AP

Notes on Civil War and Slavery

Celia's Story and Ethical Implications

  • The story includes an escape, where Celia is helped, possibly by Jameson.
  • She doesn't keep running because they hoped to appeal to the circuit judge.
  • Her original execution date was November 11, but she was brought back after. Question arises if they would hang her due to her pregnancy.
  • It was later revealed she was pregnant and the doctor delivered a stillborn baby.
  • The fear of helping her was significant; the person helping would have been brutally killed.
  • The account is written by white people, raising questions about its accuracy as it's a summary of events and testimonies.
  • Trials in small places like Missouri might not have been as carefully recorded as those in New Orleans or New York.
  • Jameson was chosen as her lawyer because he was a slave owner, and it was assumed he wouldn't be too sympathetic. However, he had grandchildren the same age as Celia, which might have influenced him.
  • The dichotomy: Celia is treated with respect because of her pregnancy, while simultaneously being seen as property and not a human being.
  • Even if the baby had been born, it would have been enslaved.
  • Newsome's children by Celia may have been taken as enslaved people, not raised as family.
  • Other enslaved women likely sympathized but couldn't express it, mirroring a common lack of empathy.

Civil War Overview and the Role of Black Soldiers

  • The lecture transitions to discuss the Civil War and the role of black soldiers (colored troops).

Key Events Leading to the Civil War

  • The election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860 was the final trigger for the South to secede.
  • South Carolina seceded in December 1860, followed by 10 more states.
  • The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1861.

Texas War for Independence and Mexican-American War

  • Texans, Americans living in Mexican territory, broke Mexican laws (slavery, taxes).
  • They fought for independence, culminating in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, and Texas became a republic and eventually a U.S. state.
  • President Polk was an expansionist who wanted California for its Pacific ports (San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco).
  • All the land acquired from Mexico, including Texas, played a significant role concerning if the new states would be free or slave states. This intensified the debate over state's rights versus federal power.

State's Rights and Slavery

  • The tenth amendment is the "state's rights" amendment.
  • The fight over whether new territories would be free or slave states intensified the state's rights debate.
  • Kansas (Bleeding Kansas) wanted to be a free state, but Missourians illegally voted for a pro-slavery constitution (Lecompton Constitution).
  • Free soilers plus Whigs equals Republicans.
  • Dred Scott case: Roger Taney declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, meaning slavery couldn't be kept out of any state.
  • The state's rights argument flipped: the North used state's rights to declare themselves free states, while the South initially used it to defend slavery.

John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry

  • John Brown was a radical militant abolitionist willing to kill to end slavery.
  • He raided the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to seize weapons and give them to slaves.
  • The raid failed, and John Brown was captured and hanged.
  • Significance: the North saw Brown as a hero, and the South saw him as a villain, widening the gap between them.

Secession and the Confederacy

  • After Lincoln's election, South Carolina seceded, followed by 10 other states, forming the Confederate States of America.
  • The Confederate capital was Richmond, Virginia, and their president was Jefferson Davis.
  • They used a modified version of the Articles of Confederation as their constitution.

Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South

North

  • Larger population (five times as many people).
  • Most of the country's manufacturing.
  • Extensive railroads for logistics (moving goods and people).
  • A navy to blockade Southern ports, limiting aid from England.

South

  • Fantastic military leaders.
  • Cotton (initially a source of money).
  • Initial British support (later withdrawn).

The Role of Black Soldiers

  • Morale in the North was initially low. The Emancipation Proclamation gave the North a cause to fight for (ending slavery) and allowed African Americans to enlist.
  • It's more vital for the north to win because of the additional troops.
  • Approximately 180,000 African American soldiers joined the Union Army.
  • There was the movie "Glory" that shows the role of solders.

Discrimination and Injustice

  • African American soldiers faced discrimination, often assigned to non-combat roles.
  • They were paid less than white soldiers, with deductions for clothing.
  • If captured by the Confederate army, they faced execution or enslavement.
  • This contrast between fighting for freedom while still being considered less than a full person highlighted the need for the Thirteenth Amendment.
  • The Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery and prohibited it. This was passed during the war to solidify the cause for black soldiers.
  • The Fourteenth Amendment grants citizenship after the war. The citizenship was granted by hope.