IB US History HL - The End of the Civil War

Basic History

• Note the difference between human and civil rights -

• Civil Rights are rights given to someone for being a member of a government
• Human rights are rights given to someone for essentially being born

• Civil rights are given on a local to the national level, only human rights are given on an international level
• The founding fathers of the U.S. pushed the problem of slavery onto their successors
• Over this time, the slave population grew from about 0.5 million in the 1700s to about 4 million in the 1860s
• The Civil War (CW) solidified the Union Ideal in the constitution
• After the CW, southern states wanted to re-write their history as a “lost cause” (the South was decimated from the war)
• The democratic party was the dominant party from the 1810s to the CW

• Some minor parties challenged them but to no avail

• The republican party was formed by smaller parties and focused on abolishing slavery
• Abraham Lincoln - Practical Politician who became the first Republican President in 1860
• Once the South started to form the confederacy, unionists began resisting their actions
• Note that the main goal of the CW was not initially the abolition of slavery

• As more and more slaves moved north, they prompted Lincoln to end slavery, which turned the war into a moral conflict

• Lincoln feared harsh actions against slaves would push border states (Union states touching the Confederacy) to the Confederacy
• Lincoln’s initial lack of action against slavery frustrated radical republicans
• The idea that slaves are better off as slaves was shattered when they moved north

The War Becomes a Moral Cause

• Lincoln focused on the ideas of the founding documents of the U.S. 
• The Gettysburg Address questioned if the U.S. founding ideas of equality can survive with slavery
• The Battle hymn of the Republic was written around this time, which enforced the moral cause of the CW

Ending of the CW - April 9, 2021

• The Emancipation Proclamation (EP) did not end slavery as a whole, only in rebelling states

• Slavery still continued in border states

• The EP mainly served to weaken the confederate - Slaves freed by the EP were drafted into the Union Army
• The 13th Amendment - Constitutionally abolished slavery on December 6, 1865
• A political issue arose: Is the Union something you can enter and leave freely?
• Lincoln wanted congress to ratify the 13th Amendment before rebel states came back to block it
• Other questions arose: If rebel states are a separate country, does Lincoln have the right to free the slaves? And if the rebel states don’t have a vote in the 13th amendment, does it apply to them?
• It is important to realize that there were many other factors in Lincoln’s life - he had lost his son and had to distract Mary Todd 
• Rebel states were forced to ratify the 13th amendment to come back
• Juneteenth - June 19th, 1865 - Union troops announced the end to slavery in Galveston Bay, TX; Texas was the last state in the confederacy with institutional slavery

• Slaves were not truly free until this day

The Assassination of Lincoln - April 14, 1865

• At the time of Lincoln’s assassination, there was no secret service, people had the idea “Why assassinate a president when you can elect a new one?”
• Booth Conspiracy - Booth originally planned on killing the Vice President and Secretary of State too but failed