U.S History

Sectional Tensions in the United States

Slavery

• Slave and free states: by 1820s, slavery was banned in the North, but legal in the South.

• Political stability in the USA: depended on a balance of slave and free states.

• Missouri Compromise 1820: Missouri could join USA as a slave state if Maine joined as a free state; in Louisiana territory, purchased from France in 1803, there would be no slavery north of latitude 36º 30’ except in Missouri.

Economic and social differences

• Population: grew more quickly in North (higher standard of living and more immigration).

• Industry: grew more rapidly in the North; South remained largely agricultural (cotton, tobacco, rice).

• Foreign competition: lowered cotton prices; South felt that its economic interests were being sacrificed to increase profits of the North.

• Tariffs or free trade: South wanted free trade; North wanted tariffs to protect its industries.

Cultural differences

• South: informal social code based on honour (duels, etc.), chivalry, slavery and strong Christian faith.

• North: formal legal code, free labour, liberty and puritanical Christianity.

Political issues

• Slavery: national politicians became involved in debate over slavery.

• Federal v. state power: Southern states wanted to maintain the right to legislate and limit power of president and Congress.

War with Mexico

• 1864: Texas became a US state; led to war between USA and Mexico.

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848: Upper California and New Mexico gained by USA.

• Concerns of the North: feared that new territory would become slave states.

• House of Representatives: slaves could not vote but counted as three-fifths of a person – this meant that South had more members of House of Representatives.

• The Wilmot Proviso 1846: stated that slavery would not be permitted in any land gained from Mexico; rejected by Congress.

• Compromise of 1850: a series of laws aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies; included the admission of California as a free state and the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act.

The Compromise of 1850 and its breakdown

led to heightened tensions between free and slave states, ultimately contributing to the emergence of the Republican Party and escalating conflicts that would culminate in the Civil War.

Key issues

• Slave trade in Washington, DC: abolitionists wanted to end slave trade; South feared this would be precedent for abolishing slave trade between states.

• Fugitive Slave Act 1793: gave slave owners the right to get fugitive slaves back; many Northern states were breaking this law.

The Compromise of 1850

• Slave Trade: abolished in Washington, DC.

• New Fugitive Slave Act: designed to prevent people interfering with slave owners’ rights to get back their slaves.

• New states: California joined USA as a free state, even though it was below the 1830 Missouri Compromise line; New Mexico and Utah joined without yet deciding on slavery.

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852: anti-slavery novel.

The Kansas–Nebraska Act 1854

• Stephen Douglas: wanted to decide the status of Kansas and Nebraska to allow for settlement and railways; Douglas persuaded President Pierce to allow local people to decide whether they were to be free or slave states.

• Implications: effectively repealed Missouri Compromise; Supported by South, opposed by North.

• ‘Bleeding Kansas’: people moved there to shape the election results; election was pro-slavery; abolitionists established their own local government – led to mini civil war in Kansas.

Formation of the Republican Party

• Groups that joined: Northern Whigs, Northern Democrats, Free Soil Party.

• 1856 presidential election: Frémont (Republican) v. Buchanan (Democrat); Buchanan won; led to talk of South’s secession from USA.

The 1860 Presidential Party

The Dred Scott case

• The issue: Dred Scott was a slave who now lived in a free state; he claimed US citizenship.

• Supreme Court ruling 1857: Dred Scott belonged to his slave owner and had no right to citizenship; Congress had no right to limit slavery to certain parts of the USA (i.e. Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional).

• Implications: South pleased; North believed Supreme Court was biased (five of the nine judges were from slave states).

The Lincoln–Douglas debates

• Beliefs: Stephen Douglas (Democrat) believed each state should be able to decide on whether to allow slavery; Lincoln (Republican) argued that Democrats were trying to expand slavery.

• Split in the Democratic Party: Southern Democrats supported Dred Scott decision; Northern Democrats opposed it, and many joined the Republicans.

The raid on Harpers Ferry 1859

• John Brown: abolitionist; led 22 men in attack on US army’s munitions depot; wanted African-Americans to revolt; raid failed and Brown executed.

• Impact: Brown seen as a martyr by those opposed to slavery; in the South, Brown vilified, and raid seen as further evidence of North’s determination to end slavery.

The election of Abraham Lincoln

• Divided Democrats: Stephen Douglas elected as presidential candidate; some Democrats rejected this and chose John C. Breckinridge.

• Ex-Whigs: put forward own candidate (John Bell), a wealthy slave owner.

• Lincoln: elected only because Democratic vote was split; he earned few votes in the South.

The beginning of the Civil War in April 1861

Implications of Lincoln’s victory

• Fears of the South: that Lincoln would abolish slavery.

• The reality: Lincoln stated that he would not abolish slavery; lacking control of Congress and the Supreme Court, he would not have been able to anyway.

• Secession: South Carolina left Union in December 1860; by February 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had also seceded; Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia also left the Union.

• Slave states that did not leave USA: Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware; northern part of Virginia broke away from rest of state to form West Virginia.

Forming a confederacy

• Meeting in Montgomery, Alabama February 1861: rebel Southern states formed Confederate States of America (CSA).

• Constitution: Jefferson Davis appointed provisional president (February 1861); constitution adopted (March 1861).

• Fort Sumter, South Carolina: federal fort now in Confederate territory; Lincoln sent reinforcements to protect it; fort besieged and forced to surrender; war began.

Four years of civil war

Advantages of North and South

• North: more men, more industry, more railways; leadership of Lincoln.

• South: did not need to force North to surrender; unity; belief in moral superiority; support from local people; political leadership of Jefferson Davis; military leadership of Robert E. Lee; support from Britain (needing cotton).

Military strategies of the South

• Offensive–defensive: attacking North in some areas, withdrawing into South in others.

• Interior communication lines: telegraph, railways, etc. used to pass messages and bring in soldiers.

• 1862–63 offensive: Lee concentrated forces on eastern front and entered Northern territory; lived off Northern food (not taking food from people in the South); Northern victories at Antietam and Gettysburg.

• After Gettysburg: South forced onto the defensive.

Military strategies of the North

• Military leaders: Winfield Scott; replaced in 1861 by General George McClellan.

• The Anaconda Plan (‘Scott’s Great Snake’): aimed to surround the South; troops created a barrier in the north, naval blockade of east and west; intended to gain control of Mississippi to split South in two.

• Strategies of Grant and Sherman: infantry raids into enemy territory to destroy civilian property, supply lines and railways.

• Grant’s eastern front offensive: led to battles between Lee and Grant; trench warfare around Petersburg; high casualty rates.

• December 1864: Sherman took Savannah and Atlanta, cutting the South in two; Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox.

Troops

• Volunteers: initially armies were formed of volunteers.

• Conscription by the South: introduced by the South in April 1862; unpopular; draft-dodging.

• Conscription by the North: introduced in March 1863; unpopular; rich could pay for exemption.

Railways

• Moving troops: enabled troops to be moved quickly and efficiently – e.g. North’s victory at Chattanooga (1863) and South’s victory at Bull Run (1861) were possible due to effective movement of troops.

• Supplies: enabled supplies to get to troops and helped get wounded off battlefields.

• Targets: both sides tried to disrupt opponents by destroying railway lines.

The impact of the Civil War

Loss of civil liberties in the North

• Merryman Case: John Merryman was a Southern sympathiser who tried to stop US troops getting to Washington; arrested without trial; habeas corpus suspended; thousands detained without trial.

• Vallandigham Case: Vallandigham was a leader of the Copperheads, Northern Democrats who opposed the war and wanted an early peace with the South; arrested for making speeches sympathetic to South; Chicago Times closed down for supporting him.

• Milligan Case: Milligan sentenced to death by military court for undermining North’s war effort; later pardoned.

Loss of civil liberties in the South

• Suspension of habeas corpus: people could be tried by military court. • Individual states: opposed giving the military too much power.

The Emancipation Proclamation

• August 1862: Horace Greeley (editor of New York Tribune) issued open letter advocating the end of slavery.

• September 1862: Lincoln’s Proclamation – slavery could continue in all states that returned to the Union by 1 January 1863, after which the Union would free all slaves in enemy states.

• Lincoln’s aim: to weaken South’s war effort; Britain might also support North if it came out against slavery.

• Slaves: many tried to undermine South’s war effort; others joined Northern army.

Life in the Confederate states

• Effects of war: North attacked civilian targets.

• Economic problems: naval blockade prevented exports of cotton to Britain; basic foodstuffs in short supply; introduction of 10% tax on farm products hit poor farmers.

• Social divisions: wealthy Southerners could avoid conscription; led to class resentment.

• Political divisions: many white Southerners did not support Confederacy; many joined Northern army.

• Slaves: many took part in strikes, which weakened Confederacy; some worked as informers for attacking Union forces; many joined Northern army.

Democratic politics

• Midterm elections 1862: Democrats won more seats in House of Representatives; Republicans kept majority only by allying with other parties (e.g. War Democrats).

• 1864 election: Lincoln re-elected president despite divisions in Republican Party over conduct of the war.

The aims and outcomes of Reconstruction Reintegrating Southern states into the USA

• The Ten Per Cent Plan: states could be readmitted if 10% of the electorate took an oath of future loyalty to USA, supported all acts of Congress about slavery and allowed some African-Americans to vote; Louisiana applied; Congress refused to admit it.

• Wade–Davis Bill 1864: passed by Congress to impose strict conditions on Southern states wishing to join USA; Lincoln vetoed this, believing it would prolong war; led to gulf between president and Congress over how to deal with Southern states.

The 13th Amendment

• Introduced by Lincoln: following re-election in December 1864.

• Full emancipation: slavery banned across whole USA.

• Accepted by Congress: January 1865.

• Became law: December 1865.

Andrew Johnson

• President: became president when Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865.

• Black Codes: passed by Southern states to minimise impact of abolition of slavery; kept African-Americans as second-class citizens.

• Congress: introduced bills to give greater rights (including citizenship) to African Americans; Johnson vetoed these bills, knowing that they would make reintegration of Southern states more difficult.

• Civil Rights Act 1866: Congress overturned Johnson’s veto and passed the Act.

The 14th Amendment

• Citizenship: gave US citizenship to people born in USA or naturalized.

• Radical Reconstruction: Reconstruction Acts of 1867 and 1868 imposed martial law on Southern states; all states required to approve 14th Amendment.

• Election of Grant as president 1868: Grant favored hardline approach taken by Congress.

• New state governments: often corrupt and inefficient; most officials were Northerners (carpetbaggers), assisted by renegade Southern whites (scalawags).

The 15th Amendment

• Introduced: 1869.

• Aim: to ensure African-Americans in both North and South could vote.

• By 1870: all Southern states been readmitted to federal government.

The 1876 presidential election

• Misfired election: the defeated candidate got more votes than the winner.

• Samuel Tilden: Democrat; won the popular vote.

• Rutherford B. Hayes: won crucial Electoral College vote.

• Claims of fraud: outcome so close that both candidates accused the other of fraud.

How successful was Reconstruction?

The Compromise of 1877

• Secret deal: between largely Northern-based Republicans and Democratic Party of the South; if Republicans could have presidency, Democrats could control Southern states (federal troops and carpetbaggers would leave).

• Republican priorities: no longer controlled Congress; conditions of African-Americans no longer important; facing economic problems following depression of 1873.

African-Americans

• Effects of emancipation: freed slaves had no land and no education; trapped in poverty.

• Sharecroppers: working as tenant farmers – hard labour for little reward.

• Entrenched racism: Ku Klux Klan used lynchings and beatings to prevent African Americans voting; White League formed.

• Racial segregation: persisted in many parts of South (e.g. Jim Crow Laws 1890s).

• African-American middle class: small numbers gained money and established schools and public buildings.

Economic and political changes

• The South: remained economically depressed with considerable poverty.

• Power of federal government: had grown, although states’ rights and identity remained strong.

• Failure to enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments: government unwilling to tackle this issue.

• Dominance of the North: North continued to dominate the presidency and Supreme Court.

• Industrial growth: USA embarked on a period of unprecedented economic growth.

Industrial expansion in the 1870s and 1880s

The impact of the Civil War

• Mass production: war increased demand for manufactured goods; led to mass production and improved distribution methods.

• Capital: raising money for war effort led to capital-raising system centred on Wall Street, New York.

• Paper money: ‘greenbacks’ introduced.

• Banks: developed to meet government’s demand for loans; provided finance for industrial expansion.

• Tariffs: introduced to gain money for the government and to protect US goods from foreign imports.

Population growth

• Population of USA: rose from 31.5 million in 1860 to 76 million in 1900.

• Reduced death rates: due to improved incomes, better food and housing, advances in public health.

• Immigration: provided a labour force and consumers for goods. Availability of land

• US expansion in 1870s and 1880s: new land settled, much of it very fertile; more food produced.

• Large-scale production of food: mass production methods required machines, which further increased demand for manufactured foods; increased amount of food USA could export.

Transport

• Railways: provided employment and linked major cities; stimulated demand for iron, steel and coal.

• Roads: developed to transport goods from railway centres to surrounding areas. The role of the government

• Lack of regulation: state and federal governments did not interfere in the economy.

• Business interests: businessmen used money and influence to ensure there was no regulation of their activities.

• Impact: no control over hours of work, working conditions, etc.; state and federal authorities used force to put down strikes by trade unions.

Examples of innovation

• Andrew Carnegie: used new methods to produce steel; used repressive measures to prevent workers forming unions to seek better pay and conditions.

• Thomas Edison: inventor; made electricity ‘commercial’.

Availability of capital

• Stock market: enabled money to be raised for industrial/transport developments; fortunes could be made by wise investment in stocks and shares.

• Corporations: enabled growth of giant industries.

• Trusts: method of getting round old laws preventing a company owning property in more than one state (e.g. John D. Rockefeller exploited Trust system to amass a large fortune). Industrial expansion in the 1870s and 1880s Chapter 4 revision handout

Examples of the growth in manufacturing

• Cigarettes: growth of American Tobacco Company made James Duke a multi-millionaire.

• Oil: Rockefeller and Henry Flagler made a fortune by controlling oil production and distribution.

The economic and social consequences of rapid industrialisation in the late 19th century

Reasons why agriculture did not do as well as industry

• Borrowing: for purchase of land and machinery led to debt. • Bad weather: could lead to poor output and profits.

• Markets: over-reliance on unreliable overseas markets; high costs of transportation. • Deflation: led to rising debts and higher costs for credit.

• Poor land: much of the new land settled on was poor for farming.

• Tenancy farming: tenant farmers had no incentive to improve land they did not own.

Economic problems

• 1873: Jay Cooke (railway speculator) went bankrupt in 1873, owing over $100 million to banks; led to collapse of other companies and some banks; New York Stock Exchange had to close and unemployment temporarily soared.

• 1893: unexpected bankruptcies in industries and banks led to shortage of cash; prices and output dropped, leading to unemployment.

• 1907: failure of a large Trust led to collapse of banks; action by Roosevelt prevented the crisis spreading.

Immigration

• Scale: 1860–1900 = 14 million immigrants.

• Workforce: immigrants provided cheap workforce for industry and agriculture.

• Opposition to immigration: 1882 – Chinese Exclusion Act stopped immigration from China; 1887 – American Protective Association formed to urge government to reduce immigration; 1908 – immigration from Japan stopped.

Urbanisation

• Rapid urbanisation: growth of large cities (e.g. Chicago).

• Conditions: lack of regulation led to slums, overcrowding, bad sanitation and disease.

• The ‘Boss’ system: ‘Boss’ (usually the mayor) controlled all aspects of a city; leading to corruption, etc.

The aims of the Progressive Movement 1890s–1910s

Reasons for the rise of the Progressive Movement

• Various aims: movement lacked a clear set of aims and had no obvious leader(s); it attracted a variety of people with differing grievances.

• Recession and unemployment: 1893 recession led to unemployment and loss of savings as small banks collapsed.

• Lack of welfare system: No unemployment or sick pay; no safety net for hard times.

• Bad living and working conditions: no regulation meant that employers could force workers to work long hours in dangerous conditions; slums in city centres.

• Decline of agriculture in some areas: small farmers could not compete with large-scale mechanized farming methods; many went bankrupt.

• Failings of political parties: neither party seemed concerned about the poor; Republicans seemed to be the party of big business and banks; Democrats seemed more concerned with repressing African-Americans.

• Hostility to big business: big businessmen were making profits at the expense of the masses; led to growing demand for government regulation of business and banks.

• Fear of revolution: middle classes were afraid that socialism and radicalism would lead to revolution.

• Desire for women’s rights: many women wanted the right to vote.

• Economists: many economists argued that government should regulate business.

• Writers: ‘muckrakers’ used the press and books to describe social and economic problems of USA (e.g. Lincoln Steffens, Jacob Riis, Upton Sinclair, Ida Tarbell).

• Immigration: many people wanted to restrict numbers of immigrants.

• Politicians: some politicians made real effort to improve their areas (e.g. Robert La Follette in Wisconsin, Tom Johnson in Cleveland).

Aims of the progressive movement

• Wide-ranging: different people had different aims, some very speci c some wide-ranging.

• Constitutional changes: desire for women to get the vote, for senators to be directly elected to make them more accountable; some wanted tariffs replaced by income tax as a way for government to get money.

• Reform of federal government: desire for government to regulate economic issues.

• Reform in the management of cities and states: desire to end corruption by a more democratic system for electing public officials.

• Reform of political parties: desire to prevent political parties being controlled by money and influence of big business; desire for more open elections (e.g. primary system).

• Regulation by government: regulation of working hours and conditions; recognition of trade unions by employers; compensation for injury at work; insurance schemes for unemployment, sickness and old age; regulation of banks and stock market; regulation to improve conditions in towns.

• Abolition of the manufacture and sale of alcohol: Anti-Saloon League founded 1893.

• African-American rights: wanting to improve and protect their rights.

The Populist Party

• 1890s: Populist Party developed in South and West USA.

• 1892 election: party asked for government regulation of railways, monopolies, prices income tax to replace tariffs, direct election of senators.

The Progressive Movement – success or failure?

President Theodore Roosevelt 1901–08

• Northern Securities Company: Roosevelt used Sherman Anti-Trust Act to declare company illegal; struck a blow against Trusts, which were exploiting monopolies to gain big profits.

• Trade unions: in coal miners’ strike of 1902, Roosevelt acted as arbitrator – first president not to take side of employers.

• Expedition Act 1903: led to government taking more action under Sherman Anti-Trust Act; 44 Trusts prosecuted by 1908.

• Elkins Act 1903: began process of regulating railways.

• Pure Food and Drug Act 1906: began process of ending adulteration.

• Department of Commerce and Labor Act 1903: created new government Department of Commerce to regulate businesses acting in several states.

• Newlands Reclamation Act 1902: established plans for conservation.

• Roosevelt’s other aims: limitation in working hours; injury-at-work compensation; railway safety measures; child labour restrictions; factory inspections; slum-clearance measures; postal savings banks; regulation of stock market.

President William Howard Taft 1908–12

• Conservative: less committed to Progressive Movement than Roosevelt.

• Tax: initiated federal corporation and income tax.

• Trusts: continued to prosecute Trusts under Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

President Woodrow Wilson 1913–21

• Federal Reserve Act 1913: set up board to oversee banking system.

• Underwood Tariff Act 1913: reduced tariffs; seen as an attack on big business, aiding smaller businesses and farmers.

• Introduction of income tax: tax on incomes over $4000.

• Clayton Act 1914: to help government break up monopolies and Trusts.

• Federal Trade Commission Act 1914: to regulate businesses.

• First Federal Child Labor Act 1916: aimed to prevent employment of children (struck down by Supreme Court).

• Department of Labor: former miner William Wilson appointed secretary; helped resolve disputes between capital and labour.

• Reorganization of Department of Agriculture: to help farmers.

• More federal intervention in industrial disputes: government no longer automatically took side of employers.

• Revenue Act 1916: taxation of business profits.

• Seamen’s Act: regulated working conditions in merchant navy.

• Adamson’s Act 1916: imposed eight-hour day for railway workers.

• 17th Amendment: direct election of senators 1913: senators now directly elected by the people.

• 18th Amendment: prohibition of alcoholic beverages 1919: sale and transport of alcohol banned in USA.

• 19th Amendment: votes for women 1920: women given right to vote.

Republicans in power 1920–33

• No new measures: no new progressive measures brought in; most existing measures maintained.

• Prohibition: led to ‘speakeasies’, illegal manufacturing and selling, corrupt police, etc.; 1933 – Prohibition ended. • Immigration: Emergency Quota Act 1921 and Immigration Act 1924 limited immigrant numbers and excluded certain racial types.

• Race relations: racial discrimination remained high (e.g. Ku Klux Klan).

Causes of the First World War

• Triple Alliance v. Triple Entente: implications.

• Disputes in the Balkans: rivalry.