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.