History final exam: 4. Reconstruction (1865-1877)

Andrew Johnson became president after Lincoln’s death and led during early Reconstruction

Which president led the country during the Reconstruction?

Andrew Johnson was an unpopular president because he would often clash with Congress over how to rebuild the South and handle civil rights for free slaves

Why was Andrew Johnson an unpopular president?

After the Civil War, Reconstruction was the period when the US worked to rebuild the South, reunite the country, and help formerly enslaved people adjust to freedom

What is Reconstruction?

1. Rebuild the South after its destruction

2. Reunite the North and South

3. Support freed slaves and ensure their rights

What are the 3 main goals with Reconstruction?

13th, 14th and 15th

What are the key amendments with reconstruction?

Literacy tests were reading or writing exams Black voters had to pass in order to vote

What were literacy tests?

Poll taxes were fees Black people had to pay to vote

What were poll taxes?

Southern states later used poll taxes, literacy tests, and violence to get around the 15th amendment

What happened due to the 15th amendment?

Only gave Black men the right to vote

What is the 15th amendment?

It limited the power of former Confederate leaders

What happened due to the 14th amendment?

Slaves were now legally free, but life remained difficult due to racism, poverty, and lack of resources

What happened due to the 13th amendment?

Gave citizenship and equal protection to everyone born in the US, including former slaves

What is the 14th amendment?

Abolished slavery in all of the United States

What is the 13th amendment?

A government agency that helped freed slaves with food, jobs, schools, and housing

What is the Freedmen’s Bureau?

It was a major success in providing short-term support for freed slaves

How was Freedmen’s Bureau a success?

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) formed to use violence and fear to stop Black progress

What is the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?

Jim Crow laws enforced segregation and took away Black rights

What are Jim Crow laws?

Southern leaders passed poll taxes and literacy tests to block Black voting during Reconstruction

Why did Southern leaders pass poll taxes and literacy tests?

Reconstruction tried to build equality but faced strong resistance, and many goals weren’t fully achieved for Black people until decades later during the Civil Rights Movement

What was the outcome of Reconstruction?

Reconstruction ended in 1877 with the Compromise of 1877

When did Reconstruction end?

Hayes was given presidency in exchange for agreeing to remove federal troops from the South, officially ending Reconstruction

What is the Compromise of 1877?

The Compromise of 1877 allowed Southern states to take away rights from African Americans through Jim Crow laws

What did the Compromise of 1877 allow Southern states to do?

Several key Black colleges were founded to help formerly enslaved people gain education and leadership opportunities

How did Black colleges a play a role during Reconstruction?

Hayes is most well-known for ending Reconstruction and starting the era of segregation in the South

What is Rutherford B Hayes most well-known for?

The compromise matters because even though it gave presidency to Hayes it allowed Southern states to undo many Reconstruction reforms, leading to decades of segregation and discrimination

Why does the compromise of 1877 matter?