Reconstruction as a Success
What did the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments do?
13th = Banned Slavery.
14th = Gave African American Males Citizenship
15th = Gave African American Males Right to Vote
State 5 reasons why some people view Reconstruction as a failure.
KKK, Sharecropping, Poll Tax, Grandfather Clause, Literacy Test, Jim Crow Laws, Plessy v. Ferguson, 1872 Amnesty Act, and Compromise of 1877
List 3 reasons why many Americans moved West in the mid-late 1800s
Job opportunities, spread christianity / Manifest Destiny, land / Homestead Act, gold, business opportunities, seek religious freedom, better life
List 3 specific struggles Native Americans faced
Sent to reservations, children sent to boarding schools, forced to learn how to farm, Dawes Act, Wounded Knee Massacre, lost much land, forced to assimilate, and many buffalo were killed
List 3 effects of Westward Expansion
Native Americans were kicked off their land, NA's were sent to reservation, NA's were forced to assimilate, the Transcontinental Railroad was created, it became cheaper and quicker to move people and goods, expanded the size and possibilities of the US, military conflict with NA's, military conflict with Mexico, Civil War, NA's population decreased.
What did the Freedmen's Bureau do?
A government agency part of the Army, which provided food, clothing, medical services, and education for African Americans
Explain how Jim Crow Laws and Plessy v. Ferguson negatively impacted African Americans.
African Americans could not use the same public facilities as White Americans, and because White Americans had more money and resources, their facilities were of higher quality. When the Supreme Court ruled that Jim Crow Laws were constitutional, it was set and stone that African Americans' development would be negatively impacted.
Explain Manifest Destiny
God-given right for White Christian Americans to expand West to the Pacific Coast. Justified / Excused White Christian Americans for taking Native Americans Lands
List 3 causes to Farmer's Struggles in the late 1800s-early 1900s.
Eastern Manufacturers were charing high prices for tools, Railroad Companies were charging high costs to ship crops, Banks were charging high interest rates (cost on money borrowed), droughts, and overproduction.
Define Assimilation
process whereby individuals or groups of differing ethnic heritage are absorbed into the dominant culture of a society. Think of Melting Different Chocolate Bars.
State 5 reasons why Reconstruction could be viewed as a succcess
13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 15th Amendment, Freedmen's Bureau bill, Military Enforcement in the South, African American Congressmen, and Education.
Explain how sharecropping could be support the argument that Reconstruction being a failure.
African Americans needed to rent tools, seeds, and land to make crops and sell them. They also needed shelter, clothes, and people to sell crops to. In addition, they did not possess many skills to do other work. Therefore, much of their money gained from selling crops was spent towards paying their rent.
What technological development encouraged more Americans to move out west in the late 1800s?
The Transcontinental Railroad
List a solution Struggling Farmers thought would solve their problems.
Coining Silver / Adding silver to US currency, Government owning railroads, Graduated Income Tax, Lower interest Rates.
Give an example of White Christian Americans trying to assimilate Native Americans
Dawes Act, sending Native Americans to boarding schools, forcing Native Americans to farm, trying to eliminate their cultural traditions and values.
Why did the Union have many troops in the South during the early years of Reconstruction?
To enforce laws, make sure the former Confederates were obeying the law / new laws
Explain how the emergence of the KKK negatively impacted African Americans.
The KKK was a secret society formed that intimidated African Americans in numerous ways. They burnt houses, schools, killed African Americans, and threatened them. They took all of these actions to prevent African Americans from using their rights given by the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment
Who worked on the Railroads? Describe their typical day.
Chinese Immigrants. They worked tons of hours each day for little pay with poor living conditions concerning resources, food, shelter, and abuse. Railroad companies hired them because they could pay them less than other Americans and immigrants
Why did Farmers want to coin silver to be part of the US Currency?
Coining silver to US Currency would tremendeously increase the amount of money in US Economy. This would increase the amount of money while decreasing the value of it. So let's say a farmer owed the bank $500 for a loan before coining silver, but only had $400 after selling their crops; After coining silver, they would earn more money for selling their crops and would then be able to pay off the money they owe.
Define the Homestead Act
encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land
Construct a strong argument for African Americans becoming part of Congress a huge success during the Reconstruction Era
This paved the way for African Americans becoming part of our government and eventually to our first African American President, Barrack Obama.
Explain how African Americans were prevented from voting during Reconstruction.
1) Poll Taxes - There was a tax placed on voting and African Americans had much less money than White Americans
2) Literacy Tests - To be able to vote, you needed to pass a literacy test. These were made and administered by Whites. Most African Americans were uneducated.
3) Grandfather Clause - If you failed a Literacy Test, you could vote if your father or grandfather voted. But African Americans had just earned the right to vote, so this could not help them.
4) The KKK intimidated and threatened African American voters
List 3 groups of people (Job groups) that would view Westward Expansion positively.
Railroad Companies, Farmers, companies that trade goods, Telegraph Companies, Tourists, Manufacturing Companies, Religious Missionaries.
Why were some people against coining silver making it part of US Currency?
Let's say someone was owed $500 before coining silver. Then, after coining silver, they received their $500. Because the money the $500 was received after silver became part of the US, they would not be able to buy as much with $500 because the value of $500 would be decreased. Banks, Railroad Companies, Manufacturers, and people trading overseas were strongly against coining silver because of this.
This court case approved that it was constitutional for there to be separate public facilities, such as movie theaters, restaurants, bathrooms, schools, and other public facilities as long as they were "equal". This slowed the process of African Americans becoming integrated into American Society and hurt their development due to the lack of quality of resources they had access to.