Hist 1301 Final

What was the democratic party’s role in the South after the Civil War?

• Main party of white Southern resistance to Reconstruction

What the democratic party in the south want after the Civil War?

• To restore ex-Confederates’ voting rights

• Return white Democrats to power

What did the democratic party in the South appeal to after the Civil War?

• Racial solidarity

• Southern patriotism to undermine Reconstruction governments

How did the Democrats work to “redeem” the South?

• Used political organizing

• Economic pressure

• Often aided groups that used intimidation and violence (KKK) to defeat Republican influence and end Black political influence

Who were the Radical Republicans?

• Most committed anti-slavery and reform wing of the Republican party

• Leaders:

  • Charles Sumner

  • Thaddeus Stevens

What did the Radical Republicans want during Reconstruction?

• Transformation of Southern society

  • Black male suffrage

  • Civil rights

  • Equal protection

  • New state constitutions

  • Dismantling of old slave holding elite

What laws did the Radical Republicans pass?

• Reconstruction Act of 1867

• Civil rights protections

• Federal enforcement measures; required new state constitutions with Black suffrage and limited ex-Confederate political rights

What were major Radical achievements?

• Expanded public schools

• Modernized state governments

• Ended Black Codes

• Promoted Civil Equality

• Built public institutions like hospitals and asylums

What was the most important new African American institution after the Civil War?

The Independent Black Church:

• became a religious center

• School site

• Meeting space

• Political base of the Black community

What role did education play in Black communities?

• Public schools expanded dramatically under Reconstruction

• Most Black children received schooling for the 1st time

• Many preferred separate schools for safety

What other institutions did freed people establish?

• Black-owned businesses

• Mutual-aid societies

• Community charities & schools

• Black ministers & teachers became key leaders promoting “racial uplift”

Why was the 1872 election significant?

• A major split in the Republican party (Liberal Republicans broke away opposing Radical Reconstruction

• Democrats supported the same candidate to unite opposition

• Their candidate was Horace Greeley

Who ran & won in 1872?

• Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) won

• Horace Greeley (Liberal Republican & Democratic support) lost

• Grant won easily with strong national support

What did the Liberal Republicans believe?

• Wanted smaller government

• Free trade

• Limited voting rights

• Believed reconstruction had gone too far

• Criticized Black suffrage & Republican corruption

When & where did the Ku Klux Klan originate?

• 1866 in Tennessee

• Spread across the South by around 1870

What was the purpose of the KKK during Reconstruction?

• To terrorize & intimidate Black voters & white Republicans

• Destroy Reconstruction governments

• Restore white Democratic rule

How did the federal government respond to Klan violence?

• Passed Enforcement Acts (KKK Acts) to:

  • prosecute conspiracies

  • protect voting rights

  • Federal troops & courts temporarily weakened the Klan

What social changes occurred during Reconstruction?

• Growth of Black churches, schools, & communities

• Expansion of state & public services

• Increased Black political participation & leadership

What were the goals of Reconstruction?

• Rebuild the South

• Reintegrate former Confederate states

• Guarantee civil & political rights for freed people

• Transform Southern society away from slavery

What major laws shaped Reconstruction?

• Reconstruction Act of 1867

• Civil Rights Bill

• 14th & 15th amendments

• Measures requiring new state constitutions & Black suffrage

Why did Reconstruction decline?

• Northern fatigue

• Economic depression (1873)

• Republican scandals

• Violent resistance in the South

• The rise of Democratic redeemers

What was the outcome of Reconstruction by the late 1870s?

• Most southern states returned to Democratic control

• Federal troops withdrew

• Many gains for African Americans were reversed

Who made up the Reconstruction governments?

• African American voters & office holders

• White southern Republicans (Scalawags)

• Northern migrants (Carpetbaggers)

• Scalawags & Carpetbaggers were backed by Republican leadership

What did Reconstruction governments accomplish with new state constitutions?

• Guaranteed Black male suffrage

• Banned ex-Confederate leaders from voting/office

• Abolished Black Codes

• Modernized political systems

What public services did Reconstruction governments create?

• 1st real state wide public school systems, hospitals, orphanages, & care institutions for the disabled

• Expanded roads, railroads, infrastructure

Why did these governments raise taxes?

To fund schools, public works, & rebuilding efforts (angered white landowners)

What challenges did Reconstruction governments face?

• Violent opposition from groups like the KKK

• Racist resistance from white Democrats

• Economic problems

• Fading northern political support

Why did Reconstruction governments eventually fall?

• Democratic redeemers retook state governments through force & voting restrictions

• Federal support collapsed

• By 1877, almost all had been replaced

What was the Oregon Territory? How was it controlled before 1846?

• A vast region in the Pacific Northwest jointly occupied by the U.S. and Britain under the 1818 agreement.

• Both nations could settle and trade there while negotiations continued.

• Included present-day Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming/Montana.

What drove the major migration to Oregon in the 1840s?

Economic opportunity:

• Fertile farmland in the Willamette Valley

• Depression in the East

• Missionary activity

• Manifest Destiny

Tens of thousands traveled via the Oregon Trail

What did the slogan “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!” refer to?

• Democratic expansionists demanded all Oregon up to latitude 54°40’.

• Used by Polk in 1844 to appeal to expansionist voters but later compromised to avoid war.

What was the significance of the Oregon Treaty? (1846)

• Peacefully settled the boundary at the 49th parallel

• Prevented U.S.–British conflict

• Secured American access to Pacific Northwest

• Part of Polk’s expansion program

How was Lakota society organized?

• Structured around independent bands linked by kinship networks

• Leadership was informal, based on respect, decisions made by councils

• Strong warrior culture

What role did buffalo play in Lakota life?

Central to subsistence:

• food

• hides for shelter (tipis)

• clothing

• tools

Shaped nomadic lifestyle and trade networks

Why were horses transformative for the Lakota?

• Enabled long-distance mobility

• Expanded buffalo hunting

• Increased military power

• Allowed territorial expansion onto the Plains

How did the Lakota respond to U.S. westward expansion?

• Resisted army incursions

• Defeated U.S. forces in several conflicts (e.g., Red Cloud’s War)

• Maintained dominance in the northern Plains through mid-19th century

Who was James K. Polk in the 1844 election?

• Democratic “dark horse” candidate

• Strong advocate of annexing Texas and securing Oregon

• Won on an expansionist platform

What was Henry Clay’s position in 1844?

• Whig candidate

• Opposed immediate annexation of Texas to avoid war with Mexico and preserve sectional balance

• lost partly due to uncertain statements about Texas

Why was the Liberty Party significant in 1844?

Birney’s abolitionist Liberty Party drew enough anti-slavery votes in New York to deny Clay the presidency, effectively ensuring Polk’s victory.

Why did Polk send John Slidell to Mexico in 1845?

To negotiate U.S. acceptance of the Rio Grande as Texas’s border and purchase California and New Mexico for up to $30 million.

Why did the Slidell Mission fail? (1845)

• Mexican leaders refused to receive Slidell due to domestic instability and resentment over Texas.

• The rejection gave Polk justification to pursue war.

How did the mission contribute to war? (The Slidell Mission 1845)

• Its failure intensified tensions

• Combined with border skirmishes, it allowed Polk to claim Mexico “shed American blood on American soil.”

What defined the Free-Soil ideology?

Opposition to expansion of slavery (not abolition). Argued slavery threatened opportunities for free white laborers.

Who formed the Free-Soil Party in 1848?

• Coalition of anti-slavery Democrats, Conscience Whigs, and Liberty Party abolitionists.

• Ran Martin Van Buren.

What was the movement’s political impact? (The Free-Soil Movement)

• Shifted debate from morality of slavery to economic competition

• Precursor to the Republican Party.

What was Lewis Cass’s major contribution to the slavery debate?

Advocated popular sovereignty—letting territorial settlers vote on slavery. Appealed to moderates.

Why did Cass lose the 1848 election?

• Vote splitting by the Free-Soil Party hurt Democrats

• Zachary Taylor (Whig) won

Why is Cass important for the 1850s sectional crisis?

His doctrine became central to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the collapse of national political parties.

What occurred at Christiana in 1851?

• A Maryland slaveholder attempted to recapture fugitives

• A standoff with local African Americans and abolitionists led to his death

How did the Christiana Riot test the Fugitive Slave Act? (1851)

• Federal government charged 30+ people with treason

• All were acquitted, demonstrating Northern resistance

How did the South respond? (Christiana, Pennsylvania (1851))

Outrage at lack of convictions; saw northern juries as unwilling to enforce federal law

What did the Fugitive Slave Act require? (1850)

• Required citizens to aid slave catchers

• Denied alleged fugitives jury trials

• Commissioners paid more to rule for slaveholders

How did the North respond to the act? (Fugitive Slave Act (1850))

• Personal-liberty laws

• Abolitionist activism

• Increased resentment toward the slave power

What was the political impact of the act? (Fugitive Slave Act (1850))

• Radicalized northern opinion

• Strengthened the Free-Soil and Republican movements

What were Douglas’s major political aims?

• Promote western expansion

• Build a transcontinental railroad

• Reconcile North-South differences

Why was the Kansas-Nebraska Act significant?

• Repealed Missouri Compromise

• Used popular sovereignty

• Led to “Bleeding Kansas”

• Destroyed the Whig Party

What emerged from the 1858 debates?

• Douglas’s Freeport Doctrine: slavery could exist only with local support

• Alienated southern Democrats

What was the Ostend Manifesto?

• Secret document advising U.S. seizure of Cuba if Spain refused to sell it

• When leaked, outraged northerners who saw it as pro-slavery expansion

How did Pierce contribute to sectional tensions?

Strongly backed Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act, intensifying conflict over western slavery

How did Pierce’s administration affect parties?

Deepened splits in the Democratic Party and helped create conditions for rise of the Republican Party

What was the Republican position on slavery? (1850s)

Opposed its expansion into territories but accepted it where it already existed

What economic ideas did Republicans support? (1850s)

• Homestead Act

• Protective tariffs

• Transcontinental railroad—an agenda favoring northern free labor

Who made up the new Republican Party? (1850s)

• Former Whigs

• Free-Soilers

• Anti-Nebraska Democrats

• Abolitionists

Identify major candidates in 1856.

• Buchanan (Democrat)

• Frémont (Republican)

• Fillmore (Know-Nothing/American Party)

What did Frémont run on? (1856 Presidential Election)

• Stopping the expansion of slavery

• Strong support in northern states.

Why did Buchanan win? (1856 Presidential Election)

• Deep sectional divides helped Democrats remain the only national party

• Buchanan promised to restore calm but failed

What four candidates ran in 1860?

• Lincoln (Republican)

• Douglas (Northern Democrat)

• Breckinridge (Southern Democrat)

• Bell (Constitutional Union)

What was Lincoln’s stance? (1860 Presidential Election)

• Prevent slavery’s spread; no interference with slavery in states

• Promoted free labor and western homesteads

How did election results reflect sectionalism? (1860 Presidential Election)

• Lincoln won without any southern electoral votes

• South viewed the result as intolerable and began secession

What happened during the Pottawatomie Massacre?

Brown and followers murdered pro-slavery settlers in retaliation for attacks on antislavery towns.

What was Brown’s goal at Harpers Ferry?

• Seize federal arsenal and spark a widespread slave uprising

• Failed and was captured by Robert E. Lee.

Why was Brown’s execution significant?

• Seen as a martyr by the North, a terrorist by the South

• Deepened sectional hatred

When and why was the Confederacy formed?

• February 1861

• Seven Deep South states seceded following Lincoln’s election, seeking to protect slavery

How did the Confederate Constitution differ from the U.S. Constitution?

• Guaranteed slavery

• Limited central power, allowed states greater autonomy

Who led the Confederacy?

Jefferson Davis (president) and Alexander Stephens (vice president).

What did the Crittenden Compromise propose?

• Restore the 36°30’ line to the Pacific

• Protect slavery south of it

• Constitutional amendments to guarantee slavery’s permanence

Why did Republicans reject it?

• Lincoln refused any expansion of slavery

• Compromise collapsed

What did its failure indicate?

• No political solution remained

• Secession and war became increasingly inevitable

Which states seceded before Lincoln took office?

• South Carolina

• Mississippi

• Florida

• Alabama

• Georgia

• Louisiana

• Texas

Which states seceded after Fort Sumter?

• Virginia

• Arkansas

• Tennessee

• North Carolina

Why did Upper South states secede later?

• Initially more cautious

• Seceded only after Lincoln called for troops

Who were the major candidates in the 1876 election

• Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican)

• Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat)

Why was the election of 1876 significant?

Occurred during declining northern commitment to Reconstruction and amid political corruption scandals (e.g., Grant administration).

Why was the 1876 election disputed?

• Returns from FL, SC, and LA were contested by both parties

• Dual governments in southern states filed conflicting results

• Both candidates claimed victory

What resolved the 1876 election?

An informal bargain: Democrats accepted Hayes as president in exchange for removal of federal troops from the South and an end to Reconstruction.

What was the long-term significance of the 1876 election?

• Ended Reconstruction

• Permitted rise of Jim Crow and disenfranchisement

• Marked Republican abandonment of Black civil rights

What did the Civil Rights Act of 1875 do?

Guaranteed equal access to public accommodations (hotels, transportation, theaters) and banned exclusion from juries based on race.

Why was the Civil Rights Act of 1875 weakly enforced?

• Federal commitment to civil rights waned

• Few prosecutions occurred

• The law relied on local juries that often resisted enforcement

What happened to the Civil Rights Act of 1875?

Struck down in the Civil Rights Cases (1883), which ruled Congress couldn't regulate private discrimination.

Who were “scalawags”?

• Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and Republican governments

• Often small farmers who wanted economic modernization and opposed planter elites

Who were “carpetbaggers”?

• Northerners who moved South during Reconstruction

• Many were teachers, Freedmen’s Bureau agents, or entrepreneurs

• Sought investment opportunities

Why were these labels (scalawags & carpetbaggers) used pejoratively?

Former Confederates used them to delegitimize interracial democracy and portray Reconstruction governments as corrupt.

How did the government encourage settlement?

• Homestead Act (1862) granted 160 acres

• Transcontinental railroad access

• Federal land grants

What innovations aided settlement?

• Steel plow

• Barbed wire

• Mechanized reapers

• Windmills for water pumping

Why was settlement difficult?

• Low rainfall

• Harsh winters

• Grasshopper plagues

• Scarce timber

• Many homesteads failed

What was dry farming?

Agricultural technique using deep plowing, soil mulching, and drought-resistant crops to conserve moisture on arid Great Plains land.

Why did farmers adopt dry farming?

• Plains regions received limited rainfall

• Traditional eastern farming methods failed

What long-term problems did dry farming cause?

Encouraged overuse of fragile soil, contributing to later erosion problems and the Dust Bowl (1930s).

What were bonanza farms?

• Large-scale, mechanized farms run like factories

• Produced wheat for national/world markets

How did the cattle boom shape Plains economics?

• Open-range ranching and long drives connected western cattle to railroad towns

• Collapsed due to overgrazing, barbed wire, and harsh winters