radical republicans
wanted to democratize the South, establish public education, and ensure the rights or free people; strongly promoted free blacks and black suffrage
civil rights bill of 1866
first statutory definition of rights of American citizens; was to counteract black codes; would force southern courts to practice equality before the law by allowing federal judges to remove from state courts cases in which blacks were treated unfairly; pocket vetoed by Johnson
14th Amendment
gave citizenship to freedmen, prohibited states from interfering with constitutional rights, declared Confederate war debt null and void, barred Confederate leaders from holding state and federal office, and punished and state that restricted black voting rights
Thaddeus Stevens
leader of the Radical Republicans; proposed plan to confiscate and redistribute lands from the former Confederate states but it failed to win support
Tenure of Office Act
stated Senate must approve all presidential appointees who are non-elected as well as approving the firing of officials; violated tradition of a president controlling his cabinet
15th Amendment
prohibited denying right to vote based on race, color, or servitude; provided suffrage for blacks but not women; couldn't deny but doesn't allow
Southern Conservatives
opposed Reconstruction; spread myth of Negro Rule, saying the south was being controlled by black freedmen
"Negro Rule"
belief spread by southern conservatives that the south was becoming dominated by blacks; was false but it threatened the north
carpetbagger
northern republicans who moved to the south seeking economic opportunity; name derived from suitcase made of carpet material
scalawags
poor white southerners who became republicans because they were interested in economic development to raise their own status
Klu Klux Klan
began as a social club in TN but evolved into a terrorist organization; intimidated African Americans and sympathetic whites so that they became silent and submissive
Enforcement Acts
passed to counteract KKK violence; made actions of individuals against the civil and political rights of blacks a federal criminal offense; were enforced selectively
Amnesty Act of 1872
Congress offered amnesty to most remaining former Confeds.; pardoned most revels and left only 500 barred from political officeholding