Toward the Civil War and Reconstruction (1844-1877)

Political and Judicial Activity Before the War

  • Election of 1844:
    • James Polk (Democrat) vs. Henry Clay (Whig).
    • Whigs favored internal improvements (infrastructure).
    • Democrats were expansionists and favored private land ownership.
    • Polk won the election.

The Polk Presidency

  • Polk had four goals:
    • Restore government funds to the Treasury.
    • Reduce tariffs.
    • Both achieved by the end of 1846.
  • Texas Annexation:
    • Tyler proposed annexation; Northern congressmen feared it would become multiple slave states.
  • Oregon Country:
    • Extended from Alta California (42° north) to Alaska (54°40′ north).
    • "54°40′ or Fight" was a slogan directed at Polk.
    • Polk negotiated the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain in 1846.
    • The U.S. acquired Oregon, Washington, and parts of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.
  • Mexican-American War (1846-1848):
    • Polk aimed to claim the Southwest from Mexico.
    • He provoked a Mexican attack on American troops.
    • Whigs like Abraham Lincoln questioned Polk's claims using "spot" resolutions.

Public Opinion and the War

  • Northerners feared the expansion of slavery.
  • Accusations of a "Slave Power" controlling the government.
  • Wilmot Proviso:
    • A bill to prohibit slavery in territories gained from Mexico, but it failed.
    • Vote split along sectional lines, not party lines.
  • Free-Soil Party:
    • Opposed expansion of slavery to prevent competition with white labor.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

  • Mexico ceded Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Utah (Mexican Cession).
  • The U.S. paid 1515 million.
  • Gadsden Purchase (1854):
    • The U.S. purchased additional land in southern Arizona and New Mexico for 1010 million for a transcontinental railroad.

The Status of Slavery

  • New territories raised questions about slavery's expansion.
  • Lands west of the Mississippi were unsuitable for traditional plantation crops.
  • Southerners feared being outvoted and wanted to open more areas to slavery.
  • Popular Sovereignty:
    • Territories would decide on slavery by vote.

Compromise of 1850

  • Key Figures:
    • Henry Clay: Proposed the Compromise.
    • John Calhoun: Defended slavery, opposed the Compromise, advocated states' rights and secession, spurred notion of popular sovereignty.
    • Daniel Webster: Supported the Compromise to preserve the Union.
  • Terms:
    • California admitted as a free state.
    • A stronger Fugitive Slave Act was enacted.
    • Utah and New Mexico territories were created with popular sovereignty.
    • The slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C.

Problems with the Compromise

  • Popular sovereignty was vaguely defined.
  • The Fugitive Slave Law was seen as coercive and immoral by abolitionists.

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe's antislavery novel increased antislavery sentiments in the North.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) and "Bleeding Kansas"

  • Kansas-Nebraska Act:
    • Proposed by Stephen Douglas to have the transcontinental railroad terminate in Illinois.
    • Repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed popular sovereignty.
  • Political Fallout:
    • The Whig Party collapsed.
    • The Republican Party was formed, opposing the expansion of slavery.
    • The American Party (Know-Nothings) emerged, fueled by nativism, but self-destructed over slavery.
  • Violence in Kansas:
    • Proslavery Missourians (Border Ruffians) influenced elections.
    • Rival constitutions were created (Topeka - antislavery, Lecompton - proslavery).
    • President Pierce recognized the Lecompton Constitution.
    • John Brown led a raid on a proslavery camp.
    • "Bleeding Kansas" resulted from the violence.

Political Polarization

  • The events in Kansas further divided the nation.
  • Preston Brooks assaulted Charles Sumner in Congress.
  • James Buchanan won the 1856 election.

Buchanan, Dred Scott, and the Election of 1860

  • Buchanan's Presidency:
    • He tried to maintain the status quo and enforce the Fugitive Slave Act.
  • Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857):
    • The Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people were property, not citizens, and that Congress could not regulate slavery in the territories.
    • The decision nullified the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
  • Northern Reaction:
    • The decision was denounced as evidence of a "Slave Power".
    • The Democratic Party divided.
  • Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858):
    • Lincoln and Douglas debated for Illinois Senate seat.
    • Lincoln delivered his "House Divided" speech.
    • Douglas articulated the Freeport Doctrine, alienating both Northern and Southern voters.
  • John Brown's Raid (1859):
    • Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry increased tensions.
  • Election of 1860:
    • Democrats split, with Douglas and Breckinridge as candidates.
    • Lincoln won the election, leading to secession.

Secession

  • The Crittenden Compromise failed.
  • South Carolina seceded in December 1860.
  • The Confederate States of America was formed, led by Jefferson Davis.
  • Fort Sumter was attacked on April 12, 1861, starting the Civil War.

The Civil War (1861-1865)

  • Motivations:
    • The North fought to preserve the Union.
    • The South fought for states' rights.
    • Lincoln's views on slavery evolved throughout the war.
  • Emancipation Proclamation:
    • Antietam provided the platform Lincoln needed.
    • Announced after the Battle of Antietam in September 1862, with the official date of enforcement set for January 1, 1863.
    • It declared that enslaved people in states "in rebellion" would be freed.
    • It did not free enslaved people in the border states or Union-controlled areas.
    • Changed the purpose of the war to include ending slavery.
  • Gettysburg Address:
    • Lincoln's speech helped to redefine the war as a struggle for human equality.
  • Confederacy:
    • Davis centralized control, imposing taxes, controlling railroads, and creating a bureaucracy.
    • Martial law was declared and the writ of habeas corpus was suspended.
    • Conscription was imposed, leading to class conflict and desertions.
  • Union:
    • The economy boomed due to war-related demand.
    • War profiteering and corruption were widespread.
    • Inflation increased.
    • Labor unions formed but faced opposition from businesses.
    • Lincoln increased the power of the central government, implemented economic programs, and suspended habeas corpus.
    • National currency (greenbacks) was introduced.

Emancipation

  • Confiscation Acts:
    • The first (1861) allowed the seizure of enslaved people used for "insurrectionary purposes."
    • The second (1862) allowed the liberation of enslaved people owned by Confederate supporters.
      *Lincoln supported gradual emancipation, and compensation to slaveholders.
      *The Emancipation Proclamation kept Britain and France out of the war.
  • Thirteenth Amendment:
    • Called for a constitutional amendment prohibiting slavery.

Election of 1864 and End of the War

  • The North and South favored an end to the war.
  • The Copperheads opposed Lincoln.
  • Draft riots occurred in New York City.
  • Union victories in 1864 helped Lincoln gain reelection.
  • The Freedman's Bureau was established to help formerly enslaved people.
  • Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865.
  • The war resulted in over 500,000 deaths and expanded the role of government.

Reconstruction (1865-1877)

  • Key Questions:
    • Under what conditions would southern states be readmitted?
    • What would be the status of Black people?
    • What should be done with the rebels?
  • Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan:
    • Required 10% of 1860 voters to swear allegiance to the Union and accept emancipation.
  • Wade-Davis Bill:
    • Required military governors and 50% of the electorate to swear allegiance.
    • Pocket-vetoed by Lincoln.
  • Johnson's Reconstruction Plan:
    • Called for provisional military governments and loyalty oaths.
    • Barred many of the southern elite from participation.
    • States had to eliminate slavery and renounce secession.
    • Johnson pardoned many of the southern elite.
  • Black Codes:
    • Limited freedmen's rights.
  • Congressional Reconstruction:
    • Congress refused to seat new southern delegations.
    • Radical Republicans wanted to punish the South and extend democracy.
  • Fourteenth Amendment:
    • Granted citizenship to those born in the U.S.
    • Prohibited states from depriving citizens of life, liberty, or property without due process.
    • Prevented states from denying equal protection of the law.
    • Gave states the choice either to give freedmen the right to vote or to stop counting them among their voting population.