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"The Freedmen's Bureau.”
The Freedmen's Bureau was established to help and protect emancipated slaves. The organization helped in many ways by supporting the education for freedmen and providing food, housing, and medical aid. They also offered legal assistance to those in need. -
“President Lincoln is Assassinated.”
President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth. After his assassination Andrew Johnson became the 17th president of the United States. -
“The 13th Amendment is Passed.”
The Thirteenth Amendment made slavery illegal in the United States. -
“Civil Rights Act of 1866.”
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave African Americans the right to full and equal benefit of all laws, the right to purchase and sell property, and stated that "Anyone who deprives a person of his or her civil rights as defined by the act is deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment" -
“Ku Klux Klan.”
The Ku Klux Klan is a secret society based in the south created to maintain "white supremacy." The goal of the original Ku Klux Klan was to oppose the reconstruction policies of the radical Republican Congress. -
“Military Reconstruction Acts.”
Reconstruction refers to the period following the Civil War of rebuilding the United States. The elections of 1866 brought power to Radical Republicans and they wanted to punish the South and prevent the ruling class from continuing in power. This is why they passed the Military Reconstructions Acts which divided the South into 5 military districts and outlined how under the new government blacks, received the right to vote, hold political offices, and become judges and police chiefs. -
“Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment Trial.”
Andrew Johnson was to be impeached because of his removal of Edwin Stanton, the secretary of war and a member of his cabinet. This was in violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The reason Johnson was kept in office was because he had received one vote less than the two-thirds necessary to remove him. Andrew Johnson had also been accused of "high crimes and misdemeanors". -
“Election of Ulysses S. Grant.”
Ulysses S. Grant is most known for being the lead general of the Union troops during the American Civil War which led to him in office. When he was president many people in his administration were crooks who ended up stealing from the government and due to financial speculation many people panicked which caused the stock market to crash making many people lose their jobs. Despite all of his scandals Grant did sign a bill that allowed people of African descent to become U.S. citizens. -
“14th Amendment.”
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified and grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" this included former slaves who had just been freed after the Civil War. It also forbids any state to deny any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." -
“15th Amendment.”
The Fifteenth Amendment protects the voting rights of all citizens regardless of race or the color of their skin, It also protected the voting rights of former slaves.
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“Reconstruction Ends.”
The Reconstruction officially ended under the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. He removed the troops from the South and the state governments took over. Many of the changes to equal rights were immediately reversed.