Reconstruction
1. What was Reconstruction? Restoring relations with the South
2. Sum up Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan. Offered amnesty or official forgiveness of crimes to
Southerners who pledged an oath of loyalty to the United States and accepted the elimination of
slavery; Applied to everyone except a few high-ranking Confederate officials; Once 10% of the
voters in 1860 had taken the oath of loyalty, those voters could set up a new government.
3. Why did Congress have such a hard time with Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee being admitted to the
Union? because they felt that Congress was in control of the admittance of new states not the
president
4. Explain who the Radicals were. wanted to punish the rebellious Southern states and destroy all
Southern economic and political powers; Opposed slavery and wanted to use federal power to
force changes in the South.
5. What was the difference between Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan and the Wade-Davis Bill? Lincoln’s
required 10% and WD required a majority
6. Was the 13th Amendment ratified immediately after its proposal? no
7. What’s unique about the two people who attended Lincoln’s inauguration? Frederick Douglass and
John Wilkes Booth
8. Why were the Radicals relieved by Lincoln’s assassination? because they had feared that former
Southern leaders would regain power under Lincoln (now they could enforce their harsher views)
9. Who becomes President if the elected President dies in office? The Vice President
10. What 3 things did states have to do under Johnson’s plan? Had to ratify 13th amendment, declare
secession illegal, and agree not to pay Confederate debts
11. Was Johnson’s plan a success? Why? No because it allowed for the return of Confederate leaders
12. What did the Black Codes do? restrictive laws that applied only to African Americans. (They were
denied the right to vote, an opportunity to learn, and freedom to work.)
13. What was the purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau? It worked to provide education, housing, and other
improvements for African Americans in the South.
14. What did the Civil Rights Act of 1866 do? Guaranteed African Americans some basic rights of
citizens, such as owning property and bringing lawsuits.
15. Why was it important? Bill of Rights finally apply to ALL Americans
16. What was the requirement under the Radical Reconstruction? States had to meet the new
requirements of rewriting their constitutions to allow for the freedom of African Americans and
regained their statehood.
17. Was President Johnson impeached? Misuse of office
18. Was he removed from office? No
19. What’s the difference between tenant farmers and sharecroppers? Tenant farmers – farmed land that
they rented; Sharecroppers – people who worked the owner’s land and received a share of the
crops in return
20. What were the setbacks to the Freedmen’s Bureau? President Johnson’s Reconstruction program
ordered this land back to its original owners.
21. What did the laws ban African Americans from doing because it made them look white? Wearing hats,
Carrying canes, Looking white people in the eye
22. What was the Ku Klux Klan? Terrorist bands formed to defend the South’s old way of life
23. Who was given the name carpetbagger? Term that Southerners used to refer to Northerners who
moved to the South during Reconstruction looking for business opportunities
24. Who was given the name scalawags? Were former Whigs or Southerners interested in the economic
development of the South joined Republican governments.
25. What would the Civil Rights Act of 1875 bring the African Americans that the Civil War did not?
While the Civil War had brought them political freedom, this bill would offer them civil freedom
as well.
26. Was the Civil Rights Act of 1875 ever passed? Yes
27. Did it stay in effect long? No, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1883.