Chapter 15

Homestead Act: A U.S. law passed in 1862 that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers for a small fee, provided they improve the land by building a dwelling and farming it for five years.

Greenbacks: Paper currency issued by the U.S. government during the Civil War to finance the war effort, not backed by gold or silver, leading to inflation.

Copperheads: Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted an immediate peace settlement with the Confederacy.

Ex Parte Milligan: A Supreme Court case (1866) ruling that the government could not try civilians in military courts while civilian courts were open, even during wartime.

Emancipation Proclamation: An executive order issued by President Lincoln in 1863, declaring that all slaves in Confederate-held territory were to be freed.

Jefferson Davis: The president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

Gen. Ulysses S. Grant: A Union general who led the U.S. Army to victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War and later became the 18th President of the United States.

Robert E. Lee: The commanding general of the Confederate Army during the Civil War, known for his leadership and military strategy.

King Cotton Diplomacy: A strategy used by the Confederacy during the Civil War, attempting to leverage cotton exports to gain foreign support, particularly from Britain and France.

Gettysburg Address: A speech delivered by President Lincoln in 1863, dedicating the Gettysburg National Cemetery and reaffirming the principles of liberty and equality.

13th Amendment: The amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865, that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.

14th Amendment: The amendment, ratified in 1868, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including former slaves, and guaranteeing equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment: The amendment, ratified in 1870, that prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

President Andrew Johnson: The 17th President of the U.S., who succeeded Lincoln and oversaw Reconstruction, but his policies were often in conflict with Congress.

Scalawags: Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party after the Civil War, often viewed as traitors by other Southerners.

Carpetbaggers: Northern individuals who moved to the South during Reconstruction, often perceived as exploiting the region's postwar difficulties for personal gain.

Credit Mobilier: A scandal involving the Union Pacific Railroad and the Credit Mobilier company, where company officials overcharged the government and bribed politicians for favors in the 1860s.

Compromise of 1877: An agreement that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election, in which Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the presidency in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Sharecropping: A system where landowners allowed tenants to use their land in exchange for a share of the crops produced, often trapping African Americans in a cycle of debt and poverty.

Jim Crow: A set of state and local laws in the South that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchised African Americans, lasting from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century.

Black Codes: Laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the rights of newly freed African Americans, often leading to conditions resembling slavery.