Chapter 4

The Surrender at Appomattox-- April 3rd, 1865, Union troops conquered Richmond, the Confederate capital. Southerners had abandoned the city the day before, setting it afire to keep the Northerners from taking it. April 9th, 1865, Virginia town, Appomattox Court House, Lee and Grant met a private home to arrange Confederate surrender.

At lincoln's request, the terms were generous. Grant paroled Lee's soldiers and sent them home w/ their possessions and 3 days worth of rations. Officers permitted to keep their side arms. Within a month all remaining Confederate resistance collapsed After 4 long yrs, the Civil War was over.

Political and Economic Changes

Civil war increased federal gov'ts power and authority. Fed. Gov't passed laws, including income tax and conscription laws, more control over individuals. After war, No state ever threatened secession again.

Johnson shocked everyone when he vetoed both the Freedmen's Bureau Act and the Civil Rights Act

Congress, Johnson contended, had gone far beyond anything "contemplated by the authors of the Constitution"

(Section 1) The Divisive Politics of Slavery

Disagreements over slavery heightened regional tensions and led to the breakup of the Union

Conflicts Lead to Secession

First anti slavery related controversy arose 2 days after President Buchanan took office

The War Affects Regional Economies

In general, war expanded North's economy & shattered South's economy. Confederacy faced food shortage- no man power. Union occupation of food-growing areas, loss of enslaved field workers Food $ raised, inflation rate rose 7,000%. Army's need for supplies supported wooden mills, steel factories, many other industries. Wages didn't keep w/ prices.

Statehood For California

Largely due to gold rush, Cali grew quickly and applied for statehood in Dec. 1850. Cali's new constitution forbade slavery- Southerners angered. Southerners assumed because most of Cali lay south of Missouri Compromise line, state would be open to slavery. Southerners want 1820 compromise to apply to territories west of the Louisiana Purchase- making Cali a slave state.

Both Sides Face Political Dissent

Neither side unified. Each side had sympathizers. Lincoln suspended writ of habeas corpus, which prevents gov't from holding citizens w/o formally charging them w/ crimes.

Harpes Ferry

Abolitionist John Brown was studying the slave uprising in ancient Rome, and on French island of Haiti recently Brown believed it was time for similar uprisings in the U.S. Brown secretly obtained money from some northern abolitionists. 1859, he led a band of 21 men, black and white, into Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West VA).

Politics in the Postwar South-- Difficulty facing new Republican gov'ts was that the 3 groups that constituted the Republican Party in the South- scalawags, carpetbaggers, and African Americans- had conflicting goals

1) Scalawags - white Southerners who joined the Republican Party. Many small farmers who wanted to improve their economic position and didn't want the former wealthy planters to regain power

Union, which had to conquer South, devised 3 part plan

1) The navy would blockade Southern ports, so they could neither export cotton nor import much-needed manufactured goods. 2) Union riverboats and armies would move down the mississippi river and split the confederacy in two. 3) Union armies would capture the confederate capital at Richmond, VA. Confederacy strategy was defensive, although southern leaders encouraged their generals to attack the north if the opportunity rose

Lincoln's Plan-Lincoln favored a lenient Reconstruction policy- Dec 1863, Lincoln announced his Proclamation of Amnesty (a general pardon by a gov't, usually for politic offenses) and Reconstruction, also known as the Ten-Percent Plan

1) Under plan, gov't would pardon all Confederates- except high ranking officials and those accused of crimes against prisoners of war- who would swear allegiance to the Union. 2) As soon as 10% of those who had voted in 1860 took this oath of allegiance, a Confederate state could form a new state gov't and send reps and senators to Congress. 3 Under Lincoln's terms, 4 states- Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia - moved toward readmission to the Union.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which stressed that slavery was not just a political contest, but a great moral struggle. As young girl, Stowe watched boats filled with ppl on their way to be sold on at slave markets and her book expressed her lifetime hatred of slavery. Book stirred Northern Abolitionists to increase their protests against the Fugitive Slave Act. Southerners criticized book as an attack on the South.

Slavery Divides Whigs

1852, Whig vote in South fell which helped produced victory for Democratic candidate, Franklin Pierce. Kansas- Nebraska Act completed the demise of the Whigs because they couldn't agree on national platform The southern group members looked for a pro-slavery, pro-Union party to join. American Party, Know-Nothing party, because members were told to say "I know nothing" when questioned about their activities. Know-Nothings supported nativism, the favoring of native born ppl over immigrants. Know-Nothings, like Whigs, were split over issue of slavery.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

1858, race for U.S. Senate, Democratic Stephen Douglas vs. Republican Congressman Abraham Lincoln. Douglas 2 term senator w/ outstanding record and large campaign chest. Lincoln self-educated man elected to one term in Congress. Lincoln challenged the "Little Giant" (Douglas) to a series of debates on the issue of slavery in the territories Douglas accepted and the stage was set for most celebrated debates in U.S. History. Both positions were simple/ consistent- neither wanted slavery in territories, but disagreed on ways to keep it out. Douglas- Popular sovereignty. Lincoln- believe slavery was immoral- he didn't expect ppl to give up slavery unless Congress abolished slavery w/ an amendment.

Lincoln is Elected President

1860, Presidential election- Republican Abraham Lincoln pledged to halt slavery. Democratic party split over slavery. Northern democrates rallied behind Douglas and his doctrine of popular sovereignty. Southern Democrats, Supporters of Dred Scott decision, wanted VP John C Breckinridge. Former Know-Nothings and Whigs from South organized Constitutional Party and nominate John Bell Lincoln won wih less than half of popular vote and no electoral votes from south.

(Section 3) The North Takes Charge

1863 begun well for South. Dec 1862, Lee's army had defeated the Union Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg, VA. May, the South defeated the North again in Chancellorsville, VA.

7 remaining ex-confederate states quickly agreed to Johnson's terms. In following months, these states-except Texas- set up a new state gov'ts and elected reps to Congress. Dec 1865, the newly elected Southern legislators arrive in Washington to take their seats. Congress refused to admit the new Southern legislators. At same time, moderate Republicans pushed new laws to remedy weaknesses they saw in Johnson's plan.

1866, Congress voted to enlarge the Freedmen's Bureau and passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law gave African Americans citizenship and forbade states from passing discriminatory laws- black codes- that severely restricted African Americans' lives.

Revolution in Warfare-- B/c of Developments in technology, civil war= last old-fashioned war, or the first modern war

2 deadliest technological improvements= rifle and minie ball, a soft lead bullet more destructive that earlier ones. 2 other weapons that became more lethal= grenadeds and land mines. Ironclad ship, would splinter wooden ships by rammin them, withstand cannon fire, and resist burning. March 9, 1862, every wooden warship in world= obsolete after the North's ironclad Moniter exchanged fire with the South's ironclad Merrimack.

Union Armies in the West(cont.2)

2 months later, Grant escaped disaster near Shiloh, small church in TN close to Mississippi border. After Grant failed to have his trooped dig trenches or set out adequate guards and patrols, thousands of Confederate soldiers carried out a surprise attack. Grant averted this by reorganizing his troops and driving the enemy away the next day. 1/4th of 100,000 men who fought were killed, wounded or captured. Grant pushed toward Mississippi River, David G. Farragut, commanding a Union fleet of 40 ships, seied New Orleans, the Confederacy's largest city port. Farragut took control go much of lower mississippi- b/w Grant and Farragut- Union nearly achieved its goal of cutting the Confederacy in 2. Only Port Hudson, Louisiana, and Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (Cont.)

2nd debate, Lincoln asked: Could the settlers of a territory vote to exclude slavery before the territory become a state? Dred Scott decision should no- territories couldn't exclude slavery. Popular sovereignty, Lincoln says, was an empty phrase If ppl were territory were Free-Soilers, then all they had to do was elect reps who would not enforce slave property laws in that territory - ppl get around dred scott decision. Douglas won the seat in Senate but widened split in Democratic Party. Lincoln's attacked on the "Vast moral evil" of slavery drew national attention and some Republicans thought he would be a good candidate for the presidency in 1860 .

3) Carpetbaggers- northerners who moved to the South after the war. This negative name came from the misconception that they arrived w/ so few belongings that they carried everything in small traveling bags made of carpeting.

3) largest group of Southern Republicans- African Americans- gained voting rights as a result of the Fifteenth Amendment. During Reconstruction, African - American men registered to vote for the 1st time; 9 out of 10 supported the Republican party. Many former slaves could neither read or write and were politically inexperienced, they were eager to exercise their voting rights.

The Compromise of 1850

31st Congress in Dec 1849, agenda consists of question of statehood for Cali and border dispute in which the slave state of Texas claimed the eastern half of the New Mexico Territory, where issue of slavery had not been settled. Frequent threats of Southern secession, the formal withdrawal of a state from the Union. Henry Clay made compromise both regions agreed to- after getting the support of powerful Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster, Clay presented to the Senate a series of resolutions, Compromise of 1850. Compromise- to please north, provided that Cali be admitted into Union as free state. Compromise- to please south, new and more effective fugitive slave law.

(3) Historical Impact

5 yrs of civil war to find out if Taney's opinion would stand as the law of the land. Immediately after civil war, federal gov't moved to abolish slavery with 13th Amendment (1865) and then to extend state and national citizenship with 14th amendment (1868) to all ppl born or naturalized in the U.S.. These amendments nullify Dred Scott - no longer used as a precedent. Dred Scott an important lesson on limits of the Supreme Court's power, a key step towards the Civil War, and one of the worst decisions ever made by the Supreme Court.

African Americans Fight for Freedom

African Americans 1% of pop in North, by war's end about 180,000 African Americans fought for Union- about 10% of Northern army. African Americans in Union army suffered discrimination. They servcd in separate regiments commanded by white officers and earned lower pay for most of war.

U.S. Grant Elected-- 1868 election, the civil war hero Ulysses S. Grant won by by only 306,000 votes out of almost 6 million ballots cast. More than 500,000 Southern African Americans voted. 9/10 voted for Grant -African-American vote to Republican Party important.

After election, the radicals introduced the Fifteenth Amendment, which states that no one can be kept from voting b/c of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". The Fifteenth Amendment, which was ratified by the states in 1870, was important victory for the Radicals.

The Politics of War

After secession, southerners believed dependence on Southern cotton would force G.B. To formally recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation. Unfortunately for south, G.B. Accumulated a hige cotton inventory just before outbreak of war. British didn't need cotton, but needed northern wheat and corn Britain decided on neutrality.

1st bloodshed on battlefield happened 3 months after Fort Sumter fell, near the little creek of Bull Run, just 25 mi away from Washington, D.C.

Battle was a seesaw affair. In morning the union army gained the upper hand, but the confederates held firm, inspired by General Thomas J. Jackson - "There stands Jackson like a stone wall!"- nickname Stonewall Jackson. Afternoon Confederate reinforcements helped win the first southern victory. Fortunately for Union, confederates too exhausted to follow up their victory with attack on Washington. Confederate morale soared- confident the war was over, confederate soldiers left the army and went home.

(2) Why it Mattered- Taney's opinion in Dred Scott had consequences Legally, the opinion greatly expanded the reach of slavery. Politically, the opinion heightened the sectional tensions to lead to the Civil War.

Before the Court decision, Americans widely accepted the idea that Congress and the states could limit slavery Dissenters argued, previous acts of Congress had limited slavery and no one had claimed that those acts violated property rights. Taney's opinion expanded the slaveholders' rights and had cast doubts on whether free states would prevent slave owners from bringing or even selling slaves into free areas.

Soldiers Suffer on Both Sides

Both Union and Confederate soldiers matched off to war thinking it would be a glorious affair. Heavy battlefield casualties- unhealthy conditions - filthy surroundings, limited diet, inadequate medical care. 1800s technology of killing outran technology of medical care. Except fighting/marching soldiers lived in heaps of rubbish and open latrines. Result: body lice, dysentery, diarrhea.

The Battle of Gettysburg-- Gettysburg, sleepy town in southern Pennsylvania, the most decisive battle of the war was fought. The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, Confederate soldiers led by A.P. Hill encountered several brigades of Union cavalry under the command of John Buford, an experienced officer from Illinois.

Buford ordered his men to take defensive positions on the hills and ridges surrounding the town. When Hill's trooped marched toward the town from the west, Buford's men were waiting. Shooting attracted more troops and both sides called for reinforcements. End of 1st day, 90,000 Union troops under the command of General Geoge Meade had taken the field against 75,000 Confederates, led by General Lee.

Reconstructing Society-- Under the congressional Reconstruction program, state constitutional conventions met and Southern voters elected new, Republican- dominates gov'ts

By 1870, all the former Confederate states had completed the process. However, even after all the states were back in the Union, the Republicans didn't end the process of the Reconstruction b/c they wanted to make economic changes in the South.

(Section 2) One Americans Story April 18,1861- Major Robert Anderson wrote a report to secretary of war describing his most recent command. Month earlier, Confederacy formed, soon after confederate soldiers in each secessionist state began seizing federal installations- forts.

By lincoln's inauguration March 4, 1861, only 4 Southern forst remained in Union hands Fort Sumter - on an island in Charleston harbor Lincoln decided neither abandon fort sumter nor reinforce it He would send in "food for hungry men" 4:30 am on April 12, Confederate batteries began thundering away into cheers of Charleston's citizens

Tension in Kansas and Nebraska

Compromise of 1850- popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah- Senator Stephen Douglas, it seemed like an good way to decide whether slavery would be allowed in Nebraska territory. Kansas and Nebraska territory lay north the Missouri Compromise line- therefore was legally closed to slavery Douglas introduced a bill to Congress that would divide the ares into 2 territories: Nebraska in the north and Kansas in the south. If passed, the bill would repeal the Missouri Compromise and establish popular sovereignty for both territories Northern congressmen saw the bill as part of a plot to turn territories into slave states. Southerners defended the proposed legislation. Kansas- Nebraska Act became law in 1854.

Soldiers Suffer on Both Sides(cont)

Conditions of camps= atrocious war prisons. Confederate camps overcrowded/ unsanitary. Lack of food/ tent canvas contributed North prison camps only slighty better. More space, adequate amounts of food. Thousands of confederate prisoners, housed in quarters w/ no tents, contracted pneumonia & died. 15% Union prisoners in Southern prisons died- 12% in northern prisons .

Angered by Johnson's actions, radical and moderate Republican factions decided to work together to shift the control of the Reconstruction process from the executive branch to the legislature. In 1866, they overrode the president's vetoes of the Civil Rights Act and the Freedmen's Bureau Act.

Congress drafted the Fourteenth Amendment, which precented states from denying rights and privileges to any U.S. Citizen, now defined as "All persons born or naturalized in the United States". Definition expressly intended to overrule and nullify the Dred Scott decision.

Women Work to Improve Conditions

Didn't fight, contributed to war effort. 3,000 women served as Union army nurses. Union nurse Clara Barton - found American Red Cross after war. Care sick/ wounded, often at front lines of battle. Thousands of southern women colunteered- nursing duty . Sally Tompkins preformed so heroically she was commissioned to captain. Both sides benefitted by women devoting time and energy to nursing Women needed at battles in mississippi Valley and in East soon sent casualties.

The War Changes Lives-- War revolutionized weaponry but also changed ppl's lives, especially for African Americans

Emancipation Proclamation freed only those slaves who lived in states that were behind Confederate lines, and not yet under Union control. The gov't had to decide what to do about the border states, where slavery still existed. The Pres believed that the only solution was a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery - Thirteenth Amendment was ratified at end of 1865. U.S. Constitution now stated, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the U.S..

(Section 4) Reconstruction and Its effects

Freedmen's Bureau, which had been established by Congress to provide food, clothing, hospitals, legal protection, and education for former slaves and poor whites in the South in 1865

The Underground Railroad

Escape from slavery= traveling by foot at night w/o sense of distance or direction (except for north star and other natural signs), avoiding patrols of men on horseback, struggling through forests + rivers, and going w/o food for days. Free African Americans and white abolitionists developed secret network of ppl who would- hide fugitive slaves. The system of escape routes- Underground Railroad "Conductors" hid fugitives in secret tunnels and false cupboards, provided them food and clothing, and escorted/directed them to the next "Station".

The War Changes the Nation--vil War cause change in the U.S.: political, economical, technological, and social

Exacted a high price in terms of human life. 360,000 Union soldiers and 260,000 Confederates died, nearly as many American combat deaths as in all other American wars combined.

Union Armies in the West (cont.)

Feb 1862, Union army invaded western tennessee. At head was general Ulysses S. Grant, a brave and decisive military commander, in 11 days, his forced captured 2 confederate forts - Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River.

In 18 days, Union forces sacked Jackson, the capital of the state. Confidence growing, Grant and his troops rushed to Vicksburg, hoping to take the city while the rebels were reeling from their losses. Grant ordered 2 frontal attacks on Vicksburg, neither of which succeeded. Last week of May 1863, Grant settled in for a siege. He set up a steady barrage of artillery, shelling the city from both the river and land for several hours a day, forcing city's residents into caves that they dug out of the yellow clay hillsides.

Food supplies ran low, ppl ate dogs. and mules- Confederate command of Vicksburg asked Grant for terms of surrender. City, Vicksburg, fell on July 4th. 5 days later, Port Hudson, Louisiana, the last Confederate holdout on the mississippi, also fell. Union achieved another of its major military objectives, and Confederacy was cut in two.

Jan 1865, General Sherman promised the former slaves who followed his army 40 acres per family and the use of army mules.

For most part, former slaves received no land. Most Republicans considered private property a basic American right, and thus refused to help redistribute it. Result: many plantation owners in the South retained their land.

Grant and Sherman was old friends/ comrades in arms, both believed in waging total war. Reasoned that it was the strength of the ppl's will that was keeping the war going. If the Union could destroy the Southern population's will to fight, the Confederacy would collapse.

Grant's overall strategy= decimate, destroy/kill, Lee's army in VA while Sherman raided Georgia. Grant's causalities ran twice as high as those of Lee- North could afford it; the South could not.

The Underground Railroad (cont.)

Harriet Tubman, one of the most famous conductors, born a slave in Maryland (1820-1821). After Tubman's owner died, she heard rumors about her being sold and made a break for freedom and succeeded by reaching Philadelphia. In all, she made 19 trips back to the South and helped 300 slaves- including her parents- flee to freedom.

Protest, Resistance, and Violence

Harsh terms of Fugitive Slave Act surprised many ppl- alleged fugitive slaves not entitled to trial by jury + anyone convicted of helping a fugitive was liable for a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for up to 6 months. Northerners resisted Fugitive Slave Act by organizing "vigilance committees" to send endangered African Americans to safety in Canada- some resorted to violence to save the slaves.

Harpes Ferry (cont.)

His goal was to seize the federal arsenal and start a general slave uprising. No uprising occur instead the troops put down the rebellion. Authorities tried Brown and put him to death- public reaction was immediate and intense in both sections of country. In north, bells tolled, guns fired salutes, and huge crowds join to hear the speakers denounce the south In south, mobs assaulted whites who were suspected of holding antislavery views.

However, Lincoln's Reconstruction plan angered a minority of Republicans in Congress, known as Radical Republicans

However, Lincoln's Reconstruction plan angered a minority of Republicans in Congress, known as Radical Republicans. The radicals, led by Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, wanted to destroy the political power of former slaveholder. Most of all, they wanted African Americans to be given full citizenship and the right to vote.

Johnson Impeached-- B/c the Radicals thought Johnson was blocking Reconstruction, they looked for grounds on which to impeach him. They found grounds when Johnson removed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office in 1868.

Johnson's removal of the cabinet member violated the Tenure of Office Act, which states that a pres couldn't remove cabinet officers during the term of the pres who had appointed them w/o Senate's approval. The House impeached Johnson, but he remained in office after the Senate voted not to convict.

Sharecropping and Tenant Farming-- W/o their own land, freed African Americans, as wel as poor white farmers, couldn't grow crops to sell or to use to feed their families. Economic necessity forced many former slaves and impoverished whites to become sharecroppers.

In the system of sharecropping, landowners divided their land and assigned each head of household a few acres, along w/ seed and tools. Sharecroppers kept a small share of their crops and gave the rest to the landowners. In theory, "croppers" who saves a little might even rent land for cash and keep all their harvest in a system known as tenant farming.

Slavery in the Territories

Issue of Slavery in California + western territories led to debates in Congress, and to a fragile compromise

(1) Legal Reasoning- Court's decision by Chief Justice Roger Taney made 2 key findings

It held that b/c Scot was a slave, he was not a citizen and had no right to sue in a U.S. Court. He said by banning slavery, Congress was, in effect, taking away property. He wrote that this act violated the 5th Amendment, guarantees the right not to be deprived of property w/o due process of law. Thus, all congressional efforted to ban slavery in the territories were prohibited (banned).

2nd day of battle, Confederates drove Union troops from Gettysburg and took control of the town. North still held positions at Cemetery Ridge, high ground south of gettysburg. July 2nd, Lee ordered General James Longstreet to attack Cemetery Ridge. 4:00 pm, Longstreet's troops advanced from Seminary Ridge, where they were positioned in a peach orchard and wheat field that stood b/w them and most of the Union army on Cemetery Ridge. Confederates repeatedly attacked the Union lines and Union troops forced to concede, admit/yield, from territory. Union lines withheld The withering Confederate onslaught, vigorous assault.

July 3, Lee ordered an artillery barrage on the center of the Union lines on Cemetery Ridge. For 2 hrs, 2 armies fired at each other in vicious exchange that could be heard in Pittsburgh. Confederates believed they silenced Union guns and charged the lines They marched across farmland b/w their position and the Union high ground. Northern artillery renewed its barrage, and infantry fired on the rebels as well. Devastated,the Confederates staggered back to their lines. After the battle, Lee gave up any hopes of invading the North and led army back to VA.

Proclaiming Emancipation

Jefferson Davis's confederacy struggles to gain foreign recognition. Abolitionist feelings grew in north Lincoln disliked slavery. Didn't believe that federal gov't had the power to abolish it where it existed. As war progressed, Lincoln found a way to end slavery using his constitutional war powers. Confederacy used labor of slaves to grow food & build forts.

Whatever further plans Lincoln had to unify the nation after the war, he never got to implement them. April 14th, 1865, 5 days after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, Lincoln and his wife went to Ford's Theatre in Washington to see British comedy, Our American Cousin. During 3rd act, a men crept up behind lincoln and shot the pres in the back of his head April 15, Lincoln never regained consciousness and died. 1st time president was assassinated.

John Wilkes Booth, the assassin, a 26 yr. Old actor and Southern sympathizer leaped fown from the presidential box to the stage and escaped. 12 days later, Union cavalry trapped him a VA tobacco shed and shot him dead. Funeral train carried Lincoln's body from Washington to his hometown of Springfield, Illinois, took 14 days journey. 7 million americans, almost 1/3rd of Union pop, turned out to mourn publicly . Civil war ends. Slavery and secession now more. 2 New problems: how to restore Southern states to the Union and how to integrate 4 mill newly freed African Americans into national life.

The War for the Capitals (cont.2)

Lee moves against Washington. In Sept, his troops crossed the Potomac into the Union state of Maryland (MD) and McClellan has luck. Union corporal found a copy of Lee's orders wrapped around some cigars revealing that Lee's and Stonewall Jackson's armies were separated for the moment.

North's consolation after Chancellorsville= result of accident. General Stonewall Jackson returned from a patrol on May 2, Confederate guards accidentally shot him in left arm and a surgeon amputated his arm the next day. May 10th, jackson caught pneumonia and died.

Lee press his military advantade and invade the North. He needed supplies and thought that a major confederate victory on Northern soil might tip the balance of public opinion in the Union to the proslavery politicians. He crossed the Potomac into Maryland and then pushed on into Pennsylvania.

The War for the Capitals (cont)

Lee was different than McClellan- modest rather than vain and willing to go beyond military textbooks in his tactics. Determined to save Confederate capital, Lee drove McClellan away from Richmond.

Union Armies in the West

Lincoln responded to defeat at Bull Run by stepping up enlistments. Appointed General George McClellan to lead the Union forces near washington. Union forces in west began the fight for control of the mississippi river.

The Election of 1864-- Despite the war, politics in the Union went on usual... 1864 presidential election approached, Lincoln faced heavy opposition from Democrats and from a faction within his own party. A # of Northerners= dismayed at war's length and its high casualty rates.

Lincoln was pessimistic about his chances but there was some great change. News of General Sherman's victories inspired the North and helped Lincoln win reelection.

The Gettysburg Address- Nov 1863, ceremony was held to dedicate a cemetery in Gettysburg. President Lincoln spoke for little more than 2 mins.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address "remade America", according to some contemporary historians. "The United States are" -> "The Unites States is". The speech helped the country to realize that it was not just a collection of individual states, but it was one unified nation.

Proclaiming Emancipation (cont.)

Lincoln's powers (commander & chief) allowed him to order his troops to seize every resource. He authorized the army to emancipate slaves. Emancipation= not just moral issue= weapon of war. Jan 1, 1863, Lincoln issued. EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION Didn't free slaves immediately b/c it applied only to areas behind confederate lines, outside Union control. The proclamation gave the war a moral purpose by turning the struggle to a fight- free the slaves. No compromise possible.

Southern Succession

Lincoln's victory convince Southerners - who viewed the struggle over slavery partly as a conflict b/w states' rights and federal gov't control- that they had lost their political voice in the national gov't. Southern states act and SC seceded from the Union Dec 20 1860. Mississippi soon seceded, then Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. Delegates from the states that secedes met in Alabama where they formed the Confederate State of America, Confederacy. They drew up a constitution close to the U.S. Constitution, w/ noticeable differences. DIFFERENCE: "protected and recognized" slavery in new territories. Confederates elected Jefferson Davis as president. North was not shocked one bit. Would north allow the south to leave the Union w/ a fight?

The Dred Scott Decision

Major Supreme Court decision- Dred Scott, a slave whose owner took him from the slave state of Missouri to the free territory of Illinois and Wisconsin and back to Missouri. Scott appealed to Supreme Court for freedom on the grounds that living in Illinois and Wisconsin made him a free man.

Lincoln was assassinated before he could implement his Reconstruction plan. May 1865, his successor, Andrew Johnson, announced his own plan differing little to Lincoln's

Major difference: Johnson tried to break the planters' power by excluding high-ranking Confederates and wealthy Southern landowners from taking the oath needed for voting privileges. However, Johnson also pardoned more than 13,000 former Confederates b/c he believed that "white men must manage the South".

The Confederacy Wears Down 2 defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg= less south manpower (that was limited from the gecko). Confederacy low on: food, shows, uniforms, guns and ammunition. South no longer able to attak- only hope= hang on long enough to destroy Northern morale and work toward an armistice. Plan was unrealistic b/c southern morale was weakening.

Many Confederate soldiers had deserted, newspapers, state legislatures, and individuals throughout the South began to call openly for peace. Bad for Confederacy- Lincoln finally found 2 generals who would fight.

The War for the Capitals (cont.3)

McClellan ordered his men to pursue Lee , and 2 sides fought on Sept 17 near a creek called the Antietam. Bloodiest single-day battle in American history, w/ casualties totaling more than 26,000. Next day, instead of pursuing the battered Confederate army into Virginia and possibly ending the war, McClellan did nothing. Lincoln removed him from command.

Sherman's March-- Spring 1864, Sherman began his March SE through Georgia to the sea, creating a wide path of destruction. His army burned almost every house in its path and destroyed livestock and railroads. Sherman= dedicated to make Southerners so sick of war that generations would pass before they would think about war.

Mid Nov- Sherman burned most of Atlanta. After reaching the ocean, Sherman's forces- followed by 25,000 former slaves- turned north to help Grant "wipe out Lee"

Different goals of groups= lack of unity in the Republican Party. Only few scalawags shared the Republican commitment to civil rights for African Americans.

New status of African Americans required fundamental changed in the attitudes of most Southern whites. Many white southerners refused to accept blacks' new status and resisted the idea of equal rights.

Union and Confederate Forces Clash

News of Fort Sumter's fall united the North and when lincoln called for volunteers, the response throughout Northern states were overwhelming. When lincoln called for volunteers in states upper South- in April and may- Virginia (VA), Arkansas (AR), North Carolina (NC), and Tennessee (TN) succeeded - bringing # of confederate states up to 11. The western counties of VA opposed slavery, so they seceded from VA and were admitted into the Union as WV (1863). 4 remaining slave states remained in the Union: Maryland (MD), Delaware (DE), Kentucky (KY), Missouri (MO).

The Free- Soilers' Voice

Northern opposition to slavery not based on positive feelings towards African Americans. Not unusual for Northerners to be Free-Soilers w/o being abolitionist. Some northern free-soilers supported racist laws prohibiting settlement by blacks and denying them the right to vote. Fs's objected slavery's competition w/ free white workers, or a wage-based labor force, which north depended on. North feared that slave labor would bring down wages Northerned convinced of a conspiracy existed on the part of the "diabolical slave power" to spread slavery throughout U.S. After Fugitive Salve Act and repeal of Missouri Compromise.

3 day battle produced staggering losses: 23,000 Union men and 28,000 Confederates were killed of wounded. Total casualties= +30%

Northerners enthusiastic about breaking "the charm of Robert Lee's invincibility"

Winter of 1862-1863, Grant tried several schemes to reach Vicksburg and take it from the Confederates

Nothing worked until spring 1863. Grant began by weakening the Confederate defenses that protected Vicksburg. He sent Benjamin Grierson to lead his cavalry brigade through the heart of Mississippi. Grierson succeeded in destroying rail lines and distracting Confederate forces from Union infantry working its way toward Vicksburg. Grant was able to land troops south of Vicksburg, April 30, and sent his men in search of Confederate troops in Mississippi.

The New Republican Party

Opponents of slavery in territories - political party = Republican Party, united in opposing the Kansas- Nebraska Act and in keeping slavery out of the territories. Republican Party embraced wide range of options, took in Free-Soilers, antislavery whigs, and Democrats, and nativists, mostly from north. Conservative group want Missouri Compromise again Opposite extreme= radical abolitionists. Election of 1856, Republicans chose their candidate John C. Fremont vs. Democratic James Buchanan. If Fremont won, the south might have seceded, but Buchanan won and the threat was temporarily averted.

After the war, African Americans took an active role in the political process (Recontruction) Not only did they vote, but for the 1st time they held office in local, state, and fed gov't African American officeholders remained in minority

Out of 125 southerners elected to the U.S. Congress during congressional. Reconstruction, only 16 were African Americans. Hiram Revels, the 1st African American senator. African Americas served in political offices on the state and local levels.

The War Affects Regional Economies (cont)

Ppl's standard of living declined. White male workers went out on strike, employees hired free black immigrants, and women to replace them for lower wages. North's economy grew, Congress help pay for war with nation's first income tax, a tax that takes a specified percentage of an individual's income.

The Compromise of 1850 (cont.)

Provision allowed popular sovereignty, the right to vote for or against slavery, for residents of the New Mexico and Utah territories. Senate rejected the compromise. Tired, ill, and Discouraged Clay withdrew from the fight and left Washington- Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois picked up the pro-compromise reins. Douglas reintroduced each resolution one at a time, hoping for a majority vote for each measure individually Death of President Taylor-> Millard Fillmore, Taylor's successor, supported the compromise. The Compromise of 1850 became law and the crisis over slavery had passed very shortly. CRISIS: Enforcement of the new Fugitive slave Law.

The Politics of Reconstruction-- The need to help former slaves = one of many issues for U.S. After war. Government, led by Andrew Jackson, Lincoln's vp and successor, had to determine how to bring the Confederate states back into the Union.

Reconstruction, the period during which the U.S. Began to rebuild after the Civil War, 1865-1877. Term also refers to the process the fed gov't used to readmit the defeated Confederate states to the Union. Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and the members of Congress all had different ideas about how Reconstruction should be handled complicating the process.

Origins: Dred Scott's slace master brought him from Missouri (slave state) to live for a time in free territory and in Illinois (free state). Eventually, returning to Missouri, Scott believed that b/c he lived in a free territory, he should be free. 1854, Scott sued in federal court for his freedom. Federal court ruled against him and he appealed to Supreme Court.

Ruling: The Supreme Court rued that African Americans were not and could never be citizens. Thus, Dred Scott had no right to even file a lawsuit and remained enslaved

The Dred Scott Decision (cont.)

The Case was in court for yrs and the court ruled against Dred Scott. According to the ruling, Scott lacked legal standing to sue in a federal court b/c he was not, and never could be, a citizen. The Court ruled that being in a free territory didn't make a slave free. 5th Amendment protects property, including slaves- territories to exclude slavery= depriving slaveholders of their property. Northerned put the hurt on Supreme Court b/c many of its justices were southerners.

Life During Wartime

Social upheaval + political unrest. Heavy casualties and widespread desertions led each state to conscription, a draft that forced men to serve in the army. North led to draft riots, most violent in NYC b/c ppl pay to not serve.

White Southerners swallowed whatever resentment they felt over African American suffrage and participation in gov't

Some whites expressed their feelings by refusing to register to vote. Others were frustrated by their loss of political power and by the South's economic stagnation (state of inactivity). These were ppl who formed vigilante groups and used violence to intimidate African Americans.

Differences Between North and South (cont.)

South, with plantation economy, relied on enslaved labor force. North, diversified industries, less dependant on slavery- as north industrialized, opposition to slavery grew more intense. Controversy worsened as new territories and states were admitted to the union. Supporters ant more slave states, and opponents determined that slavery shouldn't spread.

Slavery Divides Whigs (cont.)

Southern Know Nothings looked to the Democrats and Northern Know Nothings looked at Republican Party. 2 antislavery parties emerge (1) Liberty party-formed for the purpose of pursuing the cause of abolition by passing new laws, but receive little votes in presidential election (2) Free-Soil Party - opposed the extension of slavery into the territories, received 10% of the popular vote in presidential election. It was clear Northerners opposed slavery in the territories.

The War for the Capitals

Spring 1862, McClellan leading his army toward Richmond, he met a confederate army commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston. After series of battles, Johnston was wounded, and command was passed to Robert E. Lee.

"Bleeding Kansas"

Supporters and opponents of slavery attempt to populate Kansas to win vote on slavery in the territory. 1855 Kansas had enough settlers to hold an election for a territorial legislature . However, thousands of "border ruffians" from the slave state of Missouri crossed into Kansas, voted illegally, and won a fraudulent majority for the proslavery candidates. Gov't was set up Lecompton and issued series of proslavery acts. Abolitionists set a rival gov't in Topeka. Bloody violence happened in struggle for Kansas, earning the territory the name "Bleeding Kansas".

Dred Scott intensified slavery debate- Taney's ruling became political act, and threw into question legitimacy of the Court

Taney's opinion took the extreme proslavery position and installed it as national law. It negated all compromises made to date by pro- and anti- slavery forced, but it seemed to preclude any possible future compromises.

Differences Between North and South

The Northern and Southern section of the U.S. Develop 2 different cultural + economic regions. When British colonists- settled in Virginia (south) and Massachusetts (north), along with differences in geography and climate - 2 regions were different in their religious and cultural traditions. Southern dependence on the "peculiar institution" of slavery that increased tensions between the regions - bringing them into conflict.

Conditions in the Postwar South-- The war devastated the South economically. Southern planters returned home to find that the value of their property plummeted. In south, Many small farms were ruined. Pop was devastated- hundreds of thousands of Southern men had died in the war.

The Republican gov'ts began public works programs to repair the physical damage and to provide social services

New Political Parties Emerge

The Whig Party split over the issue of slavery and had lost support in both the North and South. Democratic Party still alive but scarred. New republican party formed and was moving within striking distance of presidency.

1866 elections, moderate and radical Republicans gained control of Congress. They joined together to pass the Reconstruction Act of 1867, which did not recognize state gov'ts- except Tennessee- formed under the Lincoln and Johnson plans

The reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the former Confederate states into 5 military districts. The states were required to grant African- American men the vote and to ratify the 14th Amendment in order to reenter the Union. When Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction legislation, Congress promptly overrode the veto

Justices John McLean and Benjamin Curtis strongly dissented, hold opinions that are at variance with previous expressed, on both points

They showed that U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and other laws recognized African Americans as citizens. They pointed to a clause in Constitution- giving Congress the power to "make needful Rules and Regulations" to govern U.S. Territories. From their perspective, this clause gave Congreess the power to prohibit slavery in the territories .

Opposition to Reconstruction-- Most notorious and widespread of Southern vigilante groups was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). Klan's goals: Destroy Republican Party. Throw out the Reconstruction gov'ts . Aid the planter class. To prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights.

To achieve their goals, the Klan and other groups killed 20,000 men, women, and children. In addition to violence, some white Southerners refused to hire or to do business with African Americans who voted Republican

Strengths and Strategies

Union and Confederacy unevenly matched. Union- enormous advantages- more ppl, more factories, greater food production, and a more extensive railroad system. Confederacy- "King Cotton," first- rate generals, and highly motivated soldiers. Both sides had military strategies suited to resources and objectives.

Grant Wins at Vicksburg- while Meade's Army of the Potomac was destroying Confederate hopes in Gettysburg, Union general Ulysses S. Grant fought to take Vicksburg, one of the 2 remaining Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River.

Vicksburg -important b/c it rested on bluffs, a cliff with steep face, above the river from which guns could control all the water traffic

Violence in the Senate

Violence not restricted in Kansas. Senator Charles Sumner delivered speech in Senate "The Crime against Kansas" and for 2 days he verbally attacked the South and slavery, and singled out Senator Andrew P. Butler for his proslavery beliefs. Butler's nephew, Congressmen Preston S. Brooks, went into Senate chamber and struck Sumner on the head repeatedly with a cane until it broke. Sumner suffered brain damage and didn't return for more than 3 yrs. Old national parties no more, new political parties emerge, including a party for antislavery northerners.

Former Slaves Improve Their Lives. Before the civil war, African Americans had been denied full membership in churches During Reconstruction African American founded their own churches, which often became the center of the African American community, and the only institutions that African Americans fully controlled. African American ministers emerged as influential community leaders who played an important role in the broader political life of the country.

W/ 95% of former slaves illiterate, former slaves required education to become economically self-sufficient. In most Southern states, the 1st public school systems were established by the Reconstruction gov'ts. The new African American churches, aided by missionaries from Northern churches and by $6 million from the Freedmen's Bureau, worked to create and run these and other school. Atlanta, Fisk, and Howard Universities were all founded by religious groups such as the American Missionary Association. Thousands of African Americans took advantage of their new freedom by migrating to reunite w/ family members or to find jobs in Southern towns and cities .

Gap b/w North and South widened economically. During the war, the economy of the northern states boomed. During the war, Southern economy devastated.

War marked end of slavery as a labor system and wrecked most of region's industry and farmland

Total War-- March 1864, Pres Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant commander of all Union armies

William Tecumseh Sherman- appointed by Grant- commander of the military division of the Mississippi. These 2 appointments changed the course of the war.