Wrapping Up Reconstruction - Reading Review

Why might sharecropping become a popular form of labor in the South after the 13th amendment was passed?

• Sharecropping allowed landowners to reestablish a labor force and provided freedmen with jobs

• The federal government confiscated former slaveholder land and used it for sharecropping

• Sharecropping was seen as a more better, more profitable alternative to slavery

Why might the system of sharecropping lead to a cycle of poverty for sharecroppers?

• Sharecroppers were forced to work on land that had bad soil that was not good for farming

• Sharecroppers were able to rent land from the owner and keep all the profits for themselves.

• Sharecroppers often went into debt and would have to continue working for the landowners without being able to save money or buy their own land.

• Sharecroppers often faced discrimination when trying to sell their crops

Who was responsible for creating the Reconstruction Act?

• The Supreme Court

• The Radical Republicans in Congress

• President Andrew Johnson

• The former Confederates

Who would be responsible for enforcing the Reconstruction Act?

• The Supreme Court

• The Radical Republicans in Congress

• President Andrew Johnson

• The former Confederates

What was the goal of the Reconstruction Act (why did it divide the south up into different military districts)?

• To provide economic relief to the South after the Civil War ended

• To increase funding and support for the Freedmen's Bureau

• To use military force to ensure Southerners were protecting the rights of freedmen

• To abolish slavery in the United States

Why did Southern Democrats agree to give Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency as a part of the Compromise of 1877?  

• Hayes agreed to remove federal troops from the South if he won the election

• Hayes agreed to pardon all former Confederate officials

• If Hayes became president, he would pass the 15th amendment

• Hayes promised to grant full civil rights to African Americans if he won the election

How did the Compromise of 1877 lead to the end of Reconstruciton?

• As president, Rutherford B. Hayes would veto all Reconstruction policies

• It led to the creation of the Ku Klux Klan, which would use violence to suppress the rights of freedmen

• Federal troops were removed from the South which meant Reconstruction policies that protected the rights of freedmen would no longer be enforced

What did the Supreme Court rule in Plessy v. Ferguson?

• They sided with Homer Plessy and declared that racial segregation was unconstitutional

• It stated that only the federal government could make laws about racial segregation (not the state)

• It declared racial segregation was legal, as long as the separate facilities were equal

How would the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling limit the rights of freedmen (and all citizens) after Reconstruction ended?

• It would allow the government to forcibly relocate freedmen to different states.

• It would legalize Jim Crow Laws that allowed for segregation, which violated the 14th amendment

• It would allow states to deny freedmen the right to vote.