US Honors Reconstruction Flashcards Notes

Appomattox

Site of Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant (April 9, 1865), effectively ending the Civil War and beginning Reconstruction.

Southern Economy after the Civil War

Devastated: ruined cities, destroyed infrastructure, and abolition of slave labor. Shifted to sharecropping and tenant farming, often leading to debt for former slaves and poor whites.

13th, 14th, 15th Amendments

  • 13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery.

  • 14th Amendment (1868): Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. (including former slaves); defined birthright citizenship.

  • 15th Amendment (1870): Prohibited denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Radical Republicans Beliefs

A Republican faction advocating for punitive measures against the South, strong federal intervention, and protection of civil and voting rights for freed slaves. Believed Congress should lead Reconstruction.

Radical Reconstruction (Congressional Reconstruction)

  • Causes: President Johnson's lenient policies (Presidential Reconstruction), Southern defiance (Black Codes), and violence against freedmen.

  • Key Elements: Congress divided the South into five military districts, requiring states to ratify the 14th Amendment and grant black men suffrage to rejoin the Union (starting 1867).

  • Successes: Expanded African American civil/voting rights, established public education, established a brief biracial democracy, and ratified the 14th and 15th Amendments.

Freedmen's Bureau

(Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, established 1865). Provided aid, education, and legal assistance to freed slaves and poor whites. Its greatest success was establishing schools.

Pro-Southern Reconstruction Plans

  • 10 Percent Plan (Lincoln's Plan, 1863): A state could rejoin the Union when 10% of its 1860 voters swore allegiance to the U.S. and accepted emancipation.

  • Restoration Plan (Johnson's Plan, 1865): Required Southern states to revoke secession, repudiate Confederate debts, and ratify the 13th Amendment. Lenient, allowing pardons for many Confederates and not initially requiring black suffrage, leading to Black Codes.

Compromise of 1877

Resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election. Democrats accepted Republican Rutherford B. Hayes as president in exchange for the withdrawal of all remaining federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states (1865-1866) to restrict the freedom of African Americans and maintain a labor force similar to slavery. Examples: forbade land ownership, jury service, or testifying against whites for blacks.

Congressional Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Laws passed by Radical Republicans over Johnson's vetoes. Divided the ex-Confederate states (except TN) into five military districts. Required new state constitutions, 14th Amendment ratification, and suffrage for all adult males (regardless of race).

Legacy of Reconstruction

  • Positive: Established federal role in civil rights (13^{th}, 14^{th}, 15^{th} Amendments), expanded black political participation, created Southern public education, and prevented secession.

  • Negative: Failed to secure lasting equality for African Americans, led to white supremacist groups, Jim Crow laws, and widespread disenfranchisement.

Black Family Structure during Reconstruction

Freed people reunited separated families and legalized marriages. Families often formed independent households, supported by churches. Women's roles often focused on domesticity, though economic necessity often required them to work.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

White supremacist terrorist organization founded in 1866. Used violence and intimidation to restore white supremacy, suppress black voting, and resist Reconstruction.

Sharecropping

Agricultural system after the Civil War. Landowners provided land, tools, and seeds; sharecroppers (often former slaves or poor whites) provided labor for a share of the crop. Often led to a cycle of debt and economic dependence.

Impeachment of Johnson

President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the