Unit 5 APUSH

Review Packet: Reform to Civil War APUSH

The South:

The Three Souths A. Generalizations 1. The further North, the cooler the climate, the fewer the slaves,

and the lower the commitment to maintaining slavery.. 2. The further South, the warmer the climate, the more the slaves,

and the higher the commitment to maintaining slavery. 3. Mountain whites along Appalachian Mountains would mostly

side with the Union during the Civil War. -- W. Virginia, E. Tennessee, NE Kentucky, W. South Carolina,

N. Georgia & Alabama.

B. Border South: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, & Missouri 1. Plantations scarcer; cotton cultivation almost nonexistent.

Tobacco main crop (as in Middle South); More grain production

(as in Middle South) 2. Unionists would overcome Disunionists during and after the Civil

War. 3. 1850, Slaves = 17% of population.; Avg. 5 slaves per slaveholder 4. 1850, over 21% of Border South’s blacks free; 46% of South’s

free blacks 5. 22% of white families owned slaves 6. Those who owned more than 20 slaves in South: 6%; Ultra-

wealthy = 1% 7. Produced over 50% of South’s industrial products

C. Middle South: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. 1. Each state had one section resembling the Border South and

another resembling the Lower South. -- Some industrial production: Tredegar Iron Works in Virginia

used slave labor 2. Unionists prevailed after Lincoln elected; Disunionists prevailed

after war began 3. Many plantations in eastern Virginia and western Tennessee 4. 1850, slaves = 30% of population; Avg. 8 slaves per slaveholder 5. 36% of white families owned slaves 6. Of all who owned more than 20 slaves in South: 32%; Ultra-

wealthy = 14%

D. Lower South: South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alabama,

Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas 1. Most slaves located in the “cotton belt” or "black belt" of Deep

South along river valleys 2. Plantations prevalent; cotton was king; grew 95% of South's

cotton & almost all sugar, rice, and indigo. 3. Disunionists (secessionists) would prevail after Lincoln was

elected 4. 1850, slaves = 47% of population; Avg. 12 slaves per slaveholder 5. Less than 2% of blacks free; only 15% of South’s free blacks 6. 43% of white families owned slaves 7. Of all who owned more than 20 slaves in South: 62%; Ultra-

wealthy = 85% 8. Produced less than 20% of South’s industrial products

E. Afro-American slave culture

1. Elements of West African culture—such as languages, oral traditions, music, religious practices and family patterns—remained part of the American slave community.

2. Family ties were often informal and extended family ties were important

a. This was the outgrowth of slave families being broken up regularly due to members being sold

b. “Fictive kin”: members of a community might be considered “family” even though they were not related by blood.

c. Children were primarily raised by their mothers, who often dominated the home in slave quarters.

-- This pattern continued after slavery was abolished

d. Children were often looked after by many members of the community

3. Oral traditions were valuable in maintaining the African heritage

a. Teaching slaves to read was illegal in much of the South so alternate ways of spreading culture was necessary.

b. After the work day was over, slaves would often get together on large plantations and share stories or their hopes of eventual liberation.

c. Oral traditions were passed on in several languages including Gullah, pidgin English, and Creole.

d. Certain stories, such as Br’er rabbit, were popular as they were instructive on how to survive slavery’s oppressive nature.

4. Religion

a. Call and response tradition from Africa was a strong component of slave religious meetings.

b. Religion in slave communities was often a blend of various forms of Christianity mixed with African traditions (such as voodoo)

Enslaved Revolts 1. Stono Rebellion, 1739 a. South Carolina enslaved fled toward Florida killing whites on the

way; did not make it.

b. Led to more oppressive slavery system in the South during

colonial period 2. Gabriel Prosser, 1800 a. Enslaved blacksmith in VA who planned a military slave revolt;

recruited 150 men b. Rebellion did not materialize and Prosser and 26 others were

hanged. 3. Denmark Vesey planned largest ever

revolt in 1822 but it never materialized a. A enslaved informer advised his master of the plot b. Vesey and 30 others publicly hanged

4. Nat Turner’s revolt, 1831 (most significant of 19th century) a. Sixty Virginians slaughtered, mostly children and women i. Wave of killing slowed down revolt’s aim of capturing

armory ii. Largest enslaved revolt ever in the South b. Over 100 slaves were killed in response; Turner was hanged. c. Significance: Produced a wave of anxiety among southern

plantation owners that resulted in harsh laws clamping down

further on the slavery institution.

Revival, Reform and Politics during the Jackson Era (1824 – 1845)

The Second Great Awakening

- The wave of reform that swept America in the early nineteenth century was both a reaction to the radical changes American society experienced following the War of 1812 [immigration, market economy, expansion] and to the Second Great Awakening (1790s – 1840s).

- During the SGA preachers encouraged sinners to repent and offered them a chance to become true Christians. Salvation was available for all through personal conversion. This philosophy increased lay participation, made religion more democratic, and led to efforts to reform society.

- In the South, revival attendance was very high [esp. women and African Americans] – the “Bible belt.” In the North, former NY lawyer Charles Finney led the movement following his conversion in 1821. Finney emphasized the power of spontaneous personal conversions, stating that anyone could be saved that way.

- The SGA caused people to believe the Second Coming was drawing near and inspired people to try to speed the process by fighting evil through reform. All the sects of the SGA also shared a belief in self-improvement and the formation of organizations to help others convert.

- Women were more involved in this than men were [though they often forced their husbands and families into it as well]. For women, revival meetings and reform societies offered unique opportunities for participation in public life and politics.

The Pursuit of Perfection: Nineteenth Century Reform Movements

- Some of the most significant nineteenth century reform movements include…

á Anti-Prostitution – after a divinity student published a report in 1830 about the incidence of prostitution in NYC, women began a drive to help reform the prostitutes and stop young men from abusing women through the Female Moral Reform Society (1834). As the decade progressed the FMRS opened chapters throughout the nation and became involved politically.

á Temperance – one of the most successful reform efforts, the temperance movement worked towards reducing alcohol consumption

§ The movement was both inspired by religion [alcohol=sin], by women who found that their families were being destroyed by alcoholism, and was favored by employers who realized their employees would be more efficient w/o it.

§ Even popular culture reflected the movement’s ideology – Timothy Shaw Arthur’s Ten Nights in a Barroom (1853), Deacon Robert Peckham’s temperance paintings.

§ As the years passed the emphasis of reformers shifted from moderation to abstinence to prohibition. The movement was very successful [sharp decline in alcohol use, some states prohibited its sale], but continued to rise even as consumption fell.

§ From the 1820s on, the movement also began targeting immigrants and Catholics as the source of the problem – most Catholics favored self-control over state laws.

á Penitentiaries and Asylums – state institutions to hold criminals began w/good intentions [rehabilitate them], but they soon became overcrowded and inhumane. Mentally ill people were also put in the prisons along with the criminals. Reformers, esp. Dorothea Dix, successfully pressed for improvements in prisons and the creation of asylums.

á Abolitionism – as AM declined, abolitionism gathered momentum…

§ Prior to 1830 immediate abolition was not really advocated by anyone, although involvement began to grow following the War of 1812.

§ In 1816 the American Colonization Society was founded [free slaves and ship them back to Africa, no place for them in American society].

§ But by 1830 the immediatists [instant, compete, uncompensated emancipation] surpassed the gradualists as the leading voice in the movement.

§ Initially, only blacks were immediatists, but in the 1830s whites ex. William Lloyd Garrison [publisher of The Liberator beginning in 1831] joined the more radical side.

§ Other immediatists, who shared Garrison’s moral intensity and firm belief in the evil inherent in slavery, rallied around the American Anti-Slavery Society (1833). By contrast, gradualists felt that impulsive action would jeopardize peace and order.

§ Opposition to abolition actually ended up helping immediatists – events such as the 1837 murder of abolitionist editor Elijah Lovejoy and the South’s blocking of anti-slavery pamphlets in the mail gave the abolitionists opportunities to gather support.

§ Abolitionists also gained following through their protest of the “Gag Rule” [1836 act that automatically made abolitionist petitions off limits for debate, repealed in 1844].

§ Basically, the more opponents of abolition tried to contain dialogue on the topic, the more the movement gained resolve and became unified [initially split between Garrison’s “moral suasion” and James

Birney, the Liberty Party candidate, who supported pragmatic measures such as the election of abolitionists].

á Women’s Rights – women were highly involved in the abolition movement [Female Anti-Slavery Society founded in 1833, disbanded 7 years later], but, as a result of some of their problems being accepted by male abolitionists and the general new idea of women having actual roles in society, the women’s rights movement began to gain momentum. For instance, in the 1830s Angelina and Sarah Grimké wrote about women’s subordination to men, and by July 1848 the Woman’s Rights Convention met, where the Declaration of Sentiments was promulgated to protest injustices against women. Nevertheless, the movement was still fragmented [over issue of slavery] and it was hard to gather support.

- So, throughout the nineteenth century, various reform movements arose in response to the religious impulse towards self-improvement and the changes in American society.

Politics During the Era of Reform

- During the 1820s reform began to influence politics – and that, among other things – generated more widespread participation in public life and a more open political system.

- Other reasons for expanding participation in politics from 1824 – 1840 were…

á Many state constitutions began dropping the property rights qualifications to vote.

á Electors began to be chosen directly by the people in many states.

á The return of the party system in 1824 [DRs split into Democrats and Nat’l Republicans in 1820s, NRs become Whigs in 1832 and Republicans in 1852] and the rise of third parties.

á The creation of more elected offices on the local level.

á An increase in popular campaigning processes.

- The creation of the Second Party System in 1834 also helped greatly.

Manifest Destiny and Expansionism

- Expansionist fervor only increased through the 1830s and 1840s and soon became a part of politics. The mid 1840s saw the rise of the whole manifest destiny idea, which was spurred by nat’l pride esp. after the depression ended in 1843, by racism [“we can use the land better than Native Americans can”] and by a desire to eliminate perceived external threats to nat’l security.

- The big goals for expansionists were…

á TEXAS (Southerners) – Texas had been settled by Americans since 1821, when Mexico became independent and opened the area to all. By 1835, the settlers were numerous, powerful, and tended to ignore the Mexican gov’t, causing dictator Santa Anna to tighten control. This sparked a rebellion, which culminated in Texan independence and the establishment of the Lone Star Republic in 1836. Texas opened annexation negotiations w/Washington and Tyler, eager to gain the 1844 Democratic nomination, pushed for it. The Senate, however, rejected it – Northerners and Whigs didn’t like the idea.

á OREGON (Northerners) – Oregon had been split between the US and Britain since the Convention of 1818, but when “Oregon Fever” broke loose in 1841 fervid expansionists began demanding the entire area for the US [“Fifty-four forty or fight”].

- Naturally, expansion into Oregon and the rejection of Texas worried Southern leaders, who responded by convincing the 1844 Democratic convention to use a new rule – if candidate was not chosen by 2/3 of convention he’s out. This blocked Van Buren as the nominee and led to the selection of James K. Polk [hard money Jacksonian, expansionist, slaveholder].

- Presidential Election of 1844 Polk ran against Henry Clay [Whigs] and James Birney [Liberty Party, took votes from Clay] and beat them both.

- Right before leaving office, though, Tyler got Texas admitted into the Union [December 1845] through a joint resolution of Congress [requires only simple majority while treaty needs 2/3].

The Road to Civil War (1845 – 1861)

The Mexican War

- In the 1844 election, expansionist Polk [Democratic] was elected. Polk quickly set about accomplishing his territorial goals – starting by provoking a war w/Mexico (right before his inauguration the US had annexed Texas) by urging the Texans to seize all the land to the Rio Grande.

- When Mexico argued about the border, Polk sent troops under General Zachary Taylor [“Old Rough and Ready”] to Rio Grande in 1846. Since he really wanted CA, he tried to buy it as a last resort. When that fell through, he simply waited for war to erupt.

- On April 24, 1846, Mexican cavalry finally responded to the US invasion and the war began [it was voted for by Congress on May 13]. This excited people, and there were many volunteers due to a craving for adventure, racist tendencies, and general expansionist dreams [still, some abolitionists were mad, and even Calhoun got worried that the war could lead to problems down the road].

- The war in short: Colonel Stephen Kearny invaded New Mexico and CA [where he was helped by rebellious settlers under Captain John C. Frémont], General Zachary Taylor secured northeastern Mexico and General Winfield Scott went all the way to Mexico City and captured it.

- The result was the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (signed in February 1848) which got the US California, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and the RG Texas border and got Mexico a very pathetic reparations payment of $15 million.

- As far as Oregon went, though, Polk had to throw out his campaign slogan and instead diplomatically [he didn’t want to be fighting two wars at once] pressure the British for a split along the 49th parallel, which was agreed to in 1846.

Reactions to Territorial Gain

- Not everyone was obsessed w/gaining territory from Mexico – in fact, New Englanders, abolitionists and a few antislavery Whigs saw the whole deal as a plot to extend slavery, which didn’t go over too well.

- This was part of the whole Northern fear of a “Slave Power Conspiracy” – i.e. that a slave-holding Southern oligarchy was taking over all political and economic power in the nation. So, not surprisingly, the Northerners weren’t so hot on gaining territory if it was going to be slave territory.

- In the South overall opinion was pretty much in favor [although ultra-racists like Calhoun worried that taking too much Mexican land might bring too many Mexicans into the US, which they saw as bad].

- Slavery’s overriding importance in the Mexican war issue was confirmed in August 1846 w/the Wilmot Proviso – a proposed amendment that made slavery illegal in any territories taken from Mexico. Wilmot wasn’t really an abolitionist – it was more self-interest b/c her worried the spread of slavery would hurt labor by free whites and deny them their rights to work [also anti-Slave Power].

- The Wilmot Proviso majorly untied the South in support of the Mexican war, even more than at the beginning. Calhoun led their new position, which was that the territories belonged to all the states and that the gov’t was therefore powerless to stop slavery’s spread there [Fifth Amendment right to take property anywhere] – this was the state sovereignty position.

The Election of 1848

- Of course, the whole territories-slavery deal was the big issue of the Presidential Election of 1848, e/t both sides tried very hard to keep the issue away.

- The Democrats ran Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan and General William Butler of Kentucky [Polk said that once was enough]. Cass had come up w/the idea of popular sovereignty for the territories, but the party platform still held that Congress couldn’t interfere w/slavery.

- The Whigs nominated General Zachary Taylor, a Southern slaveowner and war hero, and Congressman Millard Fillmore of NY – and they likewise claimed that Congress couldn’t do anything.

- The issue just wouldn’t disappear, though, and a new party even formed b/c of Northern concern over slavery. The Free-Soil Party [“Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, Free Men”], which formed from former Liberty Party supporters and antislavery Whigs, nominated Van Buren as its candidate and got 10% votes.

- The election, which Taylor won [as some Southern Democrats voted for him e/t he was a Whig], showed that politics was, more than ever, splitting along sectional [instead of party and religious] lines.

The Compromise of 1850

- The first big problem was about California, which had been populated in 1849 as a result of the Gold Rush and was applying for statehood with a free state constitution [since Congress couldn’t decide what to do, Taylor had told CA to apply for admission directly].

- Southerners, however, wouldn’t accept CA as a free state b/c it would upset the delicate balance between free and slave states – so they tried to make CA a slave state or at least extend the Missouri line.

- Sensing another compromise was necessary, Henry Clay [veteran of the 1820 and 1833 deals] stepped back up and, with the help of Stephen A. Douglas, came up with the Compromise of 1850. Obviously, the big issue was when territories could prohibit slavery [North = ASAP, South = very late in process when slaves hopefully already there].

- At first, the bill didn’t pass [Daniel Webster helped by giving it his support, but Calhoun did the opposite w/his speech] – but after Douglas split it up and had Congress vote on each aspect separately it worked. There were 5 basic aspects to the deal…

á CA came in as a free state.

á Texas boundary kept at present limits, but Texas given $10 million in compensation for loss of territory to New Mexico.

á New Mexico and Utah territories to be decided by popular sovereignty.

á Slave trade banned in Washington DC.

á A new harsher fugitive slave law.

- Yeah, it wasn’t so much a decision as it was an evasion [bought time for nation, some say it won war for North b/c it gave them more time to finish industrializing].

- The two major problems with the compromise were as follows:

á What the heck does “popular sovereignty” mean? Nobody knew for sure – so the South decided it would mean wait-until-there-are-slaves-and-then-vote, but the North didn’t agree.

á The new Fugitive Slave Act: it allowed slaveowners to go into court in their states to show evidence their slaves had escaped, have court officials identify the validity of the claim, and then possibly send US marshals after the person [they were paid extra $ to return the person, too]. This was not too popular w/the North, and abolitionists saw it as a violation of American rights. Violent resistance even broke out in many Northern towns as a result of the slave catchers

- abolitionist front came Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), which was a huge bestseller. UTC both indicted slavery by describing the horrors of slave life and criticized Northern racism; its approach gave slavery a new human face for many Northerners who had never been to the South.

- Then the whole Underground Railroad deal annoyed slaveowners even more – e/t the thing was never as organized as many thought it was, it was a source of constant irritation for the Southerners as it was also a symbol of resistance to oppression and focused more attention on the injustice of slavery.

The Election of 1852 and the Collapse of Compromise

- The Democrats ran Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire, and he won easily over the Whig nominee, General Winfield Scott. Pierce defended the rights of each area while Scott ignored the issue, so the South had reason to believe nat’l support for the Compromise of 1850 might get rid of the problem altogether. The Free-Soil party also ran a candidate [anti-compromise, of course].

- But in reality, Pierce just won b/c the Whigs were being torn apart by sectional strife [and the deaths of Taylor, Webster and Clay didn’t help either]. By 1852 the Whigs were pretty much a thing of the past.

- As a sidenote, sectional conflict also managed to derail [OK, bad joke] plans for a transcontinental RRD and mess up annexation negotiations w/Hawaii and Cuba.

The Kansas-Nebraska Bill and the Destruction of the Party System

- The next big problem began when Douglas [the C1850 guy] decided to introduce a bill about the Kansas and Nebraska Territories. Douglas felt the slavery thing would be no big deal – all he wanted was some more $ for his home state of Illinois [transcontinental RRD thing].

- Boy did he pick the wrong topic – as soon as he mentioned the thing, the whole differing interpretations of popular sovereignty deal exploded. To make matters worse, K&N were on the non-slavery side of the Missouri line, so using PS there would invalidate the whole Missouri Compromise too!

- Naturally, Southern Congressmen demanded a repeal of the MC, which Douglas actually gave them, thinking the climate of the area wouldn’t allow for slavery anyway. Then by May 1854 [e/t opposition was extremely strong from the anti-slavery people] the bill passed, opening a ton of formerly anti-slave land up!

- The results of the K&N Acts…again [like C1850] the new laws acted like catalysts for anti-slavery forces [many more states passed personal-liberty laws, resisted the FSA]. Most importantly, though, the K&N Acts split the dying Whig party once and for all into Northern and Southern wings, lowered support for the Democratic Party, and led to the creation of a new political party, the Republican Party.

The Politics of Sectionalism: Republicans and Democrats

- in the summer and fall of 1854, the Republican Party was formed from the antislavery Whigs and Democrats, the Free-Soilers and various other groups. They had a spectacular rise in the North[east] and managed to get most of the Northern House seats on their first appearance on the ballot in 1854.

- The only party that was still nat’l by this time was the Democratic Party, except for a short period where the American Party [a.k.a. the Know-Nothings] also competed at that level [but they were mostly successful in the North]. The KN’s were anti-Catholic/anti-immigrant, but only lasted until 1856.

- So, besides the obvious, what were the new Republican and Democratic parties all about?

á Republicans were for the exclusion of slavery from the territories, new protective tariffs and more federal funding for RRDs/infrastructure, and for a free homestead act that would provide for parcels of land [not large enough for plantations, though]. Their ideology represented the new, industrial North – the key was the importance of work and opportunity [South is backwards] and the idea of the liberty to find work on new land.

á Democrats were no kidding for the extension of slavery into the territories. E/t most Southern Democrats were not slaveowners, the party’s appeal to racism [basic idea = if blacks are not enslaved, this is bad for whites in general] won over many of the yeoman farmers. Another element was the idea that restrictions on slavery were inherently against constitutional principles. Both these ideas helped blur the class lines in the South.

- Things only intensified with time…

Bleeding Kansas and the Election of 1856

- In Kansas, both abolitionists and Southerners began sending in forces to support their side and influence the decision, which was to be made through popular sovereignty. As conflicts became increasingly violent, the nation’s attention focused more and more on Bleeding Kansas.

- During elections for the territorial legislature, Border Ruffians [i.e. proslavery Missourians] screwed up the voting and caused the pro-slavery side to win. This led to the Free-Soilers creating their own gov’t, a pro-slavery posse killing some of them in 1856, and the whole John Brown rebellion/revolution scheme. Even the Senate was losing it [SC Representative Preston Brooks hit MA Senator Sumner w/cane].

- The polarization continued into the Presidential Election of 1856, where Democrat James Buchanan [chosen b/c uninvolved in controversies] beat out the Republican candidate, John C. Frémont.

The Dred Scott Case

- The whole Dred Scott deal started when a Missouri enslaved person named Dred Scott sued his owner for his freedom b/c his owner took him in a free state. In 1857, the case reached the SC. Normally, the SC liked to stay out of slavery controversies [1851 decision – state courts decide].

- But this time [b/c 2 Northern justices threatened to dissent] the SC took on the case, finally deciding in March 1857 that: (1) Scott was not a US citizen and therefore couldn’t sue, (2) residence in free territory didn’t make him free and (3) Congress couldn’t ban slavery from any territory anyway.

- This is where the famous Abraham Lincoln speech comes in…in 1858, while announcing his campaign for US Senate, he talked about the divided house and all that. Since the DS decision had made the Republican position unconstitutional, they could only appeal to voters’ overriding morals or hope to change the SC justices – actually, they used both and it ended up helping them politically.

- But for Northern Democrats [ex. Stephen Douglas] the case was a big problem – they had to reassure the North about the territories being opened but not scare off the South. Douglas ended up decided to stick w/PS, e/t it ticked off the South.

- One incident involved the Lecompton Constitution, which had been drafted in Kansas but voted down. Still, Buchanan tried to force it through – infuriating the North and finally causing Douglas to side against the administration [no LC] and against the South. Douglas only made it worse for himself by continuing his PS idea [Freeport Doctrine] in his debates against Lincoln for the Senate seat in 1858.

- Things like this made the possibility of a split in the Democratic Party increase.

John Brown and the Election of 1860

- Although slavery was a big deal, most people weren’t thinking about it 24/7…until John Brown gave it a whole new slant with his attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry on October 16, 1859.

- Brown was an obsessive abolitionist, and his capture and execution made him a symbol of all evil for Southerners and an almost holy martyr for much of the North.

- Presidential Election of 1860, which many felt would decide the fate of the Union. It was totally sectional, as even the Democratic Party had split at its 1860 SC Convention b/c Douglas refused to accept the Southern position on the territories.

- As a result, the Democrats had Douglas [North] and John C. Breckinridge [South] up against the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln. There was also a Constitutional Union Party, which supported John Bell of Tennessee.

- Lincoln ended up winning via the electoral college, but the losers refused to accept the results for a while as Lincoln didn’t have a majority in the popular vote [he wasn’t even on the ballot in 10 slave states].

Secession and the Start of the War

- There was one very last attempt at compromise tried in the winter of 1860/1861 by Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky [Clay wannabe], but it didn’t work out as Lincoln wouldn’t agree to just split the territories back at the Missouri Compromise line [too late for that]. So that was that and…

- On December 20, 1860 South Carolina passed a secession ordinance, hoping that other states would follow, which they did [Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas all split by February 1861, when the Confederate States of America was formed in Alabama]. And so it all began…

The Civil War (1861 – 1865)

North vs. South: Advantages and Disadvantages

- The North obviously had several advantages, such as:

á An industrialized market economy that gave the government a tremendous amount of resources to fall back on.

á A much larger population and more manpower for the army and navy. Speaking of the navy, the North had a larger, stronger navy.

á An already established, relatively powerful and organized central government led by Lincoln.

á The support of the liberated/runaway slaves in the South.

- However…

á They mainly ended up having to invade “foreign” territory.

á They had bad generals (especially initially) like McClellan, Burnside, etc.

á To win, they had to invade and conquer the South (fighting an offensive war) – harder.

- The South had some advantages, too:

á Fighting on home soil (most of the time) for their independence and way of life.

á They had some really good generals like Robert E. Lee, “Stonewall” Jackson, JEB Stuart, etc.

á To win, they only had to keep the North out – keep up resistance – like Washington in RW.

- However…

á They had a smaller everything: smaller population, smaller army, smaller navy, smaller economy, practically NO industrialization to speak of, and fewer resources.

á They had a developing central government and a big time aversion to gov’t power.

á Class problems emerging (in North too, but more in South) i.e. yeoman farmers vs. planters.

General Strategies

- The Union had the Anaconda Plan from the very start, which hoped to strangle the Confederacy through a blockade and cut it in half by taking the Mississippi.

- The Confederacy only wanted to hang on and keep the Union from gaining control. To do this, they had the foreign policy goal of gaining foreign recognition (esp. Britain). To try to coax the British into supporting them, the South put an embargo on cotton production, but this didn’t work as the British got cotton from other sources.

- In response, the North was very careful in trying to maintain good relations w/Britain. There were only two instances where this was threatened – the Trent affair in 1861 [US boards British steamer, takes off 2 Confederate ambassadors, imprisons and then releases them] and the Alabama issue [Britain selling warships to Confederacy, ambassador protested, Britain stopped].

The War Begins

- On December 20, 1860 South Carolina passed a secession ordinance, hoping that other states would follow, which they did [Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas all split by February 1861, when the Confederate States of America was formed in Alabama].

- Then on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter Confederate commanders attacked after being notified by Lincoln a ship was arriving to resupply the fort. The fort surrendered, the war began, and four more states joined the Confederacy – Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas.

- The next battle took place on July 21, 1861 at Bull Run – to the shock of the Union picnickers watching the battle, General “Stonewall” Jackson sent Union troops fleeing back towards Washington.

- In the last half of 1861 the only changes were really made in the sea, where the Union won some coastal victories, setting off a stream of runway slaves in the nearby areas.

1862: Initial Battles

- In February 1862 Ulysses S. Grant won some important victories for the Union in the land and rivers of Tennessee at the battles of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. These triumphs opened paths into Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.

- Grant continued into Tennessee, fighting the first super-bloody battle of the war, the Battle of Shiloh, on April 6. Neither side won, but casualties for both sides were huge.

- On the Virginia front, McClellan was stalling for time (not in favor of all out war, liked preparing armies, not using them). Although he was w/in 7 miles of the Confederate capital by June 1, Lee kicked his butt in the Seven Days Battles (June 26 – July 1) and sent him back to the James River.

- Lee’s victory psyched Jefferson Davis up, and he ordered a general offensive (while at the same time calling for the support of the border states).

- But the plan didn’t work, largely b/c of the Battle of Antiedam (the bloodiest day of the entire war) on September 17, 1862, where McClellan turned Lee back out of Maryland (but was subsequently replaced by Lincoln for not going after the enemy more). The South also lost in Tennessee and had to give up the offensive due to a lack of resources.

- Another noteworthy battle of spring 1862: the Merrimack (Confederacy) vs. Monitor (Union) deal, which is important b/c it was the first clash of ironclad ships (ever).

The Initial Effects of the War

- The North changed a great deal during wartime…

á Although business was shocked by the advent of the war [relationships w/South terminated, debts lost, etc.] it soon picked up – especially b/c the gov’t contributed formerly unheard of amounts [and added new taxes, like the first income tax, to make up for it]. The commercialization and industrialization of agriculture received an especially big boost.

á Since workers didn’t really benefit as much as their employers did from the new conditions the labor movement gained strength – but the employers fought back, too. Some even made crappy products for the gov’t – i.e. corruption.

á Perhaps most importantly: the gov’t gained an activist role in the economy for good. This was solidified by a series of American System-ish acts passed [since no South to oppose]:

§ Morrill Tariff Act (1861) – doubled former tariffs

§ Homestead Act (1862) – 160 acres to anyone for 5 years free

§ Legal Tender Act (1862) – creation of a nat’l currency

§ Morrill Land Grant Act (1862) – land given to states to sell, but revenue can only go for education [think agricultural, engineering schools].

§ Pacific RRD Act (1863) – transcontinental RRD planned

§ National Bank Act (1863) – I hope this one is self-explanatory

á Lincoln’s power also increased – he started a shipbuilding program w/o waiting for Congress, suspended habeas corpus in the border states (first w/o Congress, then w/their approval) and even invoked martial law.

á Lastly, Northern women took over jobs left vacant by soldiers.

- And the South experienced even more disruption…

á For one, the whole local/limited/states’ rights gov’t idea had to go in order to fight the war properly. Davis moved quickly to bring arms, supplies and troops under his control, and then had to resort to the first ever draft law in April 1862. Davis was a strong executive – he even suspended habeas corpus and imposed martial law where there was opposition.

á The government also ended up having big time influence on the economy, b/c of conscription, which allowed them to control labor – RRDs, industries all went under gov’t control. And due to the Union blockade, the South actually started industrializing during the war.

á Southern women also had to take over tasks formerly reserved for men (like managing the farm, new jobs, etc.) – which pleased some women but annoyed others.

á Then there was the whole food issue – there just wasn’t enough of it, mainly b/c of labor shortages [other goods were hard to get as well] – tremendous inflation resulted.

á Social tensions also increased due to the unfairness of the draft system.

Emancipation

- This was a war about slavery? You wouldn’t have guessed it given the way both Lincoln and Davis avoided mentioning the topic for the first months – Lincoln b/c of the border states and Republican Party, and Davis b/c of the class conflicts [not all Southerners had slaves, remember].

- Lincoln’s refusal to address the issue didn’t go over too well w/black citizens and abolitionists, though, so in March 1862 he first proposed that states consider emancipation on their own [aid was promised, as was compensation for slaveholders and colonization of former slaves in Africa]. ACS

- But Lincoln stood by his voluntary gradual emancipation deal [Horace Greeley protested this in “The Prayer of Twenty Millions”] until after the Battle of Antietam. Then, in the famous Emancipation Proclamation, which took effect on New Year’s Day, 1863 (and some say “nothing changes on New Year’s Day”) he freed all the slaves in the states in rebellion against the US.

- The EP was actually more of a threat to the South, and was still sort of ambiguous, the message was clear to many – and it defined the war as one against slavery. It was about time, too!

- The final thing came in June 1864 when Lincoln gave his support for a Constitutional ban on slavery, leading to the Republican Party’s call for the Thirteenth Amendment, which was passed in early 1865. As a rather strange note, near the end of the war the Confederates grew so desperate even they considered emancipating and arming the slaves. Go figure!

1863: The Decisive Year

- The year began well for the South w/the Battle of Chancellorsville, a crushing defeat for the North – but also detrimental to the South b/c of the loss of Stonewall Jackson.

- But things went downhill quickly for the South b/c of two important battles: the Battle of Vicksburg [on the last major Southern fortification of the Mississippi] and the Battle of Gettysburg [the high water mark of the Confederate offensive into Maryland].

- The two Northern victories at the above battles were very important. The fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863 opened the Mississippi for the North and cut the South in half and the Northern victory at Gettysburg was the end of all Southern offensives.

Disunity in the North and South

- In the North (not as bad):

á Resentment of the draft was one problem, as was general disillusionment. However, the North had enough resources that the problems didn’t make an impact on the war effort overall.

á Most resistance, in fact, was political in origin. Some Democrats attempted to gain support by blaming Lincoln for the misfortunes brought about by the war, attacking conscription, and defending states’ rights. These Peace Democrats [led by Clement L. Vallandigham] called Lincoln a dictator [got CV arrested for treason] – which led to Republicans calling them “Copperheads” [implication was that they were trying to sabotage war].

á The worst incident of public violence came about against the draft [law in 1863] – the New York City Draft Riots, for example, showed the class and ethnic tensions of the time b/c blacks were the main target [taking jobs].

á In the Presidential Election of 1864 the PD’s actually had somewhat of a chance – they ran former General McClellan against Lincoln. He llost

- In the South (a lot worse):

á One problem was the planters’ increasing opposition to their own gov’t. The centralizing tendencies needed to maintain the war effort were just not cool – so planters complained about conscription, wouldn’t change to food from cash crops, and were generally inflexible.

á The food situation, which had never been good, certainly wasn’t getting better. This culminated in the food riots in several Southern cities in spring 1863.

á Most Southerners resisted less conspicuously, though – by evading taxes and the draft, and by deserting from the army. Davis was not good at communicating w/the public, so he was stuck w/the overriding problem of public apathy/lack of morale, esp. after Vicksburg and Gettysburg.

á Also, the 1863 elections hurt Davis as many supporters of his administration lost seats. Basically, by 1864 the South had given up and many were either doing nothing or actively sabotaging the Confederate gov’t.

1864 – 1865: The Final Stretch

- The South could actually have still won in the last year if they had kept up a stalemate and waited for Northern anti-war sentiments to triumph. But several important events swayed things just enough the other way to assure a Northern victory. One aspect was that the North’s diplomatic strategy, which was don’t-let-Europe-recognize-them, succeeded into 1864.

- Also, General Sherman [“War is Hell”] took total war right into the Southern heartland starting in the winter of 1863/1864 in Virginia. The policy was all-out: looting, pillaging, burning…it was all OK. In response, Davis concentrated his forces in Atlanta, Sherman’s first goal.

- On September 2, 1864 Southern forces fell at Atlanta – which boosted Northern morale and secured Lincoln’s reelection, but killed hope for the South.

- After the victory at Atlanta, Sherman took his men on Sherman’s March to the Sea. The goal was, quite simply, to destroy as much as possible – so the men lived off the land and ruined as much as they could. Since there was no guerrilla resistance

- Simultaneously, Grant attacked Lee’s army in Virginia in repeated attempts to capture Richmond. After enormous losses, Grant was finally successful on April 2 in taking Richmond. Then on April 9, 1865 Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House