Reconstruction - 1865-1877 - governments plan to rebuild the South and restore the Union after the Civil War. Reconstruction was a FAILURE!
Radical Republicans- Republicans who wanted to punish the former Confederate states for causing the Civil War. They wanted:
1) Military occupation of the South
2) Civil rights for African-Americans
Andrew Johnson- succeeded Abraham Lincoln as president. Radical Republicans impeached Johnson. One vote short of being removed.
Impeachment - The process of bringing an official to trial for misconduct in office. House of Representatives can bring charges and the Senate can remove after a trial.
Compromise of 1877 – Signals the end of Reconstruction. Southern Democrats support the Republican candidate for president, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Republicans would end military occupation of the South
Jim Crow Era- racial segregation in public places in the South. (racial segregation = separation of the races) Blacks were denied the full rights of American citizenship until the mid-1960s
Transcontinental Railroad – finished 1869 in Promontory Point, Utah. It increased westward movement of settlers into the states between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean. Irish build eastern part and Chinese build western part.
Ku Klux Klan – White supremacist group that rises to power in the South during Reconstruction
Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address - “With malice towards none, with charity for all…let us bind up the nation’s wounds… (He is talking about Reconstruction)
Lincoln’s view of Reconstruction - Since secession was illegal, the southern states had never really left the Union. He wanted to restore the Union as quick as possible with his 10% plan.
Effects on North and Midwest- had strong industrial economies that led to U.S. becoming a global power.
Effects on the South - devastated them. South remained the poorest section of the nation for a long time.
Electoral College- The group of people who cast the official votes that elect the President. Electoral votes = Number of members in House of Representatives + two for U.S. Senators