Reconstruction Section 1 “Reconstruction Plans”

The Reconstruction Battle Begins  Reconstruction – The rebuilding after the Civil War.  Lincoln wanted a moderate policy that would reconcile the South with the Union instead of punishing it for treason.  Amnesty – pardon  The South would gain 15 seats in the House of Representatives.  Thaddeus Stevens – A radical Republican who did not want to reconcile with the South.  “revolutionize Southern institutions, habits, and manners.”

The Reconstruction Battle Begins  Radical Republicans – A group of Republicans who opposed Lincoln’s plan to bring the South back into the Union.  Wanted to prevent Confederate leaders from returning to power after the war.  Wanted the Republican Party to become powerful in the South.  Wanted the federal government to help African Americans gain political equality by guaranteeing their right to vote in the South.

The Reconstruction Battle Begins  Many Radical Republicans were abolitionists before the war.  Wade-Davis Bill – A plan for Reconstruction drawn up as an alternative to Lincoln’s plan.  Pocket Veto – The rejection of a bill by the president by leaving the bill unsigned until after Congress adjourns.

The Reconstruction Battle Begins  Freedmen - Freed African Americans.  Freedmen’s Bureau – Bureau established by Congress to help freed African Americans adjust to their new freedom.  Some believed the freedmen should be given confiscated Confederate land, while others felt it went against an individuals property rights.  Congress refused to support land confiscation.

Johnson Takes Office  Black Codes – a series of laws passed by Southern legislatures, which severely limited African Americans’ rights in the South.  Civil Rights Act – 1866 law that granted citizenship to all persons born in the United States except Native Americans.  Fourteenth Amendment – Amendment to the Constitution that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

Radical Republicans Take Control  Military Reconstruction Act – Law passed by Congress that divided the Confederacy into five military districts.  Tenure of Office Act – Law that required the Senate to approve the removal of any government official whose appointment had required the Senate’s consent.  Impeach – To bring charges of a crime against a government official.

Republican Rule in the South  Carpetbagger – Name given to Northern whites who moved to the South after the war and supported Republicans.  Many had moved to the South to educate whites and African Americans.  Scalawag – Name given by former Confederates to Southern whites who supported Republican Reconstruction of the South.

Republican Rule in the South  Thousands of African Americans took part in governing the South.  Most of the first elected were educated in the South.  Joseph Rainey – First African American elected to the House of Representatives.  Hiram Revels – African American elected to the Senate.  Even though African Americans took part in the government, they did not control it.

Republican Rule in the South  The Republican party took power because poor whites supported it.  Republican governments in the South repealed the black codes.  They set up state hospitals and institutions; rebuilt roads, railroads, and bridges.  Many of the officials were corrupt and accepted bribes.  Graft – Gaining money illegally through politics.

African American Communities  Ways that African Americans improved their lives:  Gained political rights  Received an education  Established churches  Other kinds of organizations  Drama societies  Trading Associations

Southern Resistance  Many Southern whites resented African Americans.  The goal of the Ku Klux Klan was to drive out the Union troops and carpetbaggers and to have the Democratic party control the South.

Southern Resistance  In 1870 and 1871 Congress passed three Enforcement Acts.  One act made it a federal crime to interfere with a citizens right to vote. The second act placed federal elections under the supervision of federal marshals.  Ku Klux Klan Act – Law that outlawed the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

The Grant Administration  “Sin Tax” – Tax on alcohol and tobacco.  Horace Greeley – Newspaper publisher and 1872 presidential candidate for the Liberal Republicans.  “Whiskey Ring” – A scandal in which government officials and distillers cheated the government out of millions of dollars by filing false tax reports.  Panic of 1873 – An economic crisis.

Reconstruction Ends  Compromise of 1877 – The method used to reach an outcome in the 1876 presidential election.  Tenant Farmers – Farmers who paid rent for the land they farmed.  Sharecroppers – Farmers who paid a share of their crops to cover their rent and the equipment they needed.  Furnishing Merchant – Country stores and local suppliers who provided sharecroppers with their supplies.

A “New South” Arises  Crop Liens – Allowed merchants to take sharecroppers’ crops if sharecroppers could not pay their debt.  Debt Peonage – A condition that trapped sharecroppers on the land because they could not make enough money to pay off their debts and leave.

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