US History Test Post Civil War to Reconstruction

I. Events Leading to the Civil War

Key Events:

• Missouri Compromise (1820) – maintained balance of free/slave states; drew line at 36°30′

• Compromise of 1850 – California enters as free state; Fugitive Slave Act passed

• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) – introduced popular sovereignty; led to “Bleeding Kansas”

• Dred Scott Decision (1857) – ruled African Americans not citizens; Missouri Compromise unconstitutional

• John Brown’s Raid (1859) – attempt to incite slave revolt; inflamed tensions

• Election of Lincoln (1860) – led to secession of Southern states

II. Civil War

A. Major Battles & Events

1. First Battle of Bull Run (1861) – First major battle; Confederate victory; proved war would be long and costly

2. Antietam (1862) – Bloodiest single-day battle; Union strategic victory; led to Emancipation Proclamation

3. Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville (1862–63) – Confederate victories; Chancellorsville cost Lee “Stonewall” Jackson

4. Gettysburg (1863) – Turning point; major Union victory; Lee forced to retreat

5. Vicksburg (1863) – Gave Union control of Mississippi River; split Confederacy

6. Sherman’s March (1864) – “Total war” through Georgia; demoralized South

7. Surrender at Appomattox (1865) – Lee surrenders to Grant; end of major fighting

B. Union vs Confederacy

1. Goals and Strategies:
   

   • Union Goal: Preserve the Union; later abolish slavery

   • Union Strategy: Anaconda Plan (blockade, control Mississippi, divide South)

   • Confederate Goal: Independence; preserve slavery

   • Confederate Strategy: Defensive war; seek foreign support

3. Advantages/Disadvantages:
   

   • Union: More people, industry, railroads, navy

   • Confederacy: Better generals, home advantage, morale

   • Union Disadvantages: Unfamiliar land, lack of strong leadership early on

   • Confederate Disadvantages: Fewer resources, smaller population

5. Border States:
   

   • Slave states that stayed in the Union: Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, Delaware, later West Virginia

7. 54th Massachusetts:
   

   • First African American regiment; fought bravely at Fort Wagner; showed Black soldiers’ valor

9. Important Leaders:
   

   • Union: Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, William Tecumseh Sherman

   • Confederacy: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

C. Other Important Topics

1. Lincoln’s 1st Inaugural Address:
   

   • Reassured South he wouldn’t abolish slavery where it existed; emphasized union must be preserved

3. Suspension of Habeas Corpus:
   

   • Lincoln suspended to jail Confederate sympathizers without trial; controversial but aimed to keep order

5. Emancipation Proclamation:
   

   • Freed slaves in rebelling states; shifted war goal to moral cause; prevented European support for Confederacy

7. Gettysburg Address:
   

   • Short but powerful speech; redefined war as fight for equality, democracy, and a “new birth of freedom”

9. Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address:
   

   • Focused on healing, forgiveness; “with malice toward none, with charity for all”

11. Assassination of Lincoln:
    

    • Killed by John Wilkes Booth days after war ended; created turmoil and worsened tensions during Reconstruction

III. Reconstruction

A. Beginning of Reconstruction

1. Lincoln’s Plan (10% Plan):
   

   • 10% of voters had to swear loyalty; lenient return for Southern states

3. Wade-Davis Bill:
   

   • Required 50% loyalty; harsher terms; Lincoln pocket-vetoed it

5. Johnson’s Plan:
   

   • Lenient to South; allowed return of ex-Confederates; led to Southern resistance and Black Codes

7. Black Codes:
   

   • Laws limiting rights of freedmen; aimed to restore slavery in all but name

B. Radical Republican Reconstruction

1. Radical Republicans:
   

   • Wanted to punish South; protect rights of freedmen; Congress took over Reconstruction

3. Reconstruction Acts of 1867:
   

   • Divided South into military districts; required new constitutions and Black suffrage

5. Impeachment of Johnson:
   

   • Violated Tenure of Office Act; survived by 1 Senate vote

7. Freedmen’s Bureau:
   

   • Assisted freed slaves with food, education, jobs; faced resistance but made progress

9. Reconstruction Amendments:
   

   • 13th: Abolished slavery

   • 14th: Citizenship and equal protection

   • 15th: Voting rights for African American men

11. Carpetbaggers & Scalawags:
    

    • Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved South (seen as opportunists)

    • Scalawags: Southern Republicans (seen as traitors by Southern Democrats)

13. Changes in South:
    

    • Black political participation; Republican governments; rebuilding of infrastructure

C. End of Reconstruction

• Sharecropping/Tenant Farming:
  

  • System where freedmen rented land and gave part of crops; kept many in poverty/dependence

• President Grant’s Problems:
  

  • Corruption scandals weakened support; economic crisis hurt Republicans

• Election of 1876 & Compromise of 1877:
  

  • Tilden won popular vote, but Hayes became president in exchange for removing federal troops

  • Ended Reconstruction; called the “Great Betrayal”

• Good & Bad of Reconstruction:
  

  • Good: Freedmen gained rights, Black schools/universities founded, Amendments passed

  • Bad: Southern resistance, rise of KKK, rights later taken away

IV. Short Answer Prep

A. Civil War

• Emancipation Proclamation as War Strategy:
  

  • Hurt Southern economy, encouraged slave escapes, gave Union moral high ground

• Strategy Shift in South (1862–63):
  

  • Tried to go on offensive (e.g., Gettysburg); hoped to gain foreign support

• Significance of:
  

  • Gettysburg Address: Honored fallen, tied war to ideals of liberty and democracy

  • 2nd Inaugural Address: Aimed to reunite, called for compassion and reconciliation

B. Reconstruction

• Southern Democrats’ Resistance:
  

  • Poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses; led to disenfranchisement of Black voters

• Compromise of 1877:
  

  • Hayes became president, federal troops withdrawn; ended Reconstruction; betrayal of African Americans

• Reconstruction as:
  

  • Success: Ended slavery, amendments passed, Black progress

  • Failure: Rights reversed, rise of segregation

  • Splendid Failure (Eric Foner): Grand goals, limited long-term impact

  • Victory Without Victory: Legal rights gained, but not enforced

  • Legacy: Showed fragility of civil rights; rights must be defended continuously

  • Different Views:
    

    • Traditional: Saw it as a failure due to corruption

    • Modern: Recognize its achievements and challenges in promoting equality