Civil War and Reconstruction Terms

Ku Klux Klan

A group in the South that aimed to intimidate free blacks and prevent them from voting.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who migrated to the South after the Civil War to assist freed blacks and seek personal opportunities.

Tenure of Office

An act violated by Andrew Johnson, leading to his impeachment.

Redeemers/Bourbons/Solid South/New South

Southerners who gained control of the South during Reconstruction.

Radical Republicans

A group during Reconstruction that advocated for military rule over the South, fought for black suffrage, citizenship, and land redistribution.

10% Plan

Lincoln's Reconstruction plan that called for leniency and forgiveness towards the South.

14th Amendment

An amendment declaring that all citizens in the US are entitled to equal protection under the law, including blacks.

Lecompton

A pro-slavery Constitution drafted in Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Free Soil Party

A political party that eventually became the Republican Party, advocating for the prevention of slavery expansion.

Dred Scott v. Sanford

A case determining that blacks were not citizens and that Congress could not decide slavery in a territory.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A case establishing the constitutionality of "separate but equal" facilities.

Freedmen's Bureau

A group established to assist freed slaves and poor whites in the South, providing education, employment support, and more.

Democrat Party

A political party initially supporting popular sovereignty, later becoming the party of the white South after the Civil War.

Tenant farmers/sharecroppers

Farmers who worked the land in exchange for a share of the crop, often leading to economic dependency on wealthy landowners.

Crittenden Compromise

A proposal allowing slavery to exist south of the 36 30' line all the way to the Pacific Ocean after the South seceded.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's speech that freed slaves in rebellious states, primarily seen as a military necessity.

James Buchanan

The president preceding Lincoln who supported corrupt popular sovereignty and failed to prevent the Civil War.

Ulysses S Grant

A president whose administration faced scandals, leading to the Republican Party being labeled as corrupt.

Homestead Act

A law granting free land to settlers who moved west and worked on the land for five years.

13th Amendment

An amendment that abolished slavery.

15th Amendment

An amendment granting all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous servitude.

Fugitive Slave Law

Part of the Compromise of 1850, requiring Northerners to return escaped slaves to their Southern owners.

Sherman's March to the Sea

A military campaign where Union General Sherman and his troops burned cities and plantations in Georgia, leaving the South devastated.

Hayes Tilden Compromise

A compromise that ended Reconstruction, resulting in the candidate with fewer popular votes becoming President in 1876/77.

Scalawags

Southerners during Reconstruction who cooperated with the North, favored industrial development, or prioritized personal interests over the South.

Election of 1860

The event that led to the secession of the South due to the perception that their votes were insignificant compared to the more powerful North.

Republican Party

A political party opposing the extension of slavery, with Abraham Lincoln as a member.

Vicksburg

A battle where Union troops gained control of the Mississippi River, isolating the western Confederacy from the rest.

Compromise of 1850

A compromise admitting California as a free state and introducing popular sovereignty to determine the fate of the remaining Mexican Cession.

Kansas Nebraska Act

An act that repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed popular sovereignty to decide the status of the remaining Louisiana Purchase territory.