History Test 2

Election of 1860

Democratic National Convention

• Democrats can’t agree on a candidate at the first DNC in 1860.

• Stephen Douglas was the leading nominee, but did not have a majority.

• 2nd DNC held in Maryland, a moderate slave state, was meant to show compromise between southern pro-slavery and northen anti-slavery.

• Douglas was nominated, but the pro-slavery southern Dems nominate their own candidate, Breckinridge.

Republican National Convention

• All candidates only had regional appeal so the location of the convention determined who came and voted. Held in Chicago.

• Lincoln was not the most popular, but he was acceptable to everyone. Won on 3rd ballot.

The Election

• Lincoln won all the populous northern states, leading to an easy win.

• Douglas ended up being the only candidate to have a significant percentage in each state.

Secession

• As soon as Lincoln is elected, SC’s legislature votes to secede.

• By the end of Feb. all southern states have seceded.

• James Buchanan didn't do anything (Lincoln not inaugurated til March), failed to do his constitutional job of protecting federal property, as all the post offices and arsenals were seized by the Confederacy.

The War

• Confederates fire and destroy Ft. Sumter, a military island off the coast of SC.

• Lincoln’s goal was to hold onto the border states.

• Important to note that those who started the war ended up losing the war.

• Lincoln believed it was imperative to hold onto Maryland as if it seceded, Washington DC would be surrounded by the Confederacy.

• In order to prevent the Maryland legislators from voting for secession, he had anyone who went to vote arrested until the vote ended.

• This was a violation of the requirement of a writ of habeas corpus, yet Lincoln reasoned that if he could save the country by breaking one law it was ok.

• During the war, the North held a navy blockade on the South, preventing exports and imports.

• The Union succeeds in taking Mississippi and cutting off Louisiana and Texas.

• The Battle of Antietam was the first Southern attempt to invade the North. The North wins.

Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

• Alexander Stephens, vice president of Confederacy was first to acknowledge that Civil War was about slavery

• Lincoln declared that the US will recognize slaves as free people. This was Lincoln’s eventual agreement with Stephens that war was about slavery.

• This doesn’t really do much because if people simply don’t listen they can just keep their slaves.

• EP does help in the fact that it gives Union army permission to free slaves and that slaves knew they could flee to the North and be free.

• One could argue that the EP is unconstitutional, as it took away people’s property.

• Lincoln’s solution was the Confiscation Act, that the government could seize any property being used to commit a crime.

• However, this only applied during the war. This is why Lincoln needed to get the 13th amendment done by the end of the war.

Gettysburg Address

• Gettysburg was the second Southern attempt to invade, also failed.

• By saying 4 score and 7 years - 87 years - Lincoln defined the conception of the US by the DOI, not the constitution, which does not say that all men are equal.

• Acc. to Lincoln, only a nation predicated on the idea that all men are equal can endure.

• Lincoln pointed out that a democracy can only work when the losers admit they lost, something the South failed to do.

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

• Lincoln drew a distinction between the North and South, claiming that the South preferred war.

• Southerners referred to slavery as their “peculiar institution,” meaning that it was their unique, special thing.

• Both the North and South have the same religion, how could they both pray for the other to be destroyed?

• If southerners believe in a just G-d, how could they pray to Him to let them have slaves?

• Lincoln says that while the hope is that the war ends soon, if G-d wants to have the war continue it will be so.

• Mentions the loss of life and wealth due to the sin of slavery for 250 years - going back to 1620, when first slaves came to Jamestown. Admits that slaves existed throughout the whole US, both geographically and historically.

• Slavery is wrong for moral and religious reasons.

• Lincoln had never been religious before now.

Reconstruction

• This is an issue early on as Union gets a lot of land back quickly (Texas, Louisiana.)

• How will the southern states be reintegrated?

• How will the south be rebuilt?

• What’s the status of freedmen -former slaves?

• Powerful southerners had committed treason, what should be done with them?

• Who should lead reconstruction, president or congress? Is it part of war or legislation?

Reintegration - Three Solutions & Speedy Reintegration

• 1)Since they seceded, states should be like conquered territory.

• 2)Secession is illegal, impossible, states should remain part of the Union, but their governments will be disbanded for committing treason. - Lincoln’s view

• 3) States remain, but citizens lose American citizenship because they voted for people who voted for secession.

• Lincoln wanted speedy reintegration because it showed that the Union was winning. Reintegrating quickly would also make states republican and would help in the election.

• Disadvantages of speedy reintegration included the fact that southern leaders would go unpunished because they’d be needed to lead the states.

• The point of the war was to assert federal control over the south so putting the treasonous leaders back in charge would be pointless.

Rebuilding

• The South was physically destroyed. 25% of the workforce died. Income, livestock, infrastructure all destroyed.

• Everyone agreed that southern society needed to be rebuilt quickly to avoid more violence

Freedmen

• Freedmen were given the status of a whole person, as opposed to ⅗. Also eligibility to hold office. Hiram Revels was the first black senator, and also took what was once Jefferson Davis’ spot.

• Should the freedmen and their descendants be entitled to compensation? No payment has ever been authorized to slaves or their descendants.

• While compensation was never given, blacks were given support through easier access to college and other things.

Southern Aristocracy

• The rich southerners had the most slaves and were the ones who committed treason, but they were also the most educated and most popular.

Presidential Attempts at Reconstruction

• Attempt 1: Lincoln’s 10% plan proposed that 10% of the people who voted in the 1860 election should be allowed to sign an oath and be given citizenship back. Those people could then establish society.

• Lincoln was not so makpid on the loyalty aspect as he only cared about getting the country back on its feet.

• The Radical Reps. thought Lincoln was soft and proposed the 50% plan which called for 50% of the people to sign an “ironclad” stricter oath. The plan also required the banning of slavery.

• Lincoln pocket vetoed the 50% plan as banning slavery was unconstitutional at the time.

• Attempt 2: Andrew Johnson was the only southern senator who stayed in the government and was rewarded by being made VP. Became president when Lincoln died.

• Viewed the point of reconstruction to be punishing whites who committed treason. Any confederate officer or rich person would need to seek a pardon.

• Johnson, a racist, vetoed the Civil Rights Act (made blacks citizens) and the Freedman’s Act (gave blacks support for land, schooling), but congress overrode him.

• Tenure of Office act - positions that need congressional approval to be hired, also need congressional approval to be fired. Johnson vetoed it but congress passed it anyway.

• TOA was meant to protect Edwin Stanton, but Johnson fired him anyway, in order to challenge the law as unconstitutional.

• HOR claimed Johnson broke the law and impeached him. Johnson wasn’t convicted by one vote.

Congressional Attempts

• Thaddeus Stevens led a congressional attempt. Stevens was the leader of the Reps in the HOR. Father of the 13,14,15th amendments.

• 13th - banned slavery.

• 14th - 1) birthright citizenship, inheritable citizenship. 2)Blacks now a whole person. 3)An elected official who rebelled can’t hold office again. 5)enofrcement- congress can make laws to enforce these.

• States were now the biggest threat to a person’s rights

• 15th - all male citizens can vote

• Congress passes Reconsturciton Act - destroyed the governments in the south, made them all military districts. Done to make sure teh amendments were enforced.

Reconstruction Cont.

• Carpetbaggers were northerners who came south after the war. Poor northerners used carpet bags to bring their stuff.

• Scalawags are vermin that infect grain. This was the term used to cdexcribe southerners who voted republicam. They were “traitors” against the south and were treated as such.

• Southerners whos till had power passed Black Codes - laws that tried to reduce blacks back to the previous situation.

• Made laziness illegal, blakcs had to sign a work contaract. This is how they were exploited for cheap labor.

Transcontintetal Railraod.

• War delayed teh RR.

• Pacific RR Act - legal basis for RR. Lincoln was afraid that CA would secede as they might think tehy’re too far to be giverned, RR solved this.

• In order to get people to work on the RR they needed to be profitable. 1) people could make money on the construction, contractor. 2)People who operated teh RR and charging people to use it.

• Government also added land grants that would become valuable once RR passed through them.

• Loops were used to allow trains to go up slopes.

Thomas Durant

• RR was funded by congress

• Durant, a member of Union Pacific, made a fake company called Credit Mobilier to scam government.

• CM would overcharge UP, who would charge congress. UP would then take a cut and the rest went to the actual buidlimg. CM hired Oakes Ames to bribe mebers of congress to allow CM to continue.

Indians

• RR caused people to move west. Eventually only Indian land left is governemnt reservations.

• (Similar to Israel vs. Palestine.)

• Concentration was the first attempt at reducing Indian land, rather than let Indians be nomadic, make them live in one area.

• Thomas Fitzpatrick hired to get the Indians to agree to concentration.

• Indians would get government support.

• Indians didn’t like concentration.

• Sand Creek Massacre - Americans kill a bunch of Indians in dspute over land. 2 years later, Red Cloud killed a bunch of Americnas, inclduing Fetterman.

• The whole poijt of democracy is that officials do things so the people like them and reelect them, but Indians were citizens so the officials just pockteed their annuities. - Indian Ring

• One would think that Indians should get citizenship under the 14th amendment, but since they didn’t technically live on US soil they weren’t eligible. 

• Othniel Marsh complains that Indians are mistreated so US creates Bureau of Indian Affarirs, but still corrupt.

• Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull destroy Custer

• Americans realize that to get rid of Indians they need to get rid of the Bison.

• Bison almost go extinct - Indians better at killing them, RR bisected them, new steelemtnes displace them. 

• Eventually Indians broken up, land sold to whites. Fractionation - turning tribes into pieces.

RR Cont.

• RR helped industrial growth, farms, food costs.

• Without time zones, the time is different in ever places. Trains need schedules. 

• Time zones created because of RR. 

• Trains needed supplies to be mass proudcuec, then trains could transport those same supplies. Made industrial process easier. 

• Also made food costs lower because animals could be shipped live and not killed beforehand.

RR Barons

• Vanderbilt bought the Hudson Valley RR as well as other RRs to expand his empire.

• Erie War - Vanderbilt wanted to buy the Erie RR owned by Gould. Vanderbilt tries to buy stock, but Gould illegally issues more and more stock by bribing NY legislature. 

• Thomas Scott - President of Penn RR. 

• Gould - stopped Vandy from getting Erie RR. Gould also buys UP. Also sets up telegraph wires by the railroad tracks.

• What came first, people or railroad? In the NE, RRs were built near the people. West of MP River - people moved where the RRs were built. 

• Rust belt - areas with denset RRs.

• Most money in RR is freight.

Giants of Industry

• Carnegie realzied that steel is better than iron. Brought process of turning iron into steel to the US. Starts US Steel. Rags to Riches.

• Worte Gospel of Wealth, believed that if you have riches you have an obligation o fund public institutions.

• Rockefeller was into oil refinery - making oil into a the stuff that is actually usabe. Based his company in Ohio, right in middle of industrial world. Would count how many crimps each drum took and would make his workers be meticulous in doing just the right number. 

• Carnegie did vertical integration - owning all the steps it takes to get product from start to end.

• Rockefeller did horizontal integration - owning all the competition, controlling market.

Competition

• It’s inefficient for business to have competiino. Rockefeller owned 90% of oil refinery in US.

• In a monopoly, the one company can raise prices as much as it wants. 

• Also, if the company goes out of business, theres’s no one else to pick up the slack.

• Rockefeller was ableto avoid antimonopoly laws bvcuase the rules were written for each individual satte. Rockefeller was so big that no single state could stop the monopoly.

Trust and antiTrust

• Rockefeller started a trust - business model that made it look like there were many companies competing with each other. In reality the owners of each were all involved in main big company. 

• Monopolies are not practical for the market so Sherman anti-trust law made. 

• Competition forces companies to be better.

JP Morgan

• Started Chase, biggest bank in US. JP’s main thing was to make other companies more efficient. Would get a spot on the board and bring the skills of money management. JP merged Edison’s company into GE. Helped start US Steel.

• JP saved US from deafukting on debt twice.

Labor/Union

• Biggest cost to companies was labor, so companies paid poorly.

• Most workers were unskilled or had little skills so only recourse was a union.

• Picketing - form of protest in which people congregate outside a place of work or location where an event is taking place.

• Scabs - people who take jobs that union laborers are striking from.

• AFL - biggest labor union.

• Haymarket affair - bomb thrwon into crowd

• Homestead affair - workers fight private security guards

• Pullman - workers would have to use the money they got to pay back to Pullman for essentials. Convinced other workers to go on strike and stop RR that had pullman cars. 

• Grover Cleveland shuts down strike by saying that they are preventing movement of mail, which is federally regulated.

• Danbury - Hat laborers get all Danbury hats to be boycotted, Loewe sues in Fed court. Argued that the point of antitrust was to stop the restraint of trade, but thats what the union was doing. Court sided with him.

• Unions now completely undercut by government. Not until 1930s when new lesgikaltion put in place.