Civil War and Reconstruction

How did Abraham Lincoln encapsulate the ideals of America in the Gettysburg Address?

1863 Abraham Lincoln delivered a historic speech dedicated to the soldiers who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg. At the time, Lincoln thought the "Gettysburg Address" to be an unimpressive speech. Today, his speech is still remembered as an inspirational message that talks of devotion, freedom and equality.

How did the attack on Fort Sumter ignite the Civil War?

A single cannon shell burst in a flash of light high above Fort Sumter. This was the signal for the Confederate attack on the U.S. fort to begin. It was also the moment our Civil War began — 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861

What was the impact of Abraham Lincoln's assassination on the nation?

Abraham Lincoln's assassination dramatically changed the Reconstruction era. President Abraham Lincoln, America's Civil War leader, was assassinated just five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army at Appomattox Court House, ending the four-year War Between the States.

How did the system of sharecropping and black codes negatively impact African Americans?

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. Though the Union victory had given some 4 million enslaved people their freedom, the question of freed blacks' status in the postwar South was still very much unresolved. Sharecropping is a type of farming in which families rent small plots of land from a landowner in return for a portion of their crop, to be given to the landowner at the end of each year.

Why was John Brown viewed as both a martyr and a terrorist?

Brown is connected to terrorism for two events in his life: the Pottawatomie raid in the Kansas Territory in 1856 and his raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1859. Both involved violence and killing. Both have led some people to claim Brown was a terrorist.

How did the Freedman's Bureau affect the lives of former slaves?

During its years of operation, the Freedmen's Bureau fed millions of people, built hospitals and provided medical aid, negotiated labor contracts for ex-slaves and settled labor disputes. It also helped former slaves legalize marriages and locate lost relatives, and assisted black veterans.

How did the political tone after the Civil War differ between administrations and Reconstruction?

During the Reconstruction period of 1865-1877, federal law provided civil rights protection in the U.S. ... In the 1870s, Democrats gradually returned to power in the Southern states, sometimes as a result of elections in which paramilitary groups intimidated opponents, attacking blacks or preventing them from voting.

Why did the south attack Fort Sumter?

Following Beauregard's bombardment in 1861, Confederate forces occupied Fort Sumter and used it to marshal a defense of Charleston Harbor. Once it was completed and better armed, Fort Sumter allowed the Confederates to create a valuable hole in the Union blockade of the Atlantic seaboard.

How did Johnson's policies negatively impact Reconstruction?

Johnson's conservative view of Reconstruction did not include the involvement of former slaves in government, and he refused to heed Northern concerns when Southern state legislatures implemented Black Codes, laws that limited the basic human rights and civil liberties of blacks.

What was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and why was it formed?

Ku Klux Klan (KKK) extended into almost every southern state by 1870 and became a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party's Reconstruction-era policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for Black Americans. Its members waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at white and Black Republican leaders. Though Congress passed legislation designed to curb Klan terrorism, the organization saw its primary goal-the reestablishment of white supremacy-fulfilled through Democratic victories in state legislatures across the South in the 1870s.

How did Lincoln's leadership work toward the preservation of the Union?

Lincoln freed the slaves to weaken the Southern resistance, strengthen the Federal government, and encourage free blacks to fight in the Union army, thus preserving the Union.

Why was the north angry about the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?

Northerners bristled at the idea of turning their states into a stalking ground for bounty hunters, and many argued the law was tantamount to legalized kidnapping. Some abolitionists organized clandestine resistance groups and built complex networks of safe houses to aid enslaved people in their escape to the North.

Why were southerner's strong advocates for states' rights?

Southerners consistently argued for states rights and a weak federal government but it was not until the 1850s that they raised the issue of secession.

How did Uncle Tom's Cabin create division between the north and the south?

Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin widened the chasm between the North and the South, greatly strengthened Northern abolitionism, and weakened British sympathy for the Southern cause. The most influential novel ever written by an American, it was one of the contributing causes of the Civil War.

What were the impacts of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments?

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, known collectively as the Civil War Amendments, were designed to ensure equality for recently emancipated slaves. The 13th Amendment banned slavery and all involuntary servitude, except in the case of punishment for a crime.

Why are Vicksburg and Gettysburg turning points of the Civil War?

The Battle of Gettysburg ended the Confederates' last major invasion of the North and is viewed by some as the war's turning point. The Confederate loss of Vicksburg was perhaps more important because it opened the way for the North to seize control of the entire Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in half

How did old strategies and new technology impact death rates during the Civil War?

The Civil War was a time of great social and political upheaval. It was also a time of great technological change. Inventors and military men devised new types of weapons, such as the repeating rifle and the submarine, that forever changed the way that wars were fought.

How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act and popular sovereignty create further division?

The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. It also produced a violent uprising known as "Bleeding Kansas," as proslavery and antislavery activists flooded into the territories to sway the vote.

Why did the Republican party form?

The Republican Party emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery into American territories. The early Republican Party consisted of northern Protestants, factory workers, professionals, businessmen, prosperous farmers, and after 1866, former black slaves.

What was life like for African Americans after the Civil War?

The aftermath of the Civil War was exhilarating, hopeful and violent. Four million newly freed African Americans faced the future of previously-unknown freedom from the old plantation system, with few rights or protections, and surrounded by a war-weary and intensely resistant white population

How did the perceived victory at Antietam lead to the Emancipation Proclamation?

The battle allowed Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. For two months, Lincoln's order proclaiming the freedom of slaves in rebel territories had festered in a desk drawer, awaiting good news from the battlefield, lest it be seen as a desperate ploy.

How is industry in the north dependent on the agriculture in the south?

The northern economy relied on manufacturing and the agricultural southern economy depended on the production of cotton. The desire of southerners for unpaid workers to pick the valuable cotton strengthened their need for slavery.

Why did the Radical Republicans impeach Andrew Johnson?

The primary charge against Johnson was that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress in March 1867 over Johnson's veto. Specifically, he had removed from office Edwin Stanton, the secretary of war whom the act was largely designed to protect.

How did total war and Sherman's March to the Sea devastate the South?

The purpose of Sherman's March to the Sea was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Sherman's soldiers did not destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back.

Why does the south secede when Abraham Lincoln was elected president?

The scholars immediately disagreed over the causes of the war and disagreement persists today. Many maintain that the primary cause of the war was the Southern states' desire to preserve the institution of slavery. Others minimize slavery and point to other factors, such as taxation or the principle of States' Rights.

How does life in the south change as a result of the north's victory in the Civil War?

The struggle for political reform and eventual legal changes, like the Civil Rights Act and the Fifteenth Amendment, affected the North as well as the South. The migration of freed slaves from the South to the North and West also changed Northern society.