Civil War and Reconstruction Notes

Civil War Length

Initial assumption: War would be short.
High casualties: Battles resulted in losses of 8,000-10,000 soldiers or more.
Draft importance: Extended the war by replenishing troop numbers.
South's limited resources: Original 250,000 soldiers would have been exhausted quickly.
Total deaths: Almost 700,000 people died in the Civil War.
Draft impact: Without a draft, the war likely would have ended sooner.

Resources: Federal money, resources, and a larger pool of men.
Union strategy: To prolong the war, anticipating Confederate surrender over time.
Lincoln's view: Initially wanted a fast war, but most others recognized the advantage of a longer conflict.
Extended war: Union advantages allowed them to prolong the war.
Union support: Initially had support from Great Britain and France, but this waned.
Slow war: Union favored a slow war due to resource advantages, anticipating Confederate exhaustion.

Terrain: Familiar with the land, as battles were fought in the South.
Military leadership: Well-trained generals and soldiers.
Motivation: Strong cause for fighting.
Resource limitations: Hindered their ability to fight a fast war.
Building a military: Confederates had to build their military from the ground up.
Foreign influence: Relied on foreign assistance to get started.
Resource disadvantage: Lacked resources for both a fast and prolonged war.
Late efforts: Attempts to speed up efforts came too late once resources dwindled.
Combined effect: The Union's advantages and the South's disadvantages resulted in a slow war.

Foreign involvement: Great Britain and France didn't fully commit.
Potential impact: Full involvement could have changed the course of the war, especially if they had favored the Confederacy.
Hesitation: Great Britain didn't want to damage relations with the U.S. or risk losing Canadian territories; France had similar concerns.
Limited support: Provided Confederates with funding, uniforms, and ammunition.
Naval support: Provided some converted ships, but didn't go all in.
Impact on war length: Limited foreign influence prolonged the war, while some assistance helped the Confederacy get started.

Lincoln's actions: Suspended civil liberties, including the writ of Habeas Corpus (due process).
Arrests: Targeted individuals involved in acts of treason.
Cases: Not essential to know specific cases but can be mentioned when discussing Habeas Corpus.
Due process: Individuals were arrested without being informed of the charges or given a trial.
Reasons for suspension: Lincoln believed these individuals were threats to the Union and democracy.
Maintaining morale: Aimed to keep morale up and support the war by detaining potential threats.
Unconstitutionality: Considered by many, even Lincoln's supporters, as an overreach of presidential power, akin to dictatorship.
Concerns: Worries about how far Lincoln would extend this power.

Confederate President: Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederacy.
Initial promise: Initially stated he wouldn't suspend civil liberties like Lincoln.
Martial law: Later imposed martial law, placing everything under military control, including military trials.
Suspension of Habeas Corpus: Suspended due process for draft dodgers.
Confiscation of land: Confiscated land to use resources for soldiers and war efforts.
Contradiction: Went against his word by suspending civil liberties.
Timing: Actions taken mid-war, not immediately after becoming president.
Draft dodgers: Primarily targeted draft dodgers, with arrest and no trial.
Land confiscation: Focused on land from Southern farmers to use crops for soldiers.

Limited scope: Did not end slavery as federal law; the Thirteenth Amendment did.
Shift in war's purpose: Changed the war's focus to the moral issue of slavery.
Timing: Introduced near Lincoln's reelection, following the Gettysburg Address.
Moral issue: Framed the war as a fight against slavery.
Gettysburg Address: Aimed to unite the nation and justify the war's casualties.
New motivation: Ending slavery served as a new motivation for the war.
Key battles: Gettysburg and Vicksburg were turning points (Vicksburg secured the Mississippi River).
Original war aim: Lincoln initially focused on reuniting the nation, not slavery.
Shift in focus: Lincoln later framed it as ending slavery and reuniting the nation.

Territorial impact: In territories, the Act confiscated goods, including slaves, when the Union conquered a territory.
Contraband: Defined African Americans as contraband of war.
Liberation: Union troops freed African Americans in conquered Southern territories.
No federal law: Without a federal law, if the South had won, slavery would have been reinstated.
Reconstruction: Reconstruction and subsequent amendments addressed this gap.

Compromise: Debated whether Lincoln could compromise.
No compromise: Some argue the South was unwilling to compromise, especially over state rights.
Lincoln's position: Lincoln initially allowed slavery to continue in existing territories but opposed expansion.
Emancipation Proclamation: Praised but executed by the military; Lincoln, as commander-in-chief, received credit.
Gettysburg Address: United the nation, showcasing Lincoln's political skills.
Political skills: Lincoln was a great politician but not necessarily a great emancipator.
Slavery stance: Never took a definitive stance against slavery, leading to varied interpretations.

Devastation: Land was destroyed due to fighting.
Poverty: Widespread poverty.
Government control: Government controlled most factory production for the war effort.
Economic issues: Raised taxes, high inflation, disrupted trade with the North.
Loss of faith: Initial support waned due to rising death toll, land confiscation, and economic hardship.
Sentiment: By the end of the war, most people were ready to surrender.
Terrible conditions: Life was generally terrible in the South due to economic and political factors.

Lincoln's approach: Favored using the federal government to restore the South, avoiding punishment.
10% Plan: Required 10% of loyal voters to sign an oath for a state to rejoin the Union.
Radical Republicans: Opposed Lincoln’s leniency; wanted to punish Confederate leaders and require 50% loyalty oath.
Support for African Americans: Supported education and voting rights for freed African Americans.
Military districts: South divided into five military districts to ensure order and enforce new amendments.
Johnson's Reconstruction: Similar to Lincoln’s plan; Johnson took over after Lincoln's assassination and largely continued his policies.
Constitutional Amendments: The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments were passed during this period.

Successes: Included passage of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, opportunities for African Americans to move North for jobs, and access to education.
Radical Republican support: Freedmen had support from politicians.
Failures: Included the rise of Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, discrimination, and segregation.
Sharecropping: Could be seen as both positive (providing jobs) and negative (trapping people in debt).
KKK: Formed to intimidate African Americans and suppress voting rights.
Limited improvement: Life improved for African Americans, but not significantly.