reconstruction
Amnesty | A government pardon for offenses, often given to former Confederates after the Civil War. |
Carpetbaggers | Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, often to seek political or economic opportunities. |
Sin Tax | A tax on goods like alcohol and tobacco, used to help fund Reconstruction efforts. |
Radical Republicans | A faction of the Republican Party that pushed for strict Reconstruction policies and full rights for freed African Americans. |
Scalawags | White Southerners who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party. |
Panic of 1873 | A financial crisis that led to a severe economic depression, weakening Northern support for Reconstruction. |
Thaddeus Stevens | A leading Radical Republican in Congress who advocated for harsh Reconstruction policies and civil rights for African Americans. |
Graft | Corruption or dishonest political practices, such as bribery and embezzlement. |
William Belknap | Secretary of War under President Grant, involved in a major corruption scandal. |
Charles Sumner | A Radical Republican senator who fought for civil rights and harsh penalties for former Confederates. |
Ku Klux Klan | A white supremacist group that used terror and violence to oppose Reconstruction and suppress Black political participation. |
Rutherford B. Hayes | The 19th U.S. president whose disputed election led to the Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction. |
Wade-Davis Bill | A stricter Reconstruction plan proposed by Radical Republicans, requiring 50% of a state's voters to take a loyalty oath; it was vetoed by Lincoln. |
Enforcement Acts | Laws passed to combat the Ku Klux Klan and protect African American rights in the South. |
Compromise of 1877 | The agreement that resolved the 1876 election dispute, making Hayes president in exchange for the removal of federal troops from the South. |
Pocket Veto | A way for a president to indirectly veto a bill by ignoring it until Congress adjourns. |
Samuel Tilden | The Democratic candidate in the disputed 1876 presidential election, who lost due to the Compromise of 1877. |
Freedmen’s Bureau | A federal agency established to help former enslaved people and poor whites in the South after the Civil War. |
Tenant Farmers | Farmers who rented land and paid the landlord with cash or crops. |
Andrew Johnson | The 17th U.S. president who took office after Lincoln's assassination and opposed Radical Reconstruction. |
Sharecroppers | Farmers who worked land owned by others in exchange for a share of the crops, often trapping them in debt. |
Black Codes | Laws passed in Southern states to restrict the rights of freed African Americans after the Civil War. |
Crop Liens | A system where farmers used future crops as collateral for loans, often leading to a cycle of debt. |
Civil Rights Act of 1866 | A law granting citizenship and equal rights to African Americans, aimed at counteracting Black Codes. |
Debt Peonage | A system where workers were trapped in debt and forced to work indefinitely to pay it off. |
14th Amendment | A constitutional amendment that granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all people born in the U.S. |
Military Reconstruction Act | A law dividing the South into military districts to enforce Reconstruction policies and protect African American rights. |
Impeach | To formally charge a government official with misconduct. |
Office of Tenure Act | A law preventing the president from removing certain officials without Senate approval; led to Andrew Johnson’s impeachment crisis. |
15th Amendment | A constitutional amendment granting African American men the right to vote. |