H History midterm civil war

compromise of 1850

-created by Henry Clay

1. -admits california as a free state, utah and new mexico decide slavery based on popular sovereignty, slave trading ends in washington dc, stricter fugitive slave laws, texas sells land to new mexico for 10 million

-John Calhoun from SC opposed it for states rights

John C. Calhoun

• opposed compromise of 1850

• from SC

• he suggests the south secedes

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854-

it was a push to make the kansas and nebraska territories into states, it called for popular sovereignty, and nullified the missouri compromise of 1820

created by stephen douglas

north opposes the act they think douglas is a “sellout” to the south

would solve the problem of slavery in territories for now

dred scott v sandford case

dred scott was an enslaved man who lived in missouri and the man who owned him took him to illinois a free state, after returning to missouri dred scott sued for his freedom claiming the his residence in a free state made him free but chief justice Roger. B Taney ruled that he couldn’t be a U.S. citizen and being taken into free territory didn’t make him free

popular sovereignty

gave the states the ability to let their people vote on whether slavery will be legal or not in their (majority vote wins)

charles sumner

anti slavery senator who insulted pro-slavery men including South Carolina and Andrew Butler. Preston Brooks (Butlers kisman) beat Sumner with a cane. Charles Sumner was beat for standing against slavery (shows that the north and south are starting to get violent)

Henry Clay

created compromise of 1850

called the ”great compromiser”

created the missouri compromise

President Buchanan -

democrat who won election of 1856 ( before lincoln)

He Believed Secession Was Illegal—but So Was Stopping It

Support for the Dred Scott Decision

Election of 1860-

Abraham lincoln wins based on the electoral college, he didn’t even appear on the southern states ballots 

• Abraham Lincoln won the presidency with 180 electoral votes, without carrying a single Southern slave state. Wikipedia+1

• Popular vote: Lincoln won under 40%, but the fractured opposition allowed him to secure an Electoral College majority. Wikipedia

The Democratic Party divided into Northern and Southern wings over slavery, nominating Douglas and Breckinridge separately. That split crushed their national chances and helped Lincoln win

George McClellan-

1. general of union army,

2. ran against lincoln in election of 1864 and lost 

3. won battle of Antietam but failed to capture lee’s army and him which could have ended the war

Robert E Lee (Position and beliefs)-

1. Confederate general,

2. didn’t believe in slavery or secession, Lee fought to preserve a system that depended on slavery, even if he claimed moral discomfort with it.

3. only fought bc virginia succeeded and he didn’t want to fight against his home land,

4. realized further fighting was hopeless, surrendered in Appomattox Courthouse VA

The Gettysburg Address-

1. delivered by Lincoln in nov 1862 at the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield, honored soldiers who died and summed up great American principles of equality and freedom of all men  

2. The Gettysburg Address redefined the Civil War as a fight not just to save the Union, but to ensure freedom, equality, and democratic government endure.

The Know-Nothing Party-

1. opposed immigration,white protestants, very radicle and secretive, pro slave platform

Slavery proved fatal to the Know Nothings.

• Northern members increasingly opposed the expansion of slavery

• Southern members supported slavery or wanted it protected

The Emancipation Proclamation-

1. issued by lincoln to To weaken the Confederacy’s labor force and give the war a moral purpose tied to ending slavery

2. freed all enslaved people in the rebelling states

3. and allowed former slaves to join the union army,

4. made the war more about moral issues of slavery instead of trying to keep the union together 

5. Did not free enslaved people in:

   • Border states (Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware)

   • Areas of the South already under Union control

John Wilkes Booth

• assinated abraham lincoln 

• Booth was a strong supporter of the Confederacy

• He believed:

  • The Civil War was a fight for Southern rights

  • White supremacy should be preserved

• He was enraged by:

  • The Union victory

  • Lincoln’s support for emancipation and limited Black citizenship

Booth viewed Lincoln as a tyrant who had destroyed the Southern way of life.

KKK

1. terroist group in the south that caused segregation and made sure former slaves lost their rights

2. Undermined Reconstruction

3. Prevent formerly enslaved people from exercising:

   • Voting rights

   • Holding office

   • Equal citizenship

13th Amendment-

ended slavery in America forever

 14th Amendment

granted full citizenship & rights to everyone born in the US, including former slaves.

15th Amendment

guaranteed that no male could be denied the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Reconstruction Act of 1867-

1. placed the south under military rule for 12 years so they will follow the 13th,14th, and 15th amendments

• Purpose: Rebuild the South and protect freedmen’s rights

Compromise of 1877-

1. after tilden winning the electoral and popular vote, 20 electoral votes were disputed so rutherford gets elected under the conditions that he will remove military control in the south

2. Republicans Agreed To:

   • Withdraw federal troops from the remaining Reconstruction-era governments in the South

   • End federal enforcement of Reconstruction policies

   • Appoint at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes’s cabinet

   • Support Southern economic development (railroads, internal improvements)

   Democrats Agreed To:

   • Accept Rutherford B. Hayes as president

   • Allow the peaceful transfer of power

Characteristics of the North vs. the South

North- industry, factories to make weapons large population, navy, railroads, and an established government, population is large

strategies: -Anaconda plan (blockade)

-border states can keep slaves

South- plantation economy, people had a will to fight, only had to defeat the enemy, not invade, so they were fighting on familiar territory, Robert E. Lee

strategies: -foreign support (France and GB) (Does not work out)

- “War of Attrition” (Slowing wearing down your enemy).

• Issues that led to the Civil War (See major event decade before 1850-1860)

1. The Compromise of 1850

-roposed by Henry Clay to ease tensions between North and South.

• Major provisions:

  • California admitted as a free state

  • New Mexico and Utah territories decide on slavery by popular sovereignty

  • Fugitive Slave Act strengthened, forcing Northerners to return escaped slaves

  • Slave trade banned in Washington, D.C.
    Impact:

• Temporary peace, but angered Northerners over the Fugitive Slave Act.

• Increased sectional hostility.

Fugitive Slave Act

Date: Part of Compromise of 1850
Key Points:

• Made it a federal crime to help runaway slaves

• Citizens and officials in the North were forced to participate in recapturing fugitives
  Impact:

• Widespread Northern outrage and growth of the abolitionist movement

• Led to personal liberty laws in some states to resist enforcement

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Date: 1854
Proposed by: Stephen A. Douglas
Key Points:

• Created Kansas and Nebraska territories

• Allowed settlers to decide on slavery via popular sovereignty

• Repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had banned slavery north of 36°30′
  Impact:

• Sparked “Bleeding Kansas”—violent conflict between pro- and anti-slavery settlers

• Strengthened the Republican Party in the North, formed in opposition to slavery’s expansion

The Dred Scott Decision

Date: 1857
Supreme Court Ruling: Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
Key Points:

• Declared African Americans were not citizens

• Ruled that Congress could not ban slavery in territories
  Impact:

• Infuriated Northerners, strengthened Southern pro-slavery stance

• Made compromise between North and South seem impossible

John Brown’s Raid

Date: 1859
Event: John Brown attempted to spark a slave revolt at Harpers Ferry, Virginia
Impact:

• Brown became a martyr in the North

• South became convinced that Northerners wanted to destroy slavery by force

Growing Sectionalism

Key Points:

• Economic, cultural, and social differences between North and South grew:

  • North: Industrial, anti-slavery, urbanizing

  • South: Agrarian, slave-based economy, defensive of slavery

• Political compromise was increasingly impossible

• Southern leaders began talking openly about secession

What did Stephen Douglas’s K/N Act do in terms of tension in the country?

it temporarily solved the issue of slavery but increased tension between the North and South It

Northern Reaction

• Outraged that Congress could allow slavery in areas previously considered free.

• Many Northerners saw it as a pro-slavery power grab by the South.

• Led to the rise of the Republican Party, formed to stop slavery’s expansion.

Southern Reaction

• Some Southerners supported it because it opened the possibility of expanding slavery into the West.

• Others expected strong Northern resistance, leading to sectional polarization.

Violence in Kansas (“Bleeding Kansas”)

• Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers flooded Kansas to influence the vote.

• Led to armed conflict between factions, foreshadowing the Civil War.

Lincoln’s beliefs about slavery

lincoln strongly opposed slavery and wanted to stop the spread of it through his presidency by denying any new slave states and later abolishing slavery in the current slave states 

Lincoln personally believed slavery was morally wrong.

• He often called it a “monstrous injustice” and a violation of human rights.

• He opposed slavery on ethical grounds, though he initially prioritized political solutions over immediate abolition.

President of the Confederate States of America

jefferson davis

What event signified the beginning of the Civil War?

Confederates fire on Fort Sumter occupied by Union troops, the first act of open rebellion, Lincoln declares war on April 12, 1861

Recognize which states were parts of the Confederacy and which remained in the Union

Confederacy- Southern states-

Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida

union- Northern States (Free States)

These states had abolished slavery and were strongly pro-Union:

California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey*, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin

*New Jersey initially allowed slavery in some forms but aligned with the Union.

2. Border States (Slave States That Stayed in the Union)

These states allowed slavery but did not secede:

• Delaware

• Kentucky

• Maryland

• Missouri

• West Virginia* (formed during the war in 1863 from Virginia)

Significance of Border States:

• Strategically vital for geography, transportation, and manpower.

• Lincoln worked carefully to keep them in the Union.

advantages and disadvantages of both sides

The North (Union) Advantages

• Population: ~22 million people, more soldiers and workers.

• Industry: 90% of the nation’s industry, could produce weapons, ammunition, and supplies.

• Railroads: Extensive network for moving troops and supplies.

• Navy: Controlled the U.S. Navy, allowing blockades of Southern ports.

• Economy: Stronger banking system and more financial resources.

Disadvantages

• Leadership: Early in the war, less experienced military leadership compared to the South.

• Offensive war: Had to invade and conquer Southern territory, which was challenging.

• Motivation: Some Northern soldiers less personally motivated than Southerners fighting to defend homes.

The South (Confederacy) Advantages

• Military leadership: Experienced generals like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

• Home territory: Fighting a defensive war on familiar land.

• Motivation: Strong belief in defending homeland and way of life.

• Culture of military training: Many Southerners had experience with guns and horses.

Disadvantages

• Population: ~9 million (including 3.5 million enslaved people), fewer men available for armies.

• Industry: Very limited; mostly agricultural, couldn’t easily supply armies.

• Transportation: Few railroads and poor infrastructure for moving troops and supplies.

• Economy: Weak banking system, less money for war.

• Blockade: Union Navy blocked Southern ports, restricting trade and supplies.

Strategies of both sides

north - kept slaves in the border states (kept support of border states), anaconda plan (making a blockade around the south and squeezing in)

south- war of attrition (only fight when the north came to them), foreign support

Review all the major battles (Generals present and outcome)

gettysburg- (PENNSYLVANIA) 40,000+ casualties, union victory, turning point in the east after the south lost so many troops

antietam- (SHARPSBURG MARYLAND) The deadliest single day in U.S. history. 23,000+ dead and wounded,won by general McClellan,

Shiloh - (TENNESSEE) major union victory, 20,000+ casualties, major union victory in the western theater of the war

bull run- (MANASSAS VIRGINIA) first major land battle of the war. Neither side was prepared but a victory for the confederacy. 

Sherman’s march- sherman leads troops through georgia destroying and burning land and industry (believed in total war, don’t just defeat your enemy, destroy them)

appomattox -Final battle before gen. Lee surrendered his army to Grant and effectively ends the war. Lee surrenders in appomattox courthouse virginia

Vicksburg- (MISSISSIPPI) turning point in the west, general grant sieges vicksburg mississippi for a month and forces confederates to give up the city, Siege on the city by general Grant. Turning point if the western front. Forces confederate surrender.

Two different plans for Reconstruction (President versus Congress)

president- states must call convention and repeal succession, 10% must vote, quick reunion with little federal involvement

congress- 50% of voters in rebelling states must take oath of allegiance, harsher penalties for the south, strong federal protection for freemen 

President Johnson's Impeachment 

republican congress was not happy with his plans so they impeach him for violating the tenure of office act (firing a cabinet member without congress approval)