Term | Definition |
Reconstruction | the time during which the South was rebuilt after the Civil War |
assassinate | to murder a leader by sudden or secret attack |
black codes | laws limiting the rights of former slaves in the South |
acquittal | a verdict of not guilty |
freedman | the men, women, and children who had once been slaves |
sharecropping | the system of working the land in which the worker was paid with a "share" of the crop |
carpetbagger | a Northerner who moved to the South to take part in Reconstruction governments |
scalawag | a rascal; someone who supports something for his or her own gain |
secret ballot | a voting method in which no one knows how anyone else voted |
segregation | the practice of keeping people in separate groups based on race or culture |
boom | a time of vast economic growth |
refinery | a factory in which materials, especially fuels, are cleaned and made into usable products |
prospector | a person who searches for gold, silver, or other mineral resources |
bust | a time of quick economic decline |
long drive | a trip made by ranchers to lead cattle to market or the railroads |
homesteader | person living on land granted by the government |
open range | land on which animals can graze freely |
reservation | an area of land set aside by the government for use only by Native Americans |
free enterprise | an economic system in which people are able to start and run their own business with little control by the government |
transcontinental railroad | the railway line that crossed North America |
entrepreneur | a person who sets up and runs a business |
petroleum | oil |
capital | the money needed to set up or improve a business |
human resource | a worker who brings his or her own ideas and skills to a job |
old immigration | people who came from northern and western Europe before 1890 to settle in North America |
new immigration | people who came from southern and central Europe and other parts o the world after 1890 to settle in North America |
advertisement | a public announcement that tells people about a product or an opportunity |
tenement | a poorly built apartment building |
prejudice | an unfair feeling of hate or dislike for members of a certain group because of their background, race, or religion |
regulation | a rule or an order |