Reconstruction Era Quiz

Reconstruction Era

• Black Codes and Jim Crow laws were implemented in the US South to restrict Black rights and limit their power.
• Post-Civil War, these codes severely limited Black people's rights, often relating to voting, employment, and property ownership.
• Suffrage (voting rights) denial occurred for various reasons, including lack of wealth, property, or education. Constitutional laws sometimes barred citizens as well.
• 1866 elections ended presidential Reconstruction and empowered Radical Republicans, setting up Congressional Reconstruction.
• The KKK aimed to undermine the Republican Party and maintain white supremacy during Reconstruction.
• The Compromise of 1876 resolved the disputed election via the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction
• "Carpetbaggers" was a derogatory term for opportunistic Northerners who migrated to the South after the Civil War
• Sharecropping often trapped African Americans in cycles of debt and poverty.

Amendments

• 13th Amendment: Abolished slavery.
• 14th Amendment: Guaranteed equal protection under the law for all citizens.
• 15th Amendment: Prohibited voting discrimination based on race.
• 16th Amendment: Authorized federal income tax.
• 17th Amendment: Established direct election of Senators by popular vote.
• 18th Amendment: Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol (Prohibition).
• 19th Amendment: Granted women the right to vote.
• 21st Amendment: Repealed the 18th Amendment (ended Prohibition).

Progressive Era

• Birth of a Nation film: Controversial for its portrayal of African Americans as inferior and positive illustrations of the KKK.
• Radical Republicans: Advocated harsh punishments for Confederate states and government intervention to secure Black civil rights during Reconstruction.
• General Sherman's Field Order No. 15: Set aside land for distribution to African Americans.
• Closed shops: Businesses that only hire union members.
• Tammany Hall: Powerful political machine led by "Boss" Tweed.
• Philanthropy: Promoting the welfare of others through charitable donations.
• Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth: Wealthy Americans had a responsibility to use their fortune for the common good.
• Haymarket Square: Violent incident between police and labor protesters, which increased anti-labor sentiment.
• Gilded Age: Period of extreme wealth and corruption masking underlying social problems due to materialism.
• Great Migration: Large-scale movement of African Americans from the South to Northern, Midwestern, and Western states (1910s-1970s). Connected to race riots in northern cities caused by white social and economic anxieties.
• Corporation model: Separates ownership from management; Advantages include: raised capital through stock sales, reduced risk (limited liability), and no single owner limitation.
• Federal Reserve System: Created by Woodrow Wilson, the central banking system of the US.
• Union conflicts—management tools: Scabs, Pinkertons, lockouts, blacklisting, and court injunctions.
• Union conflicts—labor tools: Boycotts, informational picketing, closed shops, and organized strikes.
• AFL success: Focus on practical goals and the use of strikes, leveraging skilled worker status.
• Laissez-faire: Economic system with minimal government intervention in transactions between private parties.

Progressive Reforms

• Initiative: Citizens propose laws to be voted on.
• Referendum: Citizens vote directly on proposed laws or constitutional amendments.
• Recall: Voters can remove an elected official from office.
• Direct Primary: Voters directly choose their party's candidate nominations.
• Margaret Sanger: Championed birth control and women's reproductive rights.
• The Jungle: Upton Sinclair's novel about meatpacking industry working conditions, leading to the Pure Food and Drug Act.
• Factory system's impact: Centralization and division of labor.
• Elkins Act: Amended the Interstate Commerce Act to prevent railroads from giving rebates.
• Theodore Roosevelt and the Square Deal: Protection of consumers, control of corporations, conservation of resources.

Other Key Topics

• Muckrakers: Investigative journalists exposing social problems (Lewis Hines, Jacob Riis, Upton Sinclair).
• William Tweed: Corrupt politician and leader of Tammany Hall.
• Political machines: Cyclical political power structures, often using bribery to procure votes.
• Nativists: Concerned about Catholic immigration and their perceived allegiance to the Pope.
• Progressive goals: Government reform, family, and educational improvements.
• Populist goals: Collective bargaining, railroad regulation, expansionary monetary policies, and the Sub-Treasury Plan.
• Populist successes: Helped gain the right to elect US Senators.
• Business regulation legislation: Federal Trade Commission Act, Sherman Anti-Trust Act, Inspection Acts, Interstate Commerce Commission, Hepburn Act for railroads.
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire: Exposed dangerous working conditions in factories.
• US Expansionism: Driven by market needs, and a belief in America's cultural superiority.
• Philippine-American War: High cost in human lives, brutal military tactics.
• "White Man's Burden": Justification for colonialism.
• Rough Riders: Famous volunteer cavalry unit led by Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War.
• Platt Amendment impact on Cuba: Limited Cuba's independence and allowed significant US involvement in Cuban affairs for the sake of enforcing Cuban independence.
• Dollar Diplomacy: American financial support for other countries to garner political favors.
• Spanish-American War: Brief conflict referred to as the "splendid little war" due to its brevity and relatively low US death toll.
• Roosevelt Corollary: Extension of Monroe Doctrine, permitting US intervention in Latin American affairs.
• Acquisition of Panama Canal Zone: Treaty with Panama granting US exclusive and permanent rights for the canal.
• Acquisition of Hawaii: Annexation by the US in 1898.
• MAIN causes of WWI: Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.
• World War I agencies: Propaganda and home-front support.
• Zimmermann Telegram: Coded message proposing alliance between Germany and Mexico against the US.
• Sinking of the Lusitania: German submarine attack on a passenger ship that played a role in US entry into WWI.
• East St. Louis riots: Racial tensions culminating in violence in 1917.
• US entry into WWI: German resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare.
• WWI financing: US government sold Liberty Bonds to raise money.
• Women's contribution to war effort (home front): Filled labor needs in roles previously held by men, joined the military, and worked in defense plants.