Radical Republicans: A group who believed in the abolition of slavery from the beginning of the Civil War and advocated harsh treatment of the defeated South after the war.
10% Plan: A plan by Abraham Lincoln which stated that if 10% of those who had voted in the election of 1860 took an oath of allegiance, he would recognize the state government they would establish. It forced the South to recognize emancipation, yet angered the Radical Republicans.
Wade Davis Bill: A proposal formed by two Radical Republicans that required 50% of citizens of a southern state to swear allegiance before the state could return to the Union and guaranteed legal equality for freed slaves. Lincoln vetoed this bill.
Freedman’s Bureau: Formed by Congress in 1865, this agency provided food, clothing, and fuel to destitute former slaves.
Andrew Johnson: Succeeded the presidency after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. He believed reconstruction was the responsibility of the executive branch and granted amnesty and restoration of property to southerners who pledged loyalty to the Union. He was later almost impeached.
Black codes: Laws passed by southern states that denied rights of citizenship to free blacks.
Civil Rights Act: An act passed in 1866 that guaranteed full citizenship to African Americans.
Reconstruction Act: An act passed in 1867 that divided the South into 5 military districts subject to martial law.
Tenure of Office Act: An act that stated that any officeholder appointed by the president with the Senate’s consent could not be removed until the Senate approved a successor, effectively protecting Republicans in office.
Ku Klux Klan: A group that terrorized blacks in the South during the Reconstruction era, founded in 1866 by Confederate veterans.
15th Amendment: Passed in 1869, it guaranteed all Americans the right to vote, regardless of race.
AWSA: (American Woman Suffrage Association) Led by Lucy Stone, Julia Howe, and Henry Blackwell, this group focused on woman suffrage on the state level, while still supporting abolition and maintaining ties with the Republican Party.
NWSA: (National Woman Suffrage Association) A radical all-women group that demanded a wide spectrum of rights for women, including suffrage, and based on the Declaration of Sentiments.
Sharecropping: A system in which landowners furnished laborers with supplies in exchange for a share of the laborer’s crop. Many former slaves were forced into this system due to a lack of economic opportunities.
Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the South or soldiers who remained in the South after the war ended. This group was one of the leading advocates of Republicanism in the South.
Scalawags: Southern whites who supported the Republican Party during Reconstruction.
“Redemption”: The conversion of Republican states back to the Democratic Party due to a disinclination of the North to intervene in Southern affairs.
Pacific Railway Act, 1864: Bestowed a subsidy of $15,000 per mile of railroad track and up to $48,000 per mile in the mountains.
Liberal Republicans: Republicans who emphasized doctrines of classical economics (the law of supply and demand, free trade, defense of property rights, and individualism).
Credit Mobilier: A scandal in which several Republican stockholders created a dummy company, Credit Mobilier, as a way of diverting funds for the building of railroad. When the scandal broke in 1872, it ruined Vice President Colfax and led to the censure of two senators.
Tweed Ring: A group led by Democratic Party boss William Tweed which stole tens of millions of dollars from the city treasury, receiving bribes from city contractors and businessmen. The Tweed Ring became the symbol of dishonest urban politics.
Election of 1876: A disputed election in which Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) gained the presidency after Republicans challenged the vote totals of Samuel Tilden (Democrat), who had 200,000 more popular votes.
Compromise of 1877: The settling of the election of 1876 that allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to become president in exchange for the “home rule”, which gave Democrats control of southern state governments.
Depression of 1873: The longest American economic depression up until this time, it was caused by speculative investing in the railroad system. The unemployment rate increased dramatically.
10% Plan: A plan by Abraham Lincoln which stated that if 10% of those who had voted in the election of 1860 took an oath of allegiance, he would recognize the state government they would establish. It forced the South to recognize emancipation, yet angered the Radical Republicans.
Wade Davis Bill: A proposal formed by two Radical Republicans that required 50% of citizens of a southern state to swear allegiance before the state could return to the Union and guaranteed legal equality for freed slaves. Lincoln vetoed this bill.
Freedman’s Bureau: Formed by Congress in 1865, this agency provided food, clothing, and fuel to destitute former slaves.
Andrew Johnson: Succeeded the presidency after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865. He believed reconstruction was the responsibility of the executive branch and granted amnesty and restoration of property to southerners who pledged loyalty to the Union. He was later almost impeached.
Black codes: Laws passed by southern states that denied rights of citizenship to free blacks.
Civil Rights Act: An act passed in 1866 that guaranteed full citizenship to African Americans.
Reconstruction Act: An act passed in 1867 that divided the South into 5 military districts subject to martial law.
Tenure of Office Act: An act that stated that any officeholder appointed by the president with the Senate’s consent could not be removed until the Senate approved a successor, effectively protecting Republicans in office.
Ku Klux Klan: A group that terrorized blacks in the South during the Reconstruction era, founded in 1866 by Confederate veterans.
15th Amendment: Passed in 1869, it guaranteed all Americans the right to vote, regardless of race.
AWSA: (American Woman Suffrage Association) Led by Lucy Stone, Julia Howe, and Henry Blackwell, this group focused on woman suffrage on the state level, while still supporting abolition and maintaining ties with the Republican Party.
NWSA: (National Woman Suffrage Association) A radical all-women group that demanded a wide spectrum of rights for women, including suffrage, and based on the Declaration of Sentiments.
Sharecropping: A system in which landowners furnished laborers with supplies in exchange for a share of the laborer’s crop. Many former slaves were forced into this system due to a lack of economic opportunities.
Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the South or soldiers who remained in the South after the war ended. This group was one of the leading advocates of Republicanism in the South.
Scalawags: Southern whites who supported the Republican Party during Reconstruction.
“Redemption”: The conversion of Republican states back to the Democratic Party due to a disinclination of the North to intervene in Southern affairs.
Pacific Railway Act, 1864: Bestowed a subsidy of $15,000 per mile of railroad track and up to $48,000 per mile in the mountains.
Liberal Republicans: Republicans who emphasized doctrines of classical economics (the law of supply and demand, free trade, defense of property rights, and individualism).
Credit Mobilier: A scandal in which several Republican stockholders created a dummy company, Credit Mobilier, as a way of diverting funds for the building of railroad. When the scandal broke in 1872, it ruined Vice President Colfax and led to the censure of two senators.
Tweed Ring: A group led by Democratic Party boss William Tweed which stole tens of millions of dollars from the city treasury, receiving bribes from city contractors and businessmen. The Tweed Ring became the symbol of dishonest urban politics.
Election of 1876: A disputed election in which Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) gained the presidency after Republicans challenged the vote totals of Samuel Tilden (Democrat), who had 200,000 more popular votes.
Compromise of 1877: The settling of the election of 1876 that allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to become president in exchange for the “home rule”, which gave Democrats control of southern state governments.
Depression of 1873: The longest American economic depression up until this time, it was caused by speculative investing in the railroad system. The unemployment rate increased dramatically.
Questions