reconstruction flashcard notes
1. Lincoln's, Johnson's, and Radical Republican Plans
Q: How did Lincoln’s, Johnson’s, and the Radical Republicans’ Reconstruction plans differ?
A: Lincoln’s 10% Plan was lenient and required only 10% of voters to pledge loyalty. Johnson’s plan was similar but allowed Black Codes. Radical Republicans wanted strict military control and protections for freedmen.
2. Reconstruction Amendments
Q: What did the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments do?
A:
13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It legally freed all enslaved people in the U.S.
14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including former slaves. It also provided equal protection under the law and due process.
15th Amendment (1870): Prohibited federal and state governments from denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude, ensuring African American men could vote.
3. Johnson’s Impeachment
Q: What was the technical and underlying reason for Johnson’s impeachment?
A: Technically, he violated the Tenure of Office Act by firing Edwin Stanton. The real reason was his opposition to Radical Reconstruction.
4. Freedmen’s Bureau
Q: What was the Freedmen’s Bureau, and how was it successful and unsuccessful?
A: It provided food, education, and legal aid to freed slaves. However, it was underfunded and lacked enforcement power.
5. Ulysses S. Grant’s Presidency
Q: What weakened Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency?
A: Corruption scandals, such as the Credit Mobilier Scandal and the Whiskey Ring, distracted from Reconstruction.
6. Tactics Against African Americans
Q: What legal and illegal tactics were used to suppress African Americans’ rights?
A: Legal: Black Codes, literacy tests, poll taxes. Illegal: KKK violence, lynchings, voter intimidation.
7. Sharecropping
Q: What was sharecropping, and how did it impact former slaves?
A: Sharecropping trapped freedmen in debt, as they worked land in exchange for a portion of crops but were forced to buy supplies on credit.
8. Compromise of 1877
Q: What was the Compromise of 1877, and why was it important?
A: It ended Reconstruction by removing federal troops from the South in exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president.
9. Hiram Revels
Q: Who was Hiram Revels?
A: He was the first African American U.S. Senator, representing Mississippi in 1870.
Vocabulary Flashcards
10. Reconstruction Amendments
Q: What are the Reconstruction Amendments?
A: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which abolished slavery, granted citizenship, and gave Black men voting rights.
11. Ku Klux Klan
Q: What was the Ku Klux Klan?
A: A white supremacist group that terrorized Black communities to suppress their rights.
12. Wade-Davis Bill
Q: What was the Wade-Davis Bill?
A: A strict Reconstruction plan requiring 50% of voters to pledge loyalty; vetoed by Lincoln.
13. Black Codes
Q: What were Black Codes?
A: Laws passed in the South to restrict African American rights and enforce racial segregation.
14. Civil Rights Act of 1875
Q: What did the Civil Rights Act of 1875 do?
A: It granted African Americans equal access to public facilities but was rarely enforced.
15. Amnesty Act of 1872
Q: What was the Amnesty Act of 1872?
A: A law that restored political rights to most former Confederates.
16. Sharecropping
Q: What is sharecropping?
A: A system where freedmen farmed land in exchange for crops, often leading to debt.
17. Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan
Q: What was Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan?
A: A lenient plan that allowed Southern states to pass Black Codes and former Confederates to regain power.
18. Compromise of 1877
Q: What was the Compromise of 1877?
A: A deal that ended Reconstruction by removing federal troops from the South.
19. Freedmen’s Bureau
Q: What was the Freedmen’s Bureau?
A: A federal agency that provided aid to freed slaves, including food, education, and medical care.