The Reconstruction Era

African Americans in office.

African Americans served in every Southern state legislature and in both houses of congress and held in high offices in three states.

Describe the relationship between congress and president Johnson during presidential Reconstruction.

Difficult. Johnson opposed the fourteenth amendment and wanted Republican lawmakers thrown out of office. Congress passed the military Reconstruction Act over Johnson's veto.

These people were banned from congress by voting. Who where they?

Former Confederates.

Were not banned from congress by voting. Who where they?

Freedmen.

New state Governments?

New state Governments were composed primarily of Republicans, including many African Americans, who ratified the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments and built roads, hospitals, and schools.

New state constitutions?

New state constitutions were written throughout the South guaranteeing such rights as voting and free public education.

Why did the House of Representatives impeach president Johnson? What was the outcome of the impeachment trial?

President Johnson was impeached because he fired an official who was protected under the Tenure of office Act and because the house felt he had brought the office of president into disgrace. He was spared removal from office by one vote.

How did the Radical Republicans aim for Reconstruction differ from president Johnson? What two laws passed by congress helped them achieve this aim?

Radical republicans wanted freedmen to be granted the full rights of citizenship. Congress extended the life of the Freedmen's bureau and enacted the civil rights act of 1866, which gave blacks the same civil rights as whites.

What important lesson did Republicans learn in the 1868 presidential election of Ulysses S. Grant?

Republicans learned that for a political party to keep control of the White House, it needed African American votes.

Why did many sharecroppers end up in poverty and debt?

Sharecroppers had to barrow money from plantation owners to buy the supplies they needed. Few earned enough money to pay back what they owed.

Who moved South after the War?

Southerners.

Fifteenth Amendment?

This constitutional amendment guaranteed every male citizen are right to vote, regardless of race.

Who opposed the War?

White Southerners.