The Politics of Slavery

The Politics of Slavery
The Main Idea
The issue of slavery dominated national
politics during the 1850s. The federal
government forged policies in attempts to
satisfy both North and South.
Slavery in the United States






The United States added more than 500,000 square
miles of new territory after the Mexican-American War.
Antislavery activists wanted to ban slavery in the new
territory.
Southerners wanted to allow slavery in the new
territory.
When California applied to become a state in 1850
the number of free states and slave states were equal.
Residents of California approved a state constitution
that banned slavery.
The Compromise of 1850
Debates and decisions

After California applied for statehood, Kentucky senator Henry
Clay introduced a plan to Congress proposing a series of
compromises on several slavery issues.

One of the most famous Senate debates resulted.

Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and John C. Calhoun of South
Carolina faced off.

Calhoun opposed the compromises

Webster felt that preservation of the Union was more important
than the disagreement over slavery.

Calhoun’s death in March removed one of the obstacles to the
compromise.

Five laws were passed based on Clay’s resolutions, forming the
Compromise of 1850.
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act made it a federal crime to
assist runaway slaves.

The law also allowed the arrest of escaped slaves in
states where slavery was illegal.


The law was openly resisted in the North.
Many who had previously been quiet on slavery issues
were furious.

Mobs rescued slaves from northern police stations and
threatened slave catchers.

By 1851, some southern leaders were again talking
of seceding from the Union.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Railroad
proposal
A proposed railroad connecting California to the rest
of the nation was a dividing issue.


Southerners wanted New Orleans as the eastern end
Senator Stephen Douglas favored Chicago for the
eastern end


But the northern route land had to be officially
opened for settlement by the government.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
May 1854

Douglas proposed organizing the Kansas and Nebraska Territories
Slavery would be settled by popular sovereignty – letting the
people decide

Southern senators demanded the bill end the Missouri
Compromise’s limits on slavery.


In May 1854 his Kansas-Nebraska Act became law.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise

Popular sovereignty would decide if slavery was legal in any of
the territories

It now became possible to legalize slavery north of the 36º
36’ N latitude line.
Reactions in the North and South
Rise of the Republican Party
 The

Free Soil Party was formed in 1848
Made up of northern Whigs and Democrats, and members of
the antislavery Liberal Party.
 The
name was taken because opposition to the spread of
slavery was its main issue.

People of all political parties who opposed slavery’s
spread were called free-soilers.
 The
Republican Party was formed from a meeting of the
Free-Soil Party, northern Whigs, and others
 In
response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
 Two
new Republicans were William Seward and Abraham
Lincoln.
Sectional Conflicts and
National Politics
The Main Idea
Rising tension over slavery expanded from political rhetoric
into outright violence.
The Struggle for Kansas


Lawlessness

Many acts of slavery-related lawlessness plagued
Kansas Territory.

By 1856 the territory was being called “Bleeding Kansas.”

Kansas was a mighty stake in the slavery debate

pro-slavery and free-soil forces soon were fighting for
control.
Control of elections

Each side tried to control the territory’s elections and,
later, a vote on a state constitution.

Emigrant groups from both sides flooded into the territory

in an effort to establish or prevent slavery.
The Struggle for Kansas
Popular
sovereignty
Settlement of the slavery issue by popular sovereignty
did not require settlers to vote on whether to allow it.

Instead, the question was settled indirectly, electing a
territorial legislature that would then pass laws on the subject.

First
elections
Two
governments
Voter fraud occurred in the November 1854 election to
choose the territory’s delegate to Congress


and in the March 1855 elections for a territorial legislature.

The legislature quickly passed a strict slave code into law.

Free-soilers refused to accept the new legislature
electing an antislavery governor and legislature of their
own.

By 1856, there were two governments claiming to be
the legal government of Kansas.

The Struggle for Kansas
The Sack of Lawrence
The
town of Lawrence had become a center of
antislavery activity.
President
Pierce (Democrat) condemned the free-soil
government in Kansas as rebels
prompting
pro-slavery Kansas officials to charge
free-soil leaders with treason.
A
pro-slavery posse rode into Lawrence to arrest these
leaders
Destroying
looting
the town’s printing press
and destroying much of the town.
Pottawatomie Massacre

John Brown was a committed abolitionist who went to
Kansas

settling in a free-soil town there.

He appointed himself a captain of the local antislavery militia.

Outraged by what happened at Lawrence, Brown sought
bloody revenge.

He and a small group of followers dragged five pro-slavery
settlers out of their cabins and executed them.

This act became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre.
The Struggle for Kansas
“Bleeding Kansas”
A
civil war broke out in Kansas.
Large bands of pro-slavery and antislavery forces
roamed the territory.

Most settlers on both sides had property looted or
destroyed.

Although federal troops brought the major fighting to
an end in September

a guerrilla war of sabotage, ambushes, and other
surprise attacks continued.

“The Crime against Kansas”






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Violence over Kansas spread to Congress.
Sumner of Massachusetts delivered an angry two-day
speech
directing vicious remarks at Andrew Butler of South
Carolina
Who had played a key role in passing the KansasNebraska Act.
Two days later, Representative Preston Brooks, Butler’s
nephew, attacked Sumner
beating him with a heavy walking stick until Sumner
collapsed.
Northerners were angered by the brutal attack.
The Election of 1856
The Kansas controversy dominated the presidential election of
1856.
• Democratic candidate was James Buchanan
• Republican candidate John Frémont
• American (the Know-Nothings) candidate was Millard
Fillmore.
Buchanan won the election for two reasons.
•Immigrant populations in the North were repelled by the
Know-Nothings’ nativism
•Democrats painted the Republicans as extremists on the
slavery issue.
•Buchanan was the voters’ choice in both the North and the South.
•However, Frémont won all the states of the Upper North.
The Dred Scott Decision
 Dred
Scott was slave who had lived in a free territory
 Scott
sued for his freedom arguing that by living where
slavery was illegal, he had become free
Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott citing the 5th
Amendement
 The
 which
prohibits the law from seizing property without due
process
 Southerners
 Northerners
saw the Dred Scott decision as a victory.
feared that slavery could now not be banned
in any territory.
John Brown’s Raid
Attack on the arsenal

John Brown and 21 followers attacked a U.S. arsenal at Harpers
Ferry, Virginia.

Planning to use the guns to arm a slave revolt, on October 16,
1859, the group captured the arsenal.

He sent some of his group to spread the word to the area’s
slaves to rise up in revolt.

No slaves were willing to run away and join Brown.
After the attack

Armed local townspeople followed by U.S. Marines fought Brown and
his group.



Brown and his surviving followers were tried
all were sentenced to hang.
Brown was hanged December 2, 1859.
Lincoln and Douglas Clash
After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lincoln returned
to public life.


Lincoln helped organize the Illinois Republican Party in 1856.
He opposed Stephen Douglas’s bid for a third term in the U.S.
Senate.

Lincoln took the most radical stance against slavery with the
prediction “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
 The debates were a series of public meetings where
Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated the issues of their
Senate campaign.

Lincoln and Douglas Clash
The Freeport Doctrine
 Lincoln
challenged Douglas to explain
how people could use popular
sovereignty to keep slavery out of a
place when the Dred Scott decision
had said they could not.
 Douglas’s
reply came to be known
as the Freeport Doctrine.

“If the people are opposed to slavery
they will elect representatives to that
body who will by unfriendly
legislation . . . prevent the introduction
of it into their midst.”
Lincoln and Douglas Clash
Lincoln’s social views
 Lincoln
stressed the immorality of
slavery in the debates.
 Douglas
referred to Lincoln’s party as
Black Republicans
 painted
an image of a society where the
races were equal, pressing Lincoln on
citizenship for blacks.
into a corner, Lincoln said, “I
will say that I am not, nor have ever
been in favor of bringing about in any
way the social and political equality of
the white and black races.”
 Backed
The Debates’ Significance


Deciding who won

Douglas retained his Senate seat

Most historians judge Lincoln to have won the debates.

He had argued the more famous Douglas to a draw and in the process
made himself a national figure.
Supporters

Douglas’s statements caused him to lose support of southern
Democrats.

Lincoln’s moderate positions increased his standing among northerners.
• Southerners still thought Lincoln was a serious threat to
slavery.

Speaking to the people

Lincoln and Douglas took their arguments directly to the people and made
the issues of the day clear to the nation.

The outcome directly affected the presidential election of 1860.
The Election of 1860
The Democratic convention
•
The Democratic Party was seriously divided in the spring
of 1860.
•
Southern Democrats wanted to block Douglas’s nomination
and a party platform protecting slavery.
•
Northern Democrats supported Douglas and popular
sovereignty.
•
The northerners managed to push their platform through and
nominated Douglas after a second meeting.
•
Southern Democrats split and later nominated John C.
Breckinridge.
The Election of 1860
The Republican convention
•
William Seward seemed to be the frontrunner
•
many felt his abolitionist views were too radical.
•
The Republicans settled on Lincoln as the candidate with the most
strengths and the fewest weaknesses.
The party’s platform:

opposed slavery

called for free land in the West

improved wages

and tariff increases

and expressed a firm commitment to the preservation of the
Union.
The 1860 Campaign
•The election was really two sectional elections:
•Lincoln v. Douglas in the North
•Breckenridge v. Bell in the South
•Democrats in the North claimed a Lincoln victory would
bring runaway slaves pouring in.
•Lincoln wins election, no southern states
•Republicans claimed Democrats were corrupt
•“Honest Abe” would restore good government.
The South Secedes
The Main Idea
The election of Abraham Lincoln led to the secession of
the southern states.
Reading Focus
• What led to the secession of the states of the Lower
South from the Union?
• How and why was the Confederacy formed?
• Why did compromises and other attempts to save the
Union fail?
Secession!
The states break apart
 A month after Lincoln’s election, South Carolina became
the first state to secede
 Within months by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, and Texas.

Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas
warned that if the federal government made any attempt
to use force against a state, they would also secede.
Secession!
Southerners and secession

Southerners’ support for secession was not universal.
Some wanted their states to issue a final set of demands to the
federal government and secede only if those demands were not met.

Radical secessionism prevailed, and there would be a united
resistance against the U.S. government.

Northern response


There was varied reaction in the North.
Some felt the Union was better off with the slave states gone
Others bore southerners no ill will. They merely wanted the South to
go in peace.

Still others worried about the long-term effects of letting secession
proceed.

President Lincoln agreed, saying that no state could get out of
the Union without the consent of the other states.

Lincoln Waits
• Newspapers pressed Lincoln for a public statement that
would calm the nation’s fears
• Lincoln worried about making matters worse.
• Privately, Lincoln tried to convince southern leaders they would not
be interfered with
• he was also committed to preserving the Union.
• Outgoing president Buchanan agreed secession was illegal
• He said the Constitution gave the federal government no
power to stop it.
• Buchanan rejected a request to turn over federal property to
South Carolina authorities
• but he promised he would not attempt to reinforce the forts.
• Federal troops were all moved to the stronger Fort Sumter.
Forming the Confederacy
In February 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, representatives of
the seven seceded states met to form a new nation.





They wrote a constitution and chose Jefferson
Davis as provisional president.
The new constitution recognized and protected
slavery
recognized the “sovereign and independent”
nature of each state.
They named their new nation the Confederate
States of America.
Elected Jefferson Davis president
Compromise Fails
The Crittenden Compromise proposed:
•Amending
the U.S. Constitution to ban slavery north of the old
Missouri Compromise line and
•
ensuring that slavery would not be interfered with south of that line.
•The
plan was defeated by a vote of 25–23.
•
A Peace Convention began on February 4, 1861, in Washington, D.C.
•
Most of the northern states were represented
•
So were all the remaining slave states except Arkansas.
•
It offered a plan similar to Crittenden’s, but the Senate rejected the plan.
•
Lincoln became president on March 4, 1861.
•
In his inaugural address, he offered assurances that he would not interfere
with the institution of slavery in the South.
Preparing for War
The Main Idea
The attack on Fort Sumter led both the North and the South
to prepare for war in earnest.
Reading Focus
• How did the fall of Fort Sumter lead to war?
• Why did many northerners and southerners eagerly rush to war?
• Why was the loyalty of the border states important, and how did
Lincoln obtain it?
• What were the Union and Confederate goals and strategies for
the war?
The Fall of Fort Sumter
Crisis at Fort Sumter

Commander Robert Anderson sent the message to Lincoln that
Confederate leaders were demanding surrender or they would
attack.

Low on supplies, Fort Sumter remained in Union hands.

The fort was very symbolic to both sides.

Lincoln would not surrender the fort, but would send food and
other nonmilitary supplies.

Jefferson Davis would decide whether to attack and go to war or
allow the symbol of federal authority to remain.
The attack on the fort

Davis ordered a surprise attack before the supplies could arrive.

On April 12, 1861, the Confederate artillery opened fire on the
fort, and an outgunned Fort Sumter surrendered the next day.
The Rush to War
Response in the North
 Lincoln
 90
calls for 7500 volunteers
days’ service to put down the rebellion
 Northerners
rush to enlist
Reaction in the South
 With
call for volunteers, the eight remaining Union slave
states now forced to choose a side
 Union
slave states refused to provide troops to fight against
fellow southerners
 First
Virginia, then Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina
secede
 Confederate
capital is moved to Richmond, Virginia
Northern Advantages









Larger army (almost a 3-1 ratio)
Stable government
80% of all railroads
70% of all industry
Could raise more money $$
70% of food producing farms
A Navy
Larger population
Lincoln’s Leadership
Union Strategy
1.

Three Part Union Strategy includes:
Eastern Campaign:
Take Richmond, Confederate capital
2. Western Campaign:
 drive Confederates from Tennessee River
 drive Confederates from Mississippi River
 split Confederacy in two, cut off supplies & communications
3. Naval Blockade:
 blockade Confederate coast
 cutoff commercial lifeline with Europe
 attack Southern ports
Southern Advantages





Motivation (fighting for independence)
Knew the terrain
Fighting a defensive war
Better officers
Robert E. Lee
Southern Strategy



Fight a defensive war
Get foreign recognition
Get foreign assistance
Southern Strategy
• Southerners engaged in a policy known as cotton
diplomac
• The Confederacy embargoed cotton to force the issue
of recognition as an independent nation when the
English and French hesitated.
Cotton diplomacy failed for many reasons:
- The British resented the attempt at blackmail.
- Southern cotton was stockpiled from the year before.
- Higher prices encouraged other countries to grow the
crop.
• Both north and south continued to try to
gain/block foreign involvement throughout the
conflict.
Fighting Erupts
The Main Idea
Widespread fighting occurred during the first two years of
the Civil War.
Reading Focus
• What factors made the major battles in the war so bloody?
• How did the Union carry out its strategy in the Mississippi
Valley?
• What led to the Confederate successes in the war in the
East?
• Why did the Confederate forces invade the Union, and with
what result?
The Major Battles Begin
Union army not ready to fight

With 90-day volunteer enlistment nearly over, the decision was
made to send troops to Manassas Junction to attack.
First Battle of Bull Run

The chaotic battle ended hope for a short war.

Stonewall Jackson earned his nickname and Confederate
infantry charge caused Union troops to stampede.

There were 2,000 Confederate and 2,900 Union casualties.
Results

Confederacy wins

Lincoln called for a million more volunteers to serve for three
years.

Replaced McDowell with General George McClellan, who set
about creating a real army out of the volunteer force
The Major Battles Begin
Tactics and Technology

Top generals on each side trained at West Point.

Old instructional methods based on infantry and
cavalry charges

but with new weaponry these tactics led to huge
casualties

Increased range and accuracy with bullet-shaped
ammunition and rifling

Shrapnel replaced cannonballs, and fragments
mowed down troops.
New Devices of War

Observation balloons were used to direct artillery fire

camouflage was used to disguise tents and guns
from view.

The telegraph allowed for quick communication.

Railroads were used to move large numbers of
troops.
The Fight for the Mississippi
Valley
• Ironclads were used by the Union to take the
Mississippi Valley.
• Ulysses S. Grant captured Forts Henry and Donelson
• opening the western Confederacy
• leaving the Mississippi River vulnerable to attack.
• The bloody Battle of Shiloh was a Confederate loss
• there were over 23,000 total casualties.
• Grant realized the Union would be saved only by complete
conquest.
• New Orleans fell to Admiral Farragut
• he continued up the Mississippi River to capture Baton
Rouge and Natchez.
• Only Vicksburg remained in Confederate hands.
The War in the East
General McClellan
Hesitant
commander with 100,000-man Union army
designated to attack Richmond
Fought
a series of battles on the peninsula but always
delayed action
Lincoln
held troops back to defend Washington
Confederates
attacked in a series of clashes, and
McClellan retreated after four victories in five battles.
2nd Battle of Bull Run
Overly
cautious McClellan waited outside Richmond.
Lincoln
turned to John Pope with his 50,000 troops in
northern Virginia.
Robert
E. Lee lured Pope into battle and defeated him.
Lincoln
put McClellan back in command, telling his
cabinet members, “We must use the tools we have.”
Smaller
Confederate forces more effective and led by
better commanders
The Union is Invaded: Antietam








Union morale was low after defeats in Virginia
the Confederates determined to attack on Union soil
hoping to gain an early peace.
Confederate leaders wanted to follow up Lee’s
success with a victory on Union soil
Hoped to break northern morale
Persuade European nations to support the
Confederacy
Union Army came across Lee’s plans left behind
Gen. McClellan used this to plan counter attack
Antietam Creek







Bloodiest single day battle
in U.S. history
Major Union victory
Lee lost a large number of
troops
Confederate Northern
advance was stopped
Lincoln’s order to “destroy
the rebel army” was ignored.
McClellan allowed the rebels
to retreat into Virginia.
He was relieved of
command.
The War behind the Lines
The Main Idea
The Civil War created hardships, challenges, and
opportunities for people in the North and the South.
Reading Focus
• How did the Emancipation Proclamation affect the Civil
War?
• How did African Americans contribute to the war effort?
• What was life like in the military?
• What similarities and differences existed on the home
front in the North and South?
The Emancipation Proclamation
Attitudes about the war changed with increased casualties

No longer about just saving the Union, the South needed to be
punished for the bloodshed of the war.

Lincoln convinced to use constitutional power to end slavery

denying the South the labor needed to continue the war
Emancipation Proclamation issued on January 1, 1863

It freed the slaves in all areas in rebellion against the U.S.

Abolitionists were upset slavery continued in the Union.

Riots broke out with increased competition for jobs in the North.

Supporters felt it would shorten the war.
Overseas reaction

The British felt Lincoln should have freed all of the slaves.

With war now about ending slavery, Britain would side with the Union.
•
Britain will not side with Confederacy.
•
This is an example of the failure of cotton diplomacy.
Life in the Military
Wartime
medicine
Camp
life
Prison
camps

Disease was responsible for most deaths

various epidemics swept through the camps.

Sanitary Commission worked to improve conditions.

Conditions were poor, tents were crowded

the ground muddy or dusty depending on the weather.

Camp rations were good, but while on the march
soldiers relied on hardtack and coffee.

Prisoner exchanges ended in 1863,

both sides were guilty of inhumane treatment of
prisoners.

Most notorious camps—Andersonville and Elmira
Life on the Home Front
Southern Home Front
Shortages
made life difficult.
There
were few factories, and food production
dropped because of war.
War
High
was fought on credit, and inflation resulted.
prices and shortages led to food riots.
Soldiers
Poor
deserted to take care of their families.
men were patriotic, but their families came first.
Confederate Draft

Needed to maintain the army

Confederate Congress enacted 1st military draft in
American history—April 1862

Unpopular conscription contradicted states’ rights

Governors of Georgia and North Carolina tried to
block the draft.

Slaveholders were exempted from the draft.

Some areas were placed under martial law.
Copperheads and the Union Draft
•No shortages, but the Union needed to draft more
soldiers
•Union draft law allowed the wealthy to hire substitutes
or pay a $300 fee—making the war a poor man’s fight.
•Anti-draft riots fueled an existing antiwar movement
•called Peace Democrats by supporters,
Copperheads by critics.
•Vocal critics who opposed the war, the draft, or
emancipation were arrested and jailed without trials.
•This was possible because Lincoln suspended
habeas corpus across the entire country
•he was willing to violate the constitution in order to
save the nation.
The War Continues
The Main Idea
Important fighting occurred in all sections of the country as
well as at sea.
Reading Focus
• In what ways was the war at sea an important part of the
Civil War?
• What were each side’s goals in the West and how were
events there influenced by the rest of the war?
• What three major battles took place in 1863, and why was
each important?
• Why was the fighting around Chattanooga, Tennessee,
important to the outcome of the war?
Three Major Battles
Battle of Chancellorsville
 General
Joseph Hooker was in command of Union army.
 Lee
sent Stonewall Jackson in a surprise attack, nearly destroying the
Union army on the first day.
 Battle
was General Lee’s greatest victory, defeating a force twice
its size.
 Lee
determined to invade the North again, hoping a victory there
would end the war.
 Lee
marched north, and Lincoln replaced Hooker with General George
Meade.
 Confederates
on the lookout for a rumored shoe supply skirmished
with Union cavalry.
 Both
sides rushed troops to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
The Siege of Vicksburg

General Grant began the Union siege of
Vicksburg in May 1863.

With constant shelling of the city, citizens were
forced to dig into hillsides to try to escape the
barrage.

After forty-eight days, the city surrendered.

Four days later the last Confederate fort on the
Mississippi surrendered as well.
The Road to Gettysburg
Turning Point of the Civil War
Lee’s Gamble


1.
2.
3.
Confederates victories at Chancellorsville &
Fredericksburg gave them confidence
Lee wanted to launch another offensive into Union
territory
Goals:
Break Union’s will to fight
Seize supplies for his army
Victory would encourage other nations to recognize
the Confederacy
Accidental Meeting





Lee had wanted to fight around Harrisburg, Pa.
He wanted to get the Union army out in the open
Confederate raiding party was out looking for supplies
for the army
Union troops marching towards Washington come
across Confederate troops & the fighting begins
Neither side wanted to fight there
Gettysburg: Day 1
July 1st, 1863
Confederates pushed Union army back to
Cemetery Ridge, south of the town
 Union troops, commanded by Gen. Buford held
the high ground & stopped Confederate
advance
 Both sides waited for reinforcements during the
night

CONFEDERATES
UNION
Little Round Top
Gettysburg: Day 2, July 2nd,
1863
Little Round Top
Left Flank
Gettysburg: Day 2, July 2nd, 1863
Little Round Top
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Upon seeing the situation, Lee orders attack on Union left
flank
Union troops are sent to defend the left flank
Led by Union Gen. Joshua Chamberlain the 20th
Maine hold their position
Confederate’s are turned back in the battle’s bloodiest
day
Union army prevents Confederates from flanking
them
Most important battle of the 3 days
Gettysburg: Day 3, July 3rd, 1863
Pickett’s Charge
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Lee decides on attacking the Union center
Feels the Union is vulnerable there because they had
reinforced their flanks
Gen. Pickett leads three divisions toward the center of the
Union line
Confederates almost punch through but are repelled
by Union troops
Confederates suffered high casualties during the charge
Pickett lost almost his entire division
Gettysburg: Aftermath
Major Union victory
 Turning point of the Civil War
 Combined with Grant’s victory at Vicksburg renewed
Northern confidence
 Lee would never launch an attack into the North
 Casualties:
North: 23,000
South: 28,000
 War would continue for two more years
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The Final Phase
The Main Idea
Southerners continued to hope for victory in 1864, but
military and political events caused those hopes to
fade.
Reading Focus
• What tactics did Grant use against Lee to change the
course of the war?
• How did the election of 1864 affect Confederate hopes
for victory in the Civil War?
• How did the actions of Sherman and Grant help bring
the war to an end?
General Ulysses S. Grant
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Lincoln gave him command of Union armies in March 1864
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Grant made William Tecumseh Sherman commander on the
western front of the war.
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Grant wanted to take advantage of the Confederate shortages
of men and supplies
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end the war before the November election.
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Ordered Sherman to “get into the interior of the enemy’s
country as far as you can and inflict all the damage you can
against their war resources”
General Robert E. Lee
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South could not win the war
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but a new president might accept southern independence in return
for peace.
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Lee planned to make the cost of fighting so high for the North
that Lincoln would lose the upcoming election.
Fierce Fighting
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Grant kept his troops on the attack, winning the Battle of the
Wilderness and pushing south.
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The Battle of Spotsylvania cost many casualties on both sides, but
Grant continued toward Richmond.
•
During the Battle of Cold Harbor men pinned their names and
addresses on uniforms for identification.
•
With this loss and after failing to capture the rail center at
Petersburg, Grant began a siege of that city to put pressure on
Richmond.
•
Meanwhile, Sherman won the Battle of Atlanta and laid siege to
Atlanta’s defenses.
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He took the city after closing down the last railroad line, one month
before the Union presidential elections.
Confederate Hopes Fade:
Election of 1864
Democrats nominated George McClellan
adopted a party platform calling for an immediate end
to the war.
Republicans tried to broaden Lincoln’s appeal by picking
Tennessee’s Andrew Johnson for vice-president.
Lincoln expected to lose the election.
 Sherman’s capture of Atlanta allowed Lincoln to easily
defeat McClellan.
 Congress passed the 13th Amendment ending slavery
the war seemed nearly over to all but die-hard secessionists.
 Lincoln announced his intention to be forgiving, but
the bloody war continued.
The War Comes to an End
Sherman’s March
After
the election, Sherman marched across Georgia
what
came to be known as the March to the Sea.
Sherman
cut a swath of destruction 300 miles long and
50–60 miles wide.
After
taking Savannah, Sherman turned north through
South Carolina
destroying
civilian property all along the way.
The fall of Richmond
Lee
they
only had 35,000 defenders at Petersburg
were low on supplies.
Grant
decided not to wait for Sherman’s troops.
Instead,
he broke through Lee’s defenses at
Petersburg and went on to take Richmond.
Lee
tried to escape with his few remaining troops
Grant
blocked their way.
Surrender at Appomattox
Lee and Grant
 With
Union forces
surrounding them, Lee
decided to surrender.
 Grant
presented the terms of
the surrender to Lee.
 Extremely
generous for such
a bloody conflict, Lee’s
troops merely had to turn over
their weapons and leave.
announced, “The war
is over. The rebels are our
countrymen again.”
 Grant
The war is over
 News
of Lee’s surrender
brought joyful celebrations in
the north.
 The
last of the Confederate
forces surrendered on May
26, 1865.
 Sadly,
President Lincoln
would not live to see the
official end of the war.
Fight Over Reconstruction
Rebuilding the South
The South After the Civil
War
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Weary southern soldiers returned to
find their farms destroyed
Cities in ruin, crops were well below
normal
Food prices remained high
Many faced the threat of starvation
Financial institutions were struggling
Few southerners could pay their debts
Jim Crow Laws
Segregation of public facilities
 Applied to schools, hospitals, restaurants,
parks, water fountains, etc.
 Mostly applied in southern states
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Plessy v Ferguson
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Plessy, an African-American, sued the railroad because he
was denied a seat in a railroad car reserved for whites
Plessy said his rights were violated under the 14th
amendment
Case went before the Supreme court
Supreme Court ruled that Plessy’s 14th amendment
right’s were not violated
As long as facilities were equal they could be separate
Ruling allowed Jim Crow laws to continue
especially in the southern states
Radical Republican Leaders
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Thaddeus Stevens
Charles Sumner (same person who
was attacked by Preston Brooks)
Sharp critics of Pres. Johnson
Radicals wanted economic justice for
African-Americans & poor whites
Pursued voting rights & fair laws
Johnson vs. Congress
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Republicans responded with the Civil Rights Act
of 1866
Gave African-Americans the same legal rights as
White Americans
Pres. Johnson vetoed the bill
He argued that the bill gave too much power to the
federal government
Rejected the principle of equal rights for AfricanAmericans
Insisted “they did not understand the nature &
character of our institution”
Republican Reaction
Republicans felt that without rights for AfricanAmericans the South would never have a
strong economy or democracy
 Republicans override Johnson’s veto
 Republicans feared the Civil Rights Act would be
overturned once Southern States were readmitted
 14th Amendment passed to prevent this
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Congress Takes Charge
1866 election gave Republicans a commanding
majority in both houses
 Republicans now had the power to override any
presidential vetoes
 Moderates joined with the Radicals uniting the
Republican Party
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Reconstruction Acts
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Passed by Congress
Divided the South into 5 military districts
Required all Southern states to create new state
constitutions supporting the 14th amendment
Required to give African-Americans the right to vote
Pres. Johnson disagreed with the acts
He believed that African-Americans did not deserve
the same treatment as whites
Impeachment!
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Congress knew that Pres. Johnson did not support
Reconstruction policies
Passed the Tenure in Office Act: President could not
remove any cabinet official without Senate approval
Johnson defied the law and fired Edward Stanton the
Secretary of War
Stanton was a supporter of the Reconstruction Plan by the
Radicals
Impeachment Trial
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House of Representatives responds by voting for
presidential impeachment
Although unpopular, many felt that Johnson was being
treated unfairly
Republicans failed to remove Johnson from office by
one vote
The trial broke Johnson’s powers as president
1868 Election
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Former Civil War hero Ulysses S Grant
wins the election
Grant won majority of the electoral vote
214-80
He narrowly won the popular vote
Blacks helped Grant win the election
White Supremacist Groups:
Ku Klux Klan
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Secret society formed to prevent blacks
from voting & advancing in society
They dressed in white sheets pretending to be
ghosts of Confederate soldiers
Used violent means to scare away black
voters
Would also go after whites that helped blacks
Burned black churches, attacked & beat
blacks
Thousands of people killed by Klan activity
Force Acts
Provided for federal supervision of elections
in Southern states
 It gave the President power to declare martial
law where the KKK was active
 Purpose was to stop Klan violence &
intimidation of black voters
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Reconstruction:
Success or Failure?
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Goals not achieved:
Black Americans did not achieve equality
Black Americans were not able to use the vote to
protect themselves
Poll taxes & literacy tests adopted in many southern
states to prevent blacks from voting
Radicals unwilling to give land to freed slaves to help
them become economically independent
Reconstruction
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Goals achieved:
13th Amendment: abolished slavery
14th Amendment: equal protection under the law
15th Amendment: right to vote for blacks
These amendments could probably only have been
passed at this time in history
This was the beginning of the Civil Rights movement