Oxford AQA History The Making of a Superpower USA 1865 - 1975 Chapter 1 The weaknesses of federal government

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

16th President of the United States, saved the Union during the Civil War and emancipated the slaves; was assassinated by James Wilkes Booth while watching 'Our American Cousins' in Ford's Theatre in Washington a day after his victory of the American Civil War

The legacy of Abraham Lincoln

Though he had won the Civil War, 625,00 lives had been lost, the war had lasted 4 years and national unity had not been restored. Huge divide between the North and South of America, made worse by the issue of more than 3 million former slaves becoming freedmen (would there be equality for African Americans? Would there be racial conflict between former slaves and their former masters?)

What is the American political system split into?

Executive branch: (White House)
- President
- Vice-President
- Cabinet
Legislative branch: (Congress)
- Senate
- House of Representatives
Judiciary branch: (Supreme Court)
- Nine Justices Cabinet led by the Chief Justice)

Weaknesses of federal government

- Federal government was small in scale, with no large bureaucracy to implement its policies nationwide. Much political power was still reserved for state governments, whose local and sectional interests could obstruct or frustrate Congress or the presidency.
- There were fractured party loyalties - the main political parties were divided into factions, and the end of the war weakened the forces that had held rival politicians together in a common cause. (Many of the political and personal rivalries were made worse b the personality of Andrew Johnson.)
- Fierce resentment in the South made it particularly difficult to agree on a policy for Reconstruction or to enforce it.

Andrew Johnson (1808-1875)

A Southerner from Tennessee, Vice President 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 was a very weak president. 17th President of the united States - he was impeached in 1868 but not convicted.