American History Since 1877 test 1

first rule of history is to consider what

your source

What is a primary source?

a contemporary account of an event or topic created by someone who experienced it firsthand. Includes eyewitnesses, documents, and artifacts.

Cornerstone Speech

The speech delivered by Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens in 1861, outlining the principles of the Confederacy and justifying its creation.

VP Alexander thought what about the Declaration of Independence

that it wrong about equality, the confederacy’s cornerstone is that the negro is less than, whites are the superior race

Conflicting narratives

discusses the diverging perspectives on the causes and consequences of the Civil War.

Senator Jefferson Davis (MS ) Farewell Address

Discusses why the state is seceding from the Union: “I do think she has justifiable cause, and I approve of her act.”

The Bias of Selective Inclusion

occurs when an author or source consciously or unconsciously chooses to include certain facts, details, or perspectives while omitting others. This selection is often done to support a particular argument, narrative, or viewpoint, potentially leading to a skewed or incomplete understanding of an event or topic. (Ignoring or burying the lead)

Mutiple Sources

the importance of consulting various historical sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of an event or topic, rather than relying on a single account

sound hermeneutics

rigorous and critical interpretation of sources, involving methods to assess their reliability, context, potential biases, and interconnections

Grammatical-historical

A method of biblical interpretation that seeks to understand the original meaning of the text by analyzing its grammar, syntax, and historical context. This approach considers the author's intent, the literary genre, and the cultural background of the audience to accurately interpret the passage.

South Carolina’s declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify the secession of SC from the union

“They have denounced as sinful the institution of slavery...President of the US, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery.”

Mississippi’s declaration of the immediate causes which induce and justify the secession of MS from the union

“Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest in the world”

SC Secession quote

“Those states have assumed the right of deciding upon the propriety of our domestic institutions…they have denounced as sinful the institution of slavery.”

MS Declaration of Causes quote

“a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization…There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the union.

Lincoln’s second inauguration (March 4, 1865)

“With malice toward none with charity for all with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds…”

2nd Inaugural speech quote on what was the cause of the war

“These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was somehow the cause of the war”

2nd Inaugural speech quote about those who went against God

“Woe unto the world bc of offenses, for it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh…slavery is one of those offenses”

2nd Inaugural speech quote about Lincoln’s belief in divine punishment

“If God wills that it continue, all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s 250 years of unrequited toil shall be sun,k and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said 3k years ago, so still it must be saidd ‘the judgement of the Lord is true and righteous altogether’ ”

Providentialism

God writes history, and it is slowly revealed to us

Manifest destiny

The opening of the West for America, and that God will reveal it to us that He approves

10% of ____ white male adults of military age nationally died (based on 750,000 dead)

ALL

Upwards of 15% of ________ of all aged died

southern white males

The Civil war is the

Bloodiest conflict in U.S. History

Generational theory

A framework that examines how different generations, shaped by their unique historical and social contexts, develop distinct characteristics, values, and behaviors.

Generational theory implications

understanding how these generational differences influence broad societal trends, political landscapes, economic patterns, and cultural shifts over time

Southern _____ rank increased chances of death

higher

War theory

A systematic study of the nature, causes, conduct, and consequences of armed conflict. It encompasses various perspectives, including philosophical, political, sociological, psychological, and strategic analyses, aiming to understand why wars occur, how they are fought, and their impact on societies.

what percent did the enlistment of the colored soldiers died

22%

Lincoln to Andrew Johnson quote

“The colored population is the great available and yet unavailed of, force for restoring the Union. The bare sight of 50k armed and drilled black soldiers on the banks of the MS, would end the rebellion at once.”

Captain Lindley Miller (white idealist)

“Oh, we’re the bully soldiers of the ‘First of Arkansas’ we are fighting for the union, we are fighting for the law, we can hit a Rebel further than a white man ever saw, as we go marching on” “They (white southerners) will have to bow their foreheads to their colored kith and kin”

Social change

the transformation of culture, institutions, and social behavior over time

idealism

A philosophical approach asserting that reality or knowledge is fundamentally mental or constructed by the mind, rather than existing independently. In a political or historical context, it often refers to pursuing goals or policies based on moral principles and ideals, sometimes without sufficient regard for practicalities or immediate self-interest.

German (216,000) and Irish (160,000) immigrant percentage of deaths (55,000)

15%

Immigrants and freedman paid…

A greater price in death than anyone else

Elias Parker (a Native American) to Robert E. Lee

“We are all Americans here”

Lee accepts surrender, quote-

“Judgement of the ‘Umpire of Nations”

There was no ____ war

Guerilla (a form of irregular warfare in which small groups combat)

JW Booth quote

“Sic Semper Tyrannous” aka death of tyrants (Lincoln is an unchecked power)

Radicalization

The process by which an individual or group adopts increasingly extreme political, social, or religious ideologies and aspirations that reject or undermine

Generational bitterness

Refers to deep-seated resentment, animosity, or unresolved conflict that persists and is transmitted across successive generations within a society or family, often stemming from significant historical events

“Americans will always ____” (example of tautology)

act like Americans

Tautology

In logic, this is a formula or assertion that is true in every possible interpretation

Americans are born of ____ and ____

division, rebellion

Political division is what in America

“normal”

Political necessity to…

unify

religious division is also “normal” in U.S. history but both religious and political _______

Violence are rare

John Locke, Second Treatise on Gov’t quote

“…where there lies no appeal on earth, viz. to judge, whether they have just cause to make their appeal to heaven”

Civil War Debt

greater than in establishing the Republic (1775-89)

Blood or treasure?

refers to the fundamental choice a nation or entity faces when engaging in conflict or pursuing a goal

Total wealth value of the South

1/3 in slaves, 1/3 in all infrastructure, and liquid assets, 1/3 in real estate

what was the proportion of the Southern wealth that was destroyed or lost by the end of the war

8/9ths

for each 6 slaves freed & 10 southerners kept in the union…

1 soldier died and another was wounded

total cost of war in proportional economic terms

$75 trillion in today’s economy

The Vacant chair

referring to an empty seat at the family table, especially during the holidays, left by a loved one who died in the war

unquantifiable loss

widows, orphans, broken bodies, broken minds

TANSTAAFL There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

everything has a cost, even if it’s not immediately obvious.

VP Andrew Johnson TN democrat quote

“We must make rebellion odious”

Civil War 1861-65 was

“Politics by other means”

Reconstruction 1862(3)-1877 was

“The proper relationship of the states”

Lincoln’s 10% plan- 1862

Rebellion, or misplaced loyalty? (rejected by congress 1865)

Congressional Control

“Radical Republicans”

13th amendment

abolition

14th amendment

civil rights

15th amendment

voting rights

Juneteenth

June 19 to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States

Civil Rights Act 1866

“Full and equal benefit of all laws”

President Johnson ___ “states rights”

VETOES

johnson’s vetoes were ____ by the house and the senate

overridden

Memphis Massacre

white mobs violently targeted Black Union veterans and civilians, the Freedmen’s Bureau, testified to Congress about black sentiment afterwards

the use of ‘states rights’ in johnson’s veto is an example of a political ___

“Shibboleth”

Shibboleth

the use of a word or phrase by an “in-group” that signified or reveals their identity and associations (choice vs. life)

Rise of paramilitary organizations like…

KKK who employed violence, fraud and intimidation

Paramilitary

Structure similar to the military, but doesn’t have the substance, organized in order to threaten violence

Johnson’s swing around the circle

hired hecklers and “drunken Johnson” rumors spread

Radical republican reconstruction act 1867

military districts, occupation troops, new state constitutions, 14th Amendment, black voting

Freedmen-Scalawag-Carpetbagger Republicanism

newly emancipated African Americans, white southerners who supported reconstruction and the rep. party (viewed as traitors), and northerners who moved south after the war (outsiders)

“The Tenure of Office Act” House Impeachment Senate trial

purpose the limit the president’s power to remove certain officeholders without senate approval

11 articles of impeachments ____ by one vote

Acquitted (due to 7 “suicidal” republicans")

Generational bitterness from the civil war

Lincoln’s assassination & loss of POW

Lincoln’s 2nd inauguration speech was based on what

Scripture (job)

Hermeneutic

A method of approaching documents to try to understand them- historians use “they meant what they said until proven otherwise” (grammatical-historical)

Virtually every southern white male did what during the Civil War

pick up a weapon