reconstrution and gilded age

How did freed slaves define "freedom" after the Civil War, and how did white Southerners react?

African Americans wanted voting rights, control of work, stable families, and land. White Southerners resisted through Black Codes and exploitative sharecropping.

What was the primary mandate of the Freedmen's Bureau, and where did it achieve its greatest success?

Founded in 1865 to provide aid, settle disputes, support fair labor, and build schools. Its biggest lasting success was education, including over 3,000 schools.

How did Radical Reconstruction transform the U.S. Constitution?

13th: abolished slavery. 14th: citizenship, equal protection, due process. 15th: barred race-based voting restrictions; expanded federal civil-rights authority.

What was the "Bargain of 1877" and its immediate consequence for Southern freedmen?

Hayes won the disputed 1876 election in exchange for withdrawing federal troops from the South. Reconstruction ended, enabling Redeemer rule and Jim Crow.

What was the Reconstruction Act of 1867, and how did it affect Andrew Johnson's presidency?

Divided the South into five military districts and required Black male suffrage. Johnson opposed it; related conflicts led to his 1868 impeachment and acquittal.

What distinguishes horizontal integration from vertical integration in late 19th-century business?

Horizontal: buy competitors in the same industry (Rockefeller). Vertical: control the supply and production chain (Carnegie).

How did the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 transform federal Indian policy?

The Dawes Act split tribal lands into individual 160-acre plots to force assimilation; surplus land went to settlers, causing enormous tribal land loss.

What was the historical significance of the 1886 Haymarket Affair in Chicago?

An eight-hour-workday rally turned deadly after a bomb killed police. Public backlash associated unions, especially the Knights of Labor, with radical violence.

How did Social Darwinism justify economic inequality during the Gilded Age?

It claimed wealthy people were naturally more “fit,” and government aid to the poor interfered with competition and natural progress.

What was the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and why was its initial enforcement weak?

Created the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to regulate interstate railroad rates, but court rulings severely limited its early powers.