Chapter 17 APUSH

What was the Mississippi Plan?

Adopted by Mississippi in 1875 and later by other southern states, the southern Democrats wanted to undermine blacks, who were now forming middle classes while the white former slave owners had lost all of their power during Reconstruction and they wanted it back. A primary method used to exercise this control was disenfranchisement. In order to vote in Mississippi, citizens had to display the receipt which proved they had paid the poll tax and pass a literacy test by reading and interpreting a selection from the Constitution. This prevented blacks, who were generally poor and uneducated, from voting while poor, illerate whites were "grandfathered" in.

What was the Compromise of 1877?

An agreement that ended the disputed election of 1876 between Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden; under its terms, the South accepted Hayes's election. In return, the North agreed to remove the last troops from the South, support southern railroads, and accept a southerner into the Cabinet. The Compromise of 1877 is generally considered to mark the end of Reconstruction.

What was the Freedmen's Bureau?

An organization established by the federal government in 1865 to manage and aid the newly emancipated slaves. The Bureau offered assistance with food, shelter, and medical attention to African Americans and poor Southern whites. It also established schools throughout the South, educating a large number of former slaves. The organization face difficulties when President Johnson refused to increase funding, and it eventually came to an end in 1872.

Who was Thaddeus Stevens?

An uncompromising Radical Republican who wanted to revolutionize the South by giving equality to blacks. Author of the 14th Amendment. Stevens and President Johnson were absolutely opposed to each other. Known as a Radical Republican leader in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, he hoped for widespread land distribution to former slaves

What was the Wade Davis Bill of 1864?

It proposed far more demanding and stringent terms for reconstruction; required 50% of the voters of a state to take the loyalty oath and permitted only non-confederates to vote for a new state constitution; Lincoln refused to sign the bill, pocket vetoing it after Congress adjourned

What was the Tenure of Office Act?

It was An act passed by Congressional Republicans that prohibited the President from firing a federal appointee without the approval of the Senate. Republicans used this act to protect themselves from being fired by President Johnson. Johnson chose to ignore the act and fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Republicans used this opportunity to impeach Johnson on the charge of 11 high crimes and misdemeanors. Johnson was impeached in the House but not convicted (or removed from office) by the Senate

what was the Whiskey Ring?

It was a ring of corruption involving distillers and government officials that robbed the Treasury of millions of dollars in revenue from the excise taxes from 1874-1875 by the submisson of false reports by government officials . The ring included Grant's personal secretary.

what was the concept of 40 acres and a mule?

It was a temporary plan, also known as Special Field Orders, No. 15, issued by Union general William Tecumseh Sherman in 1865 that granted each freedmen family forty acres of tillable land on islands near the coast of Georgia. The army had a number of unneeded mules which were also granted to these settlers. Although the federal government had confiscated some Confederate lands and given them to freed slaves, it never did this on a massive scale.

what was Sharecropping?

Mostly freedmen and poor white who had no tools or supplies, and worked, farmed, and lived on someone else's land. Borrowed what they needed on credit from the owner, it was a bad because the farmer always owed more money than they made on the farm, leaving them stuck in this system.

What was a Scalawag?

Scalawag a white Southerner who joined the Republican party during the Reconstruction period. they were also considered traitors to the Southern cause. Part of the radical government, they passed much needed reforms.

Who were Radical Republicans?

Senators and congressmen who sought swift emancipation of the slaves, punishment of the rebels, and tight controls over the former Confederate states after the war.

What was the Ku Klux Klan?

The KKK was a terrorist organization active throughout the South during Reconstruction and after, dedicated to maintaining white supremacy; through violence and intimidation, it tried to stop freedmen from exercising their rights under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Also anti-Semetic, anti-Catholic, and nativist.

what were the Black Codes?

The black codes were laws passed in the south just after the civil war aimed at controlling freedmen and enabling plantation owners to exploit african american workers. These codes restricted the actions, movements, and freedoms of African Americans who were prevented from owning land thereby tying them to the sharecropping and crop lien system.

What were the Reconstruction Acts of 1867?

These were actsthat included the creation of five military districts in the seceded states not including Tennessee, which had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and was readmitted to the Union, requiring congressional approval for new state constitutions that was required for former Confederate states to rejoin the Union, Confederate states give voting rights to all men, and that all former Confederate states must ratify the 14th Amendment.

What was the Credit Moblier Scandal?

This was the major scandal of the gilded age. A dummy construction company formed in the 1860s by corrupt Union Pacific Railroad officials who hired themselves as contractors at inflated rates to gain huge profits. The railroad executives also bribed dozens of congressmen and members of Ulysses S. Grant's cabinet, including Vice President Schuyler Colfax. Eventually exposed in 1872, the affair forced many politicians to resign and became the worst scandal that occurred during Grant's presidency

What were Carpetbaggers?

Carpetbagger were Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction between 1865 and 1877. They formed a coalition with Freedmen (freed slaves), and Scalawags (Southern whites who supported the Reconstruction) in the Republican Party, which in turn controlled ex-Confederate states for varying periods, 1867-1877.

What was the Pendleton Act?

It made compulsory campaign contributions from federal employees illegal, and established the Civil Service Commission to make appointments to federal jobs on the basis of examination rather than cronyism

Who was Ulysses S. Grant?

In 1868 his successful Republican presidential campaign made him, at 46, the youngest man yet elected president. His two terms were marred by administrative inaction and political scandal involving members of his cabinet, including the Crédit Mobilier scandal and the Whiskey Ring conspiracy. He was more successful in foreign affairs, where he was aided by his secretary of state, Hamilton Fish. He supported amnesty for Confederate leaders and protection for the civil rights of former slaves.

What is the 14th amendment?

It Protects the rights of all citizens and requires states to conform to the due process under the law and equal protection clauses of the Constitution. Additionally, Radical Republicans added some provisions aimed at the former Confederacy; the amendment disallowed former Confederate officers from holding state or federal office. Additionally, congressional representation of a state would be proportionately reduced if a state denied suffrage to any able citizen.