Constitution Amendments for Black Americans + (other laws)
What are the three amendments known as "Reconstruction Amendments" that were added to the constitution during this ERA?
13th, 14th, 15th
What are two examples of Black Codes?
Name two components of reconstruction that were beneficial for the progress of Black people in America?
Name any two!
How did Abraham Lincoln die?
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on 4/14/1865 by John Wilks Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC. John Wilks booth murdered Abraham Lincoln because he was enraged by a speech by Lincoln 3 days earlier in which Lincoln advocated for Black men and veteran the right to vote.
Who is General Sherman?
The union general who made a plan to give freed Black families 40 acres of land and a mule to help them start their new lives.
What is the 15th Amendment?
A law that said no one could be stopped from voting because of their race, color, or past as a slave.
What are Black Codes?
Unfair laws made by Southern states that limited the freedom and rights of African Americans.
How was the Reconstruction Era the first time that the United States saw an INTER-RACIAL DEMOCRACY (positions in government)?
This is the first time in US History that we see Black men serving in local, state, and national government as law makers and judges.
Who was the president after Abraham Lincoln? What political party was he?
Andrew Johnson, Democrat
Who is Hiram Revels?
The first African American Senator in the U.S., marking a significant step for African Americans in politics.
What is the 14th amendment?
A change to the Constitution that made all people born or naturalized in the U.S., including former slaves, citizens with equal rights.
The movie called "Birth of a Nation" depicted what?
Birth of a Nation negatively portrayed Black people during reconstruction as being uncivilized and savage and that order was restored to a chaotic South by the noble Ku Klux Klan.
Why was the assassination of President Lincoln so detrimental to the progress of Reconstruction?
Abraham Lincoln was a president who was an advocate for the freedom and equality of Black people in the country. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, Andrew Johnson took office who easily let southerns return to the United States. Andrew Johnson gave the land back to the southern plantation owners, and allowed the South to implement racist policies such as Black codes.
What is Andrew Johnson's reconstruction plan?
Andrew Johnson's plan gave many southern whites the power to reclaim property easily, and let these southern white plantation owners exploit freed slaves.
Reconstruction Act of 1867
A law by Congress dividing the South into military districts and setting rules to protect African Americans' rights and ensure their participation in voting.
What is the 13th amendment?
A change to the U.S. Constitution that officially ended slavery in the United States.
What does the UDC stand for? What did the group do?
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The group pushed the Lost Cause narrative. They helped build monuments and statues on confederate leaders and shape the curriculum in schools until the 1960's/1970's.
How does the Lost Cause movement negatively affect people's education in the south?
The Lost Cause movement neglects to tell the truth of the atrocities (horrible things) that occured before, during, and after the Civil War. This misinformation causes skewed historical beliefs that lead to violence and the ability un understand how Black people have been oppressed in this country.
What is the compromise of 1877?
An agreement that ended Reconstruction. It involved removing the last U.S. troops from the South and affected the rights of African Americans, and allowed Rutherford B. Hayes to be president.
Civil Rights Act of 1875
A law that said African Americans should be treated the same as whites in public places and in jury service.
One of the amendments say that slave labor is illegal for everyone in the country accept for who. How does slave labor still exist today?
Slave labor still exists for people who are incarcerated. People who are in prison are not protected under the amendment. They earn, on average, between 13 cents and 52 cents per hour nationwide.
What is the Lost Cause movement?
The Lost Cause was an interpretation of the war that viewed Southern troops as noble and the cause of the war as issues other than slavery. It focused on the contributions of Southern women and the admiration of Confederate generals such as Robert E. Lee. The Lost Cause influenced museums, history books, and media including movies, but it was based on a flawed view of history.
Why was the removing of union troops from Southern states in 1877 a huge step back for the freedom and equality of Black people?
The liberties for Black people to vote and have equal access to schooling, housing, and jobs were stripped away. This paved the way for white violence against Black people to surge and for Jim Crow laws to be put in place.
How did President Grant (Ulysses S. Grant) stop white terrorism and the KKK?
The KKK was carrying out a reign of terror during Reconstruction by enforcing racist Black Codes and brutalizing Black people and white supporters.
The Third Enforcement Act (KKK Act of 1871), allowed federal troops to make hundreds of arrest and causing 2,000 KKK members to flee the state. There was a huge decline in violence throughout the South after this.
What is the Freedmen's Bureau?
A government agency created to help freed slaves by giving them land, starting schools, and protecting them from harm.