Amendments
Which amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States?
The 13th
President Lincoln oversaw reconstruction.
False. He was days after the surrender at Appomattox.
In simple terms, what was Reconstruction?
The effort to rebuild the South, restore the Union, and define freedom after the Civil War.
What farming system allowed a family to work another person's land in exchange for part of the crop?
Sharecropping
What major change occurred when federal troops withdrew from the South in 1877?
Federal enforcement of Reconstruction weakened sharply.
Which amendment established national citizenship and equal protection under the law?
The 14th
What federal agency provided food, medical help, schools, and labor assistance to formerly enslaved people?
The Freedmen's Bureau
What did the Reconstruction Acts do to most former Confederate states?
They placed them in military districts and required new governments before readmission
Why did many sharecroppers become trapped in debt?
They borrowed for supplies and often earned too little from the crop to repay what they owed.
What name is given to the segregation laws that spread across the South after Reconstruction?
Jim Crow laws.
Which amendment prohibited denying the vote because of race, color, or previous enslavement?
The 15th Amendment
What group in Congress wanted stronger Reconstruction and greater protection for freedpeople?
The Radical Republicans.
What did the Civil Rights Act of 1866 attempt to protect?
Citizenship and equal civil rights for U.S.-born people.
Why would owning land have mattered to a formerly enslaved family?
Land could provide independence, income, housing, and greater control over work.
Name one method used to prevent Black citizens from voting after Reconstruction.
Accept poll tax, literacy test, grandfather clause, intimidation, violence, or unfair registration rules.
Answer and justify
What were the Southern laws designed to enforce racial segregation in the South?
Jim Crow Laws
Why did President Johnson and Congress repeatedly clash over Reconstruction?
**DAILY DOUBLE**
Johnson favored a more lenient restoration, while Congress wanted stronger requirements and protections.
How did the Freedmen's Bureau try to help with employment?
It helped negotiate or supervise labor contracts and settle some disputes.
What doctrine did Plessy v. Ferguson allow states to use to defend segregation?
Separate but equal.
Name one reason the Reconstruction Amendments did not immediately create equality in daily life.
weak enforcement, racial violence, discriminatory state laws, court decisions, poll taxes, or literacy tests.
What white supremacist organization used terror and violence to attack Black voters and Reconstruction supporters?
The Ku Klux Klan, or KKK.
How did Reconstruction change the role of the federal government?
It expanded federal responsibility for citizenship, voting, and civil-rights protection.
What is the difference between legal freedom and economic independence?
Legal freedom means not being enslaved. Economic independence means having real control over work, property, and income.
Give one lasting success and one major limitation of Reconstruction.
Successes include constitutional abolition, citizenship, equal protection, or voting protections. Limitations include weak enforcement, violence, landlessness, segregation, or restricted voting.