Freedmen's Bureau
What did the Freedmen's Bureau do?
Helped freed slaves
What was the period of rebuilding and reuniting the country after the Civil War called?
Reconstruction
Which amendment abolished slavery, except as punishment for a crime?
The 13th Amendment.
What were Southern laws passed after the Civil War to limit African Americans’ freedom called?
Black Codes.
What farming system required workers to give a landowner part of their harvest?
Sharecropping.
Why did the Bureau help establish schools for freedpeople?
Education could help them find work, understand contracts, and exercise their rights.
What did voters promise under Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan?
Loyalty to the United States.
Which amendment established citizenship for people born or naturalized in the United States and promised equal protection?
The 14th Amendment.
What was a poll tax?
A payment required to vote.
Why might sharecroppers need to borrow supplies again after selling their harvest?
Their share of the harvest earned too little to repay debts and buy new supplies.
Name 3 things the Freedmen's Bureau did for freed slaves.
Schools
Reunited families
Helped find jobs
Settled disputes
Why did many Republicans criticize Johnson for allowing former Confederate leaders to regain power?
They feared those leaders would limit African Americans’ freedom and restore the old power structure.
Which amendment prohibited denying voting rights because of race, color, or previous enslavement?
The 15th Amendment.
What was the purpose of violence by the KKK and White Leagues?
To intimidate African Americans and their allies and weaken Black rights and political power.
How could 40 acres and a mule have helped formerly enslaved families?
They could farm independently and earn a living with less dependence on landowners.
A landowner refuses to pay a freed worker the agreed wages. How could the Bureau help?
It could investigate the labor dispute and help enforce a fair agreement.
What did Radical Republicans want the federal government to do for African Americans?
Protect their civil and political rights, including voting rights.
A state denies someone equal protection under law because of race. Which Reconstruction amendment does this violate?
The 14th Amendment.
What did the Supreme Court’s ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson allow in 1896?
Racial segregation in facilities claimed to be separate but equal.
Why did the withdrawal of federal troops in 1877 make African Americans’ rights harder to protect?
It weakened federal enforcement and made it easier for opponents of Reconstruction to restrict those rights.
Why could the Bureau’s assistance improve people’s lives without guaranteeing full equality?
Schools and relief helped, but racial violence, discrimination, and limited resources restricted its success.
A Southern state rejoins the Union, but its cities remain destroyed and its people lack jobs. Explain why Reconstruction is still unfinished.
Political reunion alone does not rebuild homes, businesses, or people’s ability to earn a living.
How could African American men have constitutional voting rights but still be unable to vote safely?
Violence, intimidation, and discriminatory voting barriers prevented them from exercising those rights.
How did Black Codes and later Jim Crow laws both undermine African Americans’ freedom?
Black Codes restricted freedpeople’s rights; Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation. Both maintained white control and inequality.
Was Reconstruction successful? Give one achievement and one limitation to support your judgment.
Accept a supported judgment. Achievements include abolition, citizenship, voting rights, schools, or Black officeholding. Limitations include racial violence, sharecropping debt, voting barriers, or later segregation.