APUSH Chapter 15 Review

What was the prevailing Southern perspective on Reconstruction?

They viewed it as destructive and considered the North to be vindictive.

How did the family structure in the South change after the Civil War due to male casualties?

The family structure shifted from a patriarchy to a matriarchy.

What were the primary aspirations of Black people after the Civil War?

They sought economic and social mobility, segregation, and autonomy from white control.

Who was Oliver Howard and what was his contribution to Reconstruction?

He was a Union General who, through the Freedmen's Bureau, added schools and provided food for both Black and White southerners.

What was the political stance of Moderate Republicans regarding the South after the Civil War?

They rejected the punishment of the South but acknowledged that concessions for freemen were necessary.

Who were the two primary leaders of the Radical Republicans?

Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens.

What were the three main demands of the Radical Republicans for Reconstruction?

They demanded that Confederate leaders be punished, southern whites be penalized, and legal rights be established for freemen.

What was the first point of Lincoln's 10% Plan concerning amnesty?

It offered amnesty to white southerners if they pledged loyalty to the government and denounced slavery.

Under Lincoln's 10% Plan, what percentage of a state's population had to take the ironclad oath for readmission?

10 percent.

To which specific groups of Black people did Lincoln's 10% Plan propose extending suffrage?

Those who owned property, were educated, and had fought for the Union.

What was created by Radical Republicans and required a provisional governor to be appointed after 51% of a state's population took an oath of allegiance?

Wade-Davis Bill.

What three major actions did the Wade-Davis Bill demand from Southern states?

Abolish slavery, punish Confederate leaders, and wipe out all debt from the war.

How did Andrew Johnson view the process of Southern readmission and who did he believe should control the South?

He called it 'restoration' instead of 'reconstruction' and believed that white men must control the South.

What are Scalawags?

Southern white Republicans who were interested in the economic opportunities offered by the Republican party in the North.

Many Scalawags were former members of which political party?

The Whig Party.

What was the primary motivation for many poor Southerners to become Scalawags?

They sought economic gain and improved infrastructure throughout the South, believing Republicans served them better than Democrats.

What are Carpetbaggers?

White northern Republicans who moved to the South after the Civil War seeking new economic opportunities.

Most Carpetbaggers were from which class?

Middle class.

Why were most newly freed Black people aligned with the Republican party?

They considered Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, to be their 'savior'.

What was the purpose of 'colored conventions' held by the Black population during Reconstruction?

They were a means of political organization for the Black community.

What organization, established by the federal government, provided education in the South during Reconstruction?

The Freedmen's Bureau.

What was a common fear among some southerners regarding the education of Black people?

They thought it would give Black people a 'false notion of equality'.

The Freedmen's Bureau relocated approximately 10,000 Black families to land that included large portions of property formerly owned by whom?

Jefferson Davis.

What action did President Andrew Johnson take regarding the land redistributed to freedmen by the Freedmen's Bureau?

He forced the return of the land to the original Southern plantation owners.

What was the fate of the Freedman's Bank, which was established by antislavery whites?

It failed due to poor investments, and all Black depositors lost their money.

Under the sharecropping system, what happened to freedmen?

They became tenants on white-owned farms and often fell into a cycle of debt.

Why did sharecropping create only an 'illusion of freedom' for Black people?

They were not truly free as long as they were in debt to the landowner.

Besides displacement from the war, what was a major economic reason the Southern economy struggled?

There was a lack of international demand for cotton.

How did the crop-lien system and general stores trap both Black and White farmers in the South?

Farmers bought supplies on credit from general stores, becoming 'slaves to debt'.

The intense focus on growing what to pay off debts led to the South becoming 'food poor'?

Cash crops (like tobacco).

What type of family structure did former slaves strive to create after emancipation?

They sought to create stable 'nuclear' families.

Why was Ulysses S. Grant a popular presidential candidate in the election of 1868?

As a war hero, he was seen as a symbol of stability that the public desired.

How did President Grant typically select his cabinet members?

He relied heavily on the spoils system.

Which political faction's agenda did President Grant generally follow?

The Radical Republicans.

What scandal involved Union Pacific Railroad leaders creating fake contracts to embezzle federal funds?

Credit Mobilier.

What was the Whiskey Ring scandal during the Grant administration?

A scheme orchestrated by Grant's third Secretary of the Treasury, Benjamin Bristow, to cheat the government out of whiskey tax revenue.

Who was William Belknap and what scandal was he involved in?

He was Grant's Secretary of War, involved in the Indian Ring scandal where he accepted bribes from people at Native American posts.

The Panic of 1873 began with the failure of what financial firm?

Jay Cooke & Co., which had invested heavily in railroads.

What did the Specie Resumption Act of 1875 do?

It allowed the government to trade greenbacks for certificates backed by the gold standard.

What was the main platform of the National Greenback Party?

They questioned the gold standard and demanded a larger influx of paper currency to stimulate the market.

What is the name given to the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million?

Seward's Folly.

What was the significance of the Alabama Claims, settled by the Treaty of Washington?

England acknowledged it had broken neutrality during the Civil War, which helped heal relations with the United States.

Who founded the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?

Nathan Bedford Forrest.

What was the primary goal of the Ku Klux Klan during Reconstruction?

To intimidate Black people and scare them away from exercising their political and social rights.

What concept was developed by Herbert Spencer, who applied Darwin's theories to human society?

Social Darwinism.

Who were the two main presidential candidates in the disputed election of 1876?

Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) and Samuel Tilden (Democrat).

How many electoral votes was Samuel Tilden short of winning the 1876 presidential election?

He won 184 of the required 185 electoral votes.

What was the Compromise of 1877?

An agreement where Southern Democrats allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to become president in exchange for several concessions, effectively ending Reconstruction.

What was one of the key promises made to Southern Democrats in the Compromise of 1877 regarding federal presence?

The removal of remaining federal troops from the South.

What was a key fiscal promise made to the South in the Compromise of 1877?

The South would gain control over its own federal money and receive federally funded infrastructure.

After Reconstruction, which political party became dominant in the South?

The Democratic Party.

What are Redeemers (or Bourbons)?

Post-Reconstruction white Democratic elites in the South who sought to restore conservative rule and promote economic development.

What were the main economic goals of the Redeemers?

They wanted to create economic development in the South, lower state taxes, and reduce state spending, including on schools.

Who was Henry Grady?

A Southern leader who spearheaded the movement to industrialize the South, urging it to 'Outyank the yankees'.

What was the cultural movement of 'Southern Romanticism'?

A nostalgic yearning for the pre-war plantation South, focusing only on its perceived positive aspects.

Who was Joel Chandler Harris, and what was the character Uncle Remus known for?

He was a writer who created tall-tales about the South, featuring Uncle Remus, a happy-go-lucky slave stereotype.

What was the Convict Lease System in the New South?

A system where incarcerated people, mostly African Americans, could be leased from jail to work on plantations.

Who was Booker T. Washington?

An African American leader who believed that integration would only work if Black children were properly educated in practical skills.

What was the central argument of Booker T. Washington's 'Atlanta Compromise'?

He argued that the Black population needed to prove their economic worth to whites to be taken seriously, accepting segregation for the time being.

What legal doctrine was established by the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson?

The doctrine of 'separate but equal', which legalized segregation.

What was the purpose of Jim Crow laws in the New South?

To subdue the power of the Black population and enforce racial segregation.