Civil War and Reconstruction
The Civil War (1861-1865)
Sectional Tensions
Expansion issues led to questions concerning slavery.
Lincoln's Stance: Pro-Union; believed slavery could remain in the South but should not expand.
Perception of War: Lincoln thought that secession did not automatically lead to war.
Early Campaigns/Battles
Fort Sumter (1861):
Marked the beginning of the war and united the North.
1st Bull Run (1861):
Shattered the North's illusion of a short war.
Peninsula Campaign (1862):
General Robert E. Lee defeated General George McClellan, resulting in a Union withdrawal.
2nd Bull Run (1862):
Lee drove the Union forces back to Washington, D.C.
Antietam (1862):
Known as the bloodiest day in American history.
It was a strategic Union victory, which halted British recognition of the Confederacy.
Fredericksburg (1862):
Resulted in massive losses for the Union forces.
Monitor vs. Merrimac (1862):
Ended the era of wooden navies and preserved the Union blockade.
Grant in the West:
Forts Henry & Donelson: Secured by Ulysses S. Grant.
Battle of Shiloh: Important battle that opened the Mississippi region.
David Farragut captured New Orleans, a crucial Confederate port.
What is Reconstruction?
Overview of Reconstruction Plans:
Lincoln's Plan:
Offered amnesty as a form of loyalty oath; when 10% of citizens took the oath, the state could organize a government.
Johnson's Plan:
Known as "Restoration"; allowed states to be readmitted after ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery.
Congress's Plan:
Established the Freedmen's Bureau to assist four million freed slaves.
Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, declaring Blacks as citizens and restricting state powers to limit their rights.
Statehood required a state constitution allowing Blacks to vote, along with ratifying the 14th Amendment.
Labeling the Plans:
Lincoln: Reconciliatory.
Johnson: Restoration.
Congress: Retribution.
Reconstruction Overview
Successes
Establishment of universities.
The Freedmen's Bureau helped facilitate the transition for former slaves.
Failures
Sharecropping led to exploitation and poverty among Blacks.
Educational systems remained segregated.
While the Civil Rights Act became law, widespread corruption impeded its effectiveness.
14th Amendment: Established citizenship but faced resistance.
Reconstruction Act: Implemented measures for governance but faced challenges.
15th Amendment: Attempted to guaranteed voting rights for Black men but was not fully respected.
White Southerners resisted the social changes, creating Black codes to disenfranchise Blacks.
An over one hundred year delay in achieving significant political representation for Blacks; only regained with the election of the second Black governor after over a century.
Rise of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) as a reactionary force.
Bargain of 1877: Compromise leading to the withdrawal of federal troops.
The impact of the transcontinental railroad on the region.
The Colfax Massacre: an event highlighting racial violence during this period.
Emergence of redeemers: those who sought to restore the pre-war social order.
Jim Crow Laws: Implementation of laws that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against Blacks.
Compromise of 1877
Election of 1876:
Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden.
Tilden won the popular vote but lost to Hayes due to electoral maneuvering.
Bargain of 1877:
To secure his presidency, Hayes agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.
This compromise enabled the establishment of a Southern transcontinental railroad.
Though the Union won the Civil War, the aftermath revealed deep societal fractures and ongoing tensions.