APUSH Unit 5

Timeline Study

Key Events and Dates

1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
- Ended the Mexican-American War.
- Mexico ceded a vast territory to the United States, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming (the Mexican Cession).
- The acquisition of this new land reignited the intense debate over the extension of slavery into the territories, directly leading to further sectional conflict.
1850: Compromise of 1850
- A package of five separate bills intended to resolve the dispute over the status of slavery in the new territories.
- Key provisions: California was admitted as a free state; the territories of Utah and New Mexico were organized with slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty; the slave trade (but not slavery itself) was abolished in Washington, D.C.; and a new, stricter Fugitive Slave Act was passed.
- It provided a temporary truce but failed to solve the underlying sectional tensions. The Fugitive Slave Act was particularly divisive, angering Northerners and inspiring greater abolitionist sentiment.
1852: Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
- An anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
- It depicted the brutalities of slavery in vivid, human terms, swaying public opinion in the North and abroad against the institution.
- Southerners were outraged by the book, claiming it was an inaccurate and malicious portrayal of their way of life. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies and is considered a major catalyst for the abolitionist movement.
1854: Kansas-Nebraska Act
- Proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas, it organized the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
- It explicitly repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers in those territories to decide the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty.
- This act led to a rush of pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers into Kansas, set on influencing the vote, which in turn led to violence. It also led to the formation of the Republican Party, which was founded on the principle of opposing the extension of slavery.
1856: "Bleeding Kansas"
- A term for the period of violent civil conflict in the Kansas Territory between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions from 1854 to 1859.
- This mini-civil war included massacres, raids, and electoral fraud, demonstrating that popular sovereignty would not be a peaceful solution to the slavery question. It was a dark preview of the national Civil War to come.
1857: Dred Scott v. Sandford
- A landmark Supreme Court decision. The Court ruled that African Americans (whether enslaved or free) were not citizens and therefore had no right to sue in federal court.
- It also declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, stating that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in the territories.
- The decision infuriated Northerners and Republicans, as it appeared to open all federal territories to slavery. It further emboldened Southern secessionists and pushed the nation closer to war.
1858: Lincoln-Douglas Debates
- A series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, a Republican candidate, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, a Democrat, for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois.
- The main topic was slavery and its extension. While Lincoln lost the election, the debates propelled him to national prominence and made him a leading figure in the Republican Party.
- During the debates, Lincoln articulated the core principles of the Republican party and challenged Douglas on the issue of popular sovereignty after the Dred Scott decision.
1859: John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
- Abolitionist John Brown led a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).
- His goal was to seize weapons and incite a massive slave uprising. The raid failed, and Brown was captured, tried for treason, and executed.
- In the North, he was hailed as a martyr by many abolitionists. In the South, he was seen as a terrorist, confirming Southerners' fears of Northern aggression and radicalism, and fueling calls for secession.
1860: Election of 1860
- The Democratic Party split along sectional lines, nominating two candidates (Stephen Douglas and John C. Breckinridge).
- Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won the presidency with a plurality of the popular vote but a majority of the electoral votes, carrying almost every free state.
- Lincoln's victory, without a single Southern electoral vote, was the final trigger for secession for many Southern states, who saw his election as a direct threat to the institution of slavery.
1860-1861: Secession of Southern States
- Following Lincoln's election, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in December 1860.
- Six other Deep South states (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) followed suit, forming the Confederate States of America.
- After the attack on Fort Sumter, four more states from the Upper South (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina) also seceded.
1861: Attack on Fort Sumter (Start of Civil War)
- Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, a Union-held fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
- This act of aggression is considered the start of the American Civil War. Lincoln responded by calling for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion, which in turn led to the secession of the Upper South.
1863: Emancipation Proclamation
- Issued by President Lincoln, it declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate states (states in rebellion) were "thenceforward, and forever free."
- It did not free enslaved people in the loyal Border States.
- Crucially, it transformed the purpose of the war from preserving the Union to also being a fight for human freedom. It also prevented European powers like Britain and France from intervening on behalf of the Confederacy.
1863: Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg
- Gettysburg (July 1-3): A major Union victory in Pennsylvania that halted Confederate General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North. It was the bloodiest battle of the war and is often considered the turning point in the Eastern Theater.
- Vicksburg (ended July 4): Union General Ulysses S. Grant captured the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, after a long siege. This victory gave the Union control of the entire Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy in two.
- These two victories, occurring a day apart, were a major turning point in the war, shifting the momentum decisively in favor of the Union.
1864: Sherman's March to the Sea
- Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led his army on a destructive march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.
- The campaign was a prime example of "total war," as Sherman's forces destroyed military targets, infrastructure (railroads, factories), and civilian property to break the will of the Southern people and cripple the Confederacy's ability to wage war.
1865: Appomattox Court House (End of Civil War)
- On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
- This event effectively ended the Civil War, though some Confederate forces in other parts of the South took longer to surrender.
1865: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
- Just five days after Lee's surrender, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
- His death elevated Vice President Andrew Johnson, a Southerner with different ideas about Reconstruction, to the presidency, profoundly altering the course of post-war policy.
1865: Thirteenth Amendment ratified
- Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States, except as a punishment for a crime. This amendment gave constitutional permanence to the Emancipation Proclamation.
1866: Civil Rights Act of 1866
- Passed by Congress over President Andrew Johnson's veto.
- The act declared that all persons born in the United States were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It was designed to counteract the Southern Black Codes.
1868: Fourteenth Amendment ratified
- One of the most important amendments to the Constitution.
- It granted citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States," including formerly enslaved people (overturning the Dred Scott decision).
- It also contains the "Equal Protection Clause" and "Due Process Clause," which would be used in future civil rights cases.
1870: Fifteenth Amendment ratified
- Prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
- While a major step, its protections were later circumvented in the South through measures like poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses.
1877: Compromise of 1877 (End of Reconstruction)
- An informal, unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 presidential election.
- In exchange for the Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes, winning the presidency, Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South.
- This marked the end of the Reconstruction era. Without federal protection, Southern "Redeemer" governments came to power, and the rights of African Americans were systematically dismantled through Jim Crow laws.

Key People

Stephen Douglas: An influential Democratic senator from Illinois. He championed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the doctrine of popular sovereignty. He ran against Lincoln for the Senate in 1858 and for president in 1860.
Harriet Tubman: An escaped slave who became a famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds of enslaved people to freedom. She also served as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Author of the influential anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), which played a significant role in mobilizing anti-slavery sentiment in the North.
John Brown: A radical abolitionist who believed in using violence to end slavery. His raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 made him a martyr in the North and a villain in the South, escalating tensions before the war.
Abraham Lincoln: The 16th U.S. President. His election in 1860 prompted the secession of Southern states. He led the Union to victory in the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. He was assassinated in 1865.
Jefferson Davis: A Mexican-American War veteran and former U.S. Senator from Mississippi who served as the first and only President of the Confederate States of America.
Ulysses S. Grant: The leading Union general during the Civil War. His victories at Vicksburg and his relentless pursuit of Lee's army in Virginia were crucial to the Union victory. He was later elected as the 18th U.S. President.
Robert E. Lee: The most famous general of the Confederate Army. Despite being a brilliant tactician who won many battles against larger Union armies, he was ultimately forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House.
Andrew Johnson: Lincoln's Vice President who became the 17th U.S. President after Lincoln's assassination. His lenient Reconstruction policies clashed with the Radical Republicans in Congress, leading to his impeachment in 1868.
Thaddeus Stevens: A leader of the Radical Republicans in the House of Representatives during Reconstruction. He advocated for stricter policies against the South and for the civil and political rights of African Americans.
Charles Sumner: A leader of the Radical Republicans in the Senate. A fervent abolitionist, he was known for his powerful speeches against slavery and for his role in pushing for civil rights legislation during Reconstruction.
Susan B. Anthony & Elizabeth Cady Stanton: Leading figures in the women's suffrage movement. They were disappointed when the 14th and 15th Amendments did not grant women the right to vote, leading to a split in the women's rights movement.
Frederick Douglass: A prominent abolitionist, writer, and orator who had escaped slavery. He continued to be a powerful voice for abolition and, after the war, for the rights of freedmen.

Key Concepts and Movements

Popular Sovereignty: The principle that the authority of a state and its government are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives. In the pre-Civil War context, it specifically referred to the idea that settlers in a territory could decide for themselves whether to allow slavery.
Free-Soil Movement: A political movement whose main goal was to prevent the expansion of slavery into the new Western territories. Its slogan was "free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men." It was a key component of the new Republican Party.
Abolitionist Movement (growth of): The movement to end slavery. In the 1850s, it grew more radical and influential, fueled by events like the Fugitive Slave Act and publications like Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Sectionalism: Increasing loyalty to one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole. The growing divide between the industrial North and the agrarian, slave-holding South was the primary cause of the Civil War.
States' Rights: The belief that states should have significant power and autonomy, separate from the federal government. In the pre-Civil War era, this was primarily used as a defense for the institution of slavery, with Southern states arguing the federal government had no right to interfere.
Secession: The formal withdrawal of a state from a federation or body, especially a political state from a nation. The secession of 11 Southern states from the Union in 1860-61 led to the Civil War.
Total War: A military strategy that involves targeting not only the enemy's army but also its civilian population and economic resources. Sherman's March to the Sea is a key example.
Conscription (draft): Compulsory enlistment for state service, typically into the armed forces. Both the Union and the Confederacy implemented drafts during the Civil War, which were unpopular and led to riots (e.g., New York City Draft Riots of 1863).
Emancipation: The act of freeing someone from slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation was a key step in this process.
Presidential Reconstruction: The lenient approach to Reconstruction led by Presidents Lincoln and, especially, Andrew Johnson. It aimed for a quick restoration of the Southern states to the Union with minimal federal intervention.
Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction: The stricter approach to Reconstruction led by Radical Republicans in Congress. They sought to punish the South, protect the rights of freedmen, and transform Southern society. This led to military occupation of the South and the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments.
Sharecropping: An agricultural system that emerged in the South after the Civil War. Landless farmers (often former slaves) would work land owned by someone else in return for a share of the crops. It often led to a cycle of debt and poverty, resembling a form of neo-slavery.
Black Codes: Laws passed by Southern states immediately after the Civil War to restrict the freedom of African Americans and ensure their availability as a cheap labor force. These codes were a major factor in the push for Radical Reconstruction.
Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws enacted in the Southern and border states of the United States and enforced between 1877 and the mid-1960s. They mandated racial segregation in all public facilities, creating a "separate but equal" status for African Americans that was in practice vastly inferior.
White Supremacy: The racist belief that white people are superior to people of other races and should therefore dominate society. This was the ideological foundation for slavery, secession, and the Jim Crow system.
Homestead Act (1862): A federal law that gave applicants 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River. It encouraged westward expansion and settlement.
Morrill Land-Grant Act (1862): A federal law that gave land grants to states to create colleges specializing in "agriculture and the mechanic arts." It led to the establishment of numerous state universities.
Transcontinental Railroad (construction begins): The construction of a railroad linking the eastern and western United States, which began during the Civil War and was completed in 1869. It was a massive feat of engineering that spurred westward expansion and economic growth.
Manifest Destiny (continued from Unit 4)
- The 19th-century belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent.
- In this period, it directly fueled the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The victory and subsequent land acquisition (the Mexican Cession) brought the issue of slavery's expansion to the forefront of national politics, as every new territory forced the question: would it be free or slave?
Wilmot Proviso (1846)
- A legislative proposal by Congressman David Wilmot that aimed to ban slavery in all territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War.
- The proviso passed in the House of Representatives multiple times but was consistently defeated in the Southern-dominated Senate.
- Though it never became law, it was critically important because it exposed the severe sectional divide and was a key rallying cry for the Free-Soil movement and later the Republican Party.
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
- The most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850.
- This law required all citizens, including those in free states, to assist in the capture and return of escaped slaves. It denied alleged fugitives the right to a jury trial and created federal commissioners who were paid more for returning a person to slavery than for freeing them.
- The act outraged Northerners, brought the reality of slavery to their doorstep, and led to widespread resistance, radicalizing many into the abolitionist cause.
Personal Liberty Laws
- Laws passed by several Northern state governments in response to the Fugitive Slave Act.
- These laws were designed to protect escaped slaves and free Black people by guaranteeing them rights like a jury trial and making it more difficult for slave catchers to operate. They represented a form of state-level resistance to federal law.
Underground Railroad
- A vast and secret network of safe houses, routes, and abolitionist sympathizers who helped enslaved African Americans escape to freedom in the North and Canada.
- It was not a literal railroad but a series of clandestine paths and transportation methods. Figures like Harriet Tubman were heroic "conductors" on this network. It was a powerful symbol of black resistance and white allyship.
Republican Party (formation)
- Founded in the Northern states in 1854 by anti-slavery activists, modernizers, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers.
- The party's creation was a direct reaction to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Its core principle was the opposition to the extension of slavery into the Western territories. Abraham Lincoln was its first president.
Anaconda Plan
- The Union's grand strategy at the beginning of the Civil War, developed by General Winfield Scott.
- It had three main parts: 1) A naval blockade of the Southern coastline to cut off trade. 2) Taking control of the Mississippi River to split the Confederacy in two. 3) Capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.
- While criticized at first for being too slow, the plan's core tenets ultimately proved crucial to the Union victory.
Border States
- The slave states that did not secede from the Union: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. (West Virginia would later break from Virginia to join the Union as well).
- These states were strategically and politically crucial. President Lincoln made it a primary goal to keep them in the Union, even limiting his early war aims (such as delaying emancipation) to avoid alienating them.
Confiscation Acts (1861 & 1862)
- Laws passed by the U.S. Congress during the Civil War that allowed the Union to seize enemy property.
- The second act in 1862 was more radical: it declared that enslaved people who were owned by Confederate officials or military officers would be "forever free" once they came into Union hands. These acts were a legislative step toward full emancipation.
Copperheads
- A vocal faction of Democrats in the Northern United States during the Civil War who opposed the war effort and advocated for an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates.
- They were a significant political threat to Lincoln, accusing him of being a tyrant and undermining the Union war effort from within.
Habeas Corpus (suspension of)
- Habeas corpus is a legal right that protects individuals from being imprisoned without being formally charged with a crime.
- During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended this right in certain areas, allowing the Union to arrest and detain thousands of Confederate sympathizers, spies, and dissenters without a trial. This was a controversial use of presidential power, justified by Lincoln as necessary for national security.
Gettysburg Address (1863)
- A brief, powerful speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Battle of Gettysburg.
- In the address, Lincoln framed the war as a struggle not just to preserve the Union, but to uphold the principle of human equality and create a "new birth of freedom" for the nation. It is one of the most famous speeches in American history.
Freedmen's Bureau (1865-1872)
- A federal agency established by Congress to help millions of former slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the Civil War.
- It provided food, housing, medical aid, established schools, and offered legal assistance. Its greatest success was in education, as it founded thousands of schools. The bureau faced significant opposition from white Southerners and was eventually underfunded and disbanded.
Impeachment (of Johnson)
- In 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson, charging him with "high crimes and misdemeanors."
- The primary reason was his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, a law passed by Congress to limit his power. This was the culmination of a bitter power struggle between Johnson and the Radical Republicans over Reconstruction policy. He was acquitted in the Senate by a single vote.
Scalawags
- A derogatory term used by Southern Democrats to describe white Southerners who supported the Republican party and Reconstruction.
- They were seen as traitors to the South and their race for cooperating with federal authorities, freedmen, and Northerners.
Carpetbaggers
- A derogatory term for Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War, during the Reconstruction era.
- They were accused by white Southerners of coming to the South to exploit its economic and political turmoil for their own personal financial gain. While some did, many were genuinely motivated to help educate former slaves or rebuild the region.
Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
- A white supremacist secret society and terrorist group founded in Tennessee in 1866.
- It used violence, intimidation, and murder to terrorize African Americans, prevent them from exercising their political rights (especially voting), and restore white Democratic rule in the South.
Redeemers
- A political coalition in the South during the Reconstruction era who sought to "redeem" the South by ousting the Republican-led governments of scalawags, carpetbaggers, and freedmen.
- They were conservative, pro-business Democrats who restored white supremacy and dismantled the reforms of Reconstruction after federal troops were withdrawn in 1877.
Exodusters
- A name given to the thousands of African Americans who migrated from states along the Mississippi River to Kansas in the late 1870s.
- This was the first large-scale migration of Black people following the Civil War, as they fled the oppression and violence of the post-Reconstruction South in search of economic opportunity and freedom.
Civil Rights Act of 1875
- A law that aimed to guarantee African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation, and to prohibit their exclusion from jury service.
- It was the last major piece of Reconstruction-era civil rights legislation. However, it was poorly enforced and was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883, which ruled that the 14th Amendment did not give Congress the power to regulate private affairs.

The Civil War: A Comprehensive Study Guide (1861-1865)

Part 1: The War Begins (1861)

Lincoln's Inauguration & Stance:

In his March 1861 inaugural address, Lincoln assured the South he would not interfere with slavery where it already existed.
He clearly stated that secession was unacceptable and that the Union was "unbroken."

Fort Sumter: The Trigger of War

Location: A Union-held fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
The Crisis: The fort was running low on supplies. Lincoln informed South Carolina he would send provisions (food), not reinforcements.
Attack: On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, forcing its surrender. This is considered the start of the Civil War.

Lincoln's Executive Actions:

In response to the attack, Lincoln acted without waiting for Congress:
- Called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the "insurrection."
- Authorized spending for the war.
- Suspended the writ of habeas corpus in some areas.

Secession of the Upper South:

Lincoln's call for troops caused four more states to secede: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas.
The Confederate capital was moved from Montgomery, AL, to Richmond, Virginia.

The Critical Border States:

Four slaveholding states remained in the Union: Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky.
Their strategic locations and resources were vital. Lincoln's primary political and military goal was to keep them in the Union.
Maryland: Martial law was declared to keep the state from seceding, as its loss would have surrounded Washington D. C.
Kentucky: Declared neutrality, which Lincoln respected until a Confederate invasion pushed the state to side with the Union.

Part 2: Comparing the Union and the Confederacy

Confederate Advantages:

Military: Fought a defensive war on familiar land, which required the Union to conquer a large area. Had more experienced military leaders at the start.
Political: The population was more unified in its motivation—the struggle for independence.

Union Advantages:

Population: 22 million vs. the Confederacy's 5.5 million free whites. This advantage grew with immigrant enlistment and later, the recruitment of African American soldiers.
Economic: Controlled most of the nation's economy, including 85% of factories, 70% of railroads, and the majority of banking and finance.
Political: Had a strong, established central government.

The Confederate Government:

Modeled after the U.S. Constitution but with key differences: a single six-year presidential term, an item veto for the president, and a prohibition on protective tariffs.
Its emphasis on states' rights created a fatal weakness, as it struggled to centralize authority and resources for the war effort. President Jefferson Davis was often at odds with governors who resisted federal control.

Part 3: The War: Key Battles & Turning Points (1861-1863)

Union Strategy: The Anaconda Plan

Devised by General Winfield Scott, this three-part plan aimed to:
- Blockade Southern ports to cut off supplies (the Anaconda Plan).
- Seize control of the Mississippi River to divide the Confederacy.
- Raise an army of 500,000 to capture Richmond.

Early Battles (1861-1862):

First Battle of Bull Run (July 1861): The first major battle. A Union defeat that ended the illusion of a short, easy war.
Peninsula Campaign (March 1862): Union General George McClellan's slow and cautious advance toward Richmond failed.
Second Battle of Bull Run (Aug 1862): A decisive victory for Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who then pushed into Union territory.

The Ironclads:

Monitor vs. Merrimac (March 1862): A naval battle between two ironclad ships. While a draw, it marked a turning point in naval warfare, rendering wooden warships obsolete.

The War in the West:

General Ulysses S. Grant emerged as a key Union commander.
He captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in early 1862, gaining control of key rivers in Tennessee.
Battle of Shiloh (April 1862): A costly Union victory with 23,000 casualties, demonstrating the brutal nature of the war.

Antietam: A Crucial Turning Point (September 1862):

Lee invaded Maryland hoping to gain a victory on Union soil to attract foreign support.
McClellan learned of Lee's plans from a captured copy of his orders.
Result: The battle was the single bloodiest day of the war (22,000 casualties). Lee's army retreated.
Significance:
- It was enough of a "victory" for Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
- It prevented the Confederacy from gaining official recognition and support from Great Britain.

The Emancipation Proclamation (Issued Sept. 1862, effective Jan. 1, 1863):

Lincoln declared that all enslaved persons in states still in rebellion (Confederate states only) were "thenceforward, and forever free."
It did NOT free slaves in the loyal Border States.
Impact:
- Transformed the purpose of the war from merely preserving the Union to also being a fight against slavery.
- Authorized the recruitment of freedmen into the Union Army.

The Turning Point of 1863:

Vicksburg (July 4, 1863): General Grant captured the heavily fortified city of Vicksburg, Mississippi, after a seven-week siege. This gave the Union full control of the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy in two.
Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863): Lee's second invasion of the North was stopped in Pennsylvania. It was the bloodiest battle of the war (over 50,000 casualties) and a major Union victory. Lee's army was crippled and never again went on the offensive.

Part 4: The Final Phase of the War (1864-1865)

Grant's Strategy of Total War:

In early 1864, Lincoln appointed Ulysses S. Grant as commander of all Union armies.
Grant implemented a strategy of war of attrition, aiming to wear down Lee's army while his general, William Tecumseh Sherman, attacked the economic heartland of the South.

Sherman's March to the Sea:

General William Tecumseh Sherman led a campaign of deliberate destruction from Chattanooga, through Atlanta, to Savannah, Georgia.
His "total war" tactics aimed to destroy the South's will and ability to fight. He burned crops, destroyed railroads, and captured the key city of Atlanta in September 1864, which helped Lincoln's reelection campaign.

The Election of 1864:

The Democrats nominated General George McClellan on a platform calling for peace.
Lincoln and the Republicans (as the "Unionist" party) ran on a platform of pursuing the war to victory.
Sherman's capture of Atlanta boosted Northern morale, and Lincoln won a decisive victory.

The End of the War:

Fall of Richmond (April 3, 1865): Grant's army finally broke through Confederate defenses and captured the capital.
Surrender at Appomattox Court House (April 9, 1865): General Lee surrendered his army to General Grant in Virginia. Grant offered generous terms of surrender, allowing Lee's men to return home with their horses.

Assassination of Lincoln (April 14, 1865):

Just days after the surrender, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, at Ford's Theatre.
His death shocked the nation and placed the enormous task of Reconstruction in the hands of Andrew Johnson.

Part 5: The Home Front & Societal Impact

Foreign Affairs & Diplomacy:

Trent Affair (1861): The Union nearly went to war with Britain after stopping a British ship to seize two Confederate diplomats. Lincoln released them to avoid conflict.
Confederate Raiders: Commerce-raiders built in Britain (like the Alabama) did serious damage to U.S. merchant shipping.
"King Cotton" Diplomacy Fails: The Confederacy's hope that Britain's need for cotton would force them to intervene failed. Britain found other sources (Egypt, India), and the Emancipation Proclamation made it politically impossible for them to support a slave-owning power.

Financing the War:

Union: Borrowed money through war bonds, raised tariffs (Morrill Tariff), and issued over $430 million in paper currency known as "Greenbacks."
Confederacy: Also issued paper money, but with no backing, it led to runaway inflation (over 9,000%).

The Draft (Conscription):

Both sides resorted to a draft to supply soldiers.
The Union draft allowed a draftee to hire a substitute or pay a $300 fee to avoid service, leading to the slogan, "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight."
New York City Draft Riots (1863): Opposition to the draft led to a massive riot where a mostly Irish mob attacked wealthy whites and African Americans.

Political Change:

The war permanently strengthened the power of the federal government over the states.
The Gettysburg Address and the abolition of slavery gave new meaning to the concept of American democracy and "a new birth of freedom."

Economic & Social Change:

Republican Program: With the South gone, Republicans passed a pro-business agenda:
- Homestead Act (1862): Offered 160 acres of public land to anyone who would farm it for five years.
- Morrill Land Grant Act (1862): Gave states land grants to create colleges.
- Pacific Railway Act (1862): Authorized the building of a transcontinental railroad.
Women's Roles: Women stepped into new roles, taking over farms, working in factories, and serving as military nurses. This gave momentum to the future women's suffrage movement.
Emancipation: The most profound social and economic change. The 13th Amendment (ratified Dec. 1865) formally abolished slavery, freeing nearly 4 million people.

Reconstruction: A Comprehensive Study Guide (1863-1877)

Part 1: Presidential Reconstruction (1863-1866)

Lincoln's Wartime Plans:

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1863): Known as the "10 Percent Plan." It offered full presidential pardons to Confederates who took an oath of allegiance to the Union and accepted the emancipation of slaves. A state government could be reestablished as soon as 10% of the voters in that state took the loyalty oath.
Wade-Davis Bill (1864): Passed by a Republican-controlled Congress that felt Lincoln's plan was too lenient. It required 50% of a state's voters to take a loyalty oath and permitted only non-Confederates to vote for a new state constitution. Lincoln refused to sign, pocket-vetoing the bill.
Freedmen's Bureau (March 1865): An important new agency created to act as an early welfare agency, providing food, shelter, and medical aid for those made destitute by the war—both freed slaves and homeless whites. Its greatest success was in education, establishing nearly 3,000 schools for freed African Americans.

Johnson's Presidency & Southern Defiance:

Andrew Johnson's Plan (May 1865): Following Lincoln's death, President Johnson, a Southern Democrat, issued his own Reconstruction plan. It was similar to Lincoln's but also provided for the disfranchisement (loss of the right to vote) of all former Confederate leaders and wealthy Confederates. However, Johnson retained the power to grant individual pardons and used this power frequently.
Southern Governments of 1865: Following Johnson's plan, Southern states elected new governments. Many of these positions were filled by former Confederate leaders, including Alexander Stephens, the former Confederate vice president, who was elected as a U.S. senator from Georgia.
Black Codes: These restrictive laws were adopted by Southern state legislatures to control the labor and behavior of newly freed African Americans. They prohibited blacks from renting land or borrowing money to buy land, placed them into a form of semi-bondage as "apprentices," and prohibited them from testifying against whites in court.

Part 2: Congressional "Radical" Reconstruction (1866-1870)

The Break Between President and Congress:

Johnson's Vetoes: Johnson alienated moderate Republicans by vetoing a bill to increase the services of the Freedmen's Bureau and a Civil Rights bill that nullified the Black Codes.
Radical Republicans: Led by Senator Charles Sumner and Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, the Radicals sought to create a transformed South where freedmen would be granted full civil rights. Congress overrode Johnson's vetoes, marking the beginning of Congressional Reconstruction.

Key Legislation and Amendments:

Civil Rights Act of 1866: Pronounced all African Americans to be U.S. citizens and attempted to provide a legal shield against the Black Codes.
The 14th Amendment (Ratified 1868): A landmark amendment that:
- Declared that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. were citizens.
- Obligated the states to respect the rights of U.S. citizens and provide them with "equal protection of the laws" and "due process of law."
- Disqualified former Confederate political leaders from holding state or federal offices.
Reconstruction Acts of 1867: Passed over Johnson's vetoes, these acts divided the former Confederate states into five military districts under the control of the Union army. To rejoin the Union, states had to ratify the 14th Amendment and guarantee the franchise (right to vote) for all adult males, regardless of race.
The 15th Amendment (Ratified 1870): Prohibited any state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (1868):

Tenure of Office Act: Congress passed this act, prohibiting the president from removing a federal official without Senate approval. Johnson challenged it by firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton.
The Impeachment: The House impeached Johnson for "high crimes and misdemeanors." In the Senate trial, he was acquitted by a single vote.

Part 3: Republican Rule in the South (1867-1877)

Composition of Reconstruction Governments:

In every Radical, or Republican, state government in the South, whites were in the majority in the legislature, except in South Carolina.
"Scalawags": The term Democrats used for Southern Republicans. These were often former Whigs interested in economic development.
"Carpetbaggers": The term for Northern newcomers who moved South. Some were investors and teachers; others were political opportunists.
African American Legislators: Hundreds of African Americans held office, from local positions to seats in Congress. Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce were elected as U.S. Senators from Mississippi.

Evaluating the Republican Record:

Accomplishments: Liberalized state constitutions, provided for universal male suffrage, property rights for women, and debt relief. They also established state-supported public schools, hospitals, and other institutions.
Failures & Corruption: Graft and wasteful spending were common, as politicians took kickbacks and bribes. This was a nationwide problem during the "Gilded Age," not unique to Southern Republican governments.

The Grant Administration:

Election of 1868: War hero Ulysses S. Grant was elected president, with votes from 500,000 African Americans securing his victory.
Scandals: Grant's presidency was plagued by corruption scandals, such as Crédit Mobilier and the Whiskey Ring, which distracted from the goals of Reconstruction.

Part 4: The Undoing of Reconstruction (1870-1877)

White Supremacy & Southern Resistance:

The Ku Klux Klan: The most prominent of the secret white supremacist organizations. The KKK used intimidation, terror, and violence to prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights and voting.
The Force Acts (1870, 1871): Also known as the Ku Klux Klan Acts. Passed by Congress to give federal authorities the power to stop KKK violence and protect the civil rights of citizens in the South.

Waning Northern Support:

The Panic of 1873: A major economic disaster that plunged the nation into a depression. It drew the North's attention away from the social issues of the South and toward economic concerns.
The Amnesty Act of 1872: Removed the last of the restrictions on ex-Confederates, allowing Southern conservatives (Democrats) to vote for and retake control of state governments.

The End of Reconstruction:

The Election of 1876: A disputed election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden won the popular vote, but the electoral votes in three Southern states were contested.
The Compromise of 1877: An informal deal to resolve the election. The Democrats agreed to allow Hayes to become president. In return, Hayes promised to:
1. Immediately end federal military support for the Republicans in the South.
2. Support the building of a Southern transcontinental railroad.
With the withdrawal of the last federal troops, the remaining Republican governments in the South collapsed.

Part 5: The Aftermath & Historical Legacy

The "New South":

Sharecropping: A new agricultural system that replaced slavery. Landowners provided seed and farm supplies in return for a share (usually half) of the harvest. It evolved into a new form of servitude, as most sharecroppers remained either dependent on the landowners or in debt to local merchants.
White Supremacy: With the end of Reconstruction, the new Democratic leadership in the South (known as "Redeemers") quickly reestablished white supremacy through discriminatory laws, segregation (Jim Crow), and the disenfranchisement of black voters.

Historical Perspectives:

Reconstruction is viewed as a failure for not protecting the freedmen from exploitation and oppression after 1877.
However, the "Second Reconstruction" of the Civil Rights Movement (1950s-1960s) would be built upon the constitutional foundation of the 14th and 15th Amendments, which were the great achievements of the era.

Copilot said: # The Union in Peril: A**

The Union in Peril: A Comprehensive Study Guide (1848-1861)

Part 1: Conflict Over Status of Territories (1848-1850)

Context & Causes:

The issue of slavery in territories gained from the Mexican War became the focus of sectional differences in the late 1840s.
The Wilmot Proviso, which would have excluded slavery from the new territories, upset the Compromise of 1820 and the delicate balance of 15 free and 15 slave states.
On the issue of how to deal with these new western territories, there were essentially three conflicting positions:

Free-Soil Movement:

Northern Democrats and Whigs supported the Wilmot Proviso and the position that all African Americans—slave and free—should be excluded from the Western session (territory ceded to the U.S. by Mexico in 1848).
While abolitionists advocated eliminating slavery everywhere, many Northerners who opposed slavery's westward expansion did not oppose slavery in the South.
They sought to keep the West a land of opportunity for whites only so that the white majority would not have to compete with the labor of slaves or free blacks.
In 1848, Northerners who opposed allowing slavery in the territories organized the Free-Soil party, which adopted the slogan "free soil, free labor, and free men."
In addition to its chief objective—preventing the extension of slavery—the new party also advocated free homesteads (public land grants to small farmers) and internal improvements.

Southern Position:

Most whites viewed any attempts to restrict the expansion of slavery as a violation of their constitutional right to take and use their property as they wished.
They saw the Free-Soilers—and especially the abolitionists—as intent on the ultimate destruction of slavery.
More moderate Southerners favored extending the Missouri Compromise line of 36°30' westward to the Pacific Ocean and permitting territories north of that line to be nonslave.

Popular Sovereignty:

Lewis Cass, a Democratic senator from Michigan, proposed a compromise solution that soon won considerable support from both moderate Northerners and moderate Southerners.
Instead of Congress determining whether to allow slavery in a new western territory or state, Cass suggested that the matter be determined by a vote of the people who settled the territory.
Cass's approach to the problem was known as squatter sovereignty, or popular sovereignty.

Part 2: The Compromise of 1850

The Election of 1848:

In 1848, the Democrats nominated Senator Cass and adopted a platform pledged to popular sovereignty.
The Whigs nominated Mexican War hero General Zachary Taylor, who had never been involved in politics and took no position on slavery in the territories.
A third party, the Free-Soil party, nominated former president Martin Van Buren. It consisted of "conscience" Whigs (who opposed slavery) and antislavery Democrats; the latter group were ridiculed as "barnburners" because their defection threatened to destroy the Democratic party.
Taylor narrowly defeated Cass, in part because of the strong showing of the Free-Soil party in such key Northern states as New York and Pennsylvania.

The Gold Rush & California:

The gold rush of 1849 and the influx of about 100,000 settlers into California created the need for law and order in the West.
In 1849, California drafted a constitution for their new state—a constitution that banned slavery.
Even though President Taylor was a Southern slaveholder himself, he supported the immediate admission of both California and New Mexico as free states. (At this time, however, the Mexican population of the New Mexico territory had little interest in applying for statehood.)
Taylor's plan sparked talk of secession among the "fire-eaters" (radicals) in the South. Some Southern extremists even met in Nashville in 1850 to discuss secession.

Henry Clay's Compromise Plan:

By this time, however, the astute Henry Clay had proposed yet another compromise for solving the political crisis:
- Admit California to the Union as a free state
- Divide the remainder of the Mexican Cession into two territories—Utah and New Mexico—and allow the settlers in these territories to decide the slavery issue by majority vote, or popular sovereignty
- Give the land in dispute between Texas and the New Mexico territory to the new territories in return for the federal government assuming Texas's public debt of $10 million
- Ban the slave trade in the District of Columbia but permit whites to hold slaves as before
- Adopt a new Fugitive Slave Law and enforce it rigorously

The Great Debate:

In the ensuing Senate debate over the compromise proposal, the three congressional giants of the age—Henry Clay of Kentucky, Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina—delivered the last great speeches of their lives. (Webster and Calhoun, who were born in 1782, died in 1850; Clay died two years later.)
Webster argued for compromise in order to save the Union, and in so doing alienated the Massachusetts abolitionists who formed the base of his support.
Calhoun argued against compromise and insisted that the South be given equal rights in the acquired territory.

Younger Opposition & Passage:

Northern opposition to compromise came from younger antislavery lawmakers, such as Senator William H. Seward of New York, who argued that a higher law than the Constitution existed. Opponents managed to prevail until the sudden death in 1850 of President Taylor, who had also opposed Clay's plan.
Succeeding him was a strong supporter of compromise, Vice President Millard Fillmore.
Stephen A. Douglas, a politically astute young senator from Illinois, engineered different coalitions to pass each part of the compromise separately.
President Fillmore readily signed the bills into law.
Passage: The passage of the Compromise of 1850 bought time for the Union. Because California was admitted as a free state, the compromise added to the North's political power, and the political debate deepened the commitment of many Northerners to saving the Union and, on the other hand, parts of the compromise became sources of controversy, especially the new Fugitive Slave Law and the provision for popular sovereignty.

Part 3: Agitation Over Slavery (1850-1854)

Fugitive Slave Law:

The passage of a strict Fugitive Slave Law persuaded many Southerners to accept the loss of California to the abolitionists and Free-Soilers. Yet the enforcement of the new law in the North was bitterly and sometimes forcibly resisted by antislavery Northerners.
In effect, therefore, the enforcement of a new law drove a wedge between the North and the South.

Enforcement and Opposition:

The law's chief purpose was to track down runaway (fugitive) slaves who had escaped to a Northern state, capture them, and return them to their Southern owners.
The law placed fugitive slave cases under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government and authorized special U.S. commissioners to issue warrants to arrest fugitives.
Captured persons who claimed to be a free African American and not a runaway were denied the right of trial by jury.
Citizens who attempted to hide a runaway or obstruct enforcement of the law were subject to heavy penalties.

Underground Railroad:

The Underground Railroad, the fabled network of "conductors" and "stations," was a loose network of Northern free blacks and courageous ex-slaves, with the help of some white abolitionists, who helped escaped slaves reach freedom in the North or in Canada.
The most famous conductor was a woman, an escaped slave, Harriet Tubman, who made at least 19 trips into the South to help some 300 slaves escape.
Free blacks in the North and abolitionists also organized vigilance committees to protect fugitive slaves from the slave catchers.
Once the Civil War broke out, African American leaders such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth continued to work for the emancipation of slaves and to support black soldiers in the Union cause.

Books on Slavery—Pro and Con:

Popular books as well as unpopular laws stirred the emotions of the people of all regions.

Uncle Tom's Cabin:

The most influential book of its day was a novel about the conflict between an enslaved man named Tom and the brutal white slave owner Simon Legree.
The publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 by a Northern white woman, Harriet Beecher Stowe, moved a generation of Northerners as well as many Europeans to regard all slave owners as monstrously cruel and inhuman.
Southerners condemned the "untruths" in the novel and looked upon it as one more proof of the North's incurable prejudice against the Southern way of life.
Later, when President Lincoln met Stowe, he is reported to have said, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war."

Impending Crisis of the South:

Although it did not appear until 1857, Hinton R. Helper's book of nonfiction, Impending Crisis of the South, attacked slavery from another angle.
The author, a native of North Carolina, used statistics to demonstrate to fellow Southerners that slavery weakened the South's economy.
Southern states acted quickly to ban the book, and it was widely distributed in the North by antislavery and Free-Soil leaders.

Effect of Law and Literature:

The Fugitive Slave Law, combined with the antislavery and proslavery literature, polarized the nation even more.
Northerners who had earlier scorned abolition became more concerned about slavery as a moral issue.
At the same time, a growing number of Southerners became convinced that the North's goal was to destroy the institution of slavery and the way of life based upon it.

Part 4: National Parties in Crisis (1852-1856)

The Election of 1852:

The potency of the slavery controversy increased political instability, as shown in the weakening of the two major parties—the Democrats and the Whigs—and in a disastrous application of popular sovereignty in the territory of Kansas.
Signs of trouble for the Whig party were apparent in the 1852 election for president.
The Whigs nominated another military hero of the Mexican War, General Winfield Scott.
Attempting to ignore the slavery issue, the Whig campaign concentrated on the party's innocuous plans for improving roads and harbors.
But Scott quickly discovered that sectional issues could not be kept in check. The antislavery and Southern factions of the party fell to quarreling, and the party was on the verge of splitting apart.
The Democrats nominated a safe compromise candidate, Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire.
Though a Northerner, Pierce was acceptable to Southern Democrats because he supported the Fugitive Slave Law.
In the electoral college vote, Pierce and the Democrats won all but four states in a sweep that suggested the days of the Whig party were numbered.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854):

With the Democrats firmly in control of national policy both in the White House and in Congress, a new law was passed that was to have disastrous consequences.
Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois devised a plan for building a railroad and promoting western settlement (while at the same time increasing the value of his own real estate holdings in Chicago).
Douglas needed Southern approval for his plan to build a transcontinental railroad through the central United States, with a major terminus in Chicago. (Southern leaders preferred a more southerly route for the railroad.)
To obtain Southern approval for the railroad route, Douglas introduced a bill to divide the Nebraska Territory into two parts, the Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory, and allow settlers in each territory to decide whether to allow slavery or not.
Since these territories were located north of the 36°30' line, Douglas's bill would, in effect, repeal the provision in the Missouri Compromise of 1820 banning slavery north of that line.
Northern Democrats condemned the bill as a surrender to the "slave power."
After three months of bitter debate, both houses of Congress passed Douglas's bill as the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and President Pierce signed it into law.

Part 5: Extremists and Violence (1854-1860)

"Bleeding Kansas":

The Kansas-Nebraska Act, in effect, repealed the Missouri Compromise that had kept a lid on regional tensions for more than three decades.
After 1854, the conflicts between antislavery and proslavery forces exploded, both in Kansas and on the floor of the United States Senate.
Stephen Douglas, the sponsor of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, expected the slavery issue in the territory to be settled peacefully by the antislavery farmers from the Midwest who migrated to Kansas.
These settlers did in fact constitute a majority of the population. But slaveholders from the neighboring state of Missouri also set up homesteads in Kansas chiefly as a means of winning control of the territory for the South.
Northern abolitionists and Free-Soilers responded by organizing the New England Emigrant Aid Company (1855), which paid for the transportation of antislavery settlers to Kansas. Fighting soon broke out between the proslavery and the antislavery groups, and the territory became known as "bleeding Kansas."

Proslavery Violence:

Proslavery Missourians, mockingly called "border ruffians" by their enemies, crossed the border to create a proslavery legislature in Lecompton, Kansas.
Antislavery settlers refused to recognize this government and created their own legislature in Topeka.
In 1856, proslavery forces attacked and burned the antislavery free-soil town of Lawrence, killing two and destroying homes and businesses.

John Brown's Raid at Pottawatomie Creek:

Two days later, John Brown, a stern abolitionist who was born in Connecticut and living in New York, retaliated.
He and his sons attacked a proslavery farm settlement at Pottawatomie Creek, killing five settlers.

Caning of Senator Sumner:

The violence in Kansas spilled over into the halls of the U.S. Congress.
In 1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner verbally attacked the Democratic administration in a vitriolic speech, "The Crime Against Kansas."
His intemperate remarks included a personal charge against South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler.
Butler's nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks, defended his absent uncle's honor by walking into the Senate chamber and beating Sumner over the head with a cane. (Brooks explained that dueling was too good for Sumner, but a cane was fit for a dog.)
Sumner never fully recovered from the attack.
Brooks' action outraged the North, and the House voted to censure him. Southerners, however, applauded Brooks' deed and sent him numerous canes to replace the one he broke beating Sumner.
The Sumner-Brooks incident was another sign of growing passions on both sides.

New Parties:

The increasing tensions over slavery divided Northern and Southern Democrats, and it completely broke apart the Whig party.
With hindsight, it is clear that the breakup of truly national political parties in the mid-1850s paralleled the breakup of the Union.
The new parties came into being at this time—one temporary, the other permanent. Both played a role in bringing about the demise of a major national party, the Whigs.

Know-Nothing Party:

In addition to sectional divisions between North and South, there was also in the mid-1850s growing ethnic tension in the North between native-born Protestant Americans and immigrant Germans and Irish Catholics.
Nativist hostility to these newcomers led to the formation of the American party—or the Know-Nothing party, as it was commonly known (because party members commonly responded "I know nothing" to political questions).
The Know-Nothings drew support away from the Whigs at a time when that party was reeling from its defeat in the 1852 election.
Their one core issue was opposition to Catholics and immigrants who, in the 1854s, were entering Northern cities in large numbers.
Although the Know-Nothings won a few local and state elections in the mid-1850s and helped to weaken the Whigs, they quickly lost influence, as sectional issues again became paramount.

Birth of the Republican Party:

The Republican party was founded in Wisconsin in 1854 as a direct reaction to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Composed of a coalition of Free-Soilers and antislavery Whigs and Democrats, its overriding purpose was to oppose the spread of slavery in the territories—not to end slavery itself.
Its first platform of 1854 called for the repeal of both the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Law.
As violence increased in Kansas, more and more people, including some abolitionists, joined the Republican party, and it was soon the second largest party in the country.
But because it remained in these years strictly a Northern or sectional party, its success alienated and threatened the South.

The Election of 1856:

The Republican party's first test of strength came in the presidential election of 1856.
Their nominee for president was a senator from California, the young explorer and "pathfinder," John C. Frémont.
The Republican platform called for no expansion of slavery, free homesteads, and a probusiness protective tariff.
The Know-Nothings also competed strongly in this election, with their candidate, former President Millard Fillmore, winning 20 percent of the popular vote.
As the one major national party, the Democrats expected to win. They nominated James Buchanan of Pennsylvania, rejecting both President Pierce and Stephen Douglas because they were too closely identified with the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act.
As expected, the Democratic ticket won a majority of both the popular and electoral vote.
But the Republicans made a remarkably strong showing for a sectional party. In the electoral college, Frémont carried 11 of the 16 free states.
People could predict that the antislavery Republicans might soon win the White House without a single vote from the South.
The election of 1856 foreshadowed the emergence of a powerful political party that would win all but four presidential elections between 1860 and 1932.

Part 6: Constitutional Issues (1857-1858)

Both the Democrats' position of popular sovereignty and the Republicans' stand against the expansion of slavery received serious challenges during the Buchanan administration (1857–1861). Republicans attacked Buchanan as a weak president.

Lecompton Constitution:

One of Buchanan's first challenges as president in 1857 was to decide whether to accept a draft of a proslavery state constitution for Kansas submitted by Southern legislature at Lecompton.
Buchanan knew that the Lecompton constitution, as it was called, did not have the support of the majority of settlers.
Even so, Buchanan asked Congress to accept the document and admit Kansas as the 17th slave state.
Congress did not do so, because many Democrats, including Stephen Douglas, joined with the Republicans in rejecting the Lecompton document.
The next year, 1858, the proslavery document was overwhelmingly rejected by Kansas settlers, most of whom were antislavery Republicans.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857):

Congressional folly and presidential ineptitude contributed to the sectional crisis of the 1850s.
Then the Supreme Court worsened matters with a controversial proslavery decision in the case of a slave named Dred Scott.
Scott had been held in slavery in Missouri and then taken to the free territory of Wisconsin where he lived for two years before returning to Missouri.
Arguing that his residence on free soil made him a free citizen, Scott sued for his freedom in Missouri in 1846.
The case worked its way through the court system. It finally reached the Supreme Court, which announced its decision in March 1857, only two days after James Buchanan was sworn in as president.

The Dred Scott Decision:

Presiding over the Court was Chief Justice Roger Taney, a Southern Democrat.
A majority of the Court decided against Scott and gave these reasons:
- Dred Scott had no right to sue in a federal court because the Framers of the Constitution did not intend African Americans to be U.S. citizens.
- Congress did not have the power to deprive any person of property without due process of law; if slaves were a form of property, then Congress could not exclude slavery from any federal territory.
- The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because it excluded slavery from Wisconsin and other Northern territories.

Northern Reaction:

The Court's ruling delighted Southern Democrats and infuriated Northern Republicans.
In effect, the Supreme Court declared that all parts of the West—even territories open to slavery.
Republicans denounced the Dred Scott decision as "the greatest crime in the annals of the republic."
Because of the timing of the decision, right after Buchanan's inauguration, many Northerners suspected that the new Democratic president and the Democratic majority of the Supreme Court, including Taney, had secretly planned the Dred Scott decision, hoping that it would settle the slavery question once and for all.
The decision increased Northerners' suspicions of a slave power conspiracy and induced thousands of former Democrats to vote Republican.
Northern Democrats such as Senator Douglas were left with the almost impossible task of supporting popular sovereignty without repudiating the Dred Scott decision.
Douglas's hopes for a sectional compromise and ambitions for the presidency were both in jeopardy.

Part 7: Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

Context & Candidates:

In 1858, the focus of the nation was on Stephen Douglas's campaign for reelection as senator from Illinois.
Challenging him for the Senate seat was a successful trial lawyer and former member of the Illinois legislature, Abraham Lincoln.
The Republican candidate had served only one two-year term in Congress in the 1840s as a Whig.
Nationally, he was almost unknown.
Douglas (the Little Giant), the champion of popular sovereignty and possibly the best hope for holding the nation together if elected president in 1860.

Lincoln's Position on Slavery:

Lincoln was not an abolitionist. Even so, as a moderate who was against the expansion of slavery, he spoke effectively of slavery as a moral issue. ("If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.")
Accepting the Illinois Republicans' nomination, the candidate delivered his celebrated "house-divided" speech that won him fame.
"This government," said Lincoln, "cannot endure permanently half slave and half free."

The Debates:

Lincoln challenged Douglas to reconcile popular sovereignty with the Dred Scott decision. In what was known as the Freeport Doctrine, Douglas responded that slavery could not exist in a community if the local citizens did not pass laws (slave codes) maintaining it.
His views angered Southern Democrats because, from their point of view, Douglas did not go far enough in supporting the implications of the Dred Scott decision.

Douglas Wins the Senate:

Douglas won his campaign for reelection to the U.S. Senate.
In the long run, however, he lost ground in his own party by alienating Southern Democrats.
Lincoln, on the other hand, emerged from the debates as a national figure and a leading contender for the Republican nomination for president in 1860.

Part 8: The Road to Secession (1858-1860)

Outside Kansas, the Republicans did well in the congressional elections of 1858, which alarmed many Southerners. They worried not only about the antislavery planks in the Republicans' program but also about the party's economic program, which favored the interests of Northern industrialists at the expense of the South. Therefore, Southerners feared that a Republican victory in 1860 would spell disaster for their economic interests and also threaten their "constitutional right," as defined by the Supreme Court, to hold slaves as property. If this were not enough cause for alarm, Northern radicals provided money to John Brown, the man who had massacred five farmers in Kansas in 1856.

John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry:

John Brown confirmed the South's worst fears of radical abolitionists when he tried to start a slave uprising in Virginia.
In October 1859, he led a small band of followers, including his four sons and some former slaves, in an attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
His impractical plan was to use guns from the arsenal to arm Virginia's slaves, whom he expected to join in a widespread revolt.
Federal troops under the command of Robert E. Lee captured Brown and his band after a two-day siege.
Brown and six of his followers were tried for treason, convicted, and hanged by the state of Virginia.