American Pageant, Chapter 22 VOCAB

Force Acts

1870 and 1871 passed to eliminate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Federal troops were able to stamp out most of it

Hiram Revels

A black senator of Mississippi who served in Washington D.C. around the period 1868-1876

10 percent Reconstruction Plan

A plan created by Lincoln which stated that if 10% of the voters in a state voted for reintegration, it would be allowed back in

Thaddeus Stevens

A powerful radical in the House of Representatives who was like 74 years old with a black wig and a deformed foot. He was very fond of blacks and fought for their rights

Freedman's Bureau

A sort of welfare agency designed to provide food, clothing, medical care and education for both freedman and white refugees

Women's Loyal League

An organization in the Reconstruction era that gathered nearly 400,000 signatures on petitions asking Congress to pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting slavery

Reconstruction Act

Divides the South into 5 military districts each commanded by a Union general and policed by blue-clad soldiers. temporarily disfranchised tens of thousands confederates

Fourteenth Amendment

Extends civil rights to freedmen and prohibits state from taking away such rights without due process

Andrew Johnson

Had extremely humble beginnings but rose to presidency after Lincoln's assassination. Devoted to duty and to the people. However, Reconstruction failed in his tactless hands

Oliver O. Howard

Head of the Freedman's Bureau and a warmly sympathetic friend of blacks, later founded and served as president of Howard University

Pacific Railroad Act

Helped fund the construction of the Union Pacific Transcontinental railroad with the use of land grants and government bonds

Benjamin Wade

Johnsons successor would have been Wade who was a radical republican that was known for his high tariff, soft-money, and pro labor views. Distrusted!

Wade-Davis Bill

Juxtaposed Lincoln's 10% plan. Demanded that 50% of the voters take the oath of allegiance rather than 10%

Black Codes

Laws that were designed to regulate the affairs of the emancipated blacks, often oppressive laws

carpetbaggers

Northern businessmen and politicians who came to the south after the Civil War to work on Reconstruction projects or invest in Southern infrastructure

Civil Rights Bill

Passed over Andrew Johnson's Veto, it aimed to counteract the Black codes by conferring citizenship on African Americans and making it a crime to deprive blacks of their right to sue, testify in court, or hold property

Scalawags

Pro-Union Southerners whom Southern Democrats accused of plundering the resources of the South in collusion with the Republican governments

Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibited states from denying citizens the franchise on account of race. It disappointed feminists who were hopeful that the amendment would guarantee women's suffrage

William Seward

Secretary of State 1867 who was an expansionist. Signed a treaty with Alaska that transferred Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million

Redeemers

Southern Democratic politicians who sought to wrest control from Republican regimes in the South after Reconstruction. "Home Rule" regimes

Seward's Folly

The name dubbed to Alaska after the U.S. purchased it. Americans were anti-expansionist at this time

Ku Klux Klan

a secret organization who specialized in hate and were ruthless to those who didn't share their beliefs, especially the black population

Union League

an organization used by the blacks to educate members in their civic duties and campaign for Republican candidates

Ex parte Milligan

case in which the Supreme Court ruled that military tribunals could not be used to try civilians if civil courts were open

Tenure of Office Act

states that the president has to secure the consent of the Senate before he could remove his appointees once they had been approved by that body. Aimed to secure Edwin M. Stanton, a holdover from the Lincoln Administration