1. Reconstruction Terms:
Reconstruction Act of 1867
Divided all of the seceded states into five military districts (20,000 troops sent to enforce)
Placed each district under the command of a major general who was to oversee the creation of new constitutions for each state
Constitutions were required to give black males the right to vote and ratify (accept as law) the 13th Amendment
Johnson vetoed (Congress overrode his veto)
Southern whites regarded as extremely harsh and unfair: did not regard blacks as equal to whites

2. 2. Tenure of Office Act
Johnson tried to stop Radical Reconstruction by placing officials sympathetic to the South in key positions (generals). This angered Congress who looked for a way to impeach Johnson
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act which stopped the President from firing cabinet officials without the consent of Congress
Johnson fired Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War
The House of Representatives impeached Johnson for violation of the law, but the Senate narrowly allowed Johnson to stay (with little power)

3. 3. Fourteenth Amendment
Designed to stop the discriminatory practices of Southern whites against blacks (Black Codes)
Gave blacks, “equal protection of the law” where no state could deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without “due process of law.”
These were basic rights that all citizens were granted under the Constitution, therefore blacks were now regarded as citizens of the United States under the 14th Amendment.

4. 4. Fifteenth Amendment
Despite the fact that blacks were given citizenship, they were being denied the right to vote through legal, though unfair, practices
Grandfather clauses, poll taxes, and literacy tests were designed to keep blacks from voting
In response to these unfair practices, Congress drafted the 15th Amendment which gives all citizens the right to vote regardless of circumstances other than felony offences.

5. 5. Scalawags
One group who supported Northern Reconstruction were a group of Southerners who disliked the former plantation owners due to their political power, and wealth
Opposed slavery and secession
Wanted industrialization in the South
Some were selfish who simply wanted power and wealth opportunities following the war

6. 6. Carpetbaggers
Northerners who moved to the South after the war to gain political and/or economic advantages due to the situation of the South. (used the situation for their own gain)
Some came South out of moral duty to teach and help former slaves.
Most came to get a position of power or make a profit

7. 7. Plessy vs. Ferguson
Landmark Supreme Court case in 1896 which ruled that states could legally pass laws where whites and blacks could have separate but equal facilities (schools, hospitals, railroad cars, bathrooms, drinking fountains, etc..)
Tested the 14th Amendment of equal protection under the law
Court ruled that as long as society provided equal facilities, it did not violate the 14th Amendment
However, separate facilities were not equal: white facilities were superior, therefore a violation of the 14th Amendment (Reversed in 1954 Brown v.Board of Education)

8. 8. Jim Crow Laws
Laws passed in the South which created separate facilities for whites and blacks
“Jim Crow” was a phrase that referred to African Americans

9. 9. Solid South
A term referring to the inability of the Radical Republican plan of Reconstruction:
Unable to achieve complete freedom for African Americans
Southern States eventually organized under control of the Democratic Party, which was extremely racist at the time

10. 10. Disenfranchised
When a person loses their right to vote, or are effectively denied basic citizenship privileges
Blacks were disenfranchised following the imposition of Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws as well as Literacy tests, Poll Taxes, and Grandfather clauses.

11. 11. Separate But Equal
Phrase used by Southern racists trying to show that they weren’t abusing the 14th Amendment rights of African Americans by providing them separate facilities such as schools, hospitals, transportation, and others.
White facilities were given more attention and money, thus were better than black facilities. This meant that the facilities were separate, but unequal (a violation of the 14th Amendment of equal protection)

12. 12. Compromise of 1877
An agreement between Rutherford B. Hayes and Southern election officials who agreed to give him enough votes to win the election of 1876, in return for removing the remaining Federal Troops.
By removing the troops, there was little or no protection for Southern Blacks
Reconstruction was now over, the North gave up.

13. 13. Poll Taxes A fee which had to be paid by anyone who wanted to vote
This excluded many blacks who did not have the money to vote
This was an attempt by the white population to reduce the power of the Republicans and the blacks

14. 14. Literacy Tests
A test given to anyone wanting to vote. If you could read, you could vote
Another attempt by Southern whites to control blacks and reduce the power of the Republicans in the South
Many blacks were illiterate at the time

15. 15. Grandfather Clauses
A law which said that if you had relatives who voted prior to 1861, you could vote again.
Excluded blacks who didn’t have relatives who voted prior to 1861