U.S. History mid-term

American Civil War date

April 12, 1861 - May 9, 1865 (by proclamation)

Daniel Webster

As with his fellow Whig Henry Clay, Webster wanted to see the Union preserved and civil war averted. They both worked for compromises to stave off the sectionalism that threatened war between the North and the South. On March 7, 1850, Webster gave one of his most famous speeches, later called the Seventh of March speech, characterizing himself "not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man but as an American..." In it he gave his support to the compromise, which included the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 that required federal officials to recapture and return runaway slaves. Whig

Davy Crockett

David "Davy" Crockett (August 17, 1786 - March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives, served in the Texas Revolution, and died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Gadsden Purchase

(1853) U.S. purchase of land from Mexico that included the southern parts of present-day Arizona and New Mexico James Gadsden, the U.S. Minister to Mexico 1.it was largely so that the U.S.A. could construct a transcontinental railroad along a deep southern route. 2.aimed to reconcile outstanding border issues between the U.S. and Mexico following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Franklin Pierce

14th President Democrat (1853-1857), Candidate from the North who could please the South. His success in securing the Gadsden Purchase was overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the Ostend Manifesto, the Kansas Nebraska Act and "Bleeding Kansas." Passions over slavery had been further inflamed, and the North and South were more irreconcilable than before. He succeeded only in splitting the country further apart. saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation.His polarizing actions in championing and signing the Kansas-Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act failed to stem intersectional conflict, setting the stage for Southern secession.

Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States, a Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, as V.P. when Lincoln was killed, he became president. He opposed radical Republicans who passed Reconstruction Acts over his veto. The first U.S. president to be impeached, he survived the Senate removal by only one vote. He favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. His plans did not give protection to the former slaves, and he came into conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives. (1865-1869) The 13th Amendment is added to the Constitution in 1865 and the 14th Amendment is passed by Congress and added to the Constitution in 1868. House of Representatives impeaches the President in 1868 and the Senate acquits the president of the 11 articles of impeachment. In 1868 the President issued a unconditional pardon to those who participated in the southern rebellion. The 15th Amendment is passed in 1869. He had a plan for reconstruction called "Restoration." He was radical republican, but his veto showed he was not.

Mexican American War

1846 - 1848 - President Polk declared war on Mexico over the dispute of land in Texas. At the end, American ended up with 55% of Mexico's land. after Mexican refusal to sell California-New Mexico region, Polk sent troops and it ended w/ Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, establishing the Rio Grande and not the Nueces River as the U.S.-Mexican border. Under the treaty, Mexico also recognized the U.S. annexation of Texas, and agreed to sell California and the rest of its territory north of the Rio Grande for $15 million plus the assumption of certain damages claims. Most Whigs in the North and South opposed it; most Democrats supported it.Southern Democrats, animated by a popular belief in Manifest Destiny, supported it in hope of adding slave-owning territory to the South and avoiding being outnumbered by the faster-growing North. Whigs generally wanted to strengthen the economy with industrialization, not expand it with more land.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

1858 were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. At the time, U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures; thus Lincoln and Douglas were trying for their respective parties to win control of the Illinois legislature. The debates previewed the issues that Lincoln would face in the aftermath of his victory in the 1860 presidential election. Although Illinois, itself, was a free state, the main issue discussed in all seven debates was slavery in the United States. In agreeing to the official debates, Lincoln and Douglas decided to hold one debate in each of the nine congressional districts in Illinois. Because both had already spoken in two—Springfield and Chicago—within a day of each other, they decided that their "joint appearances" would be held only in the remaining seven districts. a foreshadowing of the Civil War.

Ten Percent Plan

1863 A plan created by President Lincoln before his assassination, and carried out by the successor, Andrew Johnson. It decreed that a state could be reintegrated into the Union when 10% of the 1860 vote count from that state had taken an oath of allegiance to the U.S. and pledged to abide by Emancipation. Voters could then elect delegates to draft revised state constitutions and establish new state governments. All southerners except for high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials would be granted a full pardon. Lincoln guaranteed southerners that he would protect their private property, though not their slaves. By 1864, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas had established fully functioning Unionist governments. This policy was meant to shorten the war by offering a moderate peace plan. It was also intended to further his emancipation policy by insisting that the new governments abolished slavery.

Sheridan's Scorched Earth Campaign/ "The Burning"

1864 Shenandoah Valley Gen. Philip Sheridan Because residents of the region lived within the borders of a state that had seceded from the Union, Sheridan acted as if they had automatically forfeited their property, if not their very lives. laid waste to a hundred mile swath of the Shenandoah Valley leaving vast numbers of women and children at risk of starvation.

Tenure of Office Act

1866 - Enacted by radical Congress, it forbade the president from removing civil officers without consent of the Senate. It was meant to prevent Johnson from removing radicals from office. Johnson broke this law when he fired a radical Republican from his cabinet, and he was impeached for this "crime". (override of veto)

Credit Mobilier

1872, This was a fraudulent construction company created to take the profits of the Union Pacific Railroad. Using government funds for the railroad, the Union Pacific directors gave padded construction contracts to Congress members he Crédit Mobilier scandal of 1872 involved the Union Pacific Railroad and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. The scandal's origins dated back to the Abraham Lincoln presidency, when the Union Pacific Railroad was chartered in 1864 by the federal government and the associated Crédit Mobilier was established. In 1872, Union Pacific Railroad insiders formed the BLANK BLANK construction company and then hired themselves at inflated prices to build the railroad line, earning dividends as high as 348%. The company distributed shares of its valuable stock to key congressmen to protect themselves. This scheme was discovered and led to the formal censure of 2 congressmen and the knowledge that the vice president had accepted payments from BLANK BLANK.

Rutherford B. Hayes

1876-1880, Republican oversaw the end of Reconstruction, began the efforts that led to civil service reform, and attempted to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War and Reconstruction

John Quincy Adams

6th U.S. President. 1825-1829. Democratic-Republican，Whig Animated by his growing revulsion against slavery, Adams became a leading opponent of the Slave Power. He predicted that if a civil war were to break out, the president could abolish slavery by using his powers. Adams also predicted the Union's dissolution over the slavery issue, but said that if the South became independent there would be a series of bloody slave revolts. one of the leading opponents of Texas annexation and the Mexican-American War. He correctly predicted that both would contribute to civil war.

Charles Sumner

A leader of the Radical republicans in the senate. His two main goals were breaking the power of wealthy planters and ensuring that freedmen could vote He was a leading abolitionist. In 1856, he made an assault in the pro-slavery of South Carolina and the South in his coarse speech, "The Crime Against Kansas." The insult angered Congressmen Brooks of South Carolina. Brooks walked up to Sumner's desk and beat him unconscious. This violent incident helped touch off the war between the North and the South. "The Crime Against Kansas"

Ford's Theater

April 14, 1865 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln John Wilkes Booth, as part of a larger conspiracy in a bid to revive the Confederate cause reconstruction came to end After the Civil War congress was controlled by a group called the "Radical Republicans." Lincoln was able to control them and had proposed a plan for reconstruction that looked to treating the South more like a lost brother returning home. Lincoln looked to reconstruction as a time of healing. The Radical Republicans, however, looked at reconstruction as an opportunity to teach the South a lesson and to punish them. In 1866 Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill which called for rather draconian Reconstruction measures. Lincoln vetoed the bill but the debate raged.

Bleeding Kansas

Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War was a series of violent political confrontations in the United States involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements in Kansas between 1854 and 1861. its violence indicated that compromise was unlikely and thus it presaged the Civil War. （result of Kansas-Nebraska Act)

William Seward

Conservative Republicans A determined opponent of the spread of slavery a dominant figure in the Republican Party in its formative years. Although regarded as the leading contender for the party's presidential nomination in 1860, he was defeated by Abraham Lincoln. His firm stance against foreign intervention in the Civil War helped deter Britain and France from entering the conflict and possibly gaining the independence of the Confederate States. Secretary of State under Lincoln and Johnson; purchase of Alaska "Seward's Folly" 7.2 million dollar

54-40 or Fight!

Democratic candidate James K. Polk "54-40 or Fight" was referencing the latitude of the Oregon territories Northern border. This was a popular slogan that was taken up by the American champions of Manifest destiny. However, when the annexation of Texas had brought a war with Mexico, president Polk decided not to risk war with Britain as well. So, in June of 1846, the two countries had agreed to extend the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada.

Third Party System

Democrats and Republican political parties in the United States from 1854 until the mid-1890s that featured profound developments in issues of American nationalism, modernization, and race. the Third was characterized by intense voter interest, routinely high voter turnout, unflinching party loyalty, dependence on nominating conventions, hierarchical party organizations, and the systematic use of government jobs as patronage for party workers, known as the spoils system. Began around the start of the Civil War, defined by bitter conflict and striking party differences and coalitions; dominated by Republicans with a focus on Civil War, Reconstruction, race, and monetary issues

Dred Scott

Dred Scott (c. 1799 - September 17, 1858) was an enslaved African American man in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case of 1857, popularly known as the "Dred Scott Decision." Scott claimed that he and his wife should be granted their freedom because they had lived in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory for four years, where slavery was illegal. The United States Supreme Court decided 7-2 against Scott, finding that neither he nor any other person of African ancestry could claim citizenship in the United States, and therefore Scott could not bring suit in federal court under diversity of citizenship rules. Moreover, Scott's temporary residence outside Missouri did not bring about his emancipation under the Missouri Compromise, which the court ruled unconstitutional as it would "improperly deprive Scott's owner of his legal property." While Chief Justice Roger B. Taney had hoped to settle issues related to slavery and Congressional authority by this decision, it aroused public outrage, deepened sectional tensions between the northern and southern U.S. states, and hastened the eventual explosion of their differences into the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and the post-Civil War Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments nullified the decision.

Free Soil Ideology

Formed in 1847-1848 dedicated to opposing slavery in newly acquired territories such as Oregon and ceded Mexican territory. Emergence of this party and others signaled the divisions in American political parties surrounding the issue of slavery. the dominant parties were unable to capture every American's sentiments around slavery. This party was not anti-slavery it just didn't want slavery and slaves becoming a part of the new land acquired after war with Mexico. • Free Soilers formed and nominated Martin Van Buren for president. The idea of preventing the creation of new salve states appealed to those who favored policies, such as the protective tariff and government aid to internal improvements, that the majority of Southern leaders opposed The Free Soil Party contended that slavery undermined the dignity of labor and inhibited social mobility, and was therefore fundamentally undemocratic. Viewing slavery as an economically inefficient, obsolete institution, Free Soilers believed that slavery should be contained, and that if contained it would ultimately disappear.

The Battle of the Wilderness

Fought May 5-7, 1864, was the first battle of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War. Both armies suffered heavy casualties, a harbinger of a bloody war of attrition by Grant against Lee's army and, eventually, the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The battle was tactically inconclusive, as Grant disengaged and continued his offensive.

Henry Clay

He was viewed as the primary representative of Western interests in this group Compromise of 1850 one of the leading opponents of Texas annexation and the Mexican-American War

John Calhoun

His concept of republicanism included approval of slavery and minority rights, with the Southern states the minority in question. To protect minority rights against majority rule, he called for a concurrent majority whereby the minority could sometimes block proposals that it felt infringed on their liberties. He was an inspiration to the secessionists of 1860-61. Leader of the Fugitive Slave Law, which forced the cooperation of Northern states in returning escaped slaves to the south. He also argued on the floor of the senate that slavery was needed in the south. He argued on the grounds that society is supposed to have an upper ruling class that enjoys the profit of a working lower class. Rejection of the Compromise of 1850

Whig Party

In 1860, many former Whigs who had not joined the Republicans regrouped as the Constitutional Union Party, which nominated only a national ticket. It had considerable strength in the border states, which feared the onset of civil war. Its presidential candidate, John Bell, finished third in the electoral college. During the Lincoln Administration (1861-65), ex-Whigs dominated the Republican Party and enacted much of their American System. Later their Southern colleagues dominated the White response to Reconstruction. In the long run, America adopted Whiggish economic policies coupled with a Democratic strong presidency. During the latter part of the American Civil War, and during the Reconstruction Era, many former Whigs tried to regroup in the South, calling themselves "Conservatives" and hoping to reconnect with the ex-Whigs in the North. These were merged into the Democratic Party in the South, but they continued to promote modernization policies such as large-scale railroad construction and the founding of public schools. Formed to oppose the policies of Andrew Jackson's Democratic Party, they are the beginning of a Two Party System and exert influence from the 1830's to 1850s.

Martin Van Buren

In the 1848 election Van Buren ran unsuccessfully as the candidate of the Free Soil Party. (1837-1841) Advocated lower tariffs and free trade, and by doing so maintained support of the south for the Democratic party. He succeeded in setting up a system of bonds for the national debt. His increasingly abolitionist views and support for the Union led him to support Abraham Lincoln's policies after the start of the American Civil War

Union Party

In the 1864 presidential election the Republican Party of incumbent President Abraham Lincoln ran as the "National Union Party" or "Union Party". The name was a reference to the Union faction of the American Civil War. A coalition party of pro-war Democrats and Republicans formed during 1864 election to defeat anti-war Northern Democrats temporary name for the Republicans for the election of 1864, nominated Lincoln for his second term

"Angel of Light"

John Brown was a white American abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. During the 1856 conflict in Kansas, Brown commanded forces at the Battle of Black Jack and the Battle of Osawatomie. Brown's followers killed five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie. In 1859, Brown led an unsuccessful raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry that ended with the multi-racial group's capture. Brown's trial resulted in his conviction and a sentence of death by hanging. the Harpers Ferry raid in 1859 escalated tensions that, a year later, led to secession and the American Civil War.

Battle of Gettysburg

July 1-3, 1863 The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's attempt to invade the North. (the fall of Vicksburg is the next day)

14th Amendment

July 9, 1868 the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, Due Process Clause, and Equal Protection Clause. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. [Dred Scott v. Sandford] No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States prohibits state and local government officials from depriving persons of life, liberty, or property without legislative authorization. requires each state to provide equal protection under the law to all people within its jurisdiction 1) Citizenship for African Americans, 2) Repeal of 3/5 Compromise, 3) Denial of former confederate officials from holding national or state office, 4) Repudiate (reject) confederate debts

Redeemers

Largely former slave owners who were the bitterest opponents of the Republican program in the South. Staged a major counterrevolution to "redeem" the south by taking back southern state governments. Their foundation rested on the idea of racism and white supremacy. Redeemer governments waged and aggressive assault on African Americans. Democrat Numerous educated blacks moved to the South to work for Reconstruction, and some blacks attained positions of political power under these conditions. While the elite planter class often supported insurgencies, violence against freedmen and other Republicans was often carried out by other whites; insurgency took the form of the secret Ku Klux Klan in the first years after the war.

James K. Polk

Last Jacksonian president, goals were annexation of California, to settle the Oregon dispute, and lower the tariff, which pleased the less-industrialized states of his native South. the 11th President of the United States (1845-1849). 54-40 or Fight! Democrat led the nation to a sweeping victory in the Mexican-American War annexation of Texas

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Law created by Radical Republicans that was originally vetoed by Johnson but overridden by Congress; established harsher requirements for Confederate states; divided Southern states into military districts; required states to vote to ratify 14th amendment. Also known as the Military Reconstruction Act, passed into law applied to all the ex-Confederate states in the South, except Tennessee who had already ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. Divided the Confederate states except Tennessee into five military districts. Military commanders in the districts were appointed to oversee constitutional conventions in the districts and the creation of state constitutions. New elections were held with voting only allowed by Congress' approved voters, which were mostly former slaves.This military occupation would last until the states created new constitutions that included black suffrage, the permanent disfranchisement of Confederate leaders, and ratification of the 13th and 14th Amendment. This could only be done after new public officials were elected that had pledged their loyalty to the Union. Most of these were either poor whites or former slaves.This new influx of voters led to the Republican control of a traditionally Democratic south. Tennessee was the only state exempt from military reconstruction because it had a large number of Union supporters and had met most of the Radical Republicans' demands for reconstruction. The rest of the Confederacy was split up under the rule of former Union generals.

Abraham Lincoln

Moderate Republicans Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 15 1865. Lincoln led the United States through its Civil War—its bloodiest war and its greatest moral, constitutional, and political crisis.In doing so, he preserved the Union, abolished slavery, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy.

Greenbacks

Name given to paper money issued by the government during the Civil War, so called because the back side was printed with green ink. They were not redeemable for gold, but $300 million were issued anyway. Farmers hit by the depression wanted to inflate the notes to cover losses, but Grant vetoed an inflation bill and greenbacks were added to permanent circulation. In 1879 the federal government finally made greenbacks redeemable for gold. Name for Union paper money not backed by gold or silver. Value would fluctuate depending on status of the war

Sherman's March to the Sea

November 15 to December 21, 1864, a devastating total war military campaign, led by union general William Tecumseh Sherman, that involved marching 60,000 union troops through Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah and destroying everything along there way. The campaign began with Sherman's troops leaving the captured city of Atlanta, Georgia, on November 15 and ended with the capture of the port of Savannah on December 21. His forces destroyed military targets as well as industry, infrastructure, and civilian property and disrupted the Confederacy's economy and its transportation networks. Sherman's bold move of operating deep within enemy territory and without supply lines is considered to be revolutionary in the annals of war.

Clara Barton

Nurse during the Civil War; founder of the American Red Cross

John Brown's Raid

October 16-18, 1859 John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry was an effort by white abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt in 1859 by taking over a United States arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Brown's raid, accompanied by 20 men in his party,was defeated by a platoon of U.S. Marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee. the Harpers Ferry raid in 1859 escalated tensions that, a year later, led to secession and the American Civil War.

Habeas corpus

One cannot be put into jail without being told that he's charged a legal action or writ by means of which detainees can seek relief from unlawful imprisonment. the United States Constitution demands that "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it." suspended by President Abraham Lincoln in Maryland during the American Civil War.Lincoln had received word that anti-war Maryland officials intended to destroy the railroad tracks between Annapolis and Philadelphia, which was a vital supply line for the army preparing to fight the south.Lincoln was also motivated by requests by generals to set up military courts to rein in his political opponents, "Copperheads," or Peace Democrats, so named, because they did not want to resort to war to force the southern states back into the Union, as well as to intimidate those in the Union who supported the Confederate cause. Congress was not yet in session to consider a suspension of the writs; however, when it came into session it failed to pass a bill favored by Lincoln to sanction his suspensions. Lincoln's action was rapidly challenged in court and overturned by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Maryland.On February 14, 1862, the war was firmly in progress and Lincoln ordered most prisoners released, putting an end to court challenges for the time being. The suspension of habeas corpus remained in effect until Andrew Johnson revoked it on December 1, 1865. Following the end of the Civil War, numerous groups arose in the South to oppose Reconstruction, including the Ku Klux Klan. In response, Congress passed the Enforcement Acts in 1870-71. One of these, the Civil Rights Act of 1871, permitted the president to suspend habeas corpus if conspiracies against federal authority were so violent that they could not be checked by ordinary means.

Emancipation Proclamation

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory. Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom. From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery's final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.

Election of 1876

Race for the presidency between Republican Rutherford B Hayes and Democrat Samuel J Tilden. The decision of the winner came down to congress but no one knew which house should vote because the Senate was Republican and the House of Reps was Democratic. Congress created a Special Electoral Commission consisting of 5 senators, 5 House Reps, and 5 justices from the Supreme court. Votes went 8-7 in favor of Hayes. An informal deal was struck to resolve the dispute: the Compromise of 1877, which awarded all 20 electoral votes to Hayes. In return for the Democrats' acquiescence in Hayes's election, the Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction. The Compromise effectively ceded power in the Southern states to the Democratic Redeemers, who went on to pursue their agenda of returning the South to a political economy resembling that of its pre-war condition, including the disenfranchisement of black voters. To ensure partisan balance, there would be seven Democrats and seven Republicans, with Justice David Davis, an independent respected by both parties, as the fifteenth member.Davis disappointed Democrats by refusing to serve on the Commission because of his election to the Senate.[108] As all of the remaining Justices were Republicans, Justice Joseph P. Bradley, believed to be the most independent-minded of them, was selected to take Davis's place on the Commission.[109] The Commission met in February and the eight Republicans voted to award all 20 electoral votes to Hayes.[110] Democrats were outraged by the result and attempted a filibuster to prevent Congress from accepting the Commission's findings. Republicans and Democrats each claimed victory in the three latter states, but the results in those states were rendered uncertain because of fraud by both parties.[102] To further complicate matters, one of the three electors from Oregon (a state Hayes had won) was disqualified, reducing Hayes's total to 165, and raising the disputed votes to 20. [103][d] If either candidate could be awarded the 20 disputed votes, he would be elected president. The primary concession Hayes promised would be the withdrawal of federal troops from the South and an acceptance of the election of Democratic governments in the remaining "unredeemed" states of the South( Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida).

Lyman Trumbull

Senator leader of the Moderate Republicans publicly stated that he did not support the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson. Proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and wrote bill to extend Freedmen's Bureau for 3 more years. drafted the 13th Amendment.

James Buchanan

The 15th President of the United States (1857-1861). He tried to maintain a balance between proslavery and antislavery factions, but his moderate views angered radicals in both North and South, and he was unable to forestall the secession of South Carolina on December 20, 1860. he helped draft the Ostend Manifesto. battled with Stephen A. Douglas for control of the Democratic Party Southern Democrats the abolitionists, in his view, were preventing the solution to the slavery problem. He stated, "Before [the abolitionists] commenced this agitation, a very large and growing party existed in several of the slave states in favor of the gradual abolition of slavery; and now not a voice is heard there in support of such a measure. The abolitionists have postponed the emancipation of the slaves in three or four states for at least half a century. supported the Lecompton Constitution and the pro-slavery position on Kansas

Fugitive Slave Law

The 1850 law was tougher and was aimed at eliminating the underground railroad. Part of Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850. If a southern slaveholder claimed their slave was missing, federal agents would search for them (often in the North) and required that civilians help. Even if someone was a free black, if a slaveholder said they were their slave, they were returned to their masters immediately. Northerners detested this law because it forced them to actively support slavery instead of passively oppose it.

The Alamo

The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 - March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar, killing all of the Texian defenders. Santa Anna's cruelty during the battle inspired many Texians—both Texas settlers and adventurers from the United States—to join the Texian Army. Buoyed by a desire for revenge, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution.

Antietam, MD

The Bloodiest One Day Battle in American History September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led to Abraham Lincoln's issuance of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.

South Carolina Secession

The Civil War began in South Carolina. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to declare its secession from the Union. Six more states followed SC.The first shots of the Civil War (January 9, 1861) were fired in Charleston by its Citadel cadets upon a civilian merchant ship, the Star of the West, bringing supplies to the beleaguered U.S. garrison at Fort Sumter. The April 1861 bombardment of Fort Sumter by South Carolina forces under the command of General Beauregard—the Confederacy did not yet have a functioning army—is commonly taken as the beginning of the war. South Carolina was a source of troops for the Confederate army, and as the war progressed, also for the Union, as thousands of ex-slaves flocked to join the Union forces. The state also provided uniforms, textiles, food, and war material, as well as trained soldiers and leaders from The Citadel and other military schools. In contrast to most other Confederate states, South Carolina had a well-developed rail network linking all of its major cities without a break of gauge. Relatively free from Union occupation until the very end of the war, South Carolina hosted a number of prisoner of war camps. South Carolina also was the only Southern state not to harbor pockets of anti-secessionist fervor strong enough to send large amounts of white men to fight for the Union, as every other state in the Confederacy did.

Copperheads

The Copperheads were a vocal faction of Democrats located in the Northern United States of the Union who opposed the American Civil War, wanting an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates. Republicans started calling antiwar Democrats "Copperheads", likening them to the venomous snake. The Democrats accepted the label, reinterpreting the copper "head" as the likeness of Liberty, which they cut from Indian Head cents and proudly wore as badges. Democratic supporters of the war, by contrast, were called War Democrats.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 called for "popular sovereignty"—that is, the decision about slavery was to be made by the settlers (rather than outsiders). It would be decided by votes—or more exactly which side had more votes counted by officials. At the heart of the conflict was the question of whether Kansas would allow or outlaw slavery, and thus enter the Union as a slave state or a free state. Pro-slavery forces said every settler had the right to bring his own property, including slaves, into the territory. Anti-slavery "free soil" forces said the rich slaveholders would buy up all the good farmland and work it with black slaves, leaving little or no opportunity for non-slaveholders. The initial purpose of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was to open up many thousands of new farms and make feasible a Midwestern Transcontinental Railroad. The popular sovereignty clause of the law led pro- and anti-slavery elements to flood into Kansas with the goal of voting slavery up or down, resulting in Bleeding Kansas.

Missouri Compromise

The Missouri Compromise was a United States federal statute devised by Henry Clay. It regulated slavery in the country's western territories by prohibiting the practice in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north, except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri. 1820 The Missouri Compromise was effectively repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, submitted to Congress by Stephen A. Douglas in January 1854. The Act opened Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory to slavery and future admission of slave states by allowing white male settlers in those territories to determine through "popular sovereignty" whether they would allow slavery within each territory. Thus, the Kansas-Nebraska Act effectively undermined the prohibition on slavery in territory north of 36°30′ latitude which had been established by the Missouri Compromise. This change was viewed by Free Soilers and many abolitionist Northerners as an aggressive, expansionist maneuver by the slave-owning South, and led to the creation of the Republican Party. Although already superseded by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Supreme Court indicated that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional in the 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling.

Know-Nothing Party

The Native American Party, renamed in 1855 as the American Party, and commonly known as the Know Nothing movement, was an American political party that operated on a national basis during the mid-1850s. The movement arose in response to an influx of migrants, and promised to "purify" American politics by limiting or ending the influence of Irish Catholics and other immigrants, thus reflecting nativist and anti-Catholic sentiment. It was empowered by popular fears that the country was being overwhelmed by German and Irish Catholic immigrants, whom they saw as hostile to republican values, and as being controlled by the Pope in Rome. Mainly active from 1854 to 1856, the movement strove to curb immigration and naturalization, but met with little success. desire to defeat the Democrats, their unionist sentiment, their anti-immigrant attitudes, and the Know-Nothing neutrality on the slavery issue

Ostend Manifesto

The Ostend Manifesto was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain while implying that the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. Cuba's annexation had long been a goal of U.S. slaveholding expansionists. At the national level, American leaders had been satisfied to have the island remain in weak Spanish hands so long as it did not pass to a stronger power such as Britain or France. The Ostend Manifesto proposed a shift in foreign policy, justifying the use of force to seize Cuba in the name of national security. It resulted from debates over slavery in the United States, Manifest Destiny, and the Monroe Doctrine, as slaveholders sought new territory for slavery's expansion. During the administration of President Franklin Pierce, a pro-Southern Democrat, Southern expansionists called for acquiring Cuba as a slave state, but the breakout of violence following the Kansas-Nebraska Act left the administration unsure of how to proceed. Great Britain, France — met to discuss strategy related to an acquisition of Cuba. They met secretly. Soulé made no secret of the meetings, causing unwanted publicity in both Europe and the U.S. The administration was finally forced to publish the contents of the dispatch, which caused it irreparable damage. The question of Cuba's annexation was effectively set aside until the late 19th century, when support grew for Cuban independence from Spain.

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was an independent sovereign nation in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Its southern and western-most boundary with Mexico was under dispute throughout the entire existence of the republic with Texas claiming the boundary as the Rio Grande (known as the Río Bravo del Norte or Río Bravo in Mexico), and Mexico claiming the boundary as the Nueces River. This dispute would later become a trigger for the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848 between Mexico and the United States after the annexation of Texas by the United States on December 29, 1845.

Vicksburg, MS

The Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 - July 4, 1863) was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate Army of Mississippi led by Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton into the defensive lines surrounding the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River; therefore, capturing it completed the second part of the Northern strategy, the Anaconda Plan. The successful ending of the Vicksburg Campaign significantly degraded the ability of the Confederacy to maintain its war effort. It cut off the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas from the rest of the Confederacy, as well as communication with Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi Department for the remainder of the war.

Reconstruction Amendments

The Thirteenth Amendment (banning slavery), Fourteenth Amendment (guaranteeing the civil rights of former slaves and ensuring equal protection of the laws), and Fifteenth Amendment (prohibiting the denial of the right to vote on grounds of race, color, or previous condition of servitude)

West Virginia

The U.S. state of West Virginia was formed out of western Virginia and added to the Union as a direct result of the American Civil War . In the summer of 1861, Union troops under drove off Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee. This essentially freed Unionists in the northwestern counties of Virginia to form their own government as a result of the Wheeling Convention. After Lee's departure, western Virginia continued to be a target of Confederate raids, even after the creation of the new state in 1863. These actions focused both on supplying the Confederate Army with provisions as well as attacking the vital Baltimore and Ohio Railroad that linked the northeast with the midwest. On 17 April 1861, the state convention in Richmond declared secession. Nearly all delegates from counties west of the Allegheny Mountains voted against secession, and most people and officials in that area refused any directions from the secessionist state government. On 15 May, western Virginia Unionists convened the first session of the Wheeling Convention. Many of the delegates were informally or self-appointed, so the Convention only denounced secession and called for formal election of delegates. The elected delegates met in the second session on 11 June. On 20 June the Convention declared that by acceding to secession, the officials of the state government in Richmond had forfeited their offices, which were now vacant. The Convention then elected replacements for these state offices, creating the Restored Government of Virginia. The "Restored" government was generally supported in areas where secession was opposed. Union troops also held the three northernmost counties in the Shenandoah Valley, and despite the pro-secession views of most residents, these counties were also subjected to the "Restored" government. At the Wheeling Convention, some delegates proposed the immediate establishment of a separate state. However, other delegates pointed out that the creation of a new state would require the consent of Virginia, under Article IV of the Constitution. Thus it was necessary to establish the Restored Government of Virginia to give that consent, which was granted 20 August 1861. A referendum in October 1861 approved statehood; a constitutional convention met, and its work was approved by referendum in April 1862. Congress approved statehood that December, with the condition that slavery must be abolished in the new state. This condition required a new constitutional convention and referendum. The revised constitution provided for the future abolition of slavery, which took effect on 3 February 1865. On 20 June 1863, the newly proclaimed state of West Virginia was admitted to the Union, including all the western counties and the lower (northern) Shenandoah "panhandle". All the northern states had free public school systems before the war, but not the border states. West Virginia set up its system in 1863. Over bitter opposition it established an almost-equal education for black children, most of whom were ex-slaves.[2] When Union troops occupied parts of eastern Virginia such as Alexandria and Norfolk, these areas came under the jurisdiction of the Restored Government. They were not included in West Virginia. With West Virginia statehood, the Restored government relocated to Alexandria.

crop-lien system

The crop-lien system was a way for farmers-- both black and white-- to get credit before the planting season by borrowing against the value of anticipated harvests. Local merchants provided food and supplies all year long on credit; when the cotton crop was harvested farmers turned it over to the merchant to pay back their loan. Sometimes there was cash left over; when cotton prices were low, the crop did not cover the debt and the farmer started the next year in the red. The credit system was used by land owners, sharecroppers and tenant farmers. Sharecroppers had no mules or tools; tenant farmers did have them and commanded a larger share of the crop. The owner took the rest. At harvest time the merchant collected his debts from the sale of the crop.[1] The merchants had to borrow the money to buy supplies, and in turn charged the farmer interest as well as a higher price for merchandise bought on such credit. The merchant insisted that more cotton (or some other cash crop) be grown—nothing else paid well—and thus came to dictate the crops that a farmer grew.

Republican Party

The first official party convention was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan.[17] By 1858, the Republicans dominated nearly all Northern states. The Republican Party first came to power in 1860 with the election of Lincoln to the Presidency and Republicans in control of Congress and again, the Northern states. It oversaw the preserving of the union, the end of slavery, and the provision of equal rights to all men in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877. The party took on the mission of preserving the Union and destroying slavery during the American Civil War and over Reconstruction. In the election of 1864, it united with War Democrats to nominate Lincoln on the National Union Party ticket. The Republican Party supported business generally, hard money (i.e., the gold standard), high tariffs to promote economic growth, high wages and high profits, generous pensions for Union veterans

Total War

Total war is warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, and justifies using weapons and tactics that result in significant civilian or other non-combatant casualties, whether collateral damage or not. During the American Civil War, Union Army General Philip Sheridan's stripping of the Shenandoah Valley, beginning on September 21, 1864 and continuing for two weeks, was considered "total war".[citation needed] Its purpose was to eliminate food and supplies vital to the South's military operations, as well as to strike a blow at Southern civilian morale. Sheridan took the opportunity when he realized opposing forces had become too weak to resist his army. Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman's 'March to the Sea' in November and December 1864 destroyed the resources required for the South to make war. General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln initially opposed the plan until Sherman convinced them of its necessity.

Gettysburg Address

U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln reiterated the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and proclaimed the Civil War as a struggle for the preservation of the Union sundered by the secession crisis, with "a new birth of freedom" that would bring true equality to all of its citizens. Lincoln also redefined the Civil War as a struggle not just for the Union, but also for the principle of human equality.

Sharecropping

Widespread in the South as a response to economic upheaval caused by the end of slavery during and after Reconstruction.[12][13] Sharecropping was a way for very poor farmers, both white and black, to earn a living from land owned by someone else. The landowner provided land, housing, tools and seed, and perhaps a mule, and a local merchant provided food and supplies on credit. At harvest time the sharecropper received a share of the crop (from one-third to one-half, with the landowner taking the rest). The cropper used his share to pay off his debt to the merchant. The system started with blacks when large plantations were subdivided. By the 1880s white farmers also became sharecroppers. The system was distinct from that of the tenant farmer, who rented the land, provided his own tools and mule, and received half the crop. Landowners provided more supervision to sharecroppers, and less or none to tenant farmers. President Andrew Johnson, as one of the first acts of Reconstruction, instead ordered all land under federal control be returned to its previous owners. This meant that plantation and land owners in the South regained their land but lacked a labor force. During Reconstruction, the federal Freedmen's Bureau ordered the arrangements and wrote and enforced the contracts.

General Santa Anna

a Mexican politician and general who greatly influenced early Mexican politics and government. His centralist rhetoric and military failures resulted in Mexico losing just over half its territory, beginning with the Texas Revolution of 1836, and culminating with the Mexican Cession of 1848 following its defeat by the United States in the Mexican-American War.

Nathaniel Bedford Forrest

a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. the Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan."[54] The KKK (the Klan) was formed by veterans of the Confederate Army in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866 and soon expanded throughout the state and beyond. Forrest became involved sometime in late 1866 or early 1867.

Compromise of 1850

a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850, which defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). advocated by Henry Clay and Stephen A. Douglas 1California admitted as a free state; 2Utah Territory and New Mexico Territory organized with slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty; 3Texas dropped its claim to land north of the 32nd parallel north and west of the 103rd meridian west in favor of New Mexico Territory, and north of the 36°30' parallel north and east of the 103rd meridian west which became unorganized territory. Texas's boundaries were set at their present form, in return for the assumption of $10 million of the old republic's debt. 4Slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C. (but not slavery itself); 5The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened.

American System

a tariff to protect and promote American industry; a national bank to foster commerce; and federal subsidies for roads, canals, and other 'internal improvements' to develop profitable markets for agriculture."Congressman Henry Clay was the plan's foremost proponent and the first to refer to it as the "American System". This would eventually help America industrialize and become an economic power.

13th Amendment

abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. In Congress, it was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865. The amendment was ratified by the required number of states on December 6, 1865. On December 18, 1865, Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed its adoption. January 13 1865: 13th Amendment sent to states Though the amendment formally abolished slavery throughout the United States, factors such as Black Codes, white supremacist violence, and selective enforcement of statutes continued to subject some black Americans to involuntary labor, particularly in the South. In contrast to the other Reconstruction Amendments, the Thirteenth Amendment was rarely cited in later case law, but has been used to strike down peonage and some race-based discrimination as "badges and incidents of slavery". The Thirteenth Amendment applies to the actions of private citizens, while the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments apply only to state actors. It was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War.

Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871

also known as the Civil Rights Act of 1871 is an Act of the United States Congress which empowered the President to suspend the writ of habeas corpus to combat the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and other white supremacy organizations during the Reconstruction Era. The act was passed by the 42nd United States Congress during the Reconstruction Era and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on April 20, 1871. The act was the last of three Enforcement Acts passed by the United States Congress from 1870 to 1871 during the Reconstruction Era to combat attacks upon the suffrage rights of African Americans. The statute has been subject to only minor changes since then, but has been the subject of voluminous interpretation by courts. Grant's request was a result of the reports he was receiving of widespread racial threats in the Deep South, particularly in South Carolina. He felt that he needed to have his authority broadened before he could effectively intervene. After the act's passage, the president had the power for the first time to both suppress state disorders on his own initiative and to suspend the right of habeas corpus. Grant did not hesitate to use this authority on numerous occasions during his presidency, and as a result the first era KKK was completely dismantled and did not resurface in any meaningful way until the first part of the 20th century. made state officials liable in federal court for depriving anyone of their civil rights or the equal protection of the laws.

Ulysses S. Grant

an American general and the eighteenth President of the United States (1869-1877). He achieved international fame as the leading Union general in the American Civil War. Twice elected president, Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African-American citizenship, and support economic prosperity nationwide. His presidency has often come under criticism for protecting corrupt associates and in his second term leading the nation into a severe economic depression. Overland Campaign and Union victory Radical Republican(strongly opposed slavery during the war and after the war distrusted ex-Confederates, demanding harsh policies for the former rebels, and emphasizing civil rights and voting rights for the "freedmen" )

Uncle Tom's Cabin

an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War"

Sam Houston

bringing Texas into the United States as a constituent state. His victory at the Battle of San Jacinto secured the independence of Texas from Mexico. the only governor within a future Confederate state to oppose secession and to refuse an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, a decision that led to his removal from office by the Texas secession convention. leader of the Texas Revolution He supported annexation by the United States[7] and after annexation in 1845, he became a U.S. Senator and finally a governor of Texas in 1859 1st and 3rd President of Texas

Civil Right Act of 1866

congress's response to the black codes which declared blacks to be citizens of the United States and gave the government power to intervene in state affairs to protect the rights of its citizens.

Shiloh, TN

he Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6-7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Major General Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee on the west bank of the river, where Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and Pierre G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant's army. Johnston was killed in action during the fighting; Beauregard, who thus succeeded to command of the army, decided against pressing the attack late in the evening. Overnight Grant received considerable reinforcements from another Union army under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, allowing him to launch an unexpected counterattack the next morning which completely reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day. the bloodiest battle in American history up to that time

15th Amendment

prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It was ratified on February 3, 1870, as the third and last of the Reconstruction Amendments. the election of Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency in 1868 convinced a majority of Republicans that protecting the franchise of black voters was important for the party's future. After rejecting more sweeping versions of a suffrage amendment, Congress proposed a compromise amendment banning franchise restrictions on the basis of race, color, or previous servitude on February 26, 1869. The amendment survived a difficult ratification fight and was adopted on March 30, 1870. United States Supreme Court decisions in the late nineteenth century interpreted the amendment narrowly. From 1890 to 1910, most black voters in the South were effectively disenfranchised by new state constitutions and state laws incorporating such obstacles as poll taxes and discriminatory literacy tests. A system of whites-only primaries and violent intimidation by white groups also suppressed black participation.

Black Codes

the Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states in 1865 and 1866, after the Civil War. These laws had the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans' freedom, and of compelling them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt. Black Codes were part of a larger pattern of Southern whites trying to suppress the new freedom of emancipated African American slaves, the freedmen. the sudden reduction of available labor posed a challenge to the Southern economy, which had relied upon intense physical labor to profitably harvest cash crops, particularly King Cotton.[38] Southern Whites also perceived Black vagrancy as a sudden and dangerous social problem.

Whiskey Ring

the Whiskey Ring was a scandal, exposed in 1875, involving diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. Before they were caught, a group of mostly Republican politicians were able to siphon off millions of dollars in federal taxes on liquor; the scheme involved an extensive network of bribes, including internal revenue agents. The Whiskey Ring was seen by many as a sign of corruption under the Republican governments that took power across the nation following the American Civil War. The Whiskey Ring scandal, along with other alleged abuses of power by the Republican party, contributed to national weariness of Reconstruction, which ended after Grant's presidency with the Compromise of 1877.

Stephen Douglas

the designer of the Kansas-Nebraska Act debate with Lincoln a leading proponent of democracy, and believed in the principle of popular sovereignty: that the majority of citizens should decide contentious issues such as slavery and territorial expansion. He was largely responsible for the Compromise of 1850 that apparently settled slavery issues; however, in 1854 he reopened the slavery question with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which opened some previously prohibited territories to slavery under popular sovereignty. Opposition to this led to the formation of the Republican Party.