Period 5: 1844-1877

Whig Party during Civil War era

focused on internal improvements such as bridges, harbors, canals. Working towards Civilized lands with busting towns and factories

Democrats during Civil War era

focused on expansion, wanting to push borders outward. In favor of private ownership of newly added land, with no government involvement (in favor of isolated plantations)

Election of 1844

Candidates James Polk (democrat) vs. Henry Clay (Whig)

Close election, Polk wins.

The Polk Presidency

defined by aggressive territorial expansion (Manifest Destiny), leading to the Mexican-American War, acquisition of vast lands (Mexican Cession, Oregon Territory), and significant domestic reforms like the Independent Treasury Act and Walker Tariff, making him a highly effective but controversial president whose successes intensified the national debate over slavery

54 40 or Fight

demanding the U.S. claim the entire Oregon Territory up to the 54°40′ north latitude line (Russia's Alaskan border), reflecting aggressive Manifest Destiny expansionism against British claims, though it ultimately resulted in a diplomatic compromise at the 49th parallel

Oregon Treaty

• treaty signed between US and Great Britain in 1856

• Acquired peaceful ownership or Oregon, Washington, and parts of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana

• Established northern border of the region

Mexican-American War Causes

• US challenging Mexican authorities on TX border

• Mexican attack on American troops

• US used border attack to argue for declaration of war

• War began in 1846

Wilmot Proviso

congressional bull to prohibit extension of slavery in territories gained from Mexico

Gadsen Purchase

$10 million price

Southern regions of modern Arizona and New Mexico for transcontinental railroad

Henry Clay

Whig senator from Kentucky

• Drafted and proposed the Compromise of 1850

• Clarified the final boundaries of TX

• Opposed banning slavery in the entire Mexican Cession and wanted the Fugitive Slave Act

John Calhoun

Democrat Senator from South Carolina

• Defender of Slavery and opposed the Compromise

• Advocate for states’ rights and secession, popular sovereignty for Mexican Cession territories

Daniel Webster

Whig Senator from Massachusetts

• Supported the Compromise to preserve the Union and avoid Civil War

• Characterized himself as an American through and through

• Risked offending abolitionist voter base by access[ting the Compromise

The Compromise of 1850

• Admitted California as a free state and stronger fugitive slave law enacted

• Created the territories of Utah and New Mexico, left status of slavery up to each territory to decide

• Abolished slave TRADE, not slavery itself, in DC

Stephen Douglas

Democrat

• Worked with Henry Clay to create a workable solution: the Compromise of 1850

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

• Sentimental novel depicting plantation life based on information from abolitionist friends

• Sold over a million copies and adapted into popular plays that toured America and Europe

• Powerful piece of propaganda awakening antislavery sentiment in millions who had never thought about the issue before

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Enacted in 1854 to establish civil authority and secure land in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, where no civil authority existed.

• The act was passed despite objections from antislavery Whigs and Democrats, leading to the weakening of the Fugitive Slave Act through personal liberty laws in northern states

Bleeding Kansas

name made for Kansas due to the conflict between the two sides, which resulted in the deaths of over 200 people

Fugitive Slave Act

part of the Compromise of 1850. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves.

Republican Party in the Civil War era

party that aimed to keep slavery out of the territories and appeal to a wider constituency through a range of issues

Know-Nothing Party

party that was formed around the issue of nativism, but the party self-destructed over disagreement about slavery.

James Buchanan

was US president from 1857-1861 and worked to maintain the status quo by enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act and opposing abolitionist activism

Dred Scott

a former slave that sued for his freedom

The Election of 1860

showed the nation was on the brink of fracture, with Lincoln and Douglas contesting the North, and Breckinridge representing the South

Dred Scott v. Sandford

• was a case heard by the Supreme Court two days after Buchanan took office, where Scott, a former slave, sued for his freedom. The Court ruled that enslaved people were property, not citizens, and that Congress couldn't regulate slavery in the territories.

• The Dred Scott decision was a major victory for Southerners and a turning point in the decade of crisis, it was vehemently denounced in the North as further proof of a Slave Power

1858 Illinois Senate Race

between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas was nationally watched, with Lincoln delivering his "House Divided" speech and Douglas damaging his political career with his ambiguous stance on popular sovereignty.

John Brown

led a raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859 and his subsequent execution sparked northern abolitionist support

Border States

Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia

Battle of Antietam

• First battle fought in the East where the Union wasn't completely defeated

• Union claimed victory and showed Britain and France that they weren't a lost cause

• Gave Lincoln platform to announce the Emancipation Proclamation

Battle of Gettysburg

• Most northern point the Confederacy had reached at the time

• Lee's troops suffered massive casualties and were forced to retreat

• Boosted confidence for the Union

Jefferson Davis

• took control of southern economy and imposed taxes

• took control of transportation and created large bureaucracy to oversee economic developments

• Declared martial law and suspended habeas corpus to maintain control

• Lincoln was using similar steps in the North, causing chafing in the Confederacy

Northern Economy

• Boosted by demand for war-related goods (uniforms, weapons)

• Loss of southern markets initially harmed economy

• War economy brought boom period

• Entrepreneurs became wealthy, some through war profiteering

• Corruption widespread, prompted congressional investigation

Workers and Unions

• Workers concerned about job security, formed unions

• Businesses opposed unions, blacklisted members, broke strikes

• Republican Party supported business, opposed to regulation

Government Powers

• Economic development programs without congressional approval

• Government loans and grants to businesses, raised tariffs

• Suspended writ of habeas corpus in border states

• Printed national currency

• Increase in central government power

Salmon P. Chase

Treasury Secretary

• Issued greenbacks, precursor to modern currency

The Emancipation Proclamation

• stated that the government would liberate all slaves in states "in rebellion" on January 1, 1863

• It did not free slaves in border states or those already under Union control, and allowed Southern states to rejoin the Union without giving up slavery

• The Proclamation declared the Civil War as a war against slavery and changed its purpose

The Election of 1864

Candidates George McClellan, Abraham LIncoln

• Resulted in Lincoln’s reelection

George McClellan

Lost the 1864 election due to opposing majority of Democrats

Lincoln’s Reelection

• For much of the beginning of the election, due to mounting war weariness and high casualties, Lincoln and his advisors believed he would lose the election

• Major Union military victories led to more support for Lincoln’s war efforts

John Wilkes Booth

Assassinated Lincoln

• American actor and Confederate sympathizer

• Assassinated Lincoln after a kidnapping plot at failed

• Killed by Union soldiers after a 12 day manhunt

Reconstruction

• the period of 1865-1877 and the process of readmitting southern states, rebuilding physical damage, and integrating newly freed Blacks into society

The Wade-Davis Bill

• provided for military rule in former Confederate states and required 50% of the electorate to swear an oath of allegiance, but was pocket vetoed by Lincoln and later died

• did not make provisions for Black suffrage

Andrew Johnson

assumed the presidency after Lincoln’s assassination and developed the Reconstruction Plan which required a loyalty oath but barred many former Confederate elite from taking it

Grant Administration

(1869-1877)

focused heavily on Reconstruction, pushing for Black civil rights (Fifteenth Amendment, Force Acts), establishing the Department of Justice, and pioneering national parks like Yellowstone, but it's also notorious for widespread corruption scandals (Whiskey Ring, Crédit Mobilier) and the economic Panic of 1873, defining the challenges of the Gilded Age despite Grant's personal integrity

New York Custom House

the massive embezzlement by Samuel Swartwout under President Jackson (1830s) and the political patronage/kickback schemes involving Chester A. Arthur and "Boss" Conkling's machine (1870s-80s), both involving huge sums of federal revenue and political battles over control of the lucrative port office, eventually leading to civil service reform

Ku Klux Clan

American white supremacist far-right group that uses violence and intimidation to maintain white supremacy and oppress minorities, primarily African Americans.

Founded in 1865

White League

was a white supremacist paramilitary terrorist organization started in the Southern United States in 1874 to intimidate freedmen (emancipated Black former slaves) into not voting and prevent Republican Party political organizing, while also being supported by regional elements of the Democratic Party

Amos Akerman

Attorney General that declared the actions of intimidating groups amount to war

Samuel J. Tilden

won popular vote but needed electoral vote in 1876 election

Redeemers

Southern Democrats that regained control by 1876, intending to reverse Republican policies

Compromise of 1877

was reached to resolve the election, Hayes won and ended military reconstruction, federal troops pulled out of Southern states

Freedman’s Bureau

was a U.S. government agency established in 1865 to help formerly enslaved African Americans and poor whites in the post-Civil War South transition to freedom, providing food, housing, education (building over 1,000 schools), medical care, and overseeing labor contracts, though it faced under funding and political opposition, ultimately closing in 1872, leaving many to struggle against persistent racism and economic hardship

Sharecropping

• Economic Control: Prevented Black economic mobility and wealth accumulation, maintaining a racial hierarchy.

• Near-Slavery: Often called "wage slavery" due to subsistence wages and lack of freedom, even after formal slavery ended.

• Decline: Ended in the U.S. due to mechanization, New Deal policies, and Black migration, but its legacy of inequality persists. Landowner provides: Land, seeds, tools, and sometimes housing, but often at inflated prices.

• Tenant provides: Labor to plant, cultivate, and harvest the crop (usually cotton, tobacco).

• The split: The landowner takes a large portion (often half or more) of the crop as "rent".

• The trap: Tenants had to buy supplies from the landlord's store, accumulating debt they couldn't repay with their meager share, forcing them to stay on the land year after year. 

Hiram Revels

became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate during the Reconstruction era. He was a minister, educator, and politician who served one year in the Senate, representing Mississippi from 1870 to 1871, where he was a strong opponent of segregation and advocate for civil rights

Blanche K. Bruce

• was an American politician who represented Mississippi as a Republican in the United States Senate from 1875 to 1881

• born into slavery

• first elected African-American senator to serve a full term

Robert Smalls

• was an American Republican politician who was born into slavery

• he freed himself, his crew, and their families. His example and persuasion helped convince President Abraham Lincoln to accept African-American soldiers into the Union Army.

• Later served in the House of Representatives during the Reconstruction era

• authored state legislation providing for SC to have the first free and compulsory public school system in the US

Free-Soil Party

Regional, single-issue party opposed to slavery expansion

Southern Economy

Accelerated inflation rate (over 300%)

Gag rule

a series of House of Representatives resolutions that automatically tabled (postponed indefinitely) all petitions related to slavery, preventing debate and discussion

Freedom Deadlines

involve the Emancipation Proclamation (Jan 1, 1863) freeing Confederate slaves, the effective end of the war with Lee's surrender (April 9, 1865), and the 13th Amendment (Dec 6, 1865), legally abolishing slavery nationwide, culminating in Juneteenth (June 19, 1865) when the last enslaved people in Texas learned of their freedom

Free Womb Policy

declaring children born to enslaved mothers free, but often making them serve until adulthood

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that the people of a territory hold the ultimate power to decide on slavery within their borders, rather than Congress.

Secession

the Southern states' withdrawal from the U.S. Union after Lincoln's election in 1860, driven by fears for slavery and states' rights (especially concerning the Fugitive Slave Act)

Lecompton Constitution

a pro-slavery state constitution drafted in Kansas Territory in 1857 by Southern supporters

• Rejected by voters, failed

• Intensified national conflict over slavery and contributing the the Civil War

• Protected slave holding rights and excluded free Blacks

Underground Railroad

a crucial, secret network of abolitionists, free Blacks, and formerly enslaved people who guided thousands of enslaved individuals from the South to freedom in the North or Canada, using "stations" (safe houses) and "conductors," peaking in the 1850s, becoming a major point of sectional conflict, and challenging pro-slavery laws like the Fugitive Slave Acts

Total War

a conflict where a nation uses all its resources (economic, social, civilian) for victory, blurring lines between soldiers and civilians, and targeting infrastructure/morale

Harriet Tubman

• a key figure in the Abolitionist Movement

• famous as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds to freedom

• later advocating for women's rights

• relevant to topics like the Fugitive Slave Act, Civil War, and post-war civil rights

Harriet Beecher Stowe

as an abolitionist author whose 1852 novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, significantly influenced public opinion against slavery

William Lloyd Garrison

• a radical abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer

• known for founding The Liberator

• demanded immediate and uncompensated emancipation

• viewed the Constitution as a pro-slavery document, advocating disunion

Stephen Douglas

Illinois Senator known for his famous debates with Lincoln

• championed the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• introducing popular sovereignty, allowing settlers to decide on slavery, which repealed the Missouri Compromise

• ignited "Bleeding Kansas"

• spurred the Republican Party's rise

• set the stage for the Civil War

Roger Taney

• Attorney General and Treasury Secretary during Jackson’s Presidency

• Chief Justice during Dred Scott v. Sandford

• His pro-slavery rulings deepened sectional divides, making him a controversial figure and a key point in pre-Civil War history, highlighting judicial power and states' rights issues

John Brown

radical abolitionist known for using violence to end slavery

• led a failed 1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry

• its failure led to Brown's execution

Charles Sumner

• radical Republican Senator from Massachusetts, a fierce abolitionist

• known for his fiery anti-slavery speeches, especially "The Crime Against Kansas,"

• was a key figure in the fight for Black civil rights post-Civil War, advocating for equal rights and authoring major civil rights legislation. 

Advantages of the Union Army

• Manpower: Huge population (22 million vs. 9 million in South), continuously replenished by European immigration.

• Industrialization: Over 90% of U.S. manufacturing, meaning more weapons, ammunition, and war materials.

• Transportation: Extensive railroad grid and more steamboats for rapid troop and supply movement.

• Naval Power: Dominated the seas, allowing for effective blockades of Southern ports, crippling their economy.

• Finance & Economy: Wealthier nation with established banks and a more advanced financial system.

• Government: A strong, established federal government led by Lincoln

• Resources: Controlled most of the coal, iron, gold, and food production (though the South had cotton leverage).

Advantages of the Confederacy

• Defensive War/Home Field Advantage: They didn't need to conquer the North, just defend their territory, fighting on familiar land with local support and knowledge of the terrain.

• Strong Military Leadership: The South had a higher concentration of experienced officers and a strong military culture, producing leaders like Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson early on.

• Interior Lines: Shorter, internal lines of communication and transportation allowed them to move troops and supplies more efficiently within their own territory compared to the Union's vast, external lines.

• Motivation: Soldiers were highly motivated to defend their homes, families, and way of life.

• Resourcefulness: proved resourceful in finding food and adapting, despite lacking Northern industry

Gettysberg Address

a crucial Lincoln speech at the Soldiers' Cemetery dedication

• redefined the Civil War as a fight for equality and democracy's survival ("government of the people, by the people, for the people")

• connected sacrifices to a "new birth of freedom" and upholding the Declaration of Independence's ideals against slavery

Eastern Theater

the primary battleground of the American Civil War in the East

• (Virginia, Maryland, PA)

• where the Union's Army of the Potomac constantly clashed with Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, focused on capturing Richmond

• featuring major battles like Gettysburg & Antietam

Western Theater

the crucial American Civil War battleground between the Appalachians and Mississippi

• where Union forces, led by Ulysses S. Grant, secured major victories like Forts Henry/Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg and Atlanta

• vital for the Union win by controlling key rivers and resources

• often overshadowed by the East but strategically decisive

Ulysses S. Grant

Union Civil War General who became the 18th U.S. President (1869-1877)

• known for his military genius (Vicksburg, Appomattox)

• Focus on Reconstruction, civil rights (Enforcement Acts, Civil Rights Act of 1875)

• also marked by major scandals (Credit Mobilier, Whiskey Ring) and the Panic of 1873

William Tecumseh Sherman

a Union General known for pioneering "total war" tactics

• March to the Sea (1864-65), burning Atlanta and Savannah to cripple Southern infrastructure and morale

• helping secure Lincoln's re-election by ending the Civil War faster

Thirteenth Amendment

ratified in 1865, abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as a punishment for a crime

• legally freed millions of enslaved people

• had significant economic and social impacts

Fourteenth Amendment

ratified in 1868

granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteed them equal protection under the law.

• Citizenship Clause, which defines who is a citizen

• Equal Protection Clause, which requires states to provide equal legal protection to all individuals within their jurisdiction

• also contains the Due Process Clause, ensuring that states cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

Fifteenth Amendment

prohibited the denial of the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude"

• officially granted suffrage to African American men

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved South after the Civil War during Reconstruction

• derogatory term suggesting they carried all their belongings in cheap carpet bags, seeking economic or political opportunities

• often working as teachers, doctors, or politicians, and viewed by Southerners as opportunistic outsiders exploiting the defeated South

• many were genuine reformers and agents of change

• Southerners resented them

Scalawags

white Southerners who supported Reconstruction and allied with Black freedmen and Northern Republicans (Carpetbaggers) to rebuild the South

• often facing scorn as "traitors" for abandoning traditional Confederate values

• though their motives varied from genuine reform to economic self-interest, seeking a two-party system and development

Amnesty

Government Pardons

• Lincoln offering leniency to Confederates for loyalty oaths, contrasted with Congress's harsher approach

• Led to quick reconciliation or regularization after conflict/violation

Habeas Corpus

the legal principle that protects an individual from unlawful detention by requiring that they be brought before a judge to determine the legality of their imprisonment

• suspended during the Civil War to suppress dissent and allow military arrest without trial

Partus Sequitur Ventrem

law meaning children of enslaved mothers inherited their mother's enslaved status, creating hereditary bondage, solidifying chattel slavery, denying paternal rights, and entrenching the institution across generations in the Americas.