Reconstruction Era and Jim Crow Laws: Key Concepts and Timeline

What were Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction?

Lincoln wanted southern states to rejoin the Union easily if 10% of voters swore loyalty to the U.S.; the goal was to heal the nation quickly and avoid harsh punishment.

What was Johnson's plan for Reconstruction?

Johnson's plan was lenient toward former Confederates, allowing them to set up new governments if they ended slavery, write apology letters, accepted the 13th Amendment, and swore loyalty to the U.S., pardoned avg white farmers

What did the Radical Republicans believe about Reconstruction?

Radical Republicans felt the South should be punished for starting the war, requiring strict rules for rejoining the Union and ensuring full rights for freed slaves. Wanted equality, protection for free people, revenge on the south, and wanted republican control.

What was the Wade-Davis Bill?

The Wade-Davis Bill was a proposal that required a majority of white males in a state to swear loyalty to the Union before rejoining, but it was pocket-vetoed by Lincoln.

What was the Freedmen's Bureau?

The Freedmen's Bureau was an organization run by the army to care for and protect newly freed people after the Civil War.

Who were Scalawags?

Scalawags were southern whites who supported the Republicans during Reconstruction.

Who were Carpetbaggers?

Carpetbaggers were northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, often seeking political advantage.

What were Black Codes?

Black Codes were laws passed by southern states to restrict the liberties of newly freed slaves and maintain a white-dominated hierarchy.

What were the goals of Black Codes?

The goals of Black Codes included restricting the liberties of newly freed slaves, ensuring a supply of inexpensive labor, and maintaining white dominance.

What were the Terror Groups during Reconstruction?

Terror Groups, such as the KKK, used violence and intimidation to scare African Americans and those who supported Reconstruction.

What was the 15th Amendment?

The 15th Amendment prohibits denying citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

What was the Tenure of Office Act?

The Tenure of Office Act restricted the president from removing cabinet officials without Senate consent.

What was the legacy of the Jim Crow Era?

The Jim Crow Era enforced racial segregation and denied African Americans equal rights, claiming separate but equal facilities.

What was Sharecropping?

Sharecropping was a system where landowners allowed tenants to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced.

What was the significance of Plessy v. Ferguson?

Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the 'separate but equal' doctrine.

Who was Booker T. Washington?

Booker T. Washington was an African American leader who advocated for self-improvement and vocational training as a means to uplift the race.

Who was W.E.B. Du Bois?

W.E.B. Du Bois was an African American leader who demanded immediate change and civil rights for African Americans after the Civil War.

What was the Civil Rights Act of 1866?

combat black codes, citizenship and same rights for all males.

President veto’s → override

Who was Boss Tweed?

leader of Tammany hall, democratic, buys a lot of real estate, offers people bribes, immune to punishment

Who was Thomas Nast?

a cartoonist that exposed Tweed in caricatures

Federal Level Corruption?

Under Grant his cabinet was involved in scandals

What was the panic of 1873?

brief, bad investments rippled, unemployment went up, everyone effected, step back from reconstruction

What happened in 1874

democrats gained control of the house, south redeemed from black republican rule, new south focuses on industrialization

What was the civil rights act of 1875?

crime for anybody to deny full and equal use of public places, tried to end segregation but ruled as unconstitutional because of 14 amendment. discrimination by states not indivisuals

What was the presidential election of 1876?

Tilden - democrat

Hayes - republican

led to compromise of 1877:

1. name southerner to cabinet

2. federal funding to improve infrastructure of the south

3. “Home Rule” - military is withdrawn

What is lynching?

execution without proper court proceeding. almost 5000 deaths

What are the restriction of African American voting rights?

1. poll tax

2. violence

3. only whites could vote

4. secret ballots - poor illiterate declined

5. property taxes - only those who owned property

6. literacy tests