American Nation

CHAPTER 18: RECONSTRUCTION & THE CHANGING SOUTH

Study Guide

Use this study guide to help you prepare for the Chapter 18 test. Study the following terms and concepts, but also study all notes, Chapter 18 packet, and re-read Chapter 18 if needed. This study guide is intended to help you prepare; the test is not limited to the material on this guide.

Study all Vocabulary terms; there will be a section on vocab!Make sure you spend some time reviewing the Vocabulary terms; it will help you with this chapter if you know the terms well.

Questions:

  1. Compare and contrast the post-war problems of the North and the South. Why was Reconstruction more difficult for the South? What problem(s) did they both share?

Answer- North: Soldiers needed jobs, factories closed and laid off workers South: Many homes were destroyed, 2/3 of railroad tracks were destroyed, many cities were leveled, money was worthless, banks closed, people lost all of their money, freedmen needed to be cared for.

  1. Who were the groups who made up the new southern governments? White southern Republicans (scalawags), Northereners (carpetbaggers), Freedmen (African Americans).
  2. Identify the Reconstruction Plans. What were the goals and differences between the Reconstruction plans? End result? Which plans went into effect?

Reconstruction Plan Comparison

Lincoln’s Plan / Johnson’s Plan / Congressional Plan
Name of Plan / 10 Percent Plan / Presidential Plan / Radical Reconstruction
Lenient or Strict on Confederate states? / Yes-Should not be punished harshly
“With malice toward none”
-Southern states should be readmitted as soon as possible / Yes-More lenient than Lincoln’s plan
-Confederate states only had to agree that slavery and secession were illegal / No-5 Military districts were set up for most southern states
-rewrite state constitutions making slavery and secession illegal
Pledge of Loyalty? / Yes-10% of voters in a Confederate state must take an oath of loyalty to U.S / No-Johnson pardoned hundreds of rebel soldiers and rebel leaders / Yes-A majority of white male citizens had to swear they were never disloyal to the United States
Did it ban slavery? / Yes-South had to ban slavery
Lincoln urged the passing of 13th Amendment / Yes, but...states passed laws known as Black Codes to keep former slaves in conditions close to slavery / Yes-States had to also support 14th Amendment
Effect / -4 States approved under this plan AR, LA, TN, VA
-Lincoln assassinated before plan was fully implemented / Northern Congressmen refused to allow Southerners to participate in Congress / Reconstruction Acts of 1867 and 1877
-Congress begins impeachment of President Johnson
-southerners were outrages
  1. Who were the Radical Republicans? What were their goals?

RadicalRepublicans were motivated by three main factors: Revenge — a desire among some to punish the South for causing the war. ... Political concerns — theRadicalswanted to keep the Republican Party in power in both the North and the South.

  1. What were the goals and impact of the Freedmen’s Bureau?

The Freedmen’s Bureau was established in March of 1865 to help freed people achieve economic stability and secure political freedoms. Impact: The Bureau failed to make a real stride towards racial equality mostly due to the fight between Congress and President Johnson, as well as lack of funding.

  1. What were black codes? a series of restrictive laws which were designed to restrict freed blacks’ activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished.

Who was against them and who supported them?Republicans in congress were against the black codes, meanwhile President Johnson supported them

  1. Identify the following: 13th 14th and 15th Amendments. These 3 Amendments were efforts to give male African Americans equal rights of citizenship like white American men already had. The definitions are on quizlet
  2. How did African Americans earn a living after the Civil War?Most would become sharecroppers on the lands were they had worked as slaves
  3. What caused the cycle of poverty? Explain how this caused the cycle of debt in detail.In spring the sharecroppers would receive supplies on credit and in the fall they would have to repay what they have borrowed. If their harvest didn’t cover what they owed they sank deeper into debt.
  4. Who were the Conservatives in the South? White Southerners (Democrats)What role did they play?They restricted the rights of freedmen in the South.
  5. Who committed violence against African Americans in the South and why?The KKK worked to keep African Americans and white Republicans out of office, by terrorizing them.
  6. Why were the Republicans upset with Johnson?He was too lenient on the South.
  7. Who attempted to impeach President Johnson? Radical Republicans Why?He vetoed the Reconstruction Act Was he removed from office?No
  8. What occurred during Grant’s Presidency?African American men gained the right to vote and wide spread corruption throughout Grant’s Presidency.Consequences?Voter apathy.
  9. What were the results of the Election of 1876?Rutherford B. Hayes would become PresidentHow did Reconstruction end? Hayes privately agreed to end Reconstruction with Southern Democrats. What marked the end of Reconstruction?Hayes removed all remaining federal troops from Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida
  10. How were African American’s rights still limited after the Civil War?Southern states implemented Jim Crow Laws
  11. What does the “New South” refer to?The rebuilding of the South’s industries.How did the South develop its industries after the war?It increased industry that included textile mills, tobacco, mining for iron ore and coal, lumber and furniture.
  12. What was the ruling and the impact of Plessyv. Ferguson?Brown v. Board of Education? The Supreme court ruled that segregation was legal as long as the facilities were equal. What are Jim Crow laws?They were laws that segregated blacks and whites in schools, restaurants, trains, street cars, playgrounds, hospitals and even cemeteries.

Essay Question –Evaluate the effectiveness of Reconstruction using specific examples from this unit.