Ch.16 Reconstruction

Impeachment

A formal document charging a public official with misconduct in office Charges against a president approved by a majority of the House of Representatives The bringing of formal charges against a public official

Poll Tax

A requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote a tax levied on every adult, without reference to income or resources. This was an effort to deny the vote to African Americans. If a voter who had a grandfather who voted, they do not have to pay the tax.

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery. First of three "Reconstruction Amendments" passed after Civil War (1865-70). The amendment was ratified and took effect on December 18, 1865. Freedom brought important changes to newly free slaves. They had marriages, searched for relatives, women began to work at home instead of in the fields, and church members established voluntary associations and mutual aid societies to help those in need. Many moved from counties with more African American people than whites. For many slaves, freedom to travel was just the first step on a long road to equal rights. Many took last names and were to be called Mr. and Mrs. to show respect. Freed people began to expect equal economic and political rights as white citizens.

Hiram Levels

Levels was a son of former slaves and helped organize African American regiments in the Civil war and was selected later to fill the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Jefferson Davis, president of the confederacy. He was the first African American who was on the senate.

Reconstruction

Period after the Civil War when the federal government took action to rebuild the South. the action or process of reconstructing or being reconstructed.

Radical Republicans

Political party that favored harsh punishment of Southern states after civil war. They believed black codes were unjust and not right. They wanted the federal government to be more involved in the reconstruction. They thought that the former confederate officials would not enforce the new laws. Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner were the leaders of the Radical Republicans.

Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan

President Abraham Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction; once 10 percent of voters in a former Confederate state took a U.S. loyalty oath, they could form a new state government and be readmitted to the Union. He wanted to reconstruct the nation as soon as possible and started coming up with a plan even before the war ended. To receive amnesty southerners had to first swear an oath to the United States, then they had to state that slavery was illegal. Once 10 percent of voters in a southern state had sworn the oath, the state could then be readmitted into the union. Louisiana quickly elected a new state legislature under the Ten Percent Plan Plan. Other southern states that had been occupied by Union Troops soon followed Louisiana back into the United States.

Segregation

Separation of people based on racial, ethnic, or other differences. It became widespread across the country. African Americas were forced to use separate schools, libraries, and even parks. When they existed, these facilities were usually of poorer quality than those made for white people. These so called separate and equal facilities were unequal.

Scalawags

Southern whites who supported Republican policy through reconstruction An insulting term used to describe a white southerner who supported Reconstruction Southern whites who had opposed secession

What was the North's goal for Reconstruction?

The main goal for the Reconstruction was to rejoin all the confederate states back into the union and to try to give blacks more equal rights.

How did Reconstruction transform he lives of African Americans?

The reconstruction enforced black codes, and the Klu Klux Klan was formed which killed many blacks. Although, the 13th amendment abolished slavery, the 14th amendment gave them citizenship, and the 15th amendment allowed them to vote.

Racial Discrimination

discriminatory or abusive behavior towards members of another race.

Johnson's Plan

After Lincoln's assassination, Andrew Johnson was sworn into office and now had the responsibility for reconstruction. Johnson's plan was similar to Lincoln's plan for reconstruction except he decided that wealthy southerners and former Confederate officials would need a presidential pardon to receive amnesty. Johnson shocked Radical Republicans by pardoning more than 7,000 people by 1866. Johnson offered a mild program for setting up new he new state government had to declare that secession was illegal. It also had to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment and refuse to pay Confederate debts. By the end of 1865, all the southern states except Texas had created new governments. Johnson approved them all and declared the nation restored. Republicans complained that many new elected delegates had been confederate officials and then congress refused to readmit the southern states into the union. Clearly, the nation was not restored.

Freedmen's Bureau

An agency providing relief not only for freed people and certain poor people, but white refugees as well. Organization run by the army to care for and protect southern Blacks after the Civil War (1865). At its high point, about 900 agents served the entire South. The commissioner Oliver O. Howard eventually decided to use the Bureau's limited budget to distribute food to the poor and to provide education and legal help for freed people. The Bureau also benefited African American War veterans. The Bureau played an important role in forming more schools in the south. Laws against educating slaves meant that most freed people had never learned to read or write, but before the war ended, northern groups such as the American Missionary Association, began providing books and teachers to African Americans. The teachers were mostly women who were committed to helping freedmen. The blacks were eager to learn and had a desire of knowledge and a capacity for attaining it. After the war, some freed people made their own education efforts. Freedmen's Bureau agents found that some African Americans had opened schools in abandoned buildings, while may whites still believed they shouldn't be educated. By 1869, 150,000 African American students were attending over 3,000 schools. The bureau also helped establish multiple universities for blacks including Howard and Fisk. African Americans thought that if they were educated they would be able to better understand their rights and get better jobs. The bureau assisted people by providing supplies and medical services, establishing schools, supervising contracts between freed people and employers, and talking care of lands abandoned during the war.

Compromise of 1877

Compromise that enables Hayes to take office in return for the end of Reconstruction. The Democrats agreed to accept Rutherford B. Hayes' victory. In return, they wanted all remaining federal troops removed from the South. It ended the reconstruction. The democrats also wanted for funding for internal improvements in the South and the appointment of a southern Democrat to the president's cabinet. President Hayes took office in 1877 and removed the last of the federal troops from the South.

Thaddeus Stevens

Leader of the Radical Republicans in the House of Representatives. Stevens was known for his honesty and sharp tongue. He wanted economic and political justice for both African Americans and poor white southerners. He believed president Johnson's plan was a failure. Stevens believed that the federal government could not allow racial inequality to survive. Stevens believed that Congress had the power to treat the South as conquered territory.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws designed to enforce segregation of blacks from whites State laws in the South that legalized segregation. Laws that separated people of different races in public places in the south segregation laws enacted in the South after Reconstruction. (were common in the 1880's). African Americans challenged Jim Crow laws in court, but in 1883, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that eh Civil Rights Act of 1875 was unconstitutional and that the Fourteenth Amendment applied to the actions of state governments which allowed private individuals and businesses to practice segregation.

Black Codes

Laws passed in the southern states during Reconstruction that limited the freedom and rights of the African Americans. They required blacks to sign work contracts, creating working conditions close to those under slavery. In most southern states, any African Americans who could not prove they were employed could be arrested. Their punishment would usually be one year with no pay. Blacks were also not allowed to use guns/ own them or own any property except in cities. The Black codes alarmed many Americans and thought that freedom for slaves was still slavery. African Americans then organized groups to oppose the codes.

15th Amendment

States cannot deny any person the right to vote because of race. (1869). The amendment went into effect in 1870. It was one of the last important reconstruction laws passed at the federal level. The amendment didn't favor everyone though, many women were angry because the amendment did not give them the right to vote.

Plessy vs. Ferguson

U.S Supreme Court case that established the separate-but-equal doctrine for public facilities. Segregation was allowed, said the court if 'separate-but-equal' facilities were provided. Plessy argued that the event violated his right under the 14th amendment, but the court ruled against him. Segregation became widespread across the country.

Sharecroppers

farmer who works land for an owner who provides equipment and seed and receives a share of the crop. Landowners would supply the land, tools, and supplies and sharecroppers provided the labor. At harvest time, the sharecropper usually had to give most of the crop to the landowner. Whatever remained belonged to the sharecropper. Many sharecroppers hoped to save enough money from selling their share of the crops to one day be able to buy a farm. Unfortunately, only a few ever achieved this dream. Instead most sharecroppers lived in a cycle of debt. When they need food, clothing, or supplies, most families had to buy goods on credit because they had little cash. When sharecroppers sold their crops, they hoped to be able to pay off these debts. However, bad weather, poor harvest, and low crop prices often made this dream hard to reach. Sharecroppers usually grew cotton, but soon the supply became excessive and the price per ale of cotton dropped. Many farmers understood the drawbacks of planting cotton. However, farmers felt pressure form banks and others to keep raising cotton.

14th Amendment

gives U.S. citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in America. This was made when the Republicans were afraid that the Civil Rights act might be overturned. (Summer 1866). The fourteenth amendment stated 6 main points. - It defined all people born or naturalized in the U.S as citizens, except native Americans. - It gave citizens protection of the laws. - It sated that states couldn't take away life, liberty, or property without having the law involved. - It rid of many confederate officials from holding federal offices. - it made state laws subject to federal court review. - It also gave Congress the power to pass any necessary laws to enforce the amendment.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

law that established federal guarantees of civil rights for all citizens. This act provided African Americans with the same legal rights as white Americans. This is how republicans reacted to President Johnson's veto of the Freedmen's Bureau. Johnson insisted that the Bureau was unconstitutional and that Congress couldn't pass any new laws until the southern states were represented in Congress. Johnson then vetoed the act and said that it gave too much power to the federal government. He also rejected the principle of equal rights for African Americans, but congress decided to override his veto. Led to the fourteenth amendment.

Carpetbaggers

northern whites who moved to the south and served as republican leaders during reconstruction Insulting tern used to describe a northerner who moved to the South during Reconstruction Individuals who moved to the South from the North to run Southern governments

Wade-Davis bill

opposed 10% plan and called for more that 50% bill proposed for the Reconstruction of the South written by two Radical Republicans. 1864 Vetoed by Lincoln, made reconstruction the responsibility of Congress rather than of the president.

Klu Klux Klan

organization that promotes hatred and discrimination against specific ethnic and religious groups. Discouraged blacks from voting. Any black who refused was punished or killed. Used terrorism and violence to intimidate blacks and other minorities. group that sought to keep former slaves powerless. Secret society opposed to civil rights, particularly suffrage for African Americans. The group grew rapidly. The members wore robes and disguises to hide their identities. They attacked and even killed African Americans, Republican voters, and public officials, usually at night. Local governments usually did nothing to stop the violence and feared the Klan or sympathized with them. In 1870 and 1871, Congress took action and made it a federal crime to interfere with elections or to deny citizens equal protection under the law. Within a few years, the threat posed by the Klan had been reduced but groups of whites continued to assault African Americans and Republicans throughout the 1870's.

Reconstruction Acts

set of laws that divided the South into five districts under military control. 1867 laws passed to protect African American rights Acts that instated military reconstruction stricter laws passed by Radical Republicans. Homestead Act, Morrill Act, Dawes Act. A U.S military commander controlled each district. The military would remain in control of the south until the southern states rejoined the Union. To be readmitted, the states had to write a new constitution supporting the Fourteenth amendment and had to give the right to vote to blacks. Thaddeus Stevens was one of the new Reconstruction Acts' most enthusiastic supporters. He spoke in Congress to defend the acts.