1. VOCABULARY CARDS Reconstruction

2. Definition: The time period after the Civil War when the United States began to rebuild the South.  The Southern states needed to rejoin the United States.  The United States had to repair the parts of the South that were damaged during the war.  The United States had to protect the civil rights of African Americans.

3. Citizenship Definition: To be a member of a nation. To also enjoy the rights and duties of being a member of that nation. Example of citizenship in a sentence. In 1868, African Americans were granted citizenship by the 14 th Amendment.

4. Loyalty Oath Definition: To declare your loyalty to the United States of America. Example of loyalty oath in a sentence. During the Reconstruction period, ex-confederate officials had to make a loyalty oath to the United States to become United States citizens.

5. Republican Party (Reconstruction) Definition: A political party that wanted to protect African Americans in the South during the Reconstruction period. They also wanted to give African Americans citizenship, the right to vote, and rights equal to those of white Americans. The Republican Party was made up of Northern whites, African Americans, and some Southern whites.

6. Democratic Party (Democrats) (Reconstruction) Definition: A political party in the Southern United States during the Reconstruction Period. Most Democrats were white Southerners, many were ex-Confederates. Democrats did not want African Americans to have equal rights with white Americans.

7. Civil Rights Definition: Rights belonging to all citizens.  The right to vote.  The right to run for political office.  The right to have a job.  The right to have an education. Example of civil rights in a sentence. White Democrats did not want African Americans in the South to have civil rights.

8. Racism Definition: Feelings against people because of their skin color. Example of Racism in a sentence. African Americans were not treated fairly during the Reconstruction period due to racism.

9. Presidential Reconstruction (The Ten Percent Plan) Definition: The time period when Reconstruction was controlled by the President of the United States of America (Executive Branch) President Lincoln and President Johnson wanted to forgive the South for the Civil War, and make it easy for them to rejoin the United States of America.

10. Ratify Definition: To approve (of a new law added to the United States Constitution). Example of ratify in a sentence. In 1865, southern states ratified the 13 th Amendment.

11. Congress Definition: The law-making body of the United States of America. There are two houses in Congress:  The House of Representatives  The Senate Lawmakers meet daily to talk about laws and vote on them.

12. Radical Republicans Definition: Members of the Republican party in Congress who wanted African Americans to have full civil rights immediately.  The right to vote.  The right to run for office.  The right to go to school.  The right to have a job.

13. Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction Definition: The time period when Reconstruction was controlled by Congress (the Legislative Branch) During this period, Congress was controlled by the Radical Republicans, the Democrats did not have power. The Radical Republicans passed laws to keep Southern white Democrats from gaining power in the South and discriminating against African Americans.

14. Amendment Definition: A change or addition to the United States Constitution. Example of Amendment in a sentence. During the Civil War, three new amendments were added to the United States Constitution.

15. United States Constitution Definition: The laws and plan of government for the United States. Example of U.S. Constitution in a sentence. President Abraham Lincoln stated that a state does not have the right to secede from the Union, it is against the United States Constitution to do so.

16. The Black Codes Definition: A series of southern laws to limit the freedom of African Americans. Example of The Black Codes in a sentence. During Reconstruction, southern states passed the Black Codes to keep African Americans from having equal rights with white Southerners.

17. Jury Definition: A group of people who decide whether a person on trial is guilty or innocent. Example of jury in a sentence. During the Reconstruction period, Southern Democrats passed laws to keep African Americans from serving on juries.

18. The Freedman’s Bureau Definition: A government agency that provided African Americans in the South with schools, job training, and protection from white Southerners. Example of Freedman’s Bureau in a sentence. African Americans in the South learned how to read and write from schools created by the Freedman’s Bureau.

19. The Civil Rights Act (1866) Definition: A law passed by Congress that stated African Americans have the same rights as white Americans (equal rights). Example of Civil Rights Act in a sentence. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act so that African Americans living in the South could have equal rights with white Southerners.

20. The 13 th Amendment Definition: A law passed by Congress that ended slavery in the United States of America. Example of 13 th Amendment in a sentence. The 13 th Amendment ended slavery in the United States of America.

21. The 14 th Amendment Definition: A law passed by Congress that granted citizenship to African Americans in the United States. The law also states…  All people born in the U.S. are citizens.  A state cannot take away the rights of a American citizen.  A state will lose seats in Congress if they prevented a citizen from voting.  Ex-Confederate leaders cannot hold political office.

22. The 15 th Amendment Definition: A law passed by Congress that granted African Americans the right to vote. Example of 15 th Amendment in a sentence. States could not deny a citizen the right to vote after Congress passed the 15 th Amendment.

23. The Reconstruction Acts Definition: A series of laws passed by Congress that established military rule in the South and divided the south into five military districts. A southern state had to ratify the 14 th Amendment in order to end military rule and be readmitted into the United States.

24. Impeachment Definition: To accuse a high public official (the President of the United States) of a crime. Example of impeachment in a sentence. Two presidents have been impeached in United States History, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

25. Tenure of Office Act (1867) Definition: A law passed by Congress that stated the United States President must receive permission from Congress in order to fire a member of his cabinet. Example of Tenure of Office Act in a sentence. Andrew Johnson was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act when he tried to remove Edwin Stanton from the position of Secretary of War.

26. Carpetbaggers Definition: A name for a Northerner who went to the South after the Civil War. Example of Carpetbagger in a sentence. Carpetbagger’s went to the South after the Civil War to help African Americans by setting up schools and businesses.

27. Scalawags Definition: A name for a white Southerner who supported Reconstruction government. Example of scalawag in a sentence. Ex-Confederates who cooperated with Radical Republicans were called scalawags. Picture: James Longstreet, a former Confederate General who was called a scalawag for joining the Republican Party after the Civil War.

28. Sharecropping Definition: Farming someone else’s land while paying a share of the crops raised for rent. Example of sharecropping in a sentence. In the South, many African Americans returned to the plantations they once lived on as slaves to work as sharecroppers.

29. Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Definition: A terrorist organization started in the South in 1866. The KKK terrorized African Americans by the use of violence and intimidation in order to prevent them from taking part in the political process.

30. Force Acts (1870-1) Definition: A series of laws passed by Congress to protect African Americans from terrorist organizations in the South. Example of Force Acts in a sentence. The Force Acts played a important role in stopping the Ku Klux Klan from terrorizing African Americans during the Reconstruction era.

31. Corruption Definition: Dishonest or illegal behavior. Example of Corruption in a sentence. The election of 1876 is considered by many to be one of the most corrupt elections in United States History.

32. The Compromise of 1877 Definition: In 1877, Democrats and Republicans made an agreement to decide who would be the 18 th President of the United States. The Democrats allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to become president if he…  Removed the military from the South.  Appointed a Southerner to his cabinet.  Provided money for the South to rebuild and industrialize their economy.

33. Discrimination Definition: To treat a person or group of people unfairly because of the color of their skin, their gender, their religion, etc. Example of discrimination in a sentence. African American soldiers faced many forms of discrimination while serving in the Union Army.

34. Segregation (Segregate) Definition: To legally separate a group of people from another due to their skin color, religion, sexual orientation, etc. Example of Segregation in a sentence. During the Civil War, African American soldiers were segregated and kept in separate units from white soldiers.

35. Poll Tax Definition: A tax paid before someone can vote. Example of Poll Tax in a sentence. During the Reconstruction period, White Southern Democrats used poll taxes to keep African Americans from voting in elections.

36. Jim Crow Laws Definition: Laws passed by Southern state governments that segregated African Americans and white Southerners. Example of Jim Crow Laws in a sentence. After the Compromise of 1877, Southern state governments passed Jim Crow Laws to keep African Americans segregated from White Americans.