hsitory vocabvs

Freedmen's Bureau

A government agency formed in 1865 to help former enslaved people. It provided food, healthcare, and education in the South but couldn't protect them from discrimination. It helped create schools that had a lasting impact.

Scalawag

White southerners who supported Reconstruction and worked with northerners to rebuild the South. They were disliked by other southerners and were seen as traitors but wanted to help African Americans.

Carpetbagger

Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War to make money or gain power. Southerners didn’t like them because they were seen as taking advantage of the South’s struggles.

Radical Republican

A group of congressmen who wanted to punish the South and give full rights to freed people. They pushed for laws like the 14th and 15th Amendments and sent troops to the South to enforce them.

Planter Class

Wealthy landowners in the South who used enslaved labor before the Civil War. After slavery ended, they worked to regain control of the South and continued to influence laws that discriminated against African Americans.

Wade-Davis Bill

A proposal in 1864 to require 50% of southerners to take a loyalty oath to rejoin the Union. It was vetoed by Lincoln because it was too harsh and didn’t grant full rights to freed people.

Sharecropper

A system where poor farmers worked land owned by someone else and gave a portion of their crops to the landowner. It kept many African Americans and poor whites in poverty and dependent on landowners.

13 amendment

Passed in 1865, this amendment abolished slavery in the U.S. It was a huge win for African Americans but didn’t solve all racial problems, especially in the South.

14th amendment

Passed in 1868, it gave citizenship to everyone born in the U.S. and promised equal protection under the law. It was meant to protect freedmen’s rights, but many southern states didn’t enforce it fully.

15th amendment

Passed in 1870, this gave African American men the right to vote. Though it was a big step forward, racists found ways to stop Black people from voting, like using literacy tests.

impeachement(johnson)

In 1868, President Andrew Johnson was impeached mainly for disagreeing with Congress over Reconstruction. He was not removed from office, but it weakened his power.

comp of 1877

A deal that ended Reconstruction. Rutherford B. Hayes became president in exchange for removing troops from the South, which led to the return of white control and more racial discrimination.

black codes

Laws passed in the South after the Civil War to limit the rights of African Americans. They stopped Black people from voting and getting jobs and were a way to keep them under control.

ruth b hayes

The 19th president who ended Reconstruction by removing troops from the South. This allowed southern whites to pass racist laws and took away protection for African Americans.

KKK

A violent group founded in 1865 that used terror to control African Americans. They wanted to keep white supremacy and created a lot of fear and discrimination.

andre johnson

The 17th president who took office after Lincoln’s assassination. He was lenient on the South and failed to protect African American rights, which led to his impeachment.

redeemer govs

Governments in the South that took control after Reconstruction ended. They worked to bring back white supremacy and created laws that discriminated against African Americans.

thad stevens

A Radical Republican leader who pushed for strong protections for African Americans during Reconstruction. He played a key role in passing laws to protect their rights.

military reconstruction

A plan by Congress to rebuild the South and protect African Americans, using the U.S. Army. It gave Black people political power but ended in 1877 when the military left, undoing much of its progress.

enforcement acts

Laws passed to protect African American rights and stop the Ku Klux Klan. They made it a crime to deny African Americans the right to vote or hold office, but they weren’t enforced after Reconstruction ended.