Study Notes: The American Civil War and the Road to Conflict

Industrial North vs. Agricultural South: Northern progress was driven by textile mills and steam engines, while the South relied on a plantation economy.
Impact of Technology: Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in $1793$ , which increased cotton profitability but simultaneously intensified the demand for enslaved labor.
Political Tension: Westward expansion triggered conflicts over whether new territories would be slave or free, directly impacting political power in Congress.

Kansas-Nebraska Act ( $1854$ ): Introduced "popular sovereignty," allowing settlers to decide on slavery, which led to "Bleeding Kansas."
John Brown: A religious extremist who led a raid on Pottawatomie Creek on May $24$ , $1856$ , murdering $5$ pro-slavery settlers.
The Caning of Charles Sumner: On May $22$ , $1856$ , Representative Preston Brooks attacked Senator Charles Sumner with a metal-topped cane in the Senate after Sumner delivered his "Crime Against Kansas" speech.

Literary Influence: Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom's Cabin in $1852$ , turning Northern opinion against slavery.
Abolitionist Leaders: Frederick Douglass (author and advisor), Harriet Tubman (conductor on the Underground Railroad for $13$ missions, rescuing $70$ people), and Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree).
Dred Scott v. Sandford ( $1857$ ): Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that the Constitution protected slavery as a property right in all territories.

Harper's Ferry Raid: On October $16$ , $1859$ , John Brown targeted the Federal Arsenal to incite a slave rebellion; he was captured by Robert E. Lee and executed on December $2$ , $1859$ .
Election of $1860$ : Abraham Lincoln (Republican) won against Stephen Douglas and John C. Breckinridge, leading South Carolina and $10$ other states to secede.
Commencement: The Confederacy, led by President Jefferson Davis, fired on Fort Sumter on April $12$ , $1861$ .

Scope of Loss: The conflict lasted years and resulted in over $600,000$ deaths.
$1863$ Victories: The Union wins at the Battle of Gettysburg (July $1$ – $3$ ) and Vicksburg (July $4$ ), gaining control of the Mississippi River.
Emancipation Proclamation: Issued January $1$ , $1863$ , it redefined the war’s purpose and led nearly $180,000$ African Americans to serve in the Union Army, including the $54$ th Massachusetts Regiment.
Total War: General William Tecumseh Sherman’s "March to the Sea" in $1864$ destroyed Confederate infrastructure.
Conclusion: Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April $9$ , $1865$ .

Gettysburg Address: Delivered November $19$ , $1863$ , Lincoln's $272$ -word speech emphasized equality and a "new birth of freedom."
Reconstruction Amendments: - Thirteenth Amendment ( $1865$ ): Abolished slavery. - Fourteenth Amendment ( $1868$ ): Granted citizenship and equal protection. - Fifteenth Amendment ( $1870$ ): Prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
Backlash: The withdrawal of federal troops in the late $1870s$ allowed for the rise of Jim Crow laws and voter suppression.

Questions & Discussion - Question (Rhetorical): What would be gained from destroying the railroads? - Response: Everything; they were the lifeblood of the Confederacy, transporting troops, food, and weapons. - Question (Rhetorical): Was this [Total War] an effective method? - Response: Absolutely; Sherman's destruction of infrastructure hastened the Confederate collapse.
Charles Sumner: Mocked Stephen Douglas as a "noisesome, squat, and nameless animal."
Abraham Lincoln: Stated in his inaugural address on March $4$ , $1861$ , "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen… is the important issue of civil war."
Abraham Lincoln to Harriet Beecher Stowe: "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war."
Frederick Douglass: Declared after the Dred Scott ruling, "My hopes were never brighter than now."