Unit 4: The Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)

The Union in Crisis and Civil War (1850 – 1865)

The Sectional Conflict Widens (1820-1860)

#1. Sectionalism = N vs. S; How are they different?

• North had greater population• Factory System vs. Plantations• Free Immigrant labor in the

North vs. Slavery in South• N Railroads vs. S Waterways• $1.5 B North vs. $155 M South

GNP• Balance of Power in Congress

favored the North. Why?

#2. The Missouri Compromise• In 1820 Missouri wanted to

enter Union as a slave state.• Problem = Balance of Power

in Congress b/c representation is equal in the US Senate

• Henry Clay (KY) – proposed Maine enter as free state to balance out Missouri.

• 36°30’ N would be dividing line between slave and free.

Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War

1846 - 1848

#3. The Compromise of 1850• The Mexican War of 1846-1848

increased the size of the USA.

• Henry Clay (KY) proposed:

1. CA be admitted as a free state

2. NM and UT territories would vote on slavery

3. Slave trade abolished in Washington, D.C.

4. Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

#4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)• Authored by abolitionist,

Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Described the cruelties of slavery

• Sold 300,000 copies in 1st year; only the Bible sold more copies during the era!

• Southerners were outraged!

Bleeding Kansas! (1854 – 1856)

• #5. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) opened territories to slavery via popular sovereignty

• Free-soilers vs.Border Ruffians fought for control of territorial government in Kansas.

• Abolitionist John Brown kills 5 pro slavers in KS (55 dead in all)

• Violence spreads to the Senate floor as Senator Charles Sumner is caned!

#6. Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)• Dred Scott, a Missouri slave, sued his

master’s widow for his freedom in 1846.• 1834-38 he lived in free state of Illinois

& thought he should be free• The Court said 5-4 (1) Scott was a slave

and had no right to sue (2) Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because Congress couldn’t legally ban slavery in any U.S. territory (due process/ property rights)

• Abolitionist Frederick Douglas predicted this would actually expedite slavery’s end?

Chief Justice Roger B. TaneyDred Scott

#7. John Brown Returns!• Oct. 1859 old John Brown comes

out of hiding• Harpers Ferry, VA- attacks a

federal arsenal with the hope of starting a slave rebellion; federal troops retake it and capture Brown.

• Sentenced to death by hanging for treason & murder

• He became a martyr!

#8. The Election of 1860 leads to Secession

• 1854 – Republican Party formed to stop spread of slavery.

• Four candidates running for office

• Democratic Party split between N and S

#9. Lincoln wins electoral vote with only 40% of popular vote but carries no Southern state!

Secession! #10. South Carolina leaves on Dec. 20, 1860. #11. Six others follow to CSA by

1861. Eventually 11 total in CSA.

Lincoln Takes Office#12. March 4, 1861 – Republican

President Lincoln took a firm, but kind & conciliatory tone toward the South.

• He didn’t want to bother slavery where it was, but he did want to stop it from spreading into the Western territories.

• He pledged to preserve the Union - #1 Goal!

Southern War Strategy#13. After Confederate forces

attacked & captured Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861) 4 more states joined the CSA.

• President Lincoln declared that war would be necessary to preserve the Union.

• The CSA Generals and President Davis planned a defensive war.

#14. CSA hoped Europe would aid and had superior military leadership.

Northern War StrategyThe Union developed a

strategy called the Anaconda Plan. They hoped to:

1. Blockade all Southern Ports

2. Control the Mississippi River and divide the CSA in half

3. Capture and occupy the Confederate capital of Richmond, VA

Stalemate: From Bull Run to Antietam• July 21, 1861 – “Stonewall” Jackson

rallies CSA at Bull Run, VA#17. General U.S. Grant wins costly US

victory at Shiloh, TN on April 6-7, 1861. By 1864 he proves he’s Lincoln’s best general & takes command of all Union forces.

#15. CSA General R.E. Lee, America’s greatest general, achieved a draw at Antietam, MD Sept. 1862 after winning a string of impressive victories against the superior Union army.

#16. At the end of 1862, a stalemate exists in the East!

The Emancipation Proclamation • Issued Fall 1862 and

effective Jan. 1, 1863• Freed all slaves in areas

of the U.S. still under CSA control

• Although it was criticized by some, it meant the war would end slavery if Union indeed won.

• Lincoln changed his wartime strategy.

1863: The Turning Point• July 1-3, 1863 – Lee leads Army

of N.VA North to PA and the greatest battle of the war begins.

#18. 23,000 Union and 28,000 CSA casualties at Gettysburg, PA. Lee’s only major mistake of the war. Why did he do it?

• Lee would never invade Union again!

• July 4, 1863 – Grant takes Vicksburg on Mississippi River.

#19. Sherman’s March to the Sea and Total Warfare

• Sept. 2, 1864 – Gen. Sherman captures Atlanta, GA

• Marches to Savannah, GA and orders a 300 mile-long and 50 mile-wide swath of destruction designed to end the CSA’s will & ability to fight.

• Turns north through Carolinas in Dec. 1864 to meet Grant & end war

• Civilians and slaves suffer immensely; it was controversial.

The Election of 1864• Capture of Atlanta

and “Bayonet Voters” aid Lincoln

• He was opposed by ex-General George McClellan – a peace candidate

• Lincoln and Andrew Johnson (VP and Democrat) won 212/233 electoral votes

#20. Lee Surrenders to Grant! April 9, 1865• Richmond, the CSA capital, was

in ruins, Sherman wasted Georgia and the Carolinas, & Lee’s army was desperate & worn down.

• President Davis and officials fled from Grant & later captured

• Lee was humble and Grant was very generous at Appomattox, VA

• 640,047 Union and 483,026 CSA casualties of war; America’s bloodiest war in history.

Lincoln is Assassinated!• John Wilkes Booth, an

actor, plotted to kidnap Lincoln and others

• April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theatre he shoots Lincoln

• Booth is later killed near Port Royal, VA

• Four of ten co-conspirators were hanged