their voting rights. This organization represented the most famous of Southern Whites’ efforts to intimidate African Americans and White Reformers during the period that Republicans controlled state governments in the South.

Force Acts (1870 and 1871)

Acts passed by Congress to give federal authorities the power to stop Ku Klux Klan violence and to protect the civil rights of citizens.

Black Codes

Laws adopted by Southern legislatures that restricted the rights and movement of African Americans:
-They could not rent land nor borrow money to buy land

-They could not testify against Whites in Court

-They had to sign work agreement or they could be arrested for vagrancy. Under this contract-labor system, African Americans worked cotton fields under White supervision for deferred wages(ensured a cheap labor force)

They were a set of restrictive laws enacted in the Southern states after the Civil War to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure a cheap labor force. They were a way for white supremacists to maintain control and a social order similar to slavery.

Sharecropping

An agricultural system in the post-Civil War American South where landowners provided land, tools, and seeds to farmers in exchange for a portion of the crop. This system emerged to provide a labor force for plantations but often trapped farmers, particularly formerly enslaved people, in a cycle of debt and poverty due to exploitative contract terms and high-interest loans for supplies, making them dependent on landowners.

Convict leasing

A system of forced penal labor that emerged in the Southern United States after the Civil War. Southern state governments would lease prisoners, most of whom were African American, to private companies for labor, especially in industries like railroads, agriculture, and mining. Though slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment, a loophole in the amendment allowed for involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. Southern states exploited this clause by enacting "Black Codes"—discriminatory laws that made minor offenses, such as vagrancy, criminal acts. This disproportionately targeted and incarcerated African American men and women, allowing them to be forced into slavery.

Compromise of 1877

An informal deal between the leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties that resolved the disputed Election of 1876. The Democrats would allow Rutherford B. Hayes to become president, and in return, he would (1) immediately end federal support for the Republicans in the South and (2) support the building of a Southern transcontinental railroad. This resulted in the end of the Reconstruction era, the return of white Democratic control in the South, and the eventual rise of Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation and limited the rights of African Americans. 

Rutherford B. Hayes

The Republican candidate in the presidential election of 1876 who became the 19th U.S. President, known for ending Reconstruction and beginning civil service reform. His presidency (1877–1881) was the result of the Compromise of 1877, which awarded him the presidency in exchange for removing federal troops from the South. This action effectively ended Reconstruction efforts to protect African American rights in the South and led to the rise of Jim Crow laws.