Paper 3: History of the Americas: Civil War; causes, course, and effects (1840-1877)
Compromise of 1850
(1) California admitted as free state, (2) territorial status and popular sovereignty of Utah and New Mexico, (3) resolution of Texas-New Mexico boundaries, (4) federal assumption of Texas debt, (5) slave trade abolished in DC, and (6) new fugitive slave law; advocated by Henry Clay and Stephen A. Douglas
Participation of African-Americans in the Civil War
- As the union troops moved farther into confederate areas, thousands of slaves sought freedom behind the lines of the Union army. - Those who remained on the plantations participated in sabotage, destroying property and neglecting livestock. - Many waited for the union troops to come, welcoming the opportunity for freedom. - Many southerners were concerned with the possibility of a slave uprising and tightened their control on their slaves by creating slave patrols and spreading rumors about union soldiers abusing runaways. - This uprising did not occur; however, slave resistance gradually weakened the plantation system.
Political developments
-African Americans could no longer own property, learn to read and write, or work independently as carpenters or blacksmiths. -The debate over the future of slavery in Virginia resulted in a motion for abolition in the state legislature. The motion lost by a 73 to 58 vote, primarily because the state legislature was balanced toward eastern slaveholders rather than non-slaveholders in the western part of the state. That loss closed the debate on slavery in the antebellum (pre- Civil War) South.
Nullification Crisis
A sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by the Ordinance of Nullification, an attempt by the state of South Carolina to nullify a federal law - the tariff of 1828 - passed by the United States Congress.
Reconstruction: methods of southern resistance
Black Codes: - The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave African Americans citizenship and forbade states from passing discriminatory laws. - These discriminatory laws were also known as black codes. - Mississippi and South Carolina had first enacted black codes in 1865 and other southern states had followed suit. - Black codes restricted the lives of African Americans significantly, much like slavery had. - They prohibited African Americans from carrying weapons, serving on juries, testifying against whites, and traveling with permits. - In some states Africans Americans were even prohibited from owning land. - Violence was often used by whites to enforce these codes. - Johnson vetoed both the Civil Rights Act as well as the Freedmen's Bureau Act.
The role of foreign relations
Confederacy: -Cotton sales from the South paid for the military supplies from Europe.
Sectionalism
Different parts of the country developing unique and separate cultures (as the North, South and West). This can lead to conflict.
Lincoln-Douglass Debates
Douglass was a well-known democrat, Lincoln was hardly known republican; debated about slavery, black/white equality, Fugitive Slave Laws, Kansas-Nebraska Act - showed how controversial the topic was; many differences among people and what they feel is right; Douglass wanted to continue in the old ways and it would eventually die out; Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery everywhere
Reconstruction: economic, social, and political successes and failures
Economic: -After the Civil War, the South was in bad condition physically and economically. Buildings were charred, farms were destroyed, railroads were obsolete, property values plummeted, and bridges no longer stood. -African Americans and poor whites in the south were given the opportunity to own and till small farms. They usually practiced subsistence farming—or just growing enough to feed their own families. -During the war, many countries that bought cotton from the south began growing their own, which caused the prices of cotton to plummet. To sustain their economy, the south were forced to diversify their agricultural products with textile mills and tobacco-product manufacturing. This diversification helped raise the average wage in the south. Social: -African Americans established institutions such as schools, churches and families, which were previously denied to them. During slavery many families were torn apart, however during reconstruction many families reunited. -State governments were able to open school systems to all citizens with public funding. African Americans benefited from this public funding of schools the most.
Emancipation Proclamation
Proclamation issued by Lincoln, freeing all slaves in areas still at war with the Union.
Economic differences between the North and South
The North had a diverse economy (many industries) and abolished slavery. The South had slaves, plantations and mostly grew cotton and tobacco.
Presidential election of 1860
a presidential election that pitted Abraham Lincoln (Republican) against Stephen A. Douglas (Northern Democrat), John Breckinridge (Southern Democrat), and John Bell (Constitutional Union Party); the main issue of the election was the debate over the expansion of slavery; Lincoln won and South Carolina seceded
States' rights
the rights and powers held by individual US states rather than by the federal government.
Abolitionist debate: ideological, legal, religious, and economic arguments for and against slavery, and their impact
-By the 1820s more than 100 antislavery societies were advocating for resettlement of blacks in Africa—based on the belief that African Americans were an inferior race that could not coexist with white society -White support for abolition, the call to outlaw slavery, was fueled by preachers like Charles G. Finney, who termed slavery "a great national sin." -The most radical white abolitionist was an editor named William Lloyd Garrison. -The Liberator, in 1831 delivered an Uncompromising message: immediate emancipation—the freeing of slaves, with no payment to slaveholders. -Lloyd Garrison alienated many white abolitionists because he was so angry and extreme in tone. -David Walker, a free black, advised blacks to fight for freedom rather than to wait for slave owners to end slavery. -Frederick Douglass was another key, freed black, abolitionist. He created the anti-slavery newspaper, the North Star.
Reasons for, and the effects of westward expansion and the sectional debates
-By the mid-19th century, the United States is beginning to move from a self-sufficient, rural economy towards specialization and industrialization. The Northeast especially is being changed by the rise of textile mills and the factory system. This led to a market revolution, in which people bought and sold goods rather than making everything themselves. -All of these new developments were powered by capitalism and entrepreneurs Inventor-entrepreneurs created new technology—the telegram made it possible to communicate instantly over large distances -Better and faster transportation became essential for agriculture and industry -Regions were connected—West sold grain and livestock to the East and to Europe, South exported cotton to North and England, East manufactured textiles and machinery -New technology was less advanced in the South Heavy investment in canals and railroads turned the Northeast into the center of American commerce—huge rise of manufacturing -As the North industrializes, people begin to move to the fertile soils of the Midwest—steel plow and mechanical reaper were two inventions that enabled farming in this region -Most of the South remained agricultural and relied on crops like cotton, tobacco, and rice, Southerners found Northern factories to be filthy, even southerners who wanted to build factories lacked the capital, since their money was tied up in land and the slaves who worked the land, South remained dependent on their slaves -Americans begin to believe in "Manifest Destiny"—their destiny to spread all the way to the Pacific Ocean -As Americans move west, new land is opened up—new territories are established and these territories eventually apply for statehood North industrializes rapidly, is connected by railroads, immigrants work in larger and large numbers, most voters are opposed to slavery. Immigrants fear the expansion of slavery because they do not want to compete with slaves or have the status of white workers reduced because they cannot compete with slave labor -Southern economy relies on staple crops and uses rives for transportation, in some states slaves are the majority. Whole of South relies upon slave labor -The issue of slavery and new states begins to be debated in Congress -South argues for new states to be slave states while the North argues for new states to be free states -Everyone tries to maintain the balance between free and slave states
Conditions of enslavement
-Enslaved people had to clear new land, dig ditches, cut and haul wood, slaughter livestock, and make repairs to buildings and tools. Black women carried the additional burden of caring for their families by cooking and taking care of the children, as well as spinning, weaving, and sewing. -Some slaves worked as domestics, providing services for the master's or overseer's families. These people were designated as "house servants," and though their work appeared to be easier than that of the "field slaves," in some ways it was not. -House servants and their owners tended to form more complex relationships. Black and white children were especially in a position to form bonds with each other. In most situations, young children of both races played together on farms and plantations. -The diets of enslaved people were inadequate or barely adequate to meet the demands of their heavy workload. They lived in crude quarters that left them vulnerable to bad weather and disease. Their clothing and bedding were minimal as well. -The heat and humidity of the South created health problems for everyone living there. The health of plantation slaves was far worse than that of whites. Unsanitary conditions, inadequate nutrition and unrelenting hard labor made slaves highly susceptible to disease. Illnesses were generally not treated adequately, and slaves were often forced to work even when sick. -One of the worst conditions that enslaved people had to live under was the constant threat of sale. Even if their master was "benevolent," slaves knew that a financial loss or another personal crisis could lead them to the auction block.
Union vs Confederacy: role of Lincoln
-Lincoln wins the election of 1860 as a Republican candidate without a single southern state -South fears that they have lost their national voice, South Carolina secedes in 1860, other southern states soon follow suit -Emancipation Proclamation-Lincoln realized that slave labor built Southern fortifications and grew food for the Confederacy, so he issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan 1st, 1863. -Applied only to areas outside Union control, didn't immediately free any slaves
Slavery
-The North was adamant about abolishing slavery altogether -The South became determined it was a violation of their states' rights to abolish slavery
Reconstruction: presidential and congressional plans
-The Republican governments placed in the south created public works programs where they built roads, bridges, railroads, and established orphanages and mentally ill institutions. -Congress passed the 14th and 15th amendments which helped African Americans attain full civil rights in 20th century.
The Crises of the 1850s
-Wilmot Proviso of 1846 begins the large conflicts -Wilmot Proviso closed new territory to slavery South opposed the ProvisoCalifornia, which had grown during the gold rush, was applying for statehood—its constitution forbid slavery, South was alarmed—thought slavery would be allowed in CA because most of it was south of the Missouri compromise line -Henry Clay creates the compromise of 1850, Stephen Douglas pushed the compromise through Congress
Adaptation and resistance
-personal liberty laws in 9 northern states: forbade the imprisonment of runaway slaves and guaranteed them a jury. -underground railroad: free African Americans and white abolitionists developed a secret network of people who would aid fugitive slaves in their escape. -Uncle Tom's Cabin: In response, the north increased its protests against the fugitive slave act.
Cotton economy and slavery
-plantations and small farms -staple crops such as cotton -1/3 of the nations population lived in the south, but less than 10% of the nations manufactured goods came from the south. -few immigrants settled in the south because slaves were in most of the positions the immigrants fill in the north. -Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina's populations were more than ½ slaves -Alabama and Florida, African Americans are about ½ the population. - Although blacks wanted the end of slavery, Whites thought that with its restriction the south would descend from power.
Political issues
-slavery -states' rights -sectionalism
Union vs Confederacy: strengths
Union strengths: -There were 22 million people populating the North. Only 9 million people resided in the Southern states, and around 40% of that population was black or slave. -4 of the slave states remained faithful to the Union. These states held around 45% of the South's white population and 80% of its industry. -Not all people living in the Confederacy were loyal to the Confederacy. Small areas of Unionists remained, especially near the Apps. -The Union had a stronger military, along with the fact that a majority of the pre-existing US army remained loyal to the Union. 60% of West Point's graduates were Northerners. The Union also had a stronger naval force. -The North had twice as much railroad than the South. The Union held 97% of the firearms in the US. -The Union produced 93% cloth and 94% US iron. -The North had stronger immunity to diseases due to how closely everyone lived to each other in the North. Confederate strengths: -The Confederacy had larger area to cover. The more area they had, the harder it is to blockade and conquer. -If the Union collapsed, the Confederacy would win by default. -The fact that Southerners were defending their own land and homes would explain why they were encouraged to fight harder than the North. -The Confederacy had the advantage of interior lines of communication. The Southerners could move their forces through the railroad systems, meaning they could concentrate the Confederate forces against dispersed Union forces. -Thousands of pro-Confederates in three un-seceded states fought for the South.
Union: economic resources
Union: -The North still had some agriculture that didn't depend on the South's cash crop industry. The small farms in the Upper North and Union helped keep the economy steady.
Union vs Confederacy: significant military battles/campaigns
Union: -The most important theatre of the war was set in Washington DC and served as a useful barrier to Union armies intent on capturing the Confederacy capital. Confederacy: -Slavery proved itself a benefit to the Confederacy in that: slaves worked at the home front, gave the South more manpower. Even if slaves couldn't fight for the army, they helped by performing invaluable military tasks such as transporting goods to the battlefront. -The South had home field advantage, whereas the North had to go out of their way to invade or capture the South. All they had to do was defend, whereas the Union had to attack.
Union vs Confederacy; role and significance of leaders during the Civil War
Union: -The president of the Union is a better president than the Confederate president (Davis). Confederacy: -The military leaders of the South are more experienced as they actively fought more recently than the Union (Mexican War).
