The Second American Revolution

From Liberty to Freedom

• Liberty Party ran candidates in 1840, 1844

• Led to Free Soil Party in 1848

Antislavery vs. Abolitionism

• Seemingly narrow distinction• Fear of slavery’s expansion• Competition for land, labor

A World of Nationalism

• Democratic, nationalist movements fail in Europe (1848)

• Can democracy survive in US?

Mo Land, Mo Problems

• Sen. Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850• California=free• Fugitive slave law• Popular sovereignty

Disunion?

• South insists of slave expansion• Led by ailing SC Sen. John Calhoun

• Pres. Zachary Taylor dies• New Pres. Millard Fillmore supports Compromise

Temporary Fix

• Fugitive Slave Act outrages North• Abolitionists resist, free captured slaves– Ex: Syracuse, NY (1851)

Popular Sovereignty?

• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)• Repeals Missouri Compromise– “dreary region of despotism, inhabited my

masters and slaves” – Rep. Joshua Giddings & Sen. Salmon Chase

• Pottawatomie Massacre (1856)• Pro, anti battle in “Bleeding Kansas”

• Dred Scott vs. Sandford (1857)• Only white people=citizens• Blacks “had no rights which the white man was bound

to respect”

Here Comes the Railsplitter

Abraham Lincoln

• 1809-1865• Poor family from KY• Self-taught lawyer• Whig Congressman• Opposed Mexican War & expansion of slavery

• New Republican Party opposes Dred Scott decision

• Lincoln’s Senate run in 1858• Nuanced stance– Anti-slavery– But willing to compromise– Equal opportunity

The Approach of War

• John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859)• Divides nation• South horrified

“I, John Brown, am quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood…”

We’re Out!

• South Carolina secedes, 12/20/1860• Months til inauguration• Pres. James Buchanan powerless

• “the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man”

• “slavery, subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition”

-- Confederate VP Alexander Stephens

Lincoln’s Tightrope

• How to avoid civil war?• Union must not fire “first shot”

• Fort Sumter, 4/12/1861• CSA fires on supply ship to Union base• NC, AR, TN, VA join CSA

A “Modern” War

• New technology– guns, submarines, telegraph– trench warfare

• 620,000 dead• Propaganda• Photography

The Facts

• North=more resources• 2 x population of South• South has slave labor• Cotton?

Long, Slow, and Painful

• Expected to be short conflict• Union has to invade South

Progress?

• Early success in West– Capture of New Orleans

• War of attrition– South fights mostly defensive war– Strikes into North

The Horror of War

• Antietam, MD – 4,000 in 1 day• Gettysburg, PA – biggest ever battle in N.

America• North makes little progress

What Was the War All About?

• Slaves flee to Union lines• Slaves as “contraband”• Abolition in DC

Emancipation Proclamation

• 1/1/1863• Frees 3 million slaves in the South• No compensation

Now a War for Freedom

• North enlists black troops• Initially, didn’t want to alienate white soldiers

or border states

• Army: 180,000 • Navy: 24,000• Mostly ex-slaves• Unequal treatment

Breakthrough

• 1864 election approaches• Lincoln puts Grant in charge• Pushes into South• Massive casualties– Ex: 60,000 Union dead vs. 30,000 Southern in 6

weeks

Endgame

• William Tecumseh Sherman burns Atlanta• Lincoln reelected (1864)