AP AFAM Unit 3: The Practice of Freedom 1865-1930

Reconstruction

The rebuilding of Southern society after the Civil War, centered around replacing a society built completely on slavery, with the attempt to introduce 4 million Black 'new citizens' into Southern society.

Freedmen's Bureau

A Federal agency established in March 1865 to provide relief, food, shelter, and education to the 4 million 'refugees' of slavery.

13th Amendment

Officially abolished slavery, or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime.

14th Amendment

Defined the principle of birthright citizenship in the United States and granted equal protection to all people, overturning the Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) Supreme Court decision and related state-level Black codes.

15th Amendment

Prohibited the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote 'on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,' thereby granting voting rights to Black men.

Impact of the 15th Amendment

Enabled formal participation of Black men in American politics, allowing thousands of African Americans, many formerly enslaved, to serve in public office during Reconstruction.

Hiram Revels

The first Black man to serve in the US Congress and the US Senate, elected Senator from Mississippi in 1870, taking the seat once held by Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Robert Smalls

A Civil War hero who stole a Confederate ship, liberated 15 people, and helped change Lincoln's mind about Black men serving in the armed forces.

African American participation in politics

During Reconstruction, nearly 2,000 African Americans served in public office from the local level through the United States Senate.

Civil War impact

Nearly 620,000 were dead, and 180,000 Black men served in the U.S. Army, with thousands of Black women serving as laundry washerwomen or nurses aides.

Freedmen's rights

The federal government sought to establish and protect the rights of free and formerly enslaved African Americans, granting them citizenship, equal rights, and political representation.

Davis Bend

An area in Mississippi where General Grant secured land, divided it up, and granted it to freedmen, allowing them to elect their own judges and sheriffs.

Labor contracts

In some areas, freedmen were told they had to sign contracts with their former 'owners' and return to labor camps, now working for a wage.

Reconstruction era significance

The participation of thousands of African Americans in Southern politics was one of the most significant features of the Reconstruction era.

Political representation

The Reconstruction Amendments aimed to provide political representation and rights to formerly enslaved individuals.

Civil War aftermath

4 million newly liberated African Americans wondered what was next after the abolition of slavery.

Freedmen's Bureau veto

The initial right of the Freedmen's Bureau to divide former white-owned plantations and give it to Black families was vetoed by President Johnson.

Birthright citizenship

The principle established by the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship to all individuals born in the United States.

Voting rights

The 15th Amendment granted voting rights specifically to Black men, prohibiting discrimination based on race or previous condition of servitude.

Southern society reconstruction

The effort to integrate freedmen into Southern society as full citizens after the Civil War.

Political participation statistics

During Reconstruction, 16 Black men were voted to Congress in Washington D.C.

Civil War contributions

Black men contributed significantly to the Union cause during the Civil War, serving in various roles.

Black Republican legislators

Legislators who successfully passed infrastructure and public education bills during the Reconstruction era.

Jim Crow era

A period when many rights gained by African Americans during Reconstruction were blocked.

14th Amendment

An amendment that granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

15th Amendment

An amendment that prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on 'race, color, or previous condition of servitude.'

Union Leagues

Organizations that started to help re-elect Lincoln and became a source of protection for Black communities during Reconstruction.

Community Self-Defense

Armed self-defense groups formed by Black voters on Election Day to protect their right to vote.

Hiram Revels

The first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate, representing Mississippi during Reconstruction.

Robert Smalls

An African American politician and former enslaved person who became a prominent leader during Reconstruction.

Freedmen

Former enslaved individuals who were freed after the Civil War.

Freedmen's Bureau

A federal agency established to aid freed slaves in the South during the Reconstruction era.

13th Amendment

An amendment that abolished slavery in the United States.

Equal Rights

The principle that all individuals should have the same legal rights and protections.

Voting Rights for Black Men

The rights granted to African American men to vote, particularly emphasized by the 15th Amendment.

2,000 African Americans in Public Office

The number of African Americans who held public office during the Reconstruction era.

Organized armed self-defense groups

Groups formed by African Americans to protect themselves and their voting rights.

Locating separated kin

The efforts made by African Americans to find family members separated by slavery.

Legal Marriage

The formal recognition of marriages, which many formerly enslaved individuals sought after emancipation.

Fictive kin networks

Support systems formed by unrelated individuals who created family-like bonds after being unable to reunite with biological family.

Black codes

Restrictive laws enacted during Reconstruction that undermined the rights of African Americans.

40 Acres and a Mule

A policy proposed by Union General William T. Sherman to redistribute land to freed African American families.

Black codes

Laws that restricted the advancement of African Americans, limiting property ownership and enforcing unfair labor contracts.

Labor contracts

Agreements that often provided very little pay and imposed severe penalties for escaping, including whipping and imprisonment for vagrancy.

Unpaid apprenticeships

Forced servitude of Black children taken by the state without parental consent, disrupting African American families.

Sharecropping

A system where landowners provided land and equipment to farmers, who had to return a large share of crops, making economic advancement difficult.

Crop lien

A credit system where farmers promised a portion of future crops to landowners in exchange for loans for supplies, often leading to debt accumulation.

Debt bondage

A system where prisoners worked to pay off debts, creating a cycle of work and debt with little hope of escape.

Convict leasing

A practice where Southern prisons profited by hiring out African American men imprisoned for minor charges to landowners and corporations.

13th Amendment

An amendment that allowed forced labor as punishment for crimes, but was intended for short periods, not for profit generation.

Economic inequalities

Disparities that perpetuated poverty and disenfranchisement among African American families in the post-Civil War era.

President Andrew Johnson

The U.S. President who revoked Special Field Orders No. 15, returning confiscated plantations to former owners.

Special Field Orders No. 15

A military order that aimed to provide land to formerly enslaved people, later revoked by President Andrew Johnson.

Imprisoned for vagrancy

A legal penalty that targeted individuals without labor contracts, leading to fines or imprisonment.

Circular No. 8

A document from the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, issued in 1866.

Presidential Reconstruction

The period following the Civil War when efforts were made to reintegrate Southern states and address the rights of freedmen.

Black children

Minors who were subjected to unpaid apprenticeships, disrupting their family structures.

Crop liens

A financial arrangement where farmers borrowed against their future crops, often leading to perpetual debt.

Southern prisons

Institutions that profited from convict leasing by employing African American men for labor under harsh conditions.

Economic opportunities

The chances available for African Americans to improve their financial status, which were severely limited post-Civil War.

Racism

A belief system that perpetuated discrimination and oppression against African Americans, particularly in labor practices.

Vicious cycle of debt

A situation where farmers repeatedly incur debt due to high interest rates and inflated prices, leading to loss of land.

Forced labor

Labor performed under coercion, often seen in the context of convict leasing and the exploitation of African Americans.

Post-Civil War era

The period following the Civil War characterized by significant social and economic challenges for African Americans.

Dismantling of Reconstruction reforms

The process by which reforms aimed at integrating African Americans into society were rolled back in the late 19th century.

Black voting suppressed

The systematic disenfranchisement of Black voters through various legal and financial barriers.

Poll tax

A required payment for voting that disproportionately affected Black Americans and poor voters.

Literacy test

An examination administered to potential voters, often used discriminatorily to disenfranchise Black voters.

Grandfather clause

A law allowing individuals to bypass poll taxes if their grandfathers had been eligible to vote before the Civil War, effectively disenfranchising Black voters.

Compromise of 1877

An agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election, allowing Republicans to keep the White House in exchange for withdrawing troops from the South.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist group that used terror and violence to maintain white dominance and suppress Black rights.

De jure segregation

Laws that mandated the separation of races in public facilities, schools, and other areas.

Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896

A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld segregation laws under the doctrine of 'separate but equal.'

Separate and unequal

A phrase describing the reality of segregation where facilities for Black Americans were inferior to those for white Americans.

Jim Crow laws

Local and state statutes that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, originating in the 1830s.

Origin of Jim Crow

The term 'Jim Crow' originated from a derogatory character performed by T.D. Rice in the 1830s, which caricatured African Americans.

Southern Democrats

Political leaders in the South who sought to maintain white supremacy and opposed Black citizenship.

Election of 1876

A presidential election marked by controversy and a very close result, leading to the Compromise of 1877.

Disenfranchisement

The loss of voting rights, particularly affecting Black voters in the post-Reconstruction era.

Racial violence

Acts of violence motivated by racial hatred, including lynching and assaults against African Americans.

Freedmen's Bureau

A federal agency established to assist freed slaves during the Reconstruction era, reporting on violence against Black individuals.

Homer Plessy

A mixed-race man who challenged segregation laws by boarding a 'whites-only' train car, leading to the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson.

Lynching

An act of violence, often fatal, carried out by a mob, typically targeting African Americans during the post-Reconstruction period.

Political terrorism

Violence and intimidation used to achieve political ends, particularly against African Americans and their allies.

Assassination of Republican leaders

Targeted killings of political figures who supported Reconstruction and Black rights.

Whipping of Black women

A form of racial violence used to intimidate and control African American women during the post-Reconstruction era.

336 cases of murder or assault

Reported incidents of violence against freedmen in Georgia within a 10-month period in 1868.

15th Amendment

An amendment to the U.S. Constitution that prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race.

Jim Crow laws

Limited African American men's right to vote and enforced the racial segregation of hospitals, transportation, schools, and cemeteries for Black and white citizens.

Nadir

The period between the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the Second World War, referred to as the lowest point of American race relations.

Lynch laws

Racism at the core of Southern laws that sought to justify the rampant, unjust killing of Black people.

Ida B. Wells

An African American journalist born into slavery in 1862, known for her work exposing lynching and advocating for Black women's political rights.

Trolley boycotts

Resistance strategies employed by African American activists to protest against racial discrimination in public transportation.

Press to publicize mistreatments

The reliance on sympathetic writers in the press to highlight the mistreatment and murder of African Americans.

National Association of Colored Women

An organization co-founded by Ida B. Wells in 1896 to champion Black women's political rights.

NAACP

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, co-founded by Ida B. Wells in 1909.

Alpha Suffrage Club

An organization founded by Ida B. Wells in 1913 to advocate for Black women's political rights.

Southern Horrors

A publication by Ida B. Wells that exposed lynching as a tool of white supremacy.

The Red Record

A work by Ida B. Wells that documented the realities of lynching in America.

Chattanooga, TN (1905)

A location where African Americans organized a boycott against segregated streetcars, which ultimately failed due to economic dependence.