Civil War and Reconstruction

History............

Presidential Election of 1860

Won by Abraham Lincoln, the republican candidate. He won no southern states, which angered the South sparking states to seceed from the Union.

South Carolina

First state to secede from the Union

James Buchanan

The 15th President of the United States (1857-1861). He tried to maintain a balance between proslavery and antislavery factions, but his moderate views angered radicals in both North and South, and he was unable to forestall the secession of South Carolina on December 20, 1860.

Fort Sumter

Federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina; the confederate attack on the fort marked the start of the Civil War

Union Advantages in the Civil War

Larger population
85% of factories
Most miles of railroad
Great leader - Abraham Lincoln

Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson

General in the Confederate Army during the Civil War whose troops at the first Battle of Bull Run stood like a stone wall (1824-1863)

Battle of Shiloh

Confederate forces suprised union troops & drove them across the Tennesee river; union got backup and won the battle but it was one of the most bloody battles in the civil war

Civil War Technology

New advances in technology lead to a deadly and 'modern' war - bullets, railroads, telegrams, rifles, ships, etc.

Battle of Antietam

Civil War battle in which the North succeeded in halting Lee's Confederate forces in Maryland. Was the bloodiest battle of the war resulting in 25,000 casualties

Lincoln and McClellan

• McClellan's wanted to wait to drive on the capital of Virginia, but Lincoln who was anxious to make a move
• President Lincoln wanted a force near the capital to protect it from a Confederate attack
  -Lincoln then insisted that McClellan took action

Hiram Revels

Black Mississippi senator elected to the seat that had been occupied by Jefferson Davis when the South seceded

Carpetbaggers

A derogatory term applied to Northerners who migrated south during the Reconstruction to take advantage of opportunities to advance their own fortunes by buying up land from desperate Southerners and by manipulating new black voters to obtain lucrative government contracts.

Scalawags

A derogatory term for white Southerners who supported Reconstruction following the Civil War.

Wilderness Campaign

A series of brutal clashes between Ulysses S. Grant's and Robert E. Lee's armies in Virginia, leading up to Grant's capture of Richmond in April of 1865. Having lost Richmond, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse.

Force Act

Passed after civil war - protected voting rights of blacks

Wade Davis Bill

1864 Proposed far more demanding and stringent terms for reconstruction; required 50% of the voters of a state to take the loyalty oath and permitted only non-confederates to vote for a new state constitution; Lincoln refused to sign the bill, pocket vetoing it after Congress adjourned.

Freedmen's Bureau

1865 - Agency set up to aid former slaves in adjusting themselves to freedom. It furnished food and clothing to needy blacks and helped them get jobs

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Union officer from Maine; lead left flank during Gettysburg and charge on Day 2 that caused a surrender

"swing around the circle"

speaking campaign of US President Andrew Johnson in which he tried to gain support of his mild Reconstruction policies

Amnesty Act

Passed in 1872, law which granted civil rights to ex-confederates and so set the stage for them to regain control of the south

Andersonville

Confederate war camp in Georgia with terrible conditions for soldiers

Chancellorsville

A major battle in the American Civil War (1863), the Confederates under Robert E. Lee defeated the Union forces under Joseph Hooker. General Jackson was killed by friendly fire.

Copperhead

A group of northern Democrats who opposed abolition and sympathized with the South during the Civil War

William Tecumseh Sherman

Union General who destroyed South during "march to the sea" from Atlanta to Savannah, example of total war

Compromise of 1877

Deal that settled the 1876 presidential election contest between Rutherford Hayes (Rep) & Samuel Tilden (Dem.); Hayes was awarded presidency in exchange for the permanent removal of fed. troops from the South--> ended Reconstruction

Battle of Vicksburg

1863, Union gains control of Mississippi, confederacy split in two, Grant takes lead of Union armies, total war begins

Radical Republicans

After the Civil War, a group that believed the South should be harshly punished and thought that Lincoln was sometimes too compassionate towards the South.

Appomattox Court House

Famous as the site of the surrender of the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee to Union commander Ulysses S. Grant

Pickett's Charge

a failed confederate attack during the Civil War led by general George Pickett at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

Passed by Congress on 9th April 1866 over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. The act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition.

14th Amendment

Declares that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens and are guaranteed equal protection of the laws

Ku Klux Klan

A secret society created by white southerners in 1866 that used terror and violence to keep African Americans from obtaining their civil rights.