Chapter 17: Reconstruction

Why did African Americans prefer sharecropping to gang labor?

Sharecropping allowed individuals to work at their own pace and schedule, whereas the landowner directly managed gang labor.

When President Johnson suspended his Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and appointed General Ulysses S. Grant to the position of interim secretary of war, he was directly challenging which congressional act?

Tenure of Office Act

How did the Liberal Republicans affect the 1872 presidential election?

They did not have a direct effect on the election, but their ideas entered the political discourse after the election.

What role did carpetbaggers play in southern politics?

They helped to strengthen the Republican Party in the South.

How did the Freedman's Bureau bring lasting, long-term change to the newly freed slaves in the South?

They laid the foundation for southern public education.

Which statement most accurately describes the role of African American women in the Reconstruction era?

They were responsible for domestic duties and child care, as well as seasonal fieldwork for wages.

By how much did American industrial production grow between 1865 and 1873?

75%

Between 1865 and 1870, what was the primary cause of the population increase in the South's major cities?

African American moved to cities to find job opportunities that did not involve working with their previous owners.

What were the three major groups of southern Republicans?

African Americans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags

How were freed blacks legally forced into agricultural labor?

Black codes prevented them from entering other fields.

Why was sharecropping a disappointment for many African Americans?

Black sharecroppers rarely achieved economic independence or land ownership.

What ethnic group made up 90 percent of the workforce on the Central Pacific Railroad?

Chinese

Why did cotton come to be called "King Cotton"?

Cotton cultivation dominated the southern economy, affecting almost all inhabitants, directly or indirectly.

Why did the Civil Rights Act of 1875 have little impact on conditions in the South?

Enforcement required African Americans to sue in federal courts, a costly and time-consuming procedure.

What was the name of the legislation Congress passed in March 1867 that divided the South into five military districts subject to martial law?

First Reconstruction Act

Which statement summarizes what many Americans saw as a major problem with the railroad industry?

It fostered political corruption.

Which of these is true of the Depression of 1873?

It was the result of commercial overexpansion.

What was the main agenda of the Liberal Republican party?

advancing capitalism

Lincoln's Reconstruction program was based on __________.

bringing the seceding states back as quickly as possible

Which word most accurately describes the southern economy in the years immediately following the Civil War?

devestated

What did the Civil Rights bill passed in the spring of 1866 do?

gave full U.S. citizenship to African Americans

The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 __________.

made violent infringement of civil rights a federal crime

The Compromise of 1877 repudiated a strong federal role in __________.

protecting the rights of all American citizens

The "black codes" were __________.

southern laws designed to restrict the freedom of black laborers

In addition to serving as places of worship for the African American community, black churches also served as __________.

the center of social activities that unified the African American community

What is the primary reason Congress established the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865?

to give basic assistance to former slaves and manage abandoned land in the South that could be offered to them

What was the primary purpose of the Union League?

to unite African Americans and like-minded whites to advocate for the end of legal discrimination against African Americans

To whom does the term "scalawags" refer?

white native southerners who supported the Republican Party

Which statement best assesses the primary way in which Abraham Lincoln's death affected the Reconstruction process?

Lincoln would have argued for a speedy restoration of the southern states to the Union and a minimum of federal intervention in their affairs.

Which statement best describes how the scalawags in the Republican Party differed from traditional party members and their ideals?

Their highest priority was not bringing an end to slavery.

How did the Supreme Court rulings in the Slaughterhouse cases affect the status of African Americans?

These rulings harmed African Americans by providing loopholes and limitations in antidiscrimination laws and opening the door to systematic racism.

What was the Republican Party's motivation for nominating Andrew Johnson for vice president?

They believed Johnson would appeal to border state "War Democrats" and bring their support to the party.

Which of these was true of Radical Republicans?

They believed that fundamental changes had to occur in southern society.

To which of these programs would Liberal Republicans most likely have objected?

a federal committee to oversee the actions of state banks

What was meant by the term "redemption"?

a return to white Democratic control in the South