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Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction Quiz – STUDY GUIDE KEY
1. What is reconstruction?
- A period of time following the Civil War when the country was put back together
- A period of tension between the North and the South
- A time period when former slaves gained many rights
2. What did Frederick Douglass fight for during Reconstruction? (use at least two of your vocabulary
terms)
Fought for adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed equal voting rights
A powerful voice for human rights and civil liberties for all
3. What did Robert E. Lee urge Southerners to do after the Civil War? (use at least one vocabulary word)
Urged Southerners to reconcile with Northerners at the end of the war and reunite as Americans when
some wanted to continue to fight
4. Abraham Lincoln did not believe in punishing the South. What did he believe was more important?
Preservation of the Union was more important than punishing the South.
5. If you were freedmen during Presidential Reconstruction, how did the Freedmen’s Bureau help you?
Provided aid
6. What was the Civil Rights Act of 1866?
African Americans gained equal rights
Authorized the use of federal troops for its enforcement
7. Explain the difference between carpetbaggers and scalawags?
Carpetbagger = Northerners who moved to postwar South to profit from the South
Scalawag = White Southern Republicans (seen as a traitor in the South)
8. Finish the sentence: During reconstruction, Radical Republicans believed…
th
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Radical Republicans believed the South should be forced with an army to ratify the 14 and 15 amendment.
9. What is the Military Reconstruction Act? Why would southerners oppose it?
Military Reconstruction Act: divided the South into military districts. Northern troops were sent to enforce
reconstruction polices.
The South would oppose the Military Reconstruction Act because they would not want to be controlled by the
North’s army. They viewed this as the North having too much control over the South.
10. Describe each of the following:
a. 13th Amendment – It banned slavery in the United States and its territories.
b. 14th Amendment – Grants citizenship to all persons born in the U.S. and guarantees them equal
protection under the law.
c. 15th Amendment – Ensures all citizens the right to vote regardless of race or color or previous condition
of servitude.
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11. What do the phrases “Forgive and Forget” and “Punish! Punish! Punish!” mean?
“Forgive and Forget” - a slogan to summarize Lincoln and Johnson’s reconstruction plan. Both believed it was
more important to preserve (save) the Union than punish them.
“Punish, Punish, Punish” – a slogan describing Radical Republicans’ belief in punishing (disagreed with Lincoln
and Johnson) the South after the Civil War.
12. Describe how each of the following people would feel about Presidential Reconstruction.
Answer in your own words
a. Lincoln
b. Southerners
c. Freedmen
13. Describe how each of the following people would feel about Congressional Reconstruction.
Answer in your own words
a. Lincoln
b. Southerners
c. Freedmen