I. The Civil War Era (1825-1865)

  

A.     The Years Before the Civil War (1825-1850)

 

1. Western Expansion – “Manifest Destiny”

a.       Louisiana Purchase (1803) – bought from France in 1803.

b.       Florida (1819) – bought from Spain 1819

c.       Texas (1845)

1)      Texas was originally part of Mexico.

2)      Americans started to move into Mexico beginning in the 1820’s

3)      The Americans in Texas separated from Mexico in 1836; from 1836 to 1845 Texas was a nation called “The Lone Star Republic”.

4)      In 1845, the US annexed (took over) Texas and it became a state.

d.       Mexican Cession (1849)

1)      Mexican War (1846-1848) – the US and Mexico fought a war over Texas beginning in 1846

2)      Mexico still claimed Texas after the US annexed Texas in 1845; this caused the war.

3)      The US defeated Mexico and gained control of the Mexican Cession in 1849. 

e.       Oregon Country (1846)

1)      The US nearly went to war with Britain over the Oregon Country.

2)      Both nations claimed Oregon.

3)      A treaty between the US and Britain set the boundary in Oregon at 49 N latitude.

f.        Gadsden Purchase (1853)

1)      The US bought the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico in 1853 in order to provide land for a transcontinental railroad in the south.

 

2.       Industrial Revolution

a.       The Industrial Revolution started in the US in the years before the Civil War.

b.       What is the Industrial Revolution? –

1)      It is when people go from making things by hand to making things a factory using machines. 

1)      When most people work at jobs other than farming.

c.       New Inventions from the Industrial Revolution:

1)      interchangeable parts (Eli Whitney 1793) – identical machine made parts; they can be used to create a large number of finished products, or they can be used as replacement parts for manufactured goods.

2)      cotton gin (Eli Whitney 1793) – a machine that separated cotton seeds from the cotton fiber

3)      telegraph (Samuel Morse 1844) – a machine that used electric impulses to send messages over a wire network; Morse Code a series of dots and dashes used as a “language” by Morse to send messages using the telegraph.

4)      steamboat (Robert Fulton 1807)

5)      railroads – The Baltimore and Ohio, the first railroad in the US, opened in c.1830.

6)      sewing machine (Elias Howe 1846) – everyone made their own clothes, so this invention made life a lot easier.

 

         

 

  B.  Events Leading to the Civil War (1820-1861)

 

1.       What caused the Civil War?

a.       Slavery –

1)      Americans living in the northern states started to believe that slavery was morally wrong and should be abolished

        a) many northerners were called “abolitionists” 

2)      Americans living in the southern states believed slavery was legal under the Constitution and that the national government could no prevent them from owning slaves

a)      many southerners supported “states’ rights” because

b)      they believed that only the states could make laws about slavery.

 

2.       Famous fights between northerners and southerners over whether or not slavery could spread into new territories and states:

a.       Missouri Compromise (1820) – no slavery above 36, 30 degrees north latitude in the Louisiana Purchase (except for Missouri.

b.       Compromise of 1850 – (caused by the “Gold Rush” in 1848-49; many people moved to California to look for gold, so California had enough people to become a state very quickly!)

1)      California becomes a free state

2)      Slavery became illegal in Washington DC.

3)      Created the Fugitive Slave Law – run away slaves must be captured and returned to their owner.

4)      “popular sovereignty” would be used to determine whether or not slavery would be allowed in the land taken from Mexico in the Mexican war –  popular sovereignty is the people in the territory vote on slavery; majority wins.

d.       Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) – a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that described the cruelties of slavery; many people read the book and became convinced that slavery was wrong.

e.       Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) – created by Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas

1)      Created the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska

2)      Even though they are above 36 degrees, popular sovereignty would be used to determine the slavery issue in Kansas and Nebraska.

f.        Dred Scott v. Sanford (1856) a famous Supreme Court case about slavery.

1)      Dred Scott was a slave who lived with his master in a “free territory” (a territory where slavery was illegal). 

2)      His master decided to move back to a state where slavery was legal.

3)      Dred Scott sued his master; Scott believed that he was free because he had lived a long time in a “free territory”.

4)      The Supreme Court ruled:

(a)    Slaves are not citizens, and therefore can’t sue.

(b)    The Constitution does not allow the nation government to regulate slavery

(c)    The Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional

 

g.       John Brown’s Raid (1859) – abolitionist John Brown attempted to stop the spread of slavery by starting a slave rebellion; Brown and his followers attack Harper’s Ferry, Virginia; some are killed in the attack; Brown captured and hanged as a traitor.

h.   Abraham Lincoln became President in 1860.

1)      Southern states secede (withdraw from the US) when Lincoln was elected in 1860.

2)      Why did southerners dislike Lincoln?

(a)    He opposed the spread of slavery into new states.

(b)    He believed that human slavery was morally wrong because it went against the ideas in the Declaration of Independence.

(c)    Southerners believed that President Lincoln would make slavery illegal and ruin the southern economy and their way of life.

3)      South Carolina was the first state to secede in December 1860; other states soon joined to form the Confederate States of America (C.S.A.).

4)      In April 1861, the South Carolina militia attacked federal troops inside a fort (Fort Sumter) in Charleston, South Carolina after they refused to leave. 

5)      Attack on Fort Sumter –  this battle started the Civil War

 

 

C. The War

1.  Comparing North and South

a.  North (called “The Union”, blue uniforms, flag is the “Stars and Stripes”)

                                       1)  Union advantages:  “more”

a)    more people

b)    more factories

c)    more money

d)    more railroads

b.  South (called “Confederate States of America”, “rebels” grey uniforms, the flag is the

     “Stars and Bars’)

           1)  Confederate advantages: “better”

a)   better generals – Robert E. Lee, overall commander of the southern

      armies; many of the nation’s best  generals were from the south and

      they joined the southern army after the Civil War started.

b)   better soldiers – many southerners were in the army before the war;

      they were more accustomed to a military lifestyle (living in tents,

      taking orders, etc.)

c)   southerners were defending their homes – they fought very hard.

 

 2.  War Goals

a.   Union Goals

1)  keep the US together as a nation – “preserve the Union”

2)  eliminate slavery as a legal institution in the US

3)  how did the Union work to achieve these goals?:

a)   destroy the Confederate Army

b)   gain control of the Mississippi River

c)   stop Confederate trade by using a naval blockade to block the

      Confederate coastline

b.   Confederate Goals

1)  gain independence from the US

2)  how did the Confederacy work to achieve this goal?:

a)  obtain help from Britain or France

b)  prolong the war so that the people of the Union would get tired of

     fighting and stop the war

 

 3.  Important Battles from the Civil War

a.  Battle of Ft. Sumter ( April 1861)  Confederate forces attack Union forces in Fort Sumter

     in Charleston, South Carolina to start the Civil War.

b.  Monitor vs. Merrimack (October 1862) first battle in world history between two all metal

     ships

1)  after this event, wooden ships are obsolete

c.  Battle of Antietam (Maryland, September 1862) a very close battle but the Union won;

     after this battle President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves

d.  Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania, July 1863) “Turning Point” of the war.

1)  first major Union victory of the war

2)  after Gettysburg many people believe that the Union would win the war

e.  Battle of Vicksburg (Mississippi, May-June 1863) Union forces led by General Ulysses

     Grant gained control of the Mississippi River (remember!! … whoever controls the

     Mississippi controls North America”)

f.   “Sherman’s March to the Sea” (Tennessee to Georgia, Fall 1864) Union General William

     T. Sherman led an army of 75,000 from southern Tennessee to Atlanta, Georgia and then

                            to the Atlantic Coast

1)  Sherman’s army destroyed EVERYTHING in a 50 mile wide path from

     Atlanta, Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean

2)  Sherman’s March to the Sea is considered to be the first example of “total

     war” in world history

a)  “total war”- war on all aspects of the enemy’s life (cities, crops, farms,

     factories, transportation centers, and communications)

g.  Battle of Appomattox Court House (April 1865) Confederate forces led by General Robert

     E. Lee surrendered to Union forces led by General Ulysses Grant.

 

 

 

D. Results of the Civil War: Reconstruction (putting the US back together after the Civil War) -1865-1877

 

1.  A list of events from Reconstruction

a.  President Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in April 1865

1)  When Lincoln was elected, many people hated him; by April 1865 he is a

      respected leader.

2)  When Lincoln is assassinated, no one is able to replace him; the nation is

      without a strong leader at a time when a strong leader is needed very badly.

3)  Vice-President Andrew Johnson replaces Lincoln (Johnson was drunk at the

      Inauguration in March; not the sign of a strong leader)

b.  Slaves gain their freedom

1)  The Civil War amendments are passed (1865-1870)

a)  13 Amendment – abolished slavery in the US

b)  14 Amendment – all citizens are entitled to equal treatment under the

     law; states are not allowed to make laws that deny rights to the citizens.

c)  15th Amendment – all citizens have the right to vote regardless of race,

     color or religion                 

c.   Civil Rights Act of 1866 – former slaves are citizens and have the same rights as all other

     citizens

d.  Reconstruction Act of 1866

1)  This law was created by a group of northern Congressmen who wanted to

     punish the south for starting the Civil War; they are called “Radical

     Republicans”

2)  What did the Reconstruction Act of 1866 say?:

       a)  Southern states were divided into military regions and were governed by

            an army General (Southerners were not allowed to elect their own

            government)

b)  Southern states must do the following in order to rejoin the US:

(1)  create a new state constitution that outlaws slavery; must be

       approved by Congress

(2)  they must accept the Civil War Amendments; especially the

       14th Amendment

(3)   guarantee the rights of former slaves, including the right to

        vote.

e.  Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson (1868)

1)  President Johnson did not agree with the Reconstruction Act of 1866

a)  Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction Act, but Congress passed the law

     over the President’s veto (a two thirds vote in Congress overrides a

     President’s veto).

b)  Johnson believed that the Executive Branch had the power to create

     reconstruction plans, Congress believed that the Legislative Branch

     should control reconstruction

c)  Congress impeached President Johnson in order to keep him from

     interfering with the Reconstruction Act

d)  Johnson was impeached, but he was not removed from office.

f.  Election of 1876

1)  The election of 1876 was a very close election between Rutherford Hayes

     (Republican supported by Northerners) and Samuel Tilden (Democrat

     supported by Southerners).

2)  When the voting ended, it looked like Tilden had won, but the Republicans

     claimed that the ballots in Florida had been counted incorrectly; the votes were

     recounted and Hayes won!

3)  The Democrats (Southerners) refused to accept Hayes as the winner, so they

     made a deal:

a)  Compromise of 1877 – Hayes would be the President but he promised to

     remove troops from the south and to end the rules created by the

     Reconstruction Act of 1866

b)  The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction.  

                          

 

 

 

 

 

The Civil War                                                   Name:

Review

 

Instructions:  Use the glossary to provide a complete definition for each of the following terms.

 

cotton gin                      slave code                                 abolitionist

Middle Passage             Underground Railroad                fugitive

secede                          popular sovereignty                    civil war

arsenal                          secession                                  states’ rights

border state                   blockade                                   Rebel

Yankee                         emancipate                               ratify

habeas corpus               draft                                         greenback

inflation                         entrenched                                total war

Reconstruction              radical                                      freedmen                     

black codes                   impeach                                    scalawag                     

carpetbagger                 integrate                                   sharecropping

poll tax                          literacy test                               grandfather clause

segregation                   lynching                                    treason

 

People:  Briefly explain how each of the following people influenced the events associated with the Civil War.

 

Thomas Jefferson          Henry Clay                               John Calhoun

Daniel Webster             Stephen Douglas                       Frederick Douglass

Harriet Tubman             Nat Turner                                Harriet Beecher Stowe

Dred Scott                    John Brown                              Abraham Lincoln

Jefferson Davis             Robert E. Lee                           Ulysses Grant

William Sherman           John Wilkes Booth                     Andrew Johnson

Rutherford Hayes

 

Main Ideas:  Use the class notes to answer each of the following questions in a complete sentence. 

 

  1. Explain what Americans living in the northern states believed about slavery before the Civil War.
  2. Explain what Americans living in the southern states believed about slavery before the Civil War.
  3. How did the invention of the cotton gin help to cause the Civil War? Who invented the cotton gin?  What state was he from?
  4. Briefly explain how the Compromise of 1820 settled the issue of whether or not slavery would be allowed in the Louisiana Purchase.
  5. Why did many Americans move to California in 1848 and 1849?
  6. a.  What is the name of the document that settled the issue of whether or not slavery

                  would be allowed in the Mexican Cession?

b.  Briefly explain what the Compromise of 1850 said about the following topics:

            California

            Slavery in Washington D.C.

            runaway slaves

            popular sovereignty

  1. What was “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and why was it important in the years before the Civil War?
  2. How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act settle the issue of slavery in Kansas and Nebraska? 

Who wrote the Kansas-Nebraska Act?  Many northerners hated the Kansas-Nebraska Act, why? (hint: read the section of the notes about the Missouri Compromise).

  1. Briefly describe who Dred Scott and his court case.  What did the Supreme Court rule in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1856)?
  2. Who was John Brown?  What did many southerners think about John Brown’s raid?
  3. Why did many southerners dislike Abraham Lincoln?
  4. What event caused many southern states to secede?
  5. On a separate sheet of paper, make a chart comparing the North and the South in the Civil War.
  6. Why is the southern attack of Ft. Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina an important event in American history?
  7. Give the importance of each of the following battles from the Civil War:

Monitor v. Merrimack

Battle of Antietam

Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Vicksburg

“Sherman’s March to the Sea”

Battle of Appomattox Court House

  1. What name/term is used to describe the rebuilding of the U.S. after the Civil War?
  2. What did each of the following amendments to the Constitution say?:  13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, 15th Amendment
  3. Who became President after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865? Who assassinated President Lincoln?
  4. What did the “Radical Republicans” want to do?
  5. What did the Civil Rights Act of 1866 say?
  6. How did the Freedmen’s Bureau (p.502) attempt to help former slaves?
  7. According to the Reconstruction Act of 1866, how were the southern states to be ruled during Reconstruction?  List the steps the southern states had to take in order to rejoin the U.S. after the Civil War.
  8. Why did Congress attempt to impeach President Johnson in 1867? 
  9. Name the only other U.S. President to be impeached. 
  10. Name the only U.S. President to resign.
  11. What event ended Reconstruction?
  12. Briefly explain what the Compromise of 1877 said.