U.S. History Reconstruction Flashcards

Questions and Answers

What does Reconstruction refer to?

The establishment of the United Nations

The period after World War I

Returning the South back to the Union (correct)

The abolition of slavery

What was the Freedmen's Bureau?

A federal agency that helped freed slaves and relieve the South's immediate needs.

Who was Andrew Johnson?

U.S. president after Lincoln, almost impeached by the Radical Republicans.

What is the Thirteenth Amendment?

The constitutional amendment ratified after the Civil War that forbade slavery and involuntary servitude. Signup and view all the answers

Who were the Radical Republicans?

The political party that favored harsh punishment of Southern states after the Civil War. Signup and view all the answers

Impeachment is the political equivalent of an indictment in criminal law.

True Signup and view all the answers

What does the Fourteenth Amendment establish?

It made 'all persons born or naturalized in the United States' citizens of the country. Signup and view all the answers

What is the Fifteenth Amendment?

A constitutional amendment that gave specifically African American men the right to vote. Signup and view all the answers

What was the Ku Klux Klan?

Founded in the 1860s in the South; meant to control newly freed slaves through threats and violence. Signup and view all the answers

What is de jure segregation?

Segregation by law. Signup and view all the answers

What is a cash crop?

A readily salable crop that is grown and gathered for the market. Signup and view all the answers

What was the Farmers' Alliance?

A Farmers' organization founded in the late 1870s that worked for lower railroad freight rates, lower interest rates, and a change in the government's tight money policy. Signup and view all the answers

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1875 prohibit?

Discrimination against blacks in public places. Signup and view all the answers

What is a reservation?

Land set aside for the Native Americans. Signup and view all the answers

What occurred during the Sand Creek Massacre?

An attack on a village of sleeping Cheyenne Indians by a regiment of Colorado militiamen. Signup and view all the answers

Who was Sitting Bull?

An American Indian chief who led the victory at Little Bighorn. Signup and view all the answers

What happened during the Battle of Little Big Horn?

General Custer and his men were wiped out by a coalition of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. Signup and view all the answers

Who was Chief Joseph?

Leader of Nez Perce who fled with his tribe to Canada. Signup and view all the answers

What does it mean to assimilate?

Become similar to one's environment. Signup and view all the answers

What was the Dawes General Allotment Act?

1887 law that divided reservation land into private family plots. Signup and view all the answers

What is a vigilante?

Someone who takes law enforcement into his or her own hands. Signup and view all the answers

What is a Transcontinental Railroad?

A railroad connecting the west and east coasts of the continental U.S. Signup and view all the answers

What is a land grant?

Land given by a government. Signup and view all the answers

What is the open-range system?

Property was not fenced in, ranchers knew boundaries, and cattle grazed freely. Signup and view all the answers

What was the Homestead Act?

Provided free land in the west as long as the person would settle there and make improvements in five years. Signup and view all the answers

What does Exoduster refer to?

African Americans who migrated from the South to the West after the Civil War. Signup and view all the answers

What is a redeemer?

Southerners who wanted to return the South to the way it was before the Civil War. Signup and view all the answers

What is sharecropping?

Poor people contracted with landowners to work the land and get a share of the crop. Signup and view all the answers

What is Manifest Destiny?

The belief that the United States was destined to stretch across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Reconstruction Era

Aimed to reintegrate Southern states into the Union following the Civil War.
Included significant amendments aimed at expanding civil rights for freed slaves.

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal agency established to assist freed slaves and address Southern needs post-war.
Provided food, housing, education, and medical care.

Andrew Johnson

Became U.S. President after Lincoln's assassination.
Faced near impeachment due to conflicts with Radical Republicans over Reconstruction policies.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

Radical Republicans

Political faction advocating for severe consequences for Southern states after the Civil War.
Pushed for civil rights legislation and protection for freedmen.

Impeachment

Constitutionally defined process to remove a president or other federal official from office due to wrongdoing.

Fourteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including former slaves.

Fifteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment ensuring that African American men had the right to vote.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist group established in the 1860s to intimidate and Control newly freed African Americans.
Also targeted immigrants, Catholics, and Jews.

De jure segregation

Systematic separation of races enforced by law.

Cash crop

Agricultural products grown for direct sale in the market, e.g., cotton and tobacco.

Farmer's Alliance

Organization formed in the late 1870s advocating for improved economic conditions for farmers.
Sought reductions in railroad rates and changes in monetary policy.

Civil Rights Act of 1875

Law prohibiting racial discrimination in public accommodations.
Ultimately deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Reservation

Designated land set aside specifically for Native American tribes.

Sand Creek Massacre

1864 attack on a Cheyenne village by Colorado militiamen, resulting in over 200 deaths.

Sitting Bull

Chief of the Lakota Sioux who played a key role in the victory at the Battle of Little Bighorn.

Battle of the Little Bighorn

Notable 1876 conflict where General Custer's forces were defeated by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse.

Chief Joseph

Leader of the Nez Perce tribe, known for his resistance to U.S. government policies, fleeing to Canada with his tribe.

Assimilate

Process of individuals or groups adopting the cultural norms of another group.

Dawes General Allotment Act

1887 legislation that divided Native American communal lands into individual plots for farming.

Vigilante

Individual or group assuming law enforcement roles without official authority.

Transcontinental Railroad

Railroad completed in 1869, linking the East and West coasts of the United States.

Land grant

Government-allocated land, often used to encourage settlement and development.

Open-range system

Cattle ranching approach allowing livestock to roam freely across unfenced land, with boundaries known to ranchers.

Homestead Act

1862 law providing 160 acres of free land to settlers approving to improve and occupy it for five years.

Exoduster

African Americans who relocated from the South to the West in search of better opportunities after the Civil War.

Redeemer

Southern Democrats who sought to restore pre-Civil War social norms and power structures.

Sharecropping

System where landowners provided land to poor workers who would farm it in exchange for a share of the crops.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that it was America's divine right and duty to expand across the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans.

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Test your knowledge of the key concepts from the Reconstruction era in U.S. history with these flashcards. Explore important terms like Freedmen's Bureau, Andrew Johnson, and the Thirteenth Amendment to deepen your understanding of this pivotal time in American history.