American History: Reconstruction Era

An organization created after the Civil War to help formerly enslaved people. It provided food, medical care, education, and assistance with finding jobs.

Laws passed in Southern states after the Civil War aimed at limiting the rights of African Americans, forcing them to work on plantations, and keeping them at the bottom of society.

The thirteenth Amendment officially abolished slavery in the United States.

This Amendment granted citizenship to formerly enslaved and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

This amendment states that no one can be prevented from voting based on their race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was formed to intimidate and terrorize African Americans, using violence and murder to prevent their participation in politics.

These acts were passed by Congress to stop violence against African Americans. They aimed to enforce the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

The Compromise of 1877 was an agreement that ended Reconstruction. In exchange for Hayes becoming President, federal troops were withdrawn from the South, leaving African Americans without protection.

States did not violate the Constitution by providing separate facilities for African Americans and whites if those facilities were considered 'equal' in quality. This ruling allowed for the implementation of more discriminatory laws known as Jim Crow.

In the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation laws did not violate the Constitution, upholding the separate but equal doctrine.

Some states implemented literacy tests, which required voters to demonstrate reading and writing skills. These tests were often administered unfairly, making it harder for African Americans to pass.

African Americans who stayed in the South found ways to improve their lives despite facing segregation and discrimination. They built communities, churches, and schools and started businesses.

African Americans were driven to leave the South for other parts of the country by the hope of better opportunities and more equal treatment. This migration was known as the Great Migration.