Freedman's Bureau
government organization aimed at helping black and white southerners who had lost their homes in the fighting
Black Codes
laws passed in the South to keep freemen in a slavelike condition
Ku Klux Klan
group of white southerners who terrorized African Americans and whites who were loyal to the US government
Fourteenth Amendment
amendment that wrote the Civil Rights Act into the Constitution
impeachment
process for charging a federal official with a crime
Fifteenth Amendment
amendment saying people cannot be denied the right to vote because of their race
carpetbagger
a northerner who came south to take part in the region's political economic rebirth
sharecropping
farming system where the farmer was an employee of the landowner and received a share of the crop
tenant farmer
farming system where the farmer rents the land
embargo
the stopping of trade
infantry
foot soldiers
cavalry
soldiers on horseback
Emancipation Proclamation
document that freed the slaves in all areas that had rebelled against the United States
freedman
emancipated slaves
platform
statement of the principles that a group stands for
bootlegger
smuggler of illegal liquor
Harlem Renaissance
African American cultural flowering based in Harlem, New York
jazz
music that blends different music forms and is often composed on the spot
deportation
being sent back to one's country of origin
reparation
payments to make up for the damages of war
isolationism
a policy of not being involved in the affairs of other nations
propaganda
posters, newspaper stories, and other materials designed to influence people's opinions
Treaty of Versailles
treaty ending World War I
reparations
payments for damages and expenses caused by the war
imperialism
extension of a nation's power over other lands
sphere of influence
geographic area where an outside nation has special political or economic control
protectorate
a country under the control and protection of another country
progressivism
a reform movement
initiative
gave voters the power to put a proposed law on the ballot for public approval
referendum
allowed voters to approve or veto a recently passed law
recall
enabled voters to remove an elected official from office by special election
prohibition
movement to ban making, selling, and transporting alcoholic drinks
literacy test
an exam to determine whether immigrants could read English
settlement house
place where volunteers provided services to people in need
lynching
murder of an individual by a group or a mob
poll tax
fee people were charged to vote, intended to keep African Americans from voting
transcontinental railroad
railroad that crossed the entire country
capitalism
an economic system in which private buisness without government intervention
laissez-faire
type of capitalism that lets companies conduct business without government intervention
social Darwinism
belief that "survival of the fittest" benefits society