AP African American Studies: Unit 3 - The Practice of Freedom (1865–1940s)

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

14th Amendment

Defined birthright citizenship and guaranteed equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Prohibited denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Reconstruction Era

The period (1865–1877) after the Civil War aimed at reintegrating Confederate states and establishing rights for formerly enslaved people.

Black Codes

Restrictive laws passed to control Black labor and behavior after the Civil War.

Freedmen’s Bureau

An agency set up to assist formerly enslaved people and poor whites during the transition to freedom.

Sharecropping

A system where landowners provided land/tools and farmers worked it for a share of the crop.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

A Supreme Court case that upheld segregation under the doctrine 'Separate but Equal'.

Lynching

Extrajudicial public murders used to terrorize Black communities and enforce white supremacy.

The Great Migration

The massive movement of 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the urban North and West.

Marcus Garvey

Jamaican-born founder of the UNIA, advocating for Black nationalism and economic independence.

Booker T. Washington

An advocate for accommodationism and industrial education for African Americans.

W.E.B. Du Bois

A civil rights activist who argued for higher education and civil rights for African Americans.

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded in 1909 to fight for civil rights.

Jim Crow Laws

State and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the South.

The Nadir of Race Relations

The period (approx. 1877–1920) considered the lowest point in American race relations.

The Red Summer (1919)

A series of race riots driven by competition for jobs and housing after WWI.

Double Consciousness

The psychological challenge of having two identities: 'an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts…'.

The Talented Tenth

Du Bois’ concept that the top 10% of Black leaders should be educated to uplift the race.

Freedpeople

Formerly enslaved individuals who sought to establish their rights and families post-Civil War.

Convict Leasing

A system where Southern states leased prisoners, mostly Black men, to private companies.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship to Black Americans, overturned by the 14th Amendment.

Ida B. Wells

A journalist who investigated and exposed the realities of lynching in America.

African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME)

A historic Black denomination that functioned as a vital community institution.

Tuskegee Institute

An institution founded by Booker T. Washington to educate African Americans in vocational skills.

Sharecropping Cycle

A system that perpetuated debt and economic dependency among African American farmers.

Andrea Johnson

President who obstructed Freedmen's Bureau efforts and returned land to Confederate owners.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural and artistic explosion centered in Harlem during the 1920s and 30s.

The Black Church

An independent institution serving as a religious center and community support for Black Americans.

Plantation Economy

The economic system in the South that relied on slave labor, leading to the sharecropping system post-war.

Poll Taxes

Fees charged to vote, disproportionately affecting poor Blacks and disenfranchising them.

Literacy Tests

Subjective exams used to restrict voting rights for Black individuals in the South.

Grandfather Clauses

Laws that exempted voters from taxes/tests if their grandfathers could vote before 1867.

Atlanta Compromise Speech

A speech by Booker T. Washington advocating for vocational training over immediate civil rights.

The Souls of Black Folk

A book by W.E.B. Du Bois arguing for civil rights and higher education for Black Americans.

Hiram Revels

The first Black U.S. Senator, representing Mississippi during Reconstruction.

Blanche K. Bruce

The first Black man to serve a full term in the U.S. Senate.

Convict Leasing System

A practice where states leased out convicts to private enterprises for labor.

Black Star Line

A shipping company founded by Marcus Garvey to promote trade among Black people globally.

Alain Locke

An influential writer who popularized the term 'New Negro' during the Harlem Renaissance.

Chicago Defender

A Black newspaper that encouraged migration during the Great Migration.

Carter G. Woodson

The 'Father of Black History,' known for establishing Negro History Week.

Bessie Smith

A prominent blues singer who expressed the struggles and resilience of African Americans.

Aaron Douglas

An influential artist considered the 'Father of Black American Art' during the Harlem Renaissance.

Zora Neale Hurston

A celebrated author and anthropologist known for her work showcasing Black culture.

Claude McKay

A poet known for his work addressing racial violence and pride within the Black community.

Rutherford B. Hayes

The U.S. President associated with the Compromise of 1877, which ended Reconstruction.

Vagrancy Laws

Laws that made it illegal to be unemployed, often used against Black individuals post-Civil War.

40 acres and a mule

The promise made to freed slaves for land and resources, later revoked.

Convict Labor

Labor performed by prisoners, often under brutal conditions in the South.

Black Women's Club Movement

A movement among Black women promoting social welfare and civil rights.