US History Test

Reconstruction was the period between 1865-1877 that followed the Civil War when attempts were made to address the political, social, and economic legacy of slavery and solve the problems of readmitting the seceded states to the Union.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States. (Basically abolished slavery.)

Gave slaves citizenship and gave African-Americans equal rights before the law.

Gave all freed slaves/citizens the right to vote.

Radical Republicans had:

(1) A desire to see the Southern States punished for causing the war. (2) Concern for the freedmen — some believed that the federal government had a role to play in the transition of freedmen from slavery to freedom (3) Political concerns — the Radicals wanted to keep the Republican Party in power in both the North and the South.

Used to keep people of color -- and, sometimes, poor whites -- from voting. The officials in charge of administering the tests determined what questions to asked based on whether he wanted the individual to pass or not.

a tax levied as a prerequisite for voting. After Reconstruction, many southern states passed poll taxes to keep African Americans from voting.

a polling station might require proof of property ownership or wealth to vote, which freed slaves did not have.

a clause that exempted certain voters from Literacy tests and Poll Taxes if they had ancestors who could vote previously.

The completion of the railroads to the West following the Civil War opened vast areas of the region to settlement and economic development. White settlers from the East poured across the Mississippi to mine, farm, and ranch.

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Immigrants also had an important role in Western expansion. Chinese immigrants provided much of the labor to build railroads. The Dawes Act established the process of stripping Native land and transferring it to European immigrants to create farms.

The loss of the bison and growth of white settlement drastically affected the lives of the Native Americans living in the West. American Indians were decimated by armed settlers backed by the US military. By the 1880s, most American Indians had been confined to reservations.

Residential schools were places where kidnapped Native American children were converted to Christianity, made to speak English, and were discouraged from their cultural identity.

The cowboy was often depicted in popular culture as a glamorous or heroic figure.

The first cowboys were Spanish vaqueros, who had introduced cattle to Mexico centuries earlier. Black cowboys also rode the range.

the life of the cowboy involved long, hard hours of labor, poor living conditions, and economic hardship.

Europe -- mostly from Italy, Germany, and Russia. Many came through Ellis Island in New York.

economic opportunities and to escape violence in their own countries

It was the first significant law restricting immigration into the United States. Passed in the spring of 1882, This act provided an absolute ban on Chinese laborers immigrating to the United States.

Immigrants faced ecnomic hardship and rascism. The KKK recruited millions of members to scare off minority groups – their targets included Catholics, Italians, Jews, and Eastern Europeans.

Sharply limited entry from Southern and Eastern Europe and placed an outright ban on immigration from Asia.

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A period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States that spanned the 1890s to the 1920s.

the idea that government action should be used to improve society.

The spread of slums and poverty

The exploitation of labor

The purchasing of democratic government and the emergence of political “machines”

The rapid concentration of wealth by monopolies

Anti-trust legislation was passed to prohibit monopolies and reduce government corruption. (2) Many regulations were passed to hold businesses accountable – like the Pure Food and Drug Act. Laws were passed to protect the environment and address pollution (3) Women and Children’s rights – Limits were placed on the number of hours children could work and education was expanded significantly. (4) Labor Protections – 8-hour workday, safe conditions, unions.

labor unions fought for better wages, reasonable hours and safer working conditions. Unions played an important role in the fight against child labor.

The women’s suffrage movement was a decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States.

August 18, 1920

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Granted women the right to vote