The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

Chapter Review 431

Key Terms

Black Codes Special laws passed by southern
state and municipal governments after the Civil
War that denied free blacks many rights of
citizenship, 407
carpetbaggers A pejorative term for Northerners
who went to the South after the Civil War to exploit
the new political power of freed blacks and the dis-
enfranchisement of former Confederates, 414
Compromise of 1877 A brokered arrangement
whereby Republican and Democratic leaders
agreed to settle the disputed 1876 presidential
election. Democrats allowed returns that ensured
the election of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes;
and Republicans agreed to withdraw federal
troops from the South, ensuring an end to
Reconstruction, 427
crop-lien system A system of agriculture in which
local landowners and merchants loaned money to
farm workers in return for a portion of the harvest
of cash crops. By forcing farmers to plant cash
crops, the system discouraged diversified agricul-
ture in the South, 420

Fifteenth Amendment An amendment (1870),

championed by the Republican party, that sought

to guarantee the vote to blacks in the South fol-

lowing the Civil War, 414

Force Acts Three laws passed by the Republican-

dominated Congress in 1870–1871 to protect

black voters in the South. The laws placed state

elections under federal jurisdiction and imposed

fines and imprisonment on those guilty of interfer-

ing with any citizen exercising his right to vote, 423

Fourteenth Amendment An amendment, passed by

Congress in 1866 and ratified in 1868, that prohib-

ited states from depriving citizens of the due process

or the equal protection of the laws. Although the

amendment was a response to discriminatory laws

against blacks in the South, it figured prominently

in the expansion of individual rights and liberties

during the last half of the twentieth century, 409

Freedmen’s Bureau A federal refugee agency to

aid former slaves and destitute whites after the

Civil War. It provided them food, clothing, and

other necessities as well as helped them find work

and set up schools, 408

1863 Lincoln announces “Ten Percent Plan” for

Reconstruction

1865 Federal government sets up Freedmen’s Bureau to

ease transition from slavery to freedom

General Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House

Abraham Lincoln is assassinated

Andrew Johnson becomes president

Johnson issues amnesty proclamation

States ratify Thirteenth Amendment

abolishing slavery

1865– Southern states enact Black Codes

1866

1866 Civil Rights Act passes over Johnson’s veto

Johnson campaigns for his Reconstruction policy

1867 First Reconstruction Act puts former Confederacy

under military rule

Tenure of Office Act protects Senate appointees

1868 House of Representatives impeaches Johnson

1868 Fourth Reconstruction Act requires a majority of

Southern voters to ratify state constitutions

Senate acquits Johnson

States ratify Fourteenth Amendment extending

rights to freed slaves

Ulysses S. Grant is elected president

Ku Klux Klan uses intimidation and force

throughout South

1870 States ratify Fifteenth Amendment granting

black suffrage

1870– Force Act destroys Ku Klux Klan

1871

1872 Liberal Republican party nominates Horace

Greeley for president

Grant is reelected president

1876 Rutherford B. Hayes runs against Samuel Tilden

in disputed presidential election

1877 Electoral Commission awards disputed votes to

Rutherford B. Hayes who becomes president

Hayes agrees to Compromise of 1877 ending

Reconstruction

Milestones

Chapter Review