History Study Guide: Civil War Causes

Important Events In Chronological order:1. North-West Ordinance 1787

a. An act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed July 13, 1787.

b. The primary effect of the ordinance was the creation of the Northwest Territory, the first organized territory of the United States, from lands south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River.

c. On August 7, 1789, President George Washington signed the Northwest Ordinance of 1789 into law

d. It established the precedent by which the federal government would be sovereign and expand westward across North America with the admission of new states, rather than with the expansion of existing states and their established sovereignty under the Articles of Confederation.

e. The prohibition of slavery in the territory had the practical effect of establishing the Ohio River as the boundary between free and slave territory in the region between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. This division helped set the stage for national competition over admitting free and slave states, the basis of a critical question in American politics in the 19th century until the Civil War.

2. Constitution of the USA 1787 a. The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was the first

constitution of the United States of America. It was drafted by the Continental Congress in mid-1776 to late 1777, and formal ratification by all 13 states was completed in early 1781.

3. Fugitive Act 1793 a. The fugitive slave laws were laws passed by the United States

Congress in 1793 and 1850 to provide for the return of slaves who escaped from one state into another state or territory.

b. When Congress created "An Act respecting fugitives from justice, and persons escaping from the service of their masters", or more commonly known as the Fugitive Slave Act, they were responding to slave owners' need to protect their property rights, as written into the 1787 Constitution.

c. Article IV of the Constitution required the federal government to go after runaway slaves. The 1793 Fugitive Slave Act was the mechanism by which the government did that, and it was only at this point the government could pursue runaway slaves in any state or territory, and ensure slave owners of their property rights.

d. Section 3 is the part that deals with fugitive or runaway slaves, and reads in part: SEC. 3. ...That when a person held to labor in any of the

United States, or in either of the Territories on the Northwest or South of the river Ohio...shall escape into any other part of the said States or Territory, the person to whom such labor or service may be due...is hereby empowered to seize or arrest such fugitive from labor...and upon proof...before any Judge...it shall be the duty of such Judge...[to remove] the said fugitive from labor to the State or Territory from which he or she fled.

e. Section 4 makes assisting runaways and fugitives a crime and outlines the punishment for those who assisted runaway slaves: SEC. 4. ...That any person who shall knowingly and willingly obstruct or hinder such claimant ...shall...forfeit and pay the sum of five hundred dollars.

4. 3/5 Compromise 1793 a. The Three-Fifths Compromise was a compromise between Southern

and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the enumerated population of slaves would be counted for representation purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives. It was proposed by delegates James Wilson and Roger Sherman.

b. Delegates opposed to slavery generally wished to count only the free inhabitants of each state, but delegates supportive of slavery, on the other hand, generally wanted to count slaves in their actual numbers. Since slaves could not vote, slaveholders would thus have the benefit of increased representation in the House and the Electoral College.

c. The final compromise of counting "all other persons" as only three-fifths of their actual numbers reduced the power of the slave states relative to the original proposals, but increased it over the northern position.

d. The Three-Fifths Compromise is found in Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the United States Constitution

5. Louisiana Purchase 1803 a. Was the acquisition by the United States of America in 1803 of

828,000 square miles (2,140,000 km2) of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana.

b. Louisiana territory encompassed all or part of 15 present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The land purchased contained all of present-day Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; parts of Minnesota that were west of the Mississippi River; most of North Dakota; most of South Dakota; northeastern New Mexico; northern Texas; the portions of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; Louisiana west of the Mississippi River, including the city of New Orleans; and small portions of land that would eventually become part of the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

c. The purchase of the territory of Louisiana took place during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson.

d. At the time, the purchase faced domestic opposition because it was thought to be unconstitutional.

e. Although he agreed that the U.S. Constitution did not contain provisions for acquiring territory, Jefferson decided to go ahead with the purchase anyway in order to remove France's presence in the region and to protect both U.S. trade access to the port of New Orleans and free passage on the Mississippi River.

6. Missouri Compromise 1820 a. Passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in

the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories.

b. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri

7. US- Mexican War 1846-1848 a. Between 1846 and 1848, two neighbors, the United States and Mexico,

went to war. It was a defining event for both nations, transforming a continent and forging a new identity for its peoples. By the war's end, Mexico lost nearly half of its territory, the present American Southwest from Texas to California, and the United States became a continental power.

b. The territory that Mexico ceded to the United States at the end of the war is a unique region with its own diverse history and culture. The Borderlands refers to the area on both sides of the boundary between the two countries, including the present-day states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. It was an area where Mexican, Native American and Anglo-American cultures both clashed and blended. Struggles over land, legal rights and political power among various groups continued long after the U.S.-Mexican War ended. This area has become one of the most dynamic economic and politically important regions of the United States.

8. Compromise of 1850 a. a package of five bills passed in the United States in September 1850,

which defused a four-year confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848).

b. The compromise, drafted by Whig Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky and brokered by Clay and Democrat Stephen Douglas, avoided secession or civil war and reduced sectional conflict for four years.

c. Texas surrendered its claim to New Mexico, over which it had threatened war, as well as its claims north of the Missouri Compromise Line, transferred its crushing public debt to the federal government, and retained the control over El Paso that it had established earlier in 1850, with the Texas Panhandle (which earlier

compromise proposals had detached from Texas) thrown in at the last moment.

d. California's application for admission as a free state with its current boundaries was approved and a Southern proposal to split California at parallel 35° north to provide a Southern territory was not approved.

e. The South avoided adoption of the symbolically significant Wilmot Proviso and the new New Mexico Territory and Utah Territory could in principle decide in the future to become slave states (popular sovereignty), even though Utah and a northern fringe of New Mexico were north of the Missouri Compromise Line where slavery had previously been banned in territories. In practice, these lands were generally unsuited to plantation agriculture and their existing settlers were non-Southerners uninterested in slavery. The unsettled southern parts of New Mexico Territory, where Southern hopes for expansion had been centered, remained a part of New Mexico instead of becoming a separate territory.

f. The most concrete Southern gains were a stronger Fugitive Slave Act, the enforcement of which outraged Northern public opinion, and preservation of slavery (but not the slave trade) in the national capital.

g. The slave trade was banned in Washington D.C.9. 2 nd Fugitive Act 1850

a. Was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers.

b. This was one of the most controversial acts of the 1850 compromise and heightened Northern fears of a "slave power conspiracy". It declared that all runaway slaves were, upon capture, to be returned to their masters.

c. Abolitionists nicknamed it the "Bloodhound Law" for the dogs that were used to track down runaway slaves.

d. In 1854, the Wisconsin Supreme Court became the only state high court to declare the Fugitive Slave Act unconstitutional, as a result of a case involving fugitive slave Joshua Glover, and Sherman Booth, who led efforts that thwarted Glover's recapture. Ultimately, in 1859 in Ableman v. Booth the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the state court.

10. Kansas-Nebraska 1854 a. Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for

settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing white male settlers in those territories to determine through Popular Sovereignty whether they would allow slavery within each territory.

b. The act was designed by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois.

c. The initial purpose of the Kansas–Nebraska Act was to open up many thousands of new farms and make feasible a Midwestern Transcontinental Railroad.

d. It became problematic when popular sovereignty was written into the proposal so that the voters of the moment would decide whether slavery would be allowed.

e. The result was that pro- and anti-slavery elements flooded into Kansas with the goal of voting slavery up or down, leading to a bloody civil war there.

11. Bloody Kansas 1854-1861 a. Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War was a series of

violent political confrontations involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the neighboring towns of Missouri between 1854 and 1861.

b. At the heart of the conflict was the question of whether Kansas would enter the Union as a free state or slave state. As such, Bleeding Kansas was a proxy war between Northerners and Southerners over the issue of slavery in the United States. The term "Bleeding Kansas" was coined by Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune; the events it encompasses directly presaged the American Civil War, as well as the future relationship between Kansas and Missouri.

c. Congress had long struggled to balance the interests of pro- and anti-slavery forces. The events later known as Bleeding Kansas were set into motion by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854, which nullified the Missouri Compromise and instead implemented the concept of popular sovereignty.

d. Popular sovereignty: An ostensibly democratic idea, popular sovereignty stated that the inhabitants of each territory or state should decide whether it would be a free or slave state; however, this resulted in immigration en masse to Kansas by activists from both sides.

e. At one point, Kansas had two separate governments, each with its own constitution, although only one was federally recognized. On January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state, less than three months before the Battle of Fort Sumter which began the Civil War.

12. Dred Scott Decision 1856-1857 a. In March of 1857, the United States Supreme Court, led by Chief

Justice Roger B. Taney, declared that all blacks -- slaves as well as free -- were not and could never become citizens of the United States. The court also declared the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, thus permitting slavery in all of the country's territories.

b. The case before the court was that of Dred Scott v. Sanford. Dred Scott, a slave who had lived in the free state of Illinois and the free

territory of Wisconsin before moving back to the slave state of Missouri, had appealed to the Supreme Court in hopes of being granted his freedom.

c. Taney -- a staunch supporter of slavery and intent on protecting southerners from northern aggression -- wrote in the Court's majority opinion that, because Scott was black, he was not a citizen and therefore had no right to sue. The framers of the Constitution, he wrote, believed that blacks "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of merchandise and traffic, whenever profit could be made by it."

d. Referring to the language in the Declaration of Independence that includes the phrase, "all men are created equal," Taney reasoned that "it is too clear for dispute, that the enslaved African race were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration. . . ."

e. Abolitionists were incensed. Although disappointed, Frederick Douglass, found a bright side to the decision and announced, "my hopes were never brighter than now." For Douglass, the decision would bring slavery to the attention of the nation and was a step toward slavery's ultimate destruction.

13. Election of 1860 a. The Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina, in April 1860 to

select their candidate for President in the upcoming election. It was turmoil. Northern democrats felt that Stephen Douglas had the best chance to defeat the "BLACK REPUBLICANS." Although an ardent supporter of slavery, southern Democrats considered Douglas a traitor because of his support of popular sovereignty, permitting territories to choose not to have slavery.

b. The Republicans met in Chicago that May and recognized that the Democrat's turmoil actually gave them a chance to take the election. They needed to select a candidate who could carry the North and win a majority of the Electoral College. To do that, the Republicans needed someone who could carry New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania — four important states that remained uncertain. There were plenty of potential candidates, but in the end Abraham Lincoln had emerged as the best choice. Lincoln had become the symbol of the frontier, hard work, the self-made man and the American dream. His debates with Douglas had made him a national figure and the publication of those debates in early 1860 made him even better known. After the third ballot, he had the nomination for President.

c. The votes of the Electoral College were split among four candidates in the 1860 presidential election.

d. With four candidates in the field, Lincoln received only 40% of the popular vote and 180 electoral votes — enough to narrowly win the crowded election. This meant that 60% of the voters selected someone other than Lincoln. A few weeks after the election, South Carolina seceded from the Union.

14. States Secession from the Union a. Definition: Secession was the act by which a state left the Union. The

Secession Crisis of late 1860 and early 1861 led to the American Civil War when southern states seceded from the Union and declared themselves a separate nation, the Confederate States of America. There is no provision for secession in the U.S. Constitution.

b. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was the final straw for many southerners. In all 11 states seceded from the Union. Four of these (Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee) did not secede until after the Battle of Fort Sumter that occurred on April 12, 1861.

c. Five additional states were Border Slave States that did not secede from the Union: Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware.

15. Attack on Fort Sumter April 12 th

1861

a. The Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12–14, 1861) was the bombardment and surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. Following declarations of secession by seven Southern states, South Carolina demanded that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities in Charleston Harbor.

b. On December 26, 1860, U.S. Major Robert Anderson secretly moved his small command from the indefensible Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island to Fort Sumter, a substantial fortress controlling the entrance of Charleston Harbor. An attempt by U.S. President James Buchanan to reinforce and resupply Anderson, using the unarmed merchant ship Star of the West, failed when it was fired upon by shore batteries on January 9, 1861. South Carolina authorities then seized all Federal property in the Charleston area, except for Fort Sumter.

c. Following the battle, there was widespread support from both North and South for further military action. Lincoln's immediate call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion resulted in an additional four southern slave states also declaring their secession and joining the Confederacy. The Civil War had begun.

16. Battle of Harper’s Ferry 1862 a. The Battle of Harpers Ferry was fought September 12–15, 1862, as

part of the Maryland Campaign of the American Civil War. As Gen. Robert E. Lee's Confederate army invaded Maryland, a portion of his army under Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson surrounded, bombarded, and captured the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), a major victory at relatively minor cost.

Other events important the causes of the Civil War: Uncle Toms Cabin

o Harriet Beecher Stowe's best known novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), changed how Americans viewed slavery forever, the system that treated people as property.

o It demanded that the United States deliver on the promise of freedom and equality, galvanized the abolition movement and contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. The book calls on us to confront the legacy of race relations in the U.S. as the title itself became a racial slur.

o Uncle Tom's Cabin was a runaway best-seller, selling 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week; 300,000 in the first year; and in Great Britain, 1.5 million copies in one year.

Wilmot Proviso

o The 1846 Wilmot Proviso was a bold attempt by opponents of slavery to prevent its introduction in the territories purchased from Mexico following the Mexican War. Named after its sponsor, Democratic representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, the proviso never passed both houses of Congress, but it did ignite an intense national debate over slavery that led to the creation of the antislavery Republican Party in 1854.

Fredrick Douglas o Frederick Douglass (1818-95) was a prominent American abolitionist,

author and orator. o Born a slave, Douglass escaped at age 20 and went on to become a

world-renowned anti-slavery activist. His three autobiographies are considered important works of the slave narrative tradition as well as classics of American autobiography.

o Douglass' work as a reformer ranged from his abolitionist activities in the early 1840s to his attacks on Jim Crow and lynching in the 1890s. For 16 years he edited an influential black newspaper and achieved international fame as an inspiring and persuasive speaker and writer.

o In thousands of speeches and editorials, he levied a powerful indictment against slavery and racism, provided an indomitable voice of hope for his people, embraced antislavery politics and preached his own brand of American ideals.

Emancipation of Proclamationo What was the Emancipation Proclamation?: The Emancipation

Proclamation freed Confederate slaves during the Civil War (1861-1865).

o Who declared the Emancipation Proclamation?: President Abraham Lincoln declared the act.

o When did Lincoln declare the Emancipation Proclamation: The proclamation went into effect January 1, 1863.

o Where did the Emancipation Proclamation free slaves?: The decree freed only the slaves in Southern states and territories still in rebellion against the United States government.

The Liberator o Was an abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison in

1831. o Garrison published weekly issues of The Liberator from Boston

continuously for 35 years, from January 1, 1831, to the final issue of January 1, 1866. Although its circulation was only about 3,000, and three-quarters of subscribers were African Americans in 1834 the newspaper earned nationwide notoriety for its uncompromising advocacy of "immediate and complete emancipation of all slaves" in the United States.

John Brown

o John Brown was a radical abolitionist who believed in the violent overthrow of the slavery system.

o During the Bleeding Kansas conflicts, Brown and his sons led attacks on pro-slavery residents.

o Justifying his actions as the will of God, Brown soon became a hero in the eyes of Northern extremists and was quick to capitalize on his growing reputation.

o By early 1858, he had succeeded in enlisting a small "army" of insurrectionists whose mission was to foment rebellion among the slaves. In 1859, Brown and 21 of his followers attacked and occupied the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry.

o Their goal was to capture supplies and use them to arm a slave rebellion.

o Brown was captured during the raid and later hanged, but not before becoming an anti-slavery icon.

Popular sovereignty: the policy of letting the residents of a territory decide whether or not they would permit slavery to exist.

African Americans in the Civil War and in the New South: legal issues; the Black Codes; Jim Crow Laws

Emancipation Proclamation- President Lincoln disliked slavery; however, he did not believe that he had the power to abolish it where it already existed.- As the war continued, however, Lincoln did find a way to end slavery using his constitutional powers.- He authorized the army to emancipate slaves.- The Emancipation Proclamation was issued on January 1, 1863. It said “All persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a state the people whereof shall be…..then, thenceforward, and forever free.”- However the proclamation did not free any slaves immediately because it included only areas behind Confederate lines that were outside of Union control. It did not apply to southern territory already occupied by Union troops or to the slave states that had not seceded.- The emancipation also allowed African Americans to enlist in the union army.

Slave resistance- As the union troops moved farther into confederate areas, thousands of slaves sought freedom behind the lines of the Union army.

- Those who remained on the plantations participated in sabotage, destroying property and neglecting livestock.- Many waited for the union troops to come, welcoming the opportunity for freedom.- Many southerners were concerned with the possibility of a slave uprising and tightened their control on their slaves by creating slave patrols and spreading rumors about union soldiers abusing runaways.- This uprising did not occur; however, slave resistance gradually weakened the plantation system.

Black Codes- The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave African Americans citizenship and forbade states from passing discriminatory laws.- These discriminatory laws were also known as black codes.- Mississippi and South Carolina had first enacted black codes in 1865 and other southern states had followed suit.- Black codes restricted the lives of African Americans significantly, much like slavery had.- They prohibited African Americans from carrying weapons, serving on juries, testifying against whites, and traveling with permits.- In some states Africans Americans were even prohibited from owning land.- Violence was often used by whites to enforce these codes.- Johnson vetoed both the Civil Rights Act as well as the Freedmen’s Bureau Act.

Jim Crow Laws- Southern states passed racial segregation laws to separate whites and blacks in public and private facilities.- These laws were known as Jim Crow laws.- They were called Jim Crow laws after a popular minstrel song that included the lyric “Jump, Jim Crow”.- Segregation was implemented in schools, hospitals, parks, and transportation systems.- These laws also forbade interracial marriage as well as social and religious contact.- The facilities that were provided for African Americans were always inferior to those for whites.

Major Battles of the Civil War and their Impact on the Conflict: Antietam and Gettysburg; the Role of Foreign Powers

Antietam• Union General: McClellan• Confederate General: Lee• A Union corporal found a copy of Lee’s army orders wrapped around a bunch of cigars → revealed that Lee’s and Jackson’s armies were separated for the moment• Fight on September 17, 1862 beside creek called the Antietam• Clash = bloodiest single-day battle in American history• casualties total more than 26,000 as many as in the War of 1812 and the war with Mexico combined• instead of pursuing the battered Confederate army and possibly ending the war, McClellan did nothing (notoriously cautious)• battle itself was a standoff but South retreated back across the Potomac into VA the next day → had lost ¼ of its men

Gettysburg• *considered the most decisive battle of the war• A battle was not planned for the small town• Barefoot Confederate soldiers led by A. P. Hill went to Gettysburg to find a supply of footwear and to meet up with General Lee• On the way, ran into some of Union cavalry under John Buford (experienced officer from Illinois)• Reinforcements came in• Confederates took control of the town → Lee knew that the battle would not be won unless Northerners were forced to yield their positions on Cemetery Ridge• Day 2: Union gained some ground, but the Confederate troops did not give up• Day 3: Lee = determined, but beaten by Union forces → Lee gave up hopes of invading the North and led army in a long, painful retreat back to VA in the rain• Huge losses: total casualties were 30+%• Union losses: 23,000 men killed/wounded• Confederacy losses: 28,000 killed/wounded• Lee would continue to lead he Confederate troops brilliantly in the new two years of the war, but they would never recover from the loss at Gettysburg (or the loss of Vicksburg the next day)

The Role of Foreign Powers1. South attempted to gain official recognition from Britain, but Britain asserted

her neutrality2. Britain was no longer dependent on Southern cotton:

- Had accumulated a huge cotton inventory just before the outbreak of the war

- Found new sources of cotton in Egypt and India- When Europe’s wheat crop failed, Northern wheat and corn replaced

cotton as an essential import3. Trent Affair

- Confederate government sent 2 diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell, in a second attempt to gain support from Britain and France

- Traveled aboard a British merchant ship, the Trent- Ship was stopped and the two men were arrested- Britain threatened war against the Union and dispatched 8,000 troops

to Canada- Lincoln freed the 2 prisoners → was aware of the need to just fight

“one war at a time”- Britain was relieved as the US had found a peaceful way out of the

crisis4. Emancipation proclamation offered a strategic benefit:

- abolitionist movement was strong in Britain- emancipation would discourage Britain from supporting the

Confederacy

Abolitionist ideologies and arguments for and against slavery and their impact.

Pro slavery arguments and figures-

1. Free labor supported the southern economy. Slaves caused the south to produce and harvest so many natural resources like cotton and tobacco.

2. Slaves also became skilled enough to work in the south’s industrial sector when their was a demand for more workers. This strengthened the southern, and overall economy of the country.

3. Some proslavery advocates used the Bible to defend slavery, citing passages that counseled servants to obey their masters.

4. Southern slave owners argued, actually benefited blacks by making them part of a prosperous and Christian civilization

5. Slave owners invented the myth of the happy slave, a cherished addition to the plantation family.

6. To this image they contrasted that of the Northern wage slave, a wage-earning immigrant or free black who worked for pennies in dark and airless factories.

7. George Fitzhugh, a Virginia slave owner, argued that whereas Northern mill owners fired their workers when they became too old or sick to work, Southerners cared for their slaves for a lifetime.

Anti Slavery arguments and figures-

1. By the 1820s more than 100 antislavery societies were advocating for resettlement of blacks in Africa—based on the belief that African Americans were an inferior race that could not coexist with white society

2. White support for abolition, the call to outlaw slavery, was fueled by preachers like Charles G. Finney, who termed slavery “a great national sin.”

3. The most radical white abolitionist was an editor named William Lloyd Garrison.

4. The Liberator, in 1831 delivered an uncompromising message: immediate emancipation—the freeing of slaves, with no payment to slaveholders.

5. Lloyd Garrison alienated many white abolitionists because he was so angry and extreme in tone.

6. David Walker, a free black, advised blacks to fight for freedom rather than to wait for slave owners to end slavery.Frederick Douglass was another key, freed black, abolitionist. He created the anti-slavery newspaper, the North Star.

Impact

1. The debate over the future of slavery in Virginia resulted in a motion for abolition in the state legislature. The motion lost by a 73 to 58 vote, primarily because the state legislature was balanced toward eastern slaveholders rather than non-slaveholders in the western part of the state. That loss closed the debate on slavery in the antebellum (pre- Civil War) South.

2. Violent slave uprisings in the Antebellum period.3. Most slave owners believed that education and privilege inspired revolt.4. In some states, free blacks lost the right to own guns, purchase alcohol,

assemble in public, and testify in court.5. In some Southern cities,6. African Americans could no longer own property, learn to read and write, or

work independently as carpenters or blacksmiths.

Union versus Confederate: strengths and weaknesses; economic resources; significance of leaders during the US Civil War

Strengths of the Union

1. The Union enjoyed enormous advantages in resources over the South—more fighting power, more factories, greater food production, and a more extensive railroad system. In addition, Lincoln proved to be a decisive yet patient leader, skillful at balancing political factions.

2. The Union’s Anaconda Plan: (1) the Union Navy would blockade Southern ports, so they could neither export cotton nor import much-needed manufactured goods, (2) Union riverboats and armies would move down the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in two, and (3) Union armies would capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia.

3. Ulysses S. Grant had a nickname “Unconditional Surrender” for his victories at Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River.

4. David G. Farragut his triumphant seize of the New Orleans port the South’s busiest port and Baton Rouge and Natchez.

5. The North’s ironclad Monitor traded fire with the South’s ironclad Merrimack and won. The battle off the coast of Virginia. The ironclad ended the era of wooden fighting ships.

6. Strength for the north would be the ability to mass-produce the new rifles, minie ball, and grenades, which were revolutionary war weapons.

Strengths of the Confederacy

1. The Confederacy likewise enjoyed some advantages, notably “King Cotton” (and the profits it earned on the world market), first-rate generals, a strong military tradition, and soldiers who were highly motivated because they were defending their homeland.

2. General Thomas J. Jackson “Stonewall Jackson” was the military leader during the Battle of Bull Run, the first victory for the South.

3. Robert E. Lee was modest rather than vain (like McClellan), and willing to go beyond military textbooks in his tactics. McClellan was indecisive and Lee’s determination and unorthodox tactics so unnerved McClellan that he backed away from Richmond and headed down the peninsula to the sea at the conclusion of the Seven Day Battles

4. Lee led his troops to a victory at the Second Battle at Bull Run

Weaknesses of the Union

The Battle of Shiloh taught both sides a Strategic lesson. Generals now realized that they had to send out scouts, dig trenches, and build fortifications. However it can be

assumed that this lesson was most recognized by the Union because many of the soldiers lost their lives while asleep or while making coffee.

Weaknesses of the Confederacy

1. However, the South had a tradition2. Of local and limited government, and there was resistance to the

centralization of government necessary to run a war. Several Southern governors were so obstinate in their assertion of states’ rights that they refused to cooperate with the Confederate government.

3. The military plan was to fight defensively and to invade any northern territory if possible.

4. After the success of the Battle of Bull Run many Confederacy Soldiers went home because they were confident that the war was over.

5. The Confederate failure to hold on to its Ohio Kentucky frontier showed that at least part of the Union’s three-way strategy, the drive to take the Mississippi and split the Confederacy, might succeed.

6. With the introduction of the rifle, minie ball, and grenades the south was at a disadvantage for producing the new weapons.

Reconstruction: Economic, social, political successes and failures; economic expansion

“ Reconstruction was a Success”It was an attempt to create a social and political revolution despite economic

collapse and much opposition from southern whites.

Economic

1. After the Civil War, the South was in bad condition physically and economically. Buildings were charred, farms were destroyed, railroads were obsolete, property values plummeted, and bridges no longer stood. The Republican governments placed in the south created public works programs where they built roads, bridges, railroads, and established orphanages and mentally ill institutions.

2. African Americans and poor whites in the south were given the opportunity to own and till small farms. They usually practiced subsistence farming—or just growing enough to feed their own families.

3. During the war, many countries that bought cotton from the south began growing their own, which caused the prices of cotton to plummet. To sustain their economy, the south were forced to diversify their agricultural products with textile mills and tobacco-product manufacturing. This diversification helped raise the average wage in the south.

Social

1. Congress passed the 14th and 15th amendments which helped African Americans attain full civil rights in 20th century.

2. African Americans established institutions such as schools, churches and families, which were previously denied to them. During slavery many families were torn apart, however during reconstruction many families reunited.

3. State governments were able to open school systems to all citizens with public funding. African Americans benefited from this public funding of schools the most.