Apportionment:
The calculation of how many members in the U.S. House of
Representatives each state should have based on the state’s
population as a percentage (portion) of the total national
population. The larger the state’s population, the more
congressional representatives it is allowed. (By contrast, each
state has two U.S. senators.)
Black Codes:
Enacted in 1865-1866 by Southern state legislatures newly
elected under the lenient Reconstruction policies of President
Andrew Johnson, the laws restricted the rights and freedoms of
blacks. The Black Codes were similar to Slave Codes, which
existed before the abolition of slavery, and were meant to keep
the newly freed slaves dependent on plantation owners, who were
their former masters. The discriminatory laws varied from state
to state, but included requiring proof of employment, limiting
jobs opportunities, prohibiting property rights in or migration
to certain (usually urban) areas, banning the carrying of
weapons in public, barring jury duty or court testimony against
whites, and withholding voting and office-holding rights.
Congressional Reconstruction: The policies of the U.S.
Congress related to incorporating the former Confederate states
back into full and equal participation in the federal union of
the United States. Congress took control of the Reconstruction
process from President Andrew Johnson with the passage of the
First Reconstruction Act on March 2, 1867.
Moderate
Republican: A member of the Republican Party who supported
some rights for former slaves, though often stopping short of
full racial equality under the law, and who advocated some
punishment of former Confederates, such as debt repudiation, but
not plans to confiscate and redistribute the land of wealthy
ex-Confederates. President Andrew Johnson’s policies, vetoes,
rhetoric, and uncooperative nature combined to alienate
moderates, who then joined with radical Republicans to enact a
Congressional Reconstruction program.
Presidential
Reconstruction: The policies of Presidents Abraham Lincoln
and Andrew Johnson related to incorporating the former
Confederate states back into full and equal participation in the
federal union of the United States.
Radical
Republican: Radical Republican:
A member of the Republican Party who supported Reconstruction
policies that were more comprehensive and punitive than those
advocated by moderate or conservative politicians. Some
radicals, for example, argued that the former Confederacy should
be treated as conquered territory for which Congress would
dictate terms for Reconstruction, such as the confiscation of
Confederate property, disfranchisement of former Confederates,
and voting rights for black men. Congressional Reconstruction
was a compromise between radical and moderate Republicans.
War
Democrat: A member of the Democratic Party who supported
the Union war effort against the Confederacy. Most War
Democrats remained affiliated with the Democratic Party during
the Civil War, but a few, such as Andrew Johnson, formally
joined with the Republican Party in 1864 under the National
Union banner. |