Reconstruction Era Overview

Reconstruction Era

• 10 Percent Plan: Southern states could rejoin the Union if 10% of their voters pledged loyalty.
• Wade-Davis Bill: A stricter plan requiring 50% voter loyalty; Lincoln vetoed it.
• Andrew Johnson's Presidency: His lenient Reconstruction policies angered Congress.
• Presidential Reconstruction: Johnson's approach to quickly restore Southern states without protecting African Americans' rights.
• Black Codes: Southern laws restricting African Americans' freedoms and keeping them in poverty.
• Radical Republicans: Congress members who advocated for strict Reconstruction and African American rights.
• Military Reconstruction Act: Divided the South into military districts to enforce Reconstruction laws.
• 14th Amendment: Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to African Americans.
• 15th Amendment: Guaranteed African American men the right to vote.
• Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Johnson was nearly removed from office for defying a law and disagreeing with Congress.
• Sharecropping: Farming system where workers rented land in exchange for crops; often led to debt.
• Tenant Farming: Farmers rented land but had more decision-making power than sharecroppers; still faced debt.
• Crop-Lien System: A credit system where farmers used crops as collateral, trapping them in debt cycles.
• "New South" Movement: An effort to modernize Southern industry after the Civil War.
• Southern Industrialization: Efforts to industrialize the South; largely unsuccessful.
• Ku Klux Klan: A terrorist group that used violence to prevent African Americans from voting or exercising their rights.
• Enforcement Acts: Federal laws designed to stop Klan violence and protect African Americans' voting rights.
• Compromise of 1877: Ended Reconstruction by removing federal troops from the South.
• Redeemers: Southern Democrats who regained control and reversed Reconstruction reforms.
• Jim Crow Laws: Laws enforcing segregation and discrimination in the South after Reconstruction.
• Freedmen's Bureau: A government agency that provided food, jobs, and education to freed slaves.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

• Equal Rights and Citizenship: Granted African Americans equal rights and citizenship.
• African American voting and officeholding during Reconstruction: African Americans exercised the right to vote and held political offices during Reconstruction.
• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Colleges established to educate African Americans after slavery.
• Reconstruction Successes: African Americans achieved temporary political power and citizenship rights.

Failures of Reconstruction

• Rights were not fully protected long term.
• Racism and discrimination continued.

Explore the key aspects of the Reconstruction Era, including significant plans like the 10 Percent Plan and the Wade-Davis Bill. Discover Andrew Johnson's presidency, Black Codes, Radical Republicans, and important amendments that shaped African American rights. Test your knowledge on this pivotal period in American history.