Milton Flashcards EX Test 3 - 13 - 25

The Civil War


Abolitionists and Black people did not support President Abraham Lincoln.

This was because he was hypocritical and racist. Some Black leaders supported disunion because slavery and freedom could not coexist. 


The Confederate States of America


South Carolina was the first state to secede on December 20, 1860,

Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas followed.

The Confederate States of America was formed in Montgomery, Alabama

Jefferson Davis was the President of the CSA 

Secession: to leave the Union 

Lincoln tried to preserve the Union but the South resisted

They were too dependent on slavery  


Georgia Secessionist 

  • January 21st, 1861 Georgia signed its ordinance of secession. Voted yes.

  • Stephens supported the compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Although he supported slavery he voted no for secession. 

  • Reasons for secession

    • In order to protect their state rights

    • Institution of slavery

    • Disagreement over tariff


  • Georgia’s secession importance

    • Secession did bring war and ultimately the end of slavery.


  • Secession contributed to the Civil War

    • Helped solidify the Confederate States of America




Civil War Perspectives: Newly Elected Republican Congressman

  • Republicans dominated congress

  • Most Southern representatives along with the Southern secession

  • Radical Republicans wanted to abolish slavery

  • Republicans saw the Southern Confederacy as disorganized communities


Border State Unionists

  • The inhabitants presented a unique viewpoint shaped by a combination of geographic, economic, political, and social factors.

  • Border states were loyal to the Union.

  • The Unionists had concerns about the economic impacts of secession.

  • Border states were very concerned about maintaining the union

  • Knew the country was about to split apart

  • The struggle for union exemplified the nation's fight over its very definition. 


Mississippi Secessionists

  • Main cause was because Mississippi relied heavily on slavery.

  • Feared the devastating impacts on the economy that freeing slaves would bring.

  • The primary goal was to protect and preserve the institution of slavery.

  • Secession was a catalyst of the Civil War.


Northern Abolitionists

  • They had a moral and religious opposition to slavery

  • Their concerns were leaving enslaved people behind and losing influence over federal policy. 


The Supreme Court’s Opinion on Secession

  • Before the Civil War, there was no official opinion on whether states could secede from the Union.

  • The Supreme Court ruled later that the states could not secede from the Union.

  •  Chief Justice Roger B Taney took the position that states had the right to secede and blamed Republicans (especially Lincoln) for starting the war.

  • The Supreme Court case Texas V. White after the Civil War helped establish the supremacy of the federal government over the states. 

  • The North viewed secession as illegal and unconstitutional. 

  • The South believed in the sovereignty of states and the right to secede.




Abraham Lincoln: Legacy

  • Lincoln’s political career was marked by his unwavering commitment to try and keep the states combined.

  • Lincoln was morally opposed to slavery but didn’t advocate for its abolition at first

  • He issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, freeing slaves in Confederate territory.

  • Lincoln worried about the failure of the American experiment in self-government


Moderate Southerners

  • Some people viewed secession as a lost cause while others thought the North would overwhelm the South.

  • James L. Petigru argued that South Carolina was too small to become a republic

  • Secession was unlawful and would weaken the government

  • Sam Houston didn’t think it was in Texas’s best interest to secede from the Union over slavery (he was also a slave owner).

  • Elizabeth Van Lew was a Southern Unionist, and she was a Union spy

  • Moderate Southerners saw it as a betrayal to secede. 


Who were the Northern Moderates

  • The Northern Moderates were those who prioritized maintaining the Union over addressing slavery. 

  • The North relied on raw materials from the South like cotton for its textile industries.

  • The Crittenden-Johnson Resolution (July 25, 1861) said the war was being fought to preserve the Union. 

  • Outcomes such as the influence of key events like (the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863) shifted priorities.

  • Northern Moderates were essential to maintaining unity, facilitating political action, and shaping the direction of the Civil War. 


Border State Slaveholders: A Divided Loyalty

  • Slaveholders in border states supported slavery but were hesitant about secession

  • The border states were loyal to the Union

  • Prevented Confederate states from gaining access to vital manpower, and resources in those states.


South Carolina Secessionists

  • The reasons they seceded were slavery, political, economic, and racial. 

  • The slaves were generating revenue for South Carolina so if they lost their slaves their economy would take a huge hit and greatly decrease the produce of cotton and rice. 

  • They saw slavery as morally correct

  • If they granted freedom to enslaved people they feared the enslaved would revolt and get revenge on them. 


54Th Massachusetts Regiment

  • The most famous Black unit of the Civil War

  • Established in MA by Governor Andrew

  • Black men who enlisted were from many different areas

  • Fighting in the army would prove that Blacks deserved equality. 

Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was the commanding officer of the 54th

  • Many officers felt that commanding Black troops would ruin their careers. 


Fort Wagner was located in Charleston, SC, and was occupied by the Confederates. 

  • Colonel Shaw volunteered the 54th to lead the attack

  • The 54th suffered heavy casualties. 

Colonel Shaw was killed 

Fort Wagner was never taken by the Union 


The New York City Draft Riots (July 1863)

The draft riots were the result of racial and class antagonisms.

  • The first US draft was instituted but the wealthy could purchase an exemption.

  • Irish dock workers, who were drafted, were replaced by Black men

Democratic party leaders convinced the Irish Americans that the war was being waged solely for the benefit of Blacks

The riots lasted for 4 days and Union soldiers restored order by firing on rioting New Yorkers.

 

Blacks and the Confederacy

  • In some states, Black laborers were forced to labor for state governments. 

  • Slave masters would be paid by the state. 

  • In a few instances, slaves were forced into combat

The conscription law of 1862 stated that a person with 20 or more slaves didn't have to serve in the Confederate army. 

Jefferson Davis issued a counter-proclamation that would enslave free Blacks in the South. 

  • Hard to enforce 

Some free blacks in the South petitioned to fight for the Confederacy

  • It was rejected

  • Some White southerners appreciated the show of loyalty. 


Black Confederates

As the South began to lose in the war discussion on using Black troops began 

  • Southern leaders thought that it was necessary to save the south 

  • Jefferson Davis disagreed 

  • Articles were written that proclaimed that using black forces was hypocritical because they were “inferior”.

General Robert E Lee endorsed using Black soldiers 

  • The Confederacy didn't have the time to train and raise a full regiment

General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse in April. 1865

The Civil War came to an end