Terms
Radical Republicans- A shifting group of Republican congressmen, usually a substantial minority, who favored abolition of slavery from the beginning of the Civil War and later advocated harsh treatment of the defeated South.
10% Plan- A plan brought forth by President Lincoln saying that states could rejoin the Union after 10% of their voters pledged an oath to the Union.
Wade Davis Bill- A plan passed by the Radical Republicans for Reconstruction, saying that 50% of the states’ voters would have to take an oath of allegiance in order for the state to return to the Union. It was given a pocket veto by Lincoln.
Freedman’s Bureau- Agency established by Congress in March 1865 to provide social, educational, and economic services, advice, and protection to former slaves and destitute whites; lasted seven years.
Andrew Johnson- The Democrat who served as Vice President under Abraham Lincoln until Lincoln was shot, and then became President. He was the only Southern Congressman not to leave the Union with the South.
Black Codes- Laws passed by states and municipalities denying many rights of citizenship to free black people before the Civil War.
Civil Rights Act- 1866 Act that gave full citizenship to African Americans.
Reconstruction Act- 1867 act that divided the South into five military districts subject to martial law.
Tenure of Office Act- Act stipulating that any officeholder appointed by the President with the Senate’s advice and consent could not be removed until the Senate had approved a successor.
Ku Klux Klan- Perhaps the most prominent of the vigilante groups that terrorized black people in the South during the Reconstruction era. Founded by Confederate veterans in 1866.
15th Amendment- Passed by Congress in 1869, guaranteed the right of American men to vote, regardless of race.
AWSA-
NWSA-
Sharecropping- A way for newly freed blacks to have a job where the blacks would rent a plot of land from a white man for more than it was worth, and the blacks were bound to continue working the land until they had paid off the debt they owed for the land.
Carpetbaggers- Northern transplants to the South, many of whom were Union soldiers who stayed in the South after the war.
Scalawags- Southern whites, mainly small landowning farmers and well-off merchants and planters, who supported the Southern Republican Party during Reconstruction.
“Redemption”- The process by which Democratic rule was reverted back to the Southern states. When the states were redeemed, they would be freed of Union soldiers.
Pacific Railway Act, 1864- An amendment to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 that stated the companies who were to build a Transcontinental Railroad (Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad) could issue their own “First mortgage bonds”.
Liberal Republicans- Disaffected Republicans that emphasized the doctrines of classical economics.
Credit Mobilier- A scandal in which the Union Pacific Railroad Company awarded itself a contract to build a railroad. They laid 667 miles of track for $44 million, but billed Congress $94 million.
Tweed Ring- The group of people allied with “Boss” William M. Tweed, who stole millions of dollars from the New York City treasury through bribes and kickbacks.
Election of 1876- Election won by Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) over Tilden (Democrat). Nobody won enough electoral votes to become president, so the election was decided by the Compromise of 1877.
Compromise of 1877- The Congressional settling of the 1876 election that installed Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House and gave Democrats control of all state governments in the South.
Depression of 1873- A depression caused by too many railroads, mines and factories, which overall caused massive inflation. Another cause was due to the inflation, which was that banks were over-loaning money.
Questions
1) Lincoln’s plan was to admit states back into the Union once 10 percent of the states’ voters had pledged an oath to the US. It was different from the Wade-Davis Bill because it was more focused on getting the states readmitted as quickly as possible, rather than punishing them. Lincoln’s plan, in the end, produced better results. It was a lot more forgiving.
2) I would put the burden of responsibility for the battle between Johnson and Congress on Johnson, because as President he should have known what he could and could not do alone.
3) Ex-slaves wanted to be given equality through Reconstruction. They were given this fully, through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as with the Civil Rights act.
4) African Americans accepted segregation because they did not want to have to deal with the racism and hatred of the white people at the time. They were still seen as low on the proverbial totem pole by the whites who had previously owned them.
5) The Southern Republican party was not able to sustain itself because people who joined it were hated by the rest of the Democratic society, so much that they were discouraged to proclaim their political beliefs publicly.
Radical Republicans- A shifting group of Republican congressmen, usually a substantial minority, who favored abolition of slavery from the beginning of the Civil War and later advocated harsh treatment of the defeated South.
10% Plan- A plan brought forth by President Lincoln saying that states could rejoin the Union after 10% of their voters pledged an oath to the Union.
Wade Davis Bill- A plan passed by the Radical Republicans for Reconstruction, saying that 50% of the states’ voters would have to take an oath of allegiance in order for the state to return to the Union. It was given a pocket veto by Lincoln.
Freedman’s Bureau- Agency established by Congress in March 1865 to provide social, educational, and economic services, advice, and protection to former slaves and destitute whites; lasted seven years.
Andrew Johnson- The Democrat who served as Vice President under Abraham Lincoln until Lincoln was shot, and then became President. He was the only Southern Congressman not to leave the Union with the South.
Black Codes- Laws passed by states and municipalities denying many rights of citizenship to free black people before the Civil War.
Civil Rights Act- 1866 Act that gave full citizenship to African Americans.
Reconstruction Act- 1867 act that divided the South into five military districts subject to martial law.
Tenure of Office Act- Act stipulating that any officeholder appointed by the President with the Senate’s advice and consent could not be removed until the Senate had approved a successor.
Ku Klux Klan- Perhaps the most prominent of the vigilante groups that terrorized black people in the South during the Reconstruction era. Founded by Confederate veterans in 1866.
15th Amendment- Passed by Congress in 1869, guaranteed the right of American men to vote, regardless of race.
AWSA-
NWSA-
Sharecropping- A way for newly freed blacks to have a job where the blacks would rent a plot of land from a white man for more than it was worth, and the blacks were bound to continue working the land until they had paid off the debt they owed for the land.
Carpetbaggers- Northern transplants to the South, many of whom were Union soldiers who stayed in the South after the war.
Scalawags- Southern whites, mainly small landowning farmers and well-off merchants and planters, who supported the Southern Republican Party during Reconstruction.
“Redemption”- The process by which Democratic rule was reverted back to the Southern states. When the states were redeemed, they would be freed of Union soldiers.
Pacific Railway Act, 1864- An amendment to the Pacific Railway Act of 1862 that stated the companies who were to build a Transcontinental Railroad (Union Pacific Railroad and Central Pacific Railroad) could issue their own “First mortgage bonds”.
Liberal Republicans- Disaffected Republicans that emphasized the doctrines of classical economics.
Credit Mobilier- A scandal in which the Union Pacific Railroad Company awarded itself a contract to build a railroad. They laid 667 miles of track for $44 million, but billed Congress $94 million.
Tweed Ring- The group of people allied with “Boss” William M. Tweed, who stole millions of dollars from the New York City treasury through bribes and kickbacks.
Election of 1876- Election won by Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) over Tilden (Democrat). Nobody won enough electoral votes to become president, so the election was decided by the Compromise of 1877.
Compromise of 1877- The Congressional settling of the 1876 election that installed Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House and gave Democrats control of all state governments in the South.
Depression of 1873- A depression caused by too many railroads, mines and factories, which overall caused massive inflation. Another cause was due to the inflation, which was that banks were over-loaning money.
Questions
1) Lincoln’s plan was to admit states back into the Union once 10 percent of the states’ voters had pledged an oath to the US. It was different from the Wade-Davis Bill because it was more focused on getting the states readmitted as quickly as possible, rather than punishing them. Lincoln’s plan, in the end, produced better results. It was a lot more forgiving.
2) I would put the burden of responsibility for the battle between Johnson and Congress on Johnson, because as President he should have known what he could and could not do alone.
3) Ex-slaves wanted to be given equality through Reconstruction. They were given this fully, through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as with the Civil Rights act.
4) African Americans accepted segregation because they did not want to have to deal with the racism and hatred of the white people at the time. They were still seen as low on the proverbial totem pole by the whites who had previously owned them.
5) The Southern Republican party was not able to sustain itself because people who joined it were hated by the rest of the Democratic society, so much that they were discouraged to proclaim their political beliefs publicly.