Unit 6: Crisis & Civil War

Unit 6: Crisis & Civil War

Slavery divides the nation

•North & South developed differently

–North: cities, industry, factories with paid labor, new immigrants

–South: agrarian (grow cotton), slave labor

•As country expands westward, Americans must answer:

Should slavery be allowed to spread to new territories?

Northern views of slavery

•Many white northerners viewed black people as inferior, limited their migrations & rights

•However, opinions on slavery could vary:

–No personal opinion: many had no contact with black people

–Abolitionists: small vocal minority wanted to end slavery

–OK for economic reasons:

• Bankers & businessmen earned money on cotton & tobacco

•Working class feared losing jobs to freed slaves

Southern views of slavery

•Slaves were a third to two-fifths of the population

•Defenses of slavery

–Better than “wage labor” in the north

•Happier & healthier than factory workers

–Slaves are in the Bible

•1836: Southern Senators passed gag rule

–Could not discuss slavery in Congress

Election of 1848

•Free-Soil Party: new party that supported the Wilmot Proviso: keep slavery out of western territories

–Nominated former Pres. Martin Van Buren

•Whigs & Democrats were forced to address slavery because of Free-Soilers. Solution?

–Popular Sovereignty: voters in each territory could decide the issue themselves.

•Whig candidate Zachary Taylor won (a Southern slave-holder from LA, who fought in Mexican-American War)

California Statehood crisis

•Gold rush led to big population in California

–Wanted to be free state, which would upset slave-free state balance

•John C. Calhoun (sick, has others read his speech) says the states should separate (the Southern states will secede)

•Daniel Webster (also sick) urged compromise and argued for popular sovereignty

Compromise of 1850

•Proposed by Sen. Henry Clay (KY)

–Senators Stephen A. Douglas (IL) and Daniel Webster (MA) supporting

•Debate lasted for months, but slowly each part of the compromise was passed

•Preserved the Union for another decade

•Provisions included:

1. California: free state
2. UT & NM: "popular sovereignty" (people decide)
3. Outlawed slave trade in D.C.
4. Stricter Fugitive Slave Act required citizens to return escape slaves or face fines/charges

Northern Resistance to Fugitive Slave Act

•Fugitive Slave act required citizens to catch and return runaway slaves enraged many northerners

–Forced to support slave system

–Federal gov’t intervening too much

–Some captured “slaves” were really free people

•Many white bystanders refused to help officials who tried to reclaim fugitives

•Underground Railroad:

–Escape system for slaves to reach freedom in the north

–“Conductors” would hide & move slaves hundreds of miles

•Harriet Tubman

–Born in Maryland as a slave

–Called “Black Moses” because she led hundreds of slaves to freedom

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

•Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Ohio)

•Ugly & somewhat exaggerated description of slavery

•Sold 400,000 copies in a few months

•Many Southerners thought it unfair & argued (like John C. Calhoun) that slavery was a good, not an evil.

•Turned many northerners against slavery

1850s presidents

•1850: Pres. Taylor died of a violent stomach disorder

–VP Millard Fillmore (NY) succeeded him

–Stressed flexibility and compromise

–Supported free CA (angers South) & Fugitive Slave Act (angers North);

•Election of 1852: Both parties chose obscure non-sectional candidates

–Whigs: Gen. Winfield Scott, Democrats: Franklin Pierce (NH)

–Anti-slavery Whigs defected to the Free-soilers, so Pierce won

–Strove for party & national harmony by avoiding divisive issues

Kansas-Nebraska Act

•Southern reps blocked territories’ statehood applications.

•Sen. Douglas pushed the Act through to get around this.

•It overrode Missouri Compromise, allowed slavery in territories by “popular sovereignty” only.

•Resulted in a rush by pro- and anti-slavery settlers & violent confrontations.

Bleeding Kansas

•Because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act used popular sovereignty, thousands of people rushed to Kansas.

–Northerners went to stop slavery, southerners went in support of it

•Violence erupted between them (around 55 people died)

•Opposition to slavery led by John Brown & his sons

Violence spreads to the Senate

•Charles Sumner (Sen. from Massachusetts) gives a very offensive speech against Southerners

•Preston Brooks (Rep. from South Carolina) beats him with a cane

–Brooks was removed, but South Carolina reelected him

•Sumner got 200+ letters of support and Brooks was sent canes.

Shifting Politics

•A new party unifies Anti-slavery Democrats, Whigs, Free-Soilers & Know-Nothings

–Called the Republican Party: believed slavery was immoral and bad for industry

•Democrat James Buchanan wins 1856 election with the promise to stop the agitation about slavery

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

•Supreme Court under Chief Justice Roger Taney holds:

•Slaves aren’t citizens so they can’t sue

•Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional

–Congress couldn’t ban slavery: against the 5th amendment:

•Can’t deprive people their property without due process of law

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

•Competing for Illinois Senate seat

•Douglas: Supported popular sovereignty

–“The Union was established on the right of each State to do as it pleased on the question of slavery, and every other question”

•Lincoln: Slavery was a moral wrong that should be stopped by Congress

–“There is no reason in the world why a negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence… I hold that he is as much entitled to these as a white man.”

•Significance: Lincoln didn’t win, but he gained many followers

Harpers Ferry (1859)

•Violent abolitionist John Brown and 21 followers raided the US Arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).

–Brown invited slaves to join, but none did

•Was executed

–“The crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away without very much bloodshed.”

•Along with the Dred Scott decision, this caused suspicion & rumors of war

The Election of 1860

•Northern Democrats: Douglas – Popular Sovereignty

•Southern Democrats: Breckinridge – Supported of Slavery

•Constitutional Unionists: Bell – leave things be

•Republicans: Abraham Lincoln – no slavery in the territories

–Was not on the ballot in 11 states, but won with 60% vote

Southern Secession

•Lincoln won b/c the Dem. Party split.

•Led by South Carolina, 7 states seceded after Lincoln was elected.

•Formed a new government:

–Confederate States of America

–President: Jefferson Davis.

•Lincoln took office, promised he would not attack, but would preserve the union.

Attack on Fort Sumter

•April 12th, 1861

•S. Carolina ordered the federal Fort to surrender

•Union troops refused, so Confederates fire

•Lincoln calls it an “insurrection” on the 15th & the Civil War begins

Advantages

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Union (North)

•Population: 22mil vs. 9 mil (and 3 ½-4 mil are slaves!)

•Industrialized

–Coal & iron mines

–Manufacturing

•Larger railroad network

•Navy

Confederacy (South)

•Strong Leaders

–Like Gen. Robert E. Lee

•Defensive War

–Resisting Northern aggression & defending their homes

–Familiar territory

–Short supply lines

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Northern Mobilization

•With Southerners gone from Congress, the Republicans pass strong nationalistic programs

–Homestead Act of 1862: 160 acres for citizens who would pay small fee after living on it for 5 years

–Morrill Land Grant Act (1862): public land give to states to sell to finance public education (colleges & universities)

–High tariffs to protect US industry

–National Bank Act to stabilize money system

Financing the War

•Levying taxes

–Taxes on almost all goods

–1st use of income tax (10% on income above $5000)

•Issuing paper currency called “greenbacks”

–Produced $450 million

–Not backed by gold, just good faith: value rose & fell ($.39-67)

•Borrowing: largest source of financing

–Sold $400 million of bonds to Americans

–But most loans came from banks & financial institutions

Raising the Union Army

•Regular army only 16,000 troops, most in west

•July ’61: called for 500,000 volunteers to serve 3 years

•By March had a national draft (could pay $300 or hire a replacement to escape service)

–Opposed by anti-war Democrats—called Copperheads, laborers and immigrants

–Draft riots erupted

Lincoln as Executive

•Used war powers of president

–Sent troops with out declaration of war (called it a domestic insurrection)

–Increased army size

–Proclaimed naval blockade of south

–Suspended Writs of Habeas Corpus (court order to review the legality of an imprisonment)

–Those who acted in disloyal ways were subject to martial law

Southern Mobilization

•Confederate Constitution identical to US Constitution with 2 exceptions

–Sovereignty of the states

–Approval of slavery

•Pres. Davis was an able administrator, but not inspiring and very caught up with following the rules

•Some Southerners (back & up country) didn’t approve of secession or recognize the new gov’t

Southern Financing

•Difficult

–People not used to large tax burdens

–Small unstable banking, not much capital (wealth in land & slaves)

–Tried taxing states, income tax & borrowing (bonds & loans) with little success

•Great source of funding: $1.5 billion paper money!

–Unregulated: nat’l, state, cities & private banks printed own

–Inflation!

•North= 80%

•South= 9,000%

Raising a military

•Like North, ran out of volunteers in first year

•April ‘62: Conscription Act: white males 18-35 would have 3 yrs service

–Could buy substitute, but poor whites complained & it was repealed

–1 white man on a plantation w/ over 20 slaves was exempt

•Slave men & women recruited to cook, do laundry & manual labor

Strategy

•North needed to defeat the South, while South merely needed to avoid defeat.

•Lincoln had good grasp of strategy: objective was to defeat army & destroy resources, not territory

–Couldn’t find a strategic commander: Gens. Winfield Scott, George McClellan and Henry Halleck all failed

–March of ‘64 finally gets Ulysses S. Grant

–Had to deal with Committee on the Conduct of War (joint Congressional committee) who said military wasn’t ruthless enough

•Davis controlled all southern strategy with Gen. Robert E. Lee as principle adviser

Strategies

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Union (North)

•Anaconda Plan

–Use Navy blockade of ports

–Down the Mississippi to weaken the South by splitting it in two

•Capture the capital: Richmond

Confederacy (South)

•Reduce North’s will to fight while keeping their small army alive

•Win foreign alliances with Britain & France

–Tried to use cotton argument

–Europe slightly sympathetic, but not willing to back the South due to anti-slavery feelings

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Technology of War

•Some consider it the first “modern” or “total” war

•Armaments: repeating weapons (pistol, rifle & Gatling gun) improved cannons & artillery

•Impossible to fight old style: standing up straight in rows & firing until one side withdrew  slaughter

•Battlefields were chaotic: stay low & behind cover, not in formation, trenches & fortifications were used when possible

•Railroad: transport soldiers & supplies

•Telegraph: stay in touch with other field commanders during battle

Battle of Bull Run or Manassas

•1st large battle; In Northern Virginia; Confederates won

•North thought to quickly end war, but soldiers broke rank & retreated

–Confederate Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson stands firm

•North replaces Gen. Irwin McDowell with George McClellan

•Shock: shakes Union confidence in a quick war; carnage of modern war

Western Theatre

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New Orleans Captured

•North attacked from the Gulf of Mexico

•Surprised Confederates

•Mouth of the Miss. R. closed to Confederate trade

•South’s largest city & most important banking center in Union hands

Battle of Shiloh

•Ulysses S. Grant (U) led

•Bloodshed: 2 days = 25,000 killed/wounded

–Horrified North & South; damaged Grant’s rep.

•Union controlled much of the west

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Monitor (U) vs. Virginia [aka Merrimack] (C)

•1st iron-clad warships battle off of VA

•No winner; end of wooden ships

Virginia Front

•Gen. McClellan (U) was reluctant to commit troops to battle; didn’t take advantage of opportunities to win

•Designed “Peninsular campaign” to take Richmond by river & left Washington DC loosely protected

–Stonewall Jackson (C) acted like he was attacking DC from Shenandoah Valley, so Lincoln sent troops to intercept; Jackson won

•Gen. Lee (C) launched attack, Battle of Seven Days, McClellan fought way to safety but never took opportunity to continue attack on Richmond

African Americans during the war

•At first Lincoln tried to downplay the slavery issue, but abolitionists continued the pressure to end it

•Runaway slaves often fled to the Union army

–Union did not want to return fugitives to masters

–Some Union generals declared them “contraband” (captured war supplies) and others declared them free

•Lincoln made a plan to free the slaves, but wanted to wait until after a Union victory

Battle of Antietam

•Gen. Lee (C) marched north & invited MD to join south

•Gen. McClellan (U) discovered plan in a camp & surprise attacked, but allows a defeated Lee to retreat to VA

•Single bloodiest day (23,000 dead/wounded)

Emancipation Proclamation (Sept. 22, 1862)

•Military decree freed slaves in rebelling states after Jan. 1,1863

•For the North it redefined the war’s purpose: it’s about ending slavery

–Some abolitionists complain it only free slaves in areas that aren’t under Lincolns direct control

–Republicans think it doesn’t go far enough and Democrats think it goes too far

•South no longer willing to negotiate

African Americans join the fight

•The Union began actively recruiting black volunteers

•54th Massachusetts Regiment

–All black regiment that served bravely

–Led by white officer Robert Gould Shaw

•2 dozen African American soldiers are awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor

•However, may experienced prejudice

–Given menial jobs just as cooking, cleaning & digging latrines

–Put on the front lines of battle

–If they surrendered the Confederates would kill them all

–Many slaves flee, spy or secretly feed and assist Union

Homefront

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North

•Increased income tax

•Encouraged settlement of the west

–Homestead Act & Transcontinental Railroad

•Draft triggers rioting

•Peace Democrats (Copperheads) protest the war

•Lincoln suspends habeas corpus

South

•Naval blockade of the South is effective

–“blockade runners” tried to slip past the navy

–Had to depend on own farms & factories

•South can’t pay for war

–Confiscate Union weapons, food & supplies from the battlefield

–Inflation

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Life of a Soldier

•Half of northern men and 80% of southern men served during the Civil War

•For many this was the first time they had left home

•When not fighting, past times included: letter writing, playing games of going to revivals

•Some families & towns had divided loyalties (especially in border states) and cold end fighting against friends & family

•Most common treatment for wounds was amputation (infection common)

•Camp life was dangerous: poor drinking water and no sanitation spread disease

–For every soldier killed in battle, two died of disease

•Prison camps: crowded and filthy

–Andersonville, Georgia was the most notorious: +12,000 died of disease & malnutrition

Women and War

•New opportunities

•Many took over the family business, farm or plantation

•By the end of the war most teachers were women

•A few disguised themselves as men and fought in battle

•Others joined their husbands in camps, cooking and doing laundry

•Nursing became a women’s profession

–Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross

–U.S. Sanitary Commission authorized women to oversee hospitals

Battle of Vicksburg

•General Grant (U) cut off supplies (the railroad)

• City of Vicksburg was under siege for a month

•Effect: Union controlled Mississippi & all railroads going West (Anaconda Plan)

Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville

•Despite small numbers; Confederates won under General Lee

–Though Stonewall Jackson died and many of the Union generals were really bad at doing their job

•General Lee (C) decided to take offensive: invade the North

Battle of Gettysburg

•Lee invaded Pennsylvania & won during the first day

•Days 2-3 he lost very badly

–Pickett’s charge: thousands were killed as they marched uphill

•50,000 dead/wounded; bloodiest battle

–South loses 1/3 of total force

•Importance: last battle on northern soil; last southern invasion of north

Gettysburg Address

•Speech by Lincoln to dedicate the battlefield to the fallen soldiers

•Helped Union connect massive loss of life with the rebirth of a new nation

Total War

•Gen. Grant (U) controlled whole army; ferocious battles at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House & Cold Harbour; targeted Richmond

•Total War: goal to weaken the army AND economy that supported it; reduce will to fight

–Ex. Sherman’s March to the Sea: 60,000 march from TN-GA border to Savannah; destroy everything on way (railroads, buildings & homes)

Petersburg & Richmond

•1864 Lincoln is reelected

•Petersburg was a major transportation hub of the South; could cut off Richmond (the Confederate capital)

•Petersburg was put under siege & Union wins; Richmond evacuated and burned

Appomattox Court House

•Gen. Lee (C) retreated; chased to Appomattox (95 mi west of Richmond)

•Gen. Lee (C) surrendered to Gen. Grant (U) April 9, 1865; other southern generals surrendered in following months

•President Lincoln was assassinated April 14, 1865 by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending a play

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