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14th Amendment

Adopted in 1868, it defines citizenship, guarantees equal protection under the law, and addresses issues related to representation, insurrection, and public debt.

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, it declared all slaves in Confederate territory to be free and shifted the war's focus to abolition.

President of the Confederacy

Jefferson Davis, the leader of the Confederate States during the Civil War.

Beginning of the Civil War

Marked by the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861.

Freedmen's Bureau

A federal agency created to assist former slaves in the Reconstruction era.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist organization that emerged post-Civil War to terrorize African Americans.

Radical Republicans

A faction of the Republican Party that pushed for severe penalties on former Confederates and promoted equal rights for African Americans.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who relocated to the South during Reconstruction for political or business opportunities.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Radical Republicans.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery across the United States.

15th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that guarantees African American men the right to vote.

Compromise of 1877

Marked the end of Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from Southern states.

Significance of the 1866 Congressional election

Led to Republican control of Congress, enabling the passage of Reconstruction legislation.