1. CHAPTER 17 RECONSTRUCTION

2. RECONSTRUCTION
Reconstruction = the process of readmitting the former Confederate states to the Union
Lincoln’s main vision for the process was to reunite the nation as quickly and painlessly as possible

3. FREEDMEN’S BUREAU
Organization established by Congress to aid poor southerners
Gave relief to freed African-Americans
Established more schools and increased efforts to educate freed slaves

4. TEN PERCENT PLAN Lincoln’s plan
Offered southerners amnesty, or official pardon (forgiveness), for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion
Southerners had to swear an oath of loyalty to the U.S. and agree that slavery was illegal
Many Republicans did not agree because they felt it would take more to restore the Union than a loyalty oath
*(Do not copy) – if only ten percent of voters in a state made these pledges, they could be readmitted into the Union

5. WADE-DAVIS BILL
This bill required that the majority of southern males take an oath of loyalty
Also required States to ban slavery forever

6. THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT
This amendment to the Constitution made slavery illegal throughout the U.S.
Ratified on December 18th, 1865

7. LINCOLN’S ASSASSINATION
April 14th, 1865
Lincoln was shot and killed at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. while attending a play with his life
His assassin was John Wilkes Booth who was a southerner who opposed Lincoln’s policies
VP Andrew Johnson was sworn into office quickly

8. PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON
17th President; Democrat
He was now in charge of Reconstruction
Wanted to grant wealthy southerners and former Confederate leaders amnesty through presidential pardons
His administration set up new southern governments by allowing elections of state and federal representatives
Congress, however, still refused to readmit southern states be cause the representatives of the new governments had been Confederate leaders (nation was still divided)

9. CHANGES IN SOUTHERN LIFE
Social structure of the South changed because African-Americans began to demand the same economic and political rights as whites
Life at southern mills was difficult because employees were overworked and suffered from asthma and brown-lung disease
Many blacks were elected as representatives to state legislatures in the South

10. BLACK CODES
Southern states passed these laws to limit the freedom and civil rights of African-Americans
Southerners felt the codes were justified because the government was intended for white men only
Codes required that blacks sign work contracts to replace the labor force that was lost after the ending of slavery
Blacks were not allowed to own guns/firearms

11. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866
Johnson determined that the Freedmen’s Bureau was unconstitutional
Republicans responded by passing this act which provided African-Americans with the same legal rights as whites

12. RADICAL REPUBLICANS
They wanted the federal government to force change in the South
They supported suffrage (the right to vote) for African-American men
Thaddeus Stevens, a Pennsylvania Congressman, was the leader

13. FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT
All people born or naturalized within the U.S., except Native Americans, were citizens
Citizens were guaranteed equal protection of the laws
Republicans proposed this because they wanted to protect the Civil Rights Act from being overturned by the South

14. RECONSTRUCTION ACTS Passed by Congress in March 1867
Divided the South into five military districts controlled by a military commander

15. JOHNSON’S IMPEACHMENT
Impeachment = process used by a legislative body to bring charges of wrongdoing against a public official
Congress passed a law that prevented the president from removing a cabinet official without Senate approval because they knew Johnson did not support their Reconstruction policies
House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson in 1868 because he fired a cabinet official without Senate approval; he wasn’t convicted

16. ELECTION OF 1868 Ulysses S. Grant was voted the 18th president
He was a Republican
He appealed to many northern voters because he was a war hero and his party was “the party of Lincoln”
African-American votes helped him achieve victory

17. FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 1869 - Gave African-American men the right to vote
Republicans believed this amendment would help their Reconstruction plan because blacks would support the plan as well
Women criticized the amendment because it did not give them the right to vote

18. CARPETBAGGERS
White southerners used this term as an insult towards northern-born Republicans who held political offices in the South
*(Do not copy) – the rumor is that “carpetbaggers” rushed to the South carrying all their possessions in bags made from carpeting so they could profit off of Reconstruction

19. HIRAM REVELS First African-American Senator He was elected in 1870
Took over the seat previously held by Jefferson Davis in Mississippi

20. KU KLUX KLAN
Began in 1866
Secret society of white southerners who opposed black suffrage
They used violence and terror against African-Americans; in some cases they murdered blacks
They gained much power in the South because local governments did little to stop their violence
Their actions inspired Congress to make it illegal to interfere with elections or deny citizens equal protection

21. END OF RECONSTRUCTION
In 1872, low-ranking, former Confederate officers were permitted to hold public office
Republican Party also began losing power in the North due to scandals in Ulysses S. Grant’s administration
Panic of 1873 – severe economic downturn made northerners less concerned with southern racism and more considered with their financial well-being

22. COMPROMISE OF 1877
Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) was elected the 19th president in 1876 after a dispute over electoral votes
Compromise = Democrats agreed to accept Hayes’s victory if all federal troops were removed from the south

23. REDEEMERS
They were Democrats who regained control of state governments in the South
They established laws that successfully discriminated against African-Americans

24. JIM CROW LAWS
Segregation = forced separation of whites and blacks in public places
Jim Crow laws enforced segregation
Poll tax = a special tax that people had to pay so they could vote and many blacks could not afford it
Grandfather clause = men whose fathers and grandfathers who could vote before 1867 did not have to pay the tax or take a literacy test – every white man could escape voting restrictions

26. SHARECROPPING SYSTEM
Limited opportunities for blacks to own farms and property
Most sharecroppers lived in a cycle of debt = buy goods on credit and then fail to make much money selling their crops

27. PLESSY V. FERGUSON 1896 – major Supreme Court case
Supreme Court ruled that segregation was allowed (constitutional) if “separate-but-equal” facilities were provided for blacks
Segregation became widespread across the country in schools, libraries, parks, restaurants, etc.
Black facilities were blatantly inferior and unequal