Unit 2 FINAL EXAM: Post Civil-War Era

Slavery

The system of forced labor where African Americans were treated as property; a major cause of the Civil War.

Causes of the Civil War

Main causes include slavery, states' rights, economic differences between North and South, and the election of Abraham Lincoln.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Supreme Court ruling that said African Americans were not U.S. citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in territories.

Sectional Division

The growing differences between the North, South, and West—especially over slavery, economy, and political power.

Secession

The act of Southern states leaving the Union beginning in 1860, leading to the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Lincoln's order declaring all slaves in Confederate states to be free.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the U.S.; led the country during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Andrew Johnson

17th President after Lincoln's assassination; his lenient Reconstruction policies clashed with Congress.

Radical Republicans

Group in Congress who wanted to punish the South and give full rights to freed slaves during Reconstruction.

Freedmen's Bureau

Government agency that helped former slaves with food, housing, education, and jobs after the Civil War.

White Supremacy

Belief that white people are superior; used to justify discrimination and violence against African Americans.

The KKK (Ku Klux Klan)

Terrorist group that used violence and intimidation to prevent Black Americans from voting and exercising their rights.

13th Amendment (1865)

Abolished slavery in the United States.

14th Amendment (1868)

Granted citizenship to all born in the U.S. and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment (1870)

Gave African American men the right to vote.

Compromise of 1877

Ended Reconstruction; in exchange for making Hayes president, federal troops left the South, ending protections for Black citizens.

Women's Rights

Movement to achieve equal rights for women, especially the right to vote and participate in public life.

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

The first women's rights convention in the U.S.; launched the women's suffrage movement.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Leader of the women's rights movement; helped organize the Seneca Falls Convention and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments.

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882)

First major U.S. law to restrict immigration; banned Chinese laborers from entering the country.

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often to help rebuild or profit from the situation.

Homestead Act (1862)

Law that gave 160 acres of free land to settlers who lived on and improved it for five years.