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Black Codes and Sharecropping
Black codes were restrictive laws designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their availability as a cheap labor force after slavery was abolished during the Civil War. Under black codes, many states required blacks to sign yearly labor contracts; if they refused, they risked being arrested, fined and forced into unpaid labor. During Reconstruction, former slaves--and many small white farmers--became trapped in a new system of economic exploitation known as sharecropping. -
Freedmen's Bureau
Freedmen's Bureau was established by Congress to provide practical aid to 4,000,000 newly freed African Americans in their transition from slavery to freedom. The Freedmen's Bureau was a first step in the goal of equality. Had this system not been created by the Congress, it would have left many African Americans and poor Southerners to die of starvation, medical illnesses, or even due to lack of shelter. The Bureau also provided an exceptional education system for African Americans. -
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
The 13th (1865), 14th (1868), and 15th Amendments (1870) were the first amendments made to the U.S. constitution in 60 years. Known collectively as the Civil War Amendments, they were designed to ensure the equality for recently emancipated slaves. They address slavery, citizenship and voting rights. -
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 11 articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson, nine of which cite Johnson’s removal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The House vote made President Johnson the first president to be impeached in U.S. history. In a 1926 case, the Supreme Court declared that the Tenure of Office Act had been invalid. -
Election of 1876
The presidential election of 1876 greatly impacted the Reconstruction movement. In this election, Samuel Tilden ran for the Democratic Party, and Rutherford B. Hayes ran for the Republican Party. The results of the election were disputed in four states. The election of 1876 was one of the closest races in American history. It tested the Constitution and resulted in a compromise that ended Reconstruction in America.
