Quiz 2: Reconstruction

The Thirteenth (13th) Amendment to the U.S Constitution

• Declared that the right to vote could not be denied on the basis of race

• Officially ended slavery

• Granted citizenship to the freedmen

• Opened up the West to homesteading by African Americans

"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges… citizens… nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” The major purpose of these provisions of the 14th Amendment was to

• Limit the power of federal government

• Expand the civil rights of African Americans and women

• Maintain competition in business

• Protect the rights of citizens at the state level

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

• Provided that states could only count ⅗ of their black population for determine representation at the Federal level

• Demanded redistribution of economic resources for newly freed slaves

• Declared that the right to vote could not be denied on the basis of race

• Was unanimously passed to provide increased economic, education, and employment opportunities for newly freed slaves

Which statement best explains President Abraham Lincoln’s justification for the Civil War?

• President Lincoln’s oath of office required him to defend and preserve the Union.

• As an abolitionist, President Lincoln wanted to end slavery in the United States.

• President Lincoln wanted to keep the South economically dependent on the industrial North.

• To keep the support of Great Britain and France, President Lincoln had to try to end slavery immediately.

Plans for Reconstruction for President Abraham Lincoln and President Andrew Johnson sought to

• Punish the South for starting the Civil War

• Force the Southern States to pay reparations to the Federal Government

• Allow the Southern states to reenter the nation as quickly as possible

• Establish the Republican Party as the only political party in the South

The BEST description of the Freedmen’s Bureau during Reconstruction was that it:

• Provided education, training and social services for newly freed slaves

• Helped the newly freed slaves adjust to the New South

• Registered newly freed slaves to vote

• Managed the distribution of farmland and animals to newly freed slaves

Following the Civil War, many Southern states enacted Black Codes to

• provide free farmland for African Americans

• guarantee equal civil rights for African Americans

• restrict the rights of formerly enslaved persons

• support the creation of the Freedmen’s Bureau

What was a major result of the Civil War?

• The judiciary became the dominant branch of the federal government

• States now had the right to secede from the Union.

• Congress passed an amendment to provide for the direct election of senators.

• The power of the central government was strengthened

After the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments, African Americans continued to experience political and economic oppression mainly because

• the amendments were not intended to solve their problems

• many African Americans distrusted the Federal Government

• Southern legislatures enacted Jim Crow laws

• poor communications kept people from learning about their legal rights