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Q: What years did the Reconstruction Era span?
A: 1865 to 1877
Q: What event marked the beginning of Reconstruction?
A: The end of the Civil War
Q: Which U.S. President was assassinated just after the Civil War ended?
A: Abraham Lincoln
Q: Who became president after Lincoln’s assassination?
A: Andrew Johnson
Q: What were the three amendments passed during Reconstruction?
A: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
Q: What did the 14th Amendment establish?
A: Citizenship and equal protection under the law for all people born or naturalized in the U.S
Q: Why was President Andrew Johnson impeached?
A: For violating the Tenure of Office Act and clashing with Congress over Reconstruction policies
Q: What was sharecropping?
A: A farming system where freedmen and poor whites farmed land in exchange for a share of the crops, often resulting in debt and poverty
Q: What was the significance of the Civil Rights Act of 1866?
A: It granted citizenship and equal rights to all male persons in the U.S., regardless of race
Q: Which group used violence and intimidation to oppose Reconstruction and suppress Black political power?
A: The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
Q: What did the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 do?
A: Divided the South into military districts and required states to ratify the 14th Amendment to be readmitted to the Union
Q: What did the Civil Rights Act of 1866 do?
A: It granted citizenship and equal rights to all males in the U.S. regardless of race
Q: What act divided the South into five military districts?
A: The Reconstruction Act of 1867
Q: What was sharecropping and how did it affect freedmen?
A: It was a farming system where freedmen worked land for a share of the crops but often led to debt and poverty
Q: What amendment gave African American men the right to vote?
A: The 15th Amendment
Q: How did the Southern states undermine the 15th Amendment after Reconstruction?
A: By using poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses to prevent African Americans from voting
Q: What led to the end of Reconstruction in 1877?
A: The Compromise of 1877, which removed federal troops from the South in exchange for Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president
Q: Why was the Reconstruction Era considered a failure by some historians?
A: Because it failed to achieve lasting racial equality or fully integrate freed slaves into society
Q: How did Radical Republicans differ from Andrew Johnson on Reconstruction?
A: Radical Republicans wanted harsher penalties for the South and stronger protections for freedmen
Q: Why did many African Americans remain economically dependent after emancipation?
A: Due to systems like sharecropping, lack of education, limited job opportunities, and racial discrimination
Q: What were the long-term economic consequences of Reconstruction in the South?
A: The South remained largely agricultural and poor, with systemic inequality and underdevelopment persisting for generations
Q: How did Reconstruction policies influence race relations in the U.S. long-term?
A: They sparked backlash that led to Jim Crow laws, institutionalized racism, and decades of segregation
Q: Compare Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction.
A: Presidential Reconstruction was lenient and quick, while Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction was stricter and aimed at securing rights for freedmen
Q: How did Supreme Court decisions during and after Reconstruction affect civil rights?
A: Decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson upheld segregation, weakening the protections of the 14th Amendment
Q: In what ways did the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, 15th) reshape the U.S. Constitution?
A: They expanded civil rights and defined citizenship, laying groundwork for future civil rights movements