Reconstruction Era SSUSH10

Front

What purpose did the dividing of the South into military districts after the Civil War have on Southern society?

Back

Protect the rights of newly freed slaves, and oversee the readmission of Southern states into the Union.

Answer explanation

The purpose of dividing the South into military districts was to provide order, protect African Americans in the region, and help reintegrate the South into the Union. However, when the federal government removed its troops from the region and the states took control again, the state governments enacted Black Codes and Jim Crow laws to restrict the rights of African Americans

Front

What was the main focus of Congressional Reconstruction?

Back

Punishing Southern states for seceding

Answer explanation

As compared to the Reconstruction plans of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, which were more focused on granting amnesty and quickly bringing Southern states back into the US, the Congressional Reconstruction plan was more focused on punishing the South for secession and the Civil War.

Front

Under the Ten-Percent Plan, what was the main requirement for Southern states to be re-admitted into the Union?

Back

10% of voters in the state had to take an oath of allegiance to the Union.

Front

Which organization had the most impact on the lives of formerly enslaved people after the Civil War?

Back

Freedmen's Bureau

Answer explanation

The Freedmen's Bureau helped to establish schools, purchase land, locate family members, and legalize marriages for formerly enslaved people. The Bureau also supplied necessities such as food and clothing, operated hospitals and temporary camps, and witnessed labor contracts between freedmen and plantation owners or other employers. (Archives.gov accessed October 23rd, 2023)

Front

Which amendment to the US Constitution BEST represents the ideal stated in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."? Options: 14th Amendment, 5th Amendment, 1st Amendment, 10th Amendment

Back

14th Amendment

Answer explanation

The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any States deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Front

Why was the Fourteenth Amendment ratified by Congress in July of 1868?

Back

To grant citizenship and provide equal protection under the law to formerly enslaved people

Front

What did the Thirteenth Amendment accomplish?

Back

The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.

Front

What is the historical significance of the passage from the Fifteenth Amendment? "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Back

The Fifteenth Amendment granted Black men the right to vote (suffrage)

Front

What evidence shows that Reconstruction did not provide lasting protection to the civil rights of formerly enslaved people?

Back

Jim Crow laws and lack of enforcement of federal laws

Front

What event marked the end of the Reconstruction Era (1865-1876)?

Back

President Hayes ordering the removal of the last federal troops from the South

Answer explanation

The removal of the last federal troops from the South, also known as the Compromise of 1877, ended the Reconstruction Era. The informal Compromise of 1877 settled the disputed presidential election of the previous year and involved the removal of troops from the South, which enabled Democrats to retake control of southern governments and marked the end of the Reconstruction Era.