American History Topic 1, Lesson 2: Reconstruction Changes the South

Why were many African Americans able to gain political power and positions immediately following the Civil War?

-African American voters helped Republican Party gain power -Radical Republicans required oath of loyalty, so many southern whites were not eligible to vote--or they stayed away from constitutional conventions and elections that followed

carpetbaggers

-a negative term for Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War -named because of the carpet cloth suitcases often carried by them

Ku Klux Klan

-a secret society formed in the South with the intention of promoting white supremacy and denying African Americans the exercise of the new rights

tenant farming

-a system in which a farmer paid rent to a landowner for the use of the land--most independent arrangement

How was life different for African Americans after the Civil War?

-could legalize marriages and build homes for families -could move off plantations and into cities to look for work -could get an education -African American churches were established and those served as schools, community centers, employment agencies, and an arena for political activities

What aspects of life were similar for the African Americans?

-had to settle for what they had under slavery: substandard housing and food in return for hard labor (for those that couldn't go anywhere) -many remained in rural areas

share-tenancy

-much like sharecropping, except that the farmer chooses what crop to plant and buys supplies and then gives part of the crop to the landowner

What tactics were used by the Ku Klux Klan?

-roamed countryside burning homes, schools, and churches -beating, maiming, or killing African Americans -took aim at African American symbols of freedom: teachers, schools, churches & ministers, and politicians (white and black) that encouraged African Americans to vote

What was unique about the public school system that was established in the South?

-segregated rule--operating the two school systems (black and white) was expensive for the government

integration

-the process of bringing together people of different races, religions, and social classes

What was the goal of the Ku Klux Klan?

-tried to keep African Americans in subservient roles -scare freed people away from voting

What are three ways of managing land in the South after the Civil War?

1. Sharecropping 2. Share-tenancy 3. Tenant farming

Enforcement Acts

1870 and 1871 laws, known as Ku Klux Klan Acts, that made it a federal offense to interfere with a citizen's right to vote

segregation

a forced separation of races

scalawags

a negative term for a southern white who supported the Republican Party after the Civil War

sharecropping

a system in which a farmer tends to a portion of a planter's land in return for a share of the crop (mainly African Americans, but also poor whites)

subservient

prepared to obey others unquestioningly

illiterate

unable to read or write