Civil War and Reconstruction Vocabulary
Sectionalism - a strong sense of loyalty to a state or section instead of to the whole country
Scalawags – name given by former Confederates to Southern whites who supported Republican Reconstruction of the South
Emancipation – to free from slavery
Ironclads – armored naval vessels
Carpetbaggers – name given to Northern whites who moved South after the Civil War and supported the Republicans
Union – The United States of America; the Northern states during the Civil War
Confederacy – The Southern states during the Civil War
Popular Sovereignty – the people rule; that the will of the people is what controls the government – gives the government power
13th Amendment – constitutional amendment that outlawed slavery in the US
14th Amendment – constitutional amendment that gave citizenship to all former slaves; created naturalization laws
15th Amendment – constitutional amendment that gave all men no matter of race, color, or religion the right to vote.
Black Codes – laws passed in the South after the Civil War aimed at controlling freedmen rights (especially voting)
Reconstruction – the reorganization and rebuilding of the former Confederate states after the Civil War
Slavery - when a person is owned by another and does not have individual rights
Naturalized Citizen – a person who became a member of the country to which they immigrated and who gained the rights, privileges, and authorities of people born in that country
Jim Crow Laws - Series of laws that separated whites and blacks in society. “Separate but equal” was the ruling of the Supreme Court however the reality was segregation was not equal