abolitionist individual who condemns slavery as morally wrong and seeks to abolish (eliminate) slavery

amnesty general pardon, especially for political offenses

autonomy control of one’s own affairs; self-government






benevolent society group of people associated for some charitable purpose

black codes laws passed by the southern states after the Civil War to define the status of freed people as subordinate to whites

Black Reconstruction the period of Reconstruction where African Americans took an active role in state and local government






capital money, especially the money invested in a capital enterprise

carpetbagger derogatory term for the northerners who came to the South after the Civil War to take part in Reconstruction

cholera infectious and often fatal disease associated with poor sanitation

civil rights rights, privileges, and protections that are a part of citizenship

Civil Rights Act of 1875 law prohibiting racial discrimination in selection of juries and in transportation and other businesses open to the general public

coalition an alliance, especially a temporary one of different people or groups

coercion use of threats or force to compel action

Compromise of 1877 resolution of the disputed 1876 presidential election; it gave the presidency to the Republicans and made concessions to southern Democrats

crop lien legal claim to a farmer’s crop, similar to a mortgage, based on the use of crops as collateral for extension of credit by a merchant






depression period of economic contraction, characterized by decreasing business activity, falling prices, and high unemployment

discrimination denial of equal treatment based on prejudice or bias

disfranchisement to take away an individual’s or group’s right to vote






Elizabeth Cady Stanton founder and leader of the American woman suffrage movement from 1848 (Seneca Falls Conference) until her death in 1902

emancipation release from slavery

empower to increase the power or authority of some person or group

enfranchise to grant the right to vote to an individual or group

equal access the right of any group to use a public facility as freely as all other groups in the society






Fifteenth Amendment 1870 constitutional amendment that prohibited states from denying the right to vote because of a person’s race or because the person had been a slave

Fourteenth Amendment 1868 constitutional amendment defining American citizenship placing restrictions on former Confederates

fraternal order organization of men, often with a ceremonial initiation, that typically provided rudimentary life insurance; many fraternal orders also had auxiliaries for the female relatives of its members

freed people former slaves

Freemen’s Bureau agency established in 1865 to aid former slaves in their transition to freedom, especially by administering relief and sponsoring education






impeach to charge a public official with improper, usually criminal, conduct






Ku Klux Klan secret society organized in the South after the Civil War to resurrect white supremacy by means of violence and intimidation






land redistribution the division of land held by large landowners into small plots that are turned over to people without property






Mississippi Plan use of threats, violence, and lynching by Mississippi Democrats in 1875 to intimidate Republicans and bring the Democratic Party to power

moderates people whose views are midway between two more extreme positions; in this case, Republicans who favored more reforms but not all the Radicals’ proposals






nativity place of birth

New Departure strategy of cooperation with some Reconstruction measures adopted by some leading southern Democrats in the hope of winning compromises favorable to their party






pardon governmental directive canceling punishment for a person or people who have committed a crime

pass system laws that forbade slaves from traveling without written authorization from their owners

patrollers white guards who made the rounds of rural roads to make certain that slaves were not moving about the countryside without written permission from their masters

provisional temporary

public accommodations hotels, bars and restaurants, theaters, and other places set up to do business with anyone who can pay the price of admission






racial integration equal opportunities to participate in a society or organization by people of different racial groups; the absence of race-based barriers to full and equal participation

Radical Republicans group within the Republican Party during the Civil War and Reconstruction that advocated abolition of slavery, citizenship for the former slaves, and sweeping alteration of the South

Reconstruction 1865-1877; a period when the Union was restored after the Civil War; important constitutional changes were made and social, economic, and political relations between the races were transformed in the South

Redeemers Southern Democrats who hoped to bring the Democratic Party back into power and to suppress Black Reconstruction

repudiate to refuse to acknowledge or pay

Rutherford B. Hayes Ohio governor and former Union general who won the Republican nomination in 1876 and became president in 1877






scalawag derogatory term for white southerners who aligned themselves with the Republican Party during Reconstruction

secede withdraw; refers to the attempted withdrawal of 11 southern states form the United States in 1860-1861, giving rise to the Civil War

segregation separation on account of race or class from the rest of society, such as the separation of blacks from whites in most southern school systems

sharecropping agricultural lease system in which tenant farmers give landlords a share of their crops, rather than cash, as rent

states’ rights political position favoring limitation of the federal government’s power and the greatest possible self-government by the individual states

Susan B. Anthony tireless campaigner for woman suffrage and close associate of Elizabeth Cady Stanton






terrorists those who use threats and violence to achieve ideological or political goals

Thirteenth Amendment 1865 constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the US and its territories






underwrite to assume financial responsibility for; in this case, to guarantee the purchase of bonds so that a project can go forward






vagrancy the legal condition of having no fixed place of residence of means of support

voting fraud altering election results by illegal measures to bring about the victory of a particular candidate






white supremacy racist belief that whites are inherently superior to all other races and are therefore entitled to rule over them