Confederate States of America: The government formed by Southern states that seceded from the Union in 1860-61, leading to the American Civil War.

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

Alexander H. Stephens: Vice President of the Confederate States of America.

Bull Run: The first major battle of the Civil War, also known as the First Battle of Manassas, fought on July 21, 1861, in Virginia. It was a Confederate victory.

Winfield Scott: A Union general who devised the "Anaconda Plan," a strategy to defeat the Confederacy by surrounding it and cutting off its resources.

Anaconda Plan: Union strategy during the Civil War to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River, essentially strangling the Confederacy like an anaconda.

Antietam: A significant battle fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and is considered the bloodiest single-day battle in American history.

Ulysses S. Grant: A prominent Union general who played a crucial role in winning the Civil War and later became the 18th President of the United States.

Gettysburg: A major battle fought from July 1 to 3, 1863, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, often considered the turning point of the Civil War.

Sherman’s March: A military campaign led by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, which involved marching through Georgia and the Carolinas, destroying Confederate infrastructure and resources.

William Tecumseh Sherman: A Union general known for his "March to the Sea" and his role in the eventual defeat of the Confederacy.

Appomattox Court House: The site where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the Civil War.

Greenbacks: Paper currency issued by the United States during the Civil War, not backed by gold or silver.

Morrill Land Grant Act: Legislation passed in 1862 that granted federally controlled land to states for the establishment of agricultural and mechanical colleges.

Homestead Act: A law passed in 1862 that provided 160 acres of public land to settlers in exchange for a small fee and a commitment to live on and cultivate the land for five years.

Pacific Railway Act: Legislation passed in 1862 and 1864 to promote the construction of a transcontinental railroad by providing land grants and subsidies to railroad companies.

Federal land grants: Grants of land given by the government to support various projects, such as railroad construction or education.

Habeas Corpus: Legal protection against unlawful imprisonment, suspended by President Lincoln during the Civil War.

Confiscation Acts: Laws passed by Congress during the Civil War authorizing the seizure of property, including slaves, from those who supported the Confederacy.

Emancipation Proclamation: Executive order issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring that all slaves in Confederate-held territory were to be set free.

Gettysburg Address: A famous speech delivered by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Copperheads: Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and advocated for a negotiated peace with the Confederacy.

Massachusetts 54th Regiment: An African American infantry regiment known for its bravery and valor during the Civil War.

13th Amendment: Constitutional amendment ratified in 1865 that abolished slavery in the United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1866: Legislation passed by Congress granting citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States without distinction of race or color.

14th Amendment: Constitutional amendment ratified in 1868 that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former slaves, and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

Equal protection of the laws: Principle enshrined in the 14th Amendment that prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

15th Amendment: Constitutional amendment ratified in 1870 that prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Civil Rights Act of 1875: Legislation passed by Congress to guarantee African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations and jury service.

Credit Mobilier: A scandal involving the Union Pacific Railroad and the fraudulent manipulation of contracts and stock to enrich company insiders.

William Tweed: A notorious political boss in New York City who controlled Tammany Hall and engaged in widespread corruption.

Horace Greeley: A prominent newspaper editor and politician who ran unsuccessfully for president against Ulysses S. Grant in 1872.

Panic of 1873: A severe economic depression in the United States caused by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and financial speculation.

Liberal Republicans: federal governmnet’s power should be decreased and wanted to reform the republican party

Reconstruction: The period following the Civil War during which the United States attempted to rebuild and reintegrate the Southern states into the Union.

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction: President Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction, offering a full pardon and restoration of property rights to Confederates who took an oath of allegiance to the Union.

Wade-Davis Bill: Reconstruction legislation proposed by Radical Republicans that required a majority of Southern white males to take a loyalty oath before Reconstruction could begin.

Andrew Johnson: Vice President who became president after Lincoln's assassination and pursued a lenient Reconstruction policy that clashed with Congress.

Freedmen’s Bureau: A federal agency established during Reconstruction to provide assistance to newly freed slaves and poor whites in the South.

Congressional Reconstruction: Reconstruction policies implemented by Congress, which were more stringent and punitive toward the South than President Johnson's.

Radical Republicans: A faction of Republicans in Congress who advocated for a more aggressive approach to Reconstruction and civil rights for African Americans.

Thaddeus Stephens: A leader of the Radical Republicans in Congress who played a key role in shaping Reconstruction policies.

Reconstruction Acts: Legislation passed by Congress in 1867 that divided the South into military districts and required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment and guarantee voting rights to African American men in order to rejoin the Union.

Tenure of Office Act: Legislation passed by Congress in 1867 to limit the president's power to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval, leading to the impeachment of President Johnson.

Edwin Stanton: Secretary of War under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson, whose dismissal by Johnson led to his impeachment.

Impeachment: The process by which a government official, such as the president, can be charged with misconduct and removed from office by a legislative body.

Scalawags: Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and the Republican Party.

Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction to take advantage of economic opportunities or participate in politics.

Hiram Revels: The first African American to serve in the United States Senate, representing Mississippi during Reconstruction.

Women’s Suffrage: The movement to secure voting rights for women.

Redeemers: Southern Democrats who sought to regain control of state governments from Republicans and end Reconstruction.

Rutherford B Hayes: The 19th President of the United States, who won a disputed election in 1876 and oversaw the end of Reconstruction.

Samuel J Tilden: Democratic candidate for president in 1876, who won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote to Hayes.

Election of 1876: A controversial presidential election in which the outcome was disputed, leading to the Compromise of 1877.

Compromise of 1877: A political agreement that resolved the disputed presidential election of 1876 by awarding the presidency to Hayes in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Force Acts: Federal laws passed in 1870 and 1871 to combat violence and voter intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan in the South.

Black Codes: Laws passed by Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the rights and freedoms of African Americans and ensure their continued subjugation.

Ku Klux Klan: A white supremacist terrorist organization founded in the South during Reconstruction to intimidate African Americans and their supporters.

Sharecropping: An agricultural system that emerged in the South after the Civil War, in which landless farmers worked on land owned by others in exchange for a share of the crops produced, often trapping them in cycles of debt and poverty