AICE US History Chapter 2

Military Stratergies of North

- blockade of coastline of seceded states (stopped economy of South)
- troops in the North (kept them contained)
- gain control of Mississippi to split South
- Anaconda Plan (strangle them until they give out)
- laid back
- later they focused on western front and Mississippi River
- attacked civilians and invaded the South

Military Strategies of South

- offensive-defensive
- used interior communication lines to transport troops
- concentrate forces on eastern front
- marched into Northern Territory
- then south was forced into defensive as resources dropped

Leadership in North

- Lincoln did not have formal military experience but he began to study history of war
- Winfield Scott appointed by Lincoln, hero of War of 1812, came up with Anaconda Plan, retired a year into the war
- General George McClellan, educated at military college (West Point) tried using old methods but changed strategies as war went on
- later on Ulysses S Grant and William T Sherman took on a more offensive method, invaded cities (March Through Georgia), burned crops, attacked civilians, both viewed as ruthless

Leadership in South

- Jefferson Davis had more experience with war than Lincoln
- Robert E. Lee appointed by Davis, was a really good military leader, good at strategy, thought direct battle was good for winning

Political Aims of North and South

North
- bring CSA back into USA (not easy)
- invade and convince
South
- be recognized as new country by CSA
- last long enough

Resources of the North

- big population (23 million) and lots of industry (more warfare products)
- more troops (only had to introduce conscription til late in the war)
- railways (helped win battles)

Resources of the South

- battles were local so geography was in their favor
- cotton
- better morale (fighting for freedom)

Why did the Civil War last for four years?

- north and south had very relaxed strategies at the beginning so neither was wanting to give up, it wasn't until North became aggressive that war ended
- Davis and Lincoln were good leaders and managed to inspire people to keep fighting
- Robert E Lee was good at lasting in battles
- South had to last it out in the war so North would give up but neither one wanted to give up
- North had good resources/troops but South had the power of geography (and anime!) on their side

Limitations on Civil Liberties During the War

North
- Lincoln suspended writ of habeas corpus (Merryman case, politician involved in riots sympathizing with south placed under military arrest and his habeas corpus was ignored so he was not released)
- Vallandigham case (copperheads) and Milligan case too
South
- military requirements took priority over civilian's rights
- difficult to define rights bc south was so divided
- even tho Davis was much more reluctant than Lincoln, the south did suspend habeas corpus and was inclined towards military rights

The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863

- slavery would be allowed to continue in all states that came back to the union before January 1863
- from January 1863 the union would set free any slaves in territories taken by the union's armed forces
- helped unite north to want to continue fighting the war
- made south fearful of slave uprising

Life in the CSA

- economy flopped bc of naval blockade (no crops like salt) which lead to inflation
- by the end of the war even rich southerners were affected by the food shortage
- rich southerners were hated for avoiding drafting/fighting
- some Southerners left to go north
- General strike from slaves but no rebellion
- slaves helped northern armies/joined them sometimes

Democratic Politics: North and South

- Republicans kept control of Congress after midterm elections
- South tried to split north into war and peace democrats but Republicans joined with war democrats
- this union helped Lincoln's re-election

How great was the immediate impact of the Civil War?

- Suspension of writ of habeas corpus in North
- military became more important than civilians in south
- slaves became free
- CSA was breaking apart, bad economy, no food, political/social divisions
- Democrats were split because Republicans joined with War Democrats

Presidential Reconstruction

- Ten Percent Plan: 10% of electorate take oath of loyalty to USA, allowed some African Americans to vote, supported all acts from Congress relating to slavery
- goals: abolish slavery and give African Americans the vote/get the South back into the Union and restore normal government in the region

Radical Reconstruction

- Reconstruction Acts of 1867-68: military rule across South, five military districts, martial law for 10 years, all states had to introduce votes for all men and approve the 14th amendment
- Ulyssess S Grant elected in 1868
- New state governments established were led by corrupt and inefficient carpetbaggers

Amendments 13, 14 and 15

- 13: no slavery/involuntary servitude, Freedmen's Bureau
- 14: people born in US or naturalized were US citizens, gave federal authorities power to intervine if states didn't follow rules, direct attack on South
- 15: right of citizens of US to vote no denied based on race, heaviest impact was on South

The changing practice of Reconstruction

- at first was lenient bc if Lincoln
- when he died, Johnson took over and was hated by Congress so he just had to go along with them
- congress followed radical reconstruction
- towards the end, republicans stopped caring

What were the aims and outcomes of Reconstruction?

- for President: get CSA back effectively and safely with 10% Plan, abolish slavery and help ex-slaves with Amendments
- for Radicals: Make sure CSA was really loyal before coming back, establish new USA friendly state governments as fast as possible, make sure African Americans could vote in South
- Amendments meant to help slaves, have lasted effectively till today
- Reconstruction was switching around from lenient to strict a lot

The changing position of ex-slaves

- had no land/money so ended up as sharecroppers or city workers paid little so economic imbalance was still there
- they now were able to vote but didn't bc intimidated by south
- some were able to invest in schools and businesses so a small middle class began to grow

The response of the white South

- KKK and The White League intimidated African Americans into not voting/rising economically
- South made it hard to advance as there was racial segregation (Jim Crow laws)
- African Americans still seen as inferior everywhere so hard to break that

The Compromise of 1877

- North and South secret deal: North got presidency while South got rid of martial law, carpetbaggers, and can treat African American's badly
- ended Radical Reconstruction

How successful was Reconstruction?

- ex-slaves somewhat moved up as they no longer were enslaved and not could vote and do all these legal things
- but had no money/land to advance so ended up at the bottom of the economic ladder
- people were still racist and tried to set them back
- White supremacist groups intimidated African Americans (lynchings)
- while CSA was able to comeback without conflict compromise of 1877 divided south and north
- also did not help African Americans