Amstud Vocab B/C

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1863)

Lenient Reconstruction plan allowing a Southern state to rejoin the Union once 10% of voters took a loyalty oath and accepted emancipation.

Wade-Davis Bill (1864)

Radical Republican plan requiring 50% loyalty oaths and stronger safeguards for Black rights; Lincoln pocket-vetoed it.

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal agency created in 1865 to assist freedpeople with food, education, labor contracts, and legal protection during Reconstruction.

Andrew Johnson

17th president who opposed Radical Reconstruction, pardoned ex-Confederates, and vetoed civil rights legislation.

Radical Republicans

Congressional faction that sought to punish the South, protect freedpeople, and transform Southern society through federal power.

Charles Sumner

Leading Radical Republican senator advocating equal rights and strong federal action in Reconstruction.

Thaddeus Stevens

Radical Republican in the House who pushed for land redistribution and full political equality for freedpeople.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment (1865) abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Federal law granting citizenship and legal protections to African Americans; first major override of a presidential veto.

Fourteenth Amendment

Guaranteed birthright citizenship, due process, and equal protection; cornerstone of Radical Reconstruction.

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Divided the South into military districts, required new state constitutions, and mandated ratification of the 14th Amendment.

Ulysses S. Grant

18th president who supported Radical Reconstruction but faced corruption scandals and declining Northern commitment.

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous enslavement, though still excluded women.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party, often viewed as traitors by other Southerners.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction, some to help rebuild, others to profit politically or economically.

Hiram Revels

First African American U.S. senator (from Mississippi), symbolizing political gains under Radical Reconstruction.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist terrorist organization formed in 1866 to intimidate Black voters and undermine Reconstruction.

Force Acts (1870 & 1871)

Federal laws allowing the government to use troops and legal action to suppress Klan violence and protect Black voting rights.

Black Codes

Southern state laws passed immediately after the Civil War to restrict the freedoms and labor mobility of freedpeople.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system where freedpeople rented land for a share of the crop, creating long-term economic dependency.

Convict leasing

System where Southern states leased incarcerated people—disproportionately Black—to private employers for labor, creating a new form of coerced servitude.

Compromise of 1877

Agreement ending Reconstruction: Democrats accepted Hayes as president in exchange for withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

Rutherford B. Hayes

19th president whose disputed election led to the Compromise of 1877 and the end of federal Reconstruction efforts.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to use popular sovereignty on slavery, repealing the Missouri Compromise and inflaming sectional tensions.

Stephen A. Douglas

Illinois senator who pushed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and debated Lincoln in 1858, advocating popular sovereignty.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act, symbolizing the breakdown of compromise.

John Brown/Pottawatomie Creek

Abolitionist John Brown murdered pro-slavery settlers at Pottawatomie Creek (1856), escalating sectional violence.

Sumner-Brooks incident

Senator Charles Sumner was caned by Representative Preston Brooks after an anti-slavery speech in 1856, demonstrating deepening sectional hostility.

Republican Party

Founded in 1854 in opposition to the expansion of slavery into western territories; became the main anti-slavery political force.

James Buchanan

15th president (1857-1861) whose inaction during secession and support of the pro-slavery Dred Scott decision worsened sectional tensions.

Dred Scott v. Sandford / Chief Justice Roger Taney

1857 ruling declaring African Americans were not citizens and Congress had no power to ban slavery in the territories, deeply dividing the nation.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

1858 Illinois Senate debates where Lincoln argued slavery should not expand and Douglas promoted popular sovereignty (Freeport Doctrine).

John Brown/Raid at Harpers Ferry

Brown's 1859 attempt to spark a slave rebellion by seizing a federal arsenal; he was captured and executed, becoming a sectional martyr.

Election of 1860

Lincoln's victory as the Republican candidate led Southern states to secede, believing slavery was threatened.

Crittenden Compromise

Last-minute attempt to preserve the Union by extending the Missouri Compromise line, rejected by Republicans and Lincoln.

Deep (Lower) South

States like SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, and TX that seceded first after Lincoln's election due to heavy dependence on slavery.

Upper (Middle) South

VA, NC, TN, AR—seceded after Fort Sumter when Lincoln called for troops, showing shifting loyalties.

Border States

Slave states (MO, KY, MD, DE) that remained in the Union due to Lincoln's careful political and military strategy.

Fort Sumter

Federal fort in Charleston harbor where the Confederacy fired the first shots of the Civil War in April 1861.

Confederate States of America

Government formed by 11 seceded Southern states, based on states' rights and explicit protection of slavery.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy; struggled to centralize authority and manage war resources.

General George B. McClellan

Union general known for caution and slow strategy; repeatedly failed to aggressively fight Lee.

Robert E. Lee

Commander of the Confederate Army whose military leadership enabled early Confederate successes.

King Cotton/cotton diplomacy

Southern belief that European nations would support the Confederacy due to reliance on Southern cotton—ultimately unsuccessful.

William Tecumseh Sherman

Union general who used 'total war,' most famously in the March to the Sea, destroying Confederate infrastructure.

Confiscation Acts/contrabands

Union laws allowing the seizure of enslaved people used by the Confederacy; enslaved people who fled to Union lines were labeled 'contrabands' and often freed.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's 1863 order freeing enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas, shifting the war's purpose to emancipation.

Massachusetts 54th Regiment

First major Black Union regiment; demonstrated African American bravery and helped expand Black enlistment.

Copperheads

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and criticized Lincoln's wartime policies.

New York City draft riots

1863 violent protests by mostly Irish immigrants against the Union draft and fears of job competition from freed African Americans.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln's 1863 speech redefining the Civil War as a struggle for a 'new birth of freedom' and preservation of democracy.

Greenbacks

Paper currency issued by the Union during the Civil War to finance the war, causing inflation.

Morrill Tariff Act (1861)

Raised tariff rates to protect Northern industry and help fund the Union war effort.

Homestead Act (1862)

Granted 160 acres of free western land to settlers willing to live on and improve it, accelerating westward expansion.

Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)

Provided federal land to states to fund agricultural and mechanical colleges, promoting higher education.

Pacific Railway Act (1862)

Authorized construction of the transcontinental railroad, linking the nation and boosting wartime and postwar economic growth.