CRISIS, CIVIL WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION 1846-1877
Chapter 3
SECTION 1: THE UNION IN CRISIS
SECTION FOCUS QUESTIONHow did the issue of slavery divide the union?
SLAVERY AND WESTERN EXPANSION The Mexican-American War highlighted the
issue of slavery in the United States Wilmot Proviso – called for a ban on
slavery in any territory that the United States gained for this war
Southerners denounced the proposal but it passed the Republican dominated House of Representatives
A NEW PARTY OPPOSES SLAVERY New political parties are ignited by the
anti-slavery movement Free-Soil Party – northern opponents
of slavery
CONGRESS TRIES TO COMPROMISE 1850 California applied to enter the
Union as a free state ( non-slave) Compromise of 1850 – this measure
admitted California as a free state but allowed other territory acquired from Mexico voter would get to decide
Popular Sovereignty – this is the idea of voters deciding for or against slavery in new states
CONT… The 1850 Compromise also included
the Fugitive Slave Act. Arrest suspected runaway slaves No jury trial Required citizens to help capture runaways
THE ROAD TO DISUNION Harriet Beecher Stowe – author of Uncle Tom’s
Cabin, showed the plight of slaves in the south
“So you are the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war” President Lincoln
THE KANSAS – NEBRASKA ACT Kansas-Nebraska Act – divided the
Nebraska Territory into Kansas and Nebraska, allowing voters in each territory to decide the issue of slavery
VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN KANSAS May 21st 1856 proslavery forces
attacked the free-state town of Lawrence, Kansas
John Brown – moved to Kansas hoping to confront the issue of slavery head-on
Brown and his men murdered five pro-slave settlers near Pottawatomie Creek
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY EMERGES Opposition to slavery led to the
creation of the new Republican Party in 1854
The presidential election of 1856 James Buchanan – he would “stop the
agitation of the slavery issue (Democrat) “Won the election”
John C. Fremont – opposed the spread of slavery (Republican)
THE DREAD SCOTT DECISION INFLAMES THE NATION
Dred Scott v. Sandford – the court ruled against Scott. The court ruled that blacks were not citizens and, therefore, were not entitled to sue in the courts
THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES Abraham Lincoln – Republican
challenger to Senator Stephen Douglas a Democrat Lincoln called for political equality for
African Americans but not immediate abolition
Douglas saw the issue of slavery as being solved by popular sovereignty
JOHN BROWN PLANS A REVOLT Brown saw the political process to slow
in ending slavery and saw violence as the best answer.
Harpers Ferry, Virginia
SECTION 2: LINCOLN, SECESSION, AND WAR
SECTION FOCUS QUESTION How did the Union finally collapse into
a civil war?
THE ELECTION OF 1860 John Brown, Kansas, Supreme Court
(Dred Scott), and the Fugitive Slave Act’s intrusion into the states’ independence further fueled the flames of war
Jefferson Davis – Mississippi senator, convinced Congress to restrict federal control over slavery
DEMOCRATS SPLIT THEIR SUPPORT The Democrats held their nomination
convention in Charleston, N.C.. They split their party over the issue of federal protection vs. popular sovereignty
John C. Breckinridge – nominated Vice President by southern Democrats
WHIGS MAKE A LAST EFFORT The Whigs joined the Know-Nothings to
create the Constitutional Union Party with the platform to uphold “the Constitution of the country, the Union of the States and the enforcement of the laws”
REPUBLICANS NOMINATE LINCOLN Republicans held their convention in
Chicago, they chose the more moderate Lincoln over William H. Seward because his antislavery views were deemed to radical
LINCOLN WINS THE ELECTION Lincoln won the election benefiting
from the fracturing among the other political parties
He did not receive a single southern electoral vote and was not on the ballot in many southern states
THE UNION COLLAPSES
LONG-TERM CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR
SHORT-TERM CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR
Sectional economic and cultural differences
Debate over expansion of slavery into the territories
Laws increased sectional tension
Growth of anti-slavery movement
Failed political compromises Missouri Compromise Compromise of 1850 Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act splits political parties
Breakdown of the party system
Lincoln elected President
South Carolina secedes from the Union
SOUTHERN STATES LEAVE THE UNION On December 20th 1860 the South
Carolina legislature decreed, “the union now subsisting between South Carolina and the other States, under the name of the ‘United States of America’, is hereby dissolved”
THE CONFEDERACY IS FORMED Confederate States of America –
consisting of seven states formed their own union and wrote their constitution very similar to the U.S. Constitution with stress on states rights, Jefferson Davis was chosen as president
A FINAL COMPROMISE FAILS Crittenden Compromise – proposed
a constitutional amendment allowing slavery in western territories south of the Missouri Compromise and called for federal funds to reimburse slaveholders for unreturned fugitives
Lincoln saw this as a step backward and the measure fail to get approval in Congress
THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS Lincoln feared that he faced a
challenge greater than that of George Washington’s
LINCOLN TAKES OFFICE Lincoln was sworn in as President on
March 4, 1861 He took a firm but conciliatory tone
toward the South Primary Source pg. 78
LINCOLN DECIDES TO ACT Fort Sumter – guarded the harbor at
Charleston S.C., one of only four forts that remained in Union hands
Sumter was in need of supplies and Lincoln faced a dilemma of what to do…
FORT SUMTER FALLS Lincoln decides to send food, but not
munitions to the fort The Confederacy told the Fort Sumter
garrison to surrender they refused and fighting began
April 15th Lincoln declared that “insurrection” has come and called for 75,000 volunteers to fight the confederacy
SECTION 3: THE CIVIL WAR
SECTION FOCUS QUESTION What factors and events led to the
Union victory in the civil war?
RESOURCES, STRATEGIES, AND EARLY BATTLES
Civil War - April 1861 to April 1865 Goals:
North – preserve the Union South – independence from the Union
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES The North had no issue increasing it’s
production of ammunition, arms, uniforms, medical supplies, food, ships, and rail cars
Rail networks allowed for the easy movement of men and material
Strong navy blockaded vital southern ports
CONT… The advantages of the South were few,
however their forces were committed, and had some of the brightest military minds
Robert E. Lee – he was offered a command of Union forces but chose to remain loyal to his native Virginia
NORTH AND SOUTH DEVELOP THEIR STRATEGIES
The South had an advantage because they simply had to survive.
The North adopted a strategy designed to starve the South
Anaconda Plan – called for seizing the Mississippi River and the Gulf
of Mexico so the South could not send or receive goods
A STALEMATE DEVELOPS Both North and South could not gain an
advantage New weapons such as rifles,
ammunition, and artillery, produced more than 10,000 casualties a day
CONT… Lack of clean and experienced medical
care ensured many wounded died of infection rather then the wound
LINCOLN PROCLAIMS EMANCIPATION Emancipation Proclamation –
presidential decree declared that “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” (pg. 83)
WAR AFFECTS DAILY LIFE North ramped up production of goods,
raised tariffs, imposed taxes, and printed money
THE NORTH FACES PROBLEMS A shortage of volunteers, lead to
Congress passing the draft in 1863 (ages 20-45)
Riots broke out in several northern cities
Habeas Corpus – guarantees that no one can be held without specific charges against them
THE SOUTH SUFFERS HARDSHIPS Most battles took place in the South
and the starvation of the South seemed to be working
North and South issued paper money guaranteed by their governments
Inflation – price of increases
WAR LEADS TO SOCIAL CHANGE Women on both sides set up field
hospitals and nursed wounded, harvested crops and held to home front
THE UNION PREVAILS Ulysses S. Grant – Union General
scored five victories in three weeks ending with the surrender of 30,000 Confederate troops
THE UNION WINS A VICTORY AT GETTYSBURG
Battle of Gettysburg – destroyed one third of Lee’s forces and last major Confederate attempt to invade the North
Gettysburg Address – reaffirmed the ideas for which the Union was fighting (primary source p. 84)
THE WAR ENDS William T. Sherman – led 60,000
troops 400 miles march of destruction through Georgia and S.C.
Total War – targeted not only troops but all resources
April 9, 1865 Lee surrendered to Grant in Appomattox
THE CIVIL WAR HAS LASTING IMPACT One third of northern and southern
soldiers were killed or disabled Southern landscape and economy were
decimated Deaths:
Union / North – 346,511 Confederate / South – 260,000
Soldiers killed – 606,511
SECTION 4: THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA
SECTION FOCUS QUESTION What were the immediate and long-
term effects of Reconstruction?
THE NATION MOVES TOWARD REUNION Reconstruction – bringing the South
back into the Union Lincoln wanted to “bind up the nation’s
wounds”
THE FREEDMEN’S BUREAU AIDS SOUTHERNERS
Freedmen’s Bureau – federal agency designed to aid freed slaves and relieve the South’s immediate needs
Food, healthcare, schools, and fair labor contracts for freed slaves
PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS CLASH Andrew Johnson – became President
after Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865
Thirteenth Amendment – ended slavery
Radical Republicans – favored punishment of the South
Impeachment – act of bringing charges against an official in order to remove from office
THE RECONSTRUCTION SOUTH Congress divided the South into five
military districts under the control of Union Generals
Fourteenth Amendment – guaranteed full citizenship status and rights to every person born in the U.S.
AFRICAN AMERICANS GAIN POLITICAL RIGHTS
By 1868 many southern states had black elected officials and were dominated by a strong Republican Party
Fifteenth Amendment – guaranteed that no male citizen could be denied the right to vote on the basis of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
FREEDMEN REBUILD THEIR LIVES For the first time former slaves could
live “their” lives; families, employment, school, marriages…
THE KU KLUX KLAN USES TERROR TACTICS Ku Klux Klan – secret society that
used violence against African Americans and their white supporters
Primary source pg. 90
RECONSTRUCTION COMES TO AN END After a decade of Reconstruction the
North began to lose interest in Reconstruction
Political and economic failures also played a part of diminishing interest
SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS REGAIN POWER Over several years Democrats began to
gain back control over Southern political arenas
Violence kept many African Americans from voting
S.C., F.L., and L.A. with large black populations remained under military occupation after 1876
ELECTION OF 1876 ENDS RECONSTRUCTION
Rutherford B. Hayes won the Presidential election without the popular vote
Electoral votes in dispute were those of F.L., L.A., and S.C.
HISTORIANS EVALUATE RECONSTRUCTION
De Jure Segregation – or legal separation of the races, became the law in all southern states