Ch 7 notes

American History

7.1

North South

- bigger population - navy to stop CSA trade - more $ - industry to make supplies - railroad - CSA gov’t too weak - Slavery (foreign support for south shaky)

- military leaders (top ones from south to begin with, stayed with their state) - homefield - cause - not all northerners behind the war effort - cotton- to try to get foreign support

Agriculture- South, but mainly cotton, so food shortages will happen

President Lincoln President Davis

- taught himself - 1 term US house, also served in IL house of Reps - Corporal in Black Hawk War (no action)

- military schools - multi-term US Senator - Sec of War - Officer in Mexican War

Gov’t-

- South- confederacy- state controlled

o Not much national control/unity, everyone for themselves, not for the whole

- North- division

o Many Republicans want war/end slavery if possible

o War Democrats- war to preserve the Union, but not end slavery

o Copperheads- Dems that opposed the war

Foreign Affairs-

- South- try to use cotton to get foreign support (withhold it, blame the Union, get other countries fired up)

Weaponry and tactics-

- weapons-

· rifles over muskets (more accurate, longer range)

· cannon- more accurate, greater distance

- tactics- sand and shoot until close enough for a bayonet charge

Strategy-

- North-

- use navy to prevent the south from trading

- take control of the Mississippi River

- squeeze the south

- South-

- sit back and make the union come to them (defend)

- avoid big battles, b/c they probably won’t win them

- Long War?-

- north had more resources to last longer, but….

- south hopes the union will get tired of fighting and give up (Am Rev, Vietnam)

7.2

Bull Run-

- summer 1861, after the secession

- Lincoln wants a battle before temporary troops are sent home

- Union troops routed

New Orleans-

- captured by Union early on

War in the West-

- generally went well for the Union, led by US Grant

- Shiloh, union win, but bloody battle, showed what the war would be like

George McClellan-

- appointed to lead the Union army, viewed as savior for the army, top of his class at West Point

- viewed as a failure, afraid to fight, never thinks he has enough men, very tentative

Armies-

- Army of the Potomac- main Union army in the east (McClellan and others, later Grant)

- Army of Northern Virginia- main CSA army in the east (Robert E. Lee)

Antietam-

- Lee invades the North

· get MD to secede

· win in the north convince Europe that south was strong enough to win, and thus worth supporting (see also: Saratoga)

· win in north could cause people in north to dislike the war even more (see: Tet Offensive)

· by going north, Lee could feed his troops with northern grain, allow southerners to harvest

- CSA troops turned back

- result- south won’t get foreign support (for now)

- a big win gives Lincoln confidence to issue Emancipation Proc

- can’t do it after a loss, looks bad, like desperation

Emancipation Proclamation-

- many northerners ready, in order to punish the south for the casualties suffered in the north

- freed the slaves in the states in rebellion

- did not free slaves in border states

- felt only a Constitutional amendment could do that

- afraid the border states would secede

- actually- it didn’t really free any slaves (who in the south is going to listen?)

Soldier problems-

- wool uniforms (even during the summer)

- bullet wounds

- stomach=death

- arm/leg=amputation (little numbing)

- food scarce/horrible (hardtack)

- south- clothing probs, no shoes, uniforms rot off

- #1 killer = disease

POWs-

- in north, not treated too bad

- in south, Andersonville, GA

- not enough food available, disease

- commander hanged for war crimes after the war

- union cuts off trade of prisoners

- say b/c CSA won’t treat black soldiers as such

- don’t want to give soldiers back (south needs more men, north does not)

- Term- POW, would lead you too believe that the CSA was another country

7.3

***Vicksburg-

- last CSA hold out on the Mississippi River

- surrenders, US has control of River, South is split

***Gettysburg-

- south again invades the north, same reasons as before

- Union wins, south turned back

result of Gettysburg/Vicksburg-

- south has no chance of getting foreign support

- north pretty well sees that they are going to win and won’t give up now

Election of 1864-

- Lincoln- fight the war until the end

- McClellan- Democrat, negotiate with the south, north has no chance of winning the war, it will go on forever

- Lincoln- needs big win to gain support, show war will be over soon

- he gets it at Atlanta, summer of 1864

Sherman’s March to the Sea-

- through GA to ocean and then up into SC, NC

- lays waste to the land, burns houses, cities, fields, tears up RR’s

- punish the south for causing this whole mess

- Atlanta burned

- example of total war- civilians involved in war, not just people in the army

Grant surrenders-

- trapped by Grant, surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse

- given generous terms

o won’t be prosecuted for treason

o allowed to keep their horses

o to show that it should be a healing time

Lincoln’s assassination-

- John Wilkes Booth, spring 1865, Ford’s Theatre, Washington DC

- Part of a conspiracy to kill Lincoln, VP and Sec of State, others fail

- Booth shoots Lincoln while he is watching a play, runs off, breaking his leg, he is later killed

- 4 later executed, 3 others get life in prison

Aftermath-

- Power of the US gov’t gets stronger

- Slavery ended

- South’s economy/social system is in shambles

7.4

Reconstruction- 1865-1877

- plan to rebuild the south

§ economy

§ society

§ infrastructure

Lincoln’s Plan- moderate – reconciliation

- could reorganize state gov’t when 10% of voters had taken oath of loyalty to US

- citizens/soldiers- amnesty = pardon

- officers/gov’t leaders = not pardoned

Radical Republicans- goals

1. Keep CSA leaders from obtaining gov’t positions

2. Fed help African-Americans get the right to vote

Freedman’s Bureau-

- shelter, food, clothing and other services to freed slaves – later = education

- Question- should they confiscate land and give it to former slaves?

Johnson’s Plan- Dem from TN, was Lincoln’s VP when he was shot

1. Pardon those who took an oath- their land would be returned

2. not- ex-Confederates, but they could apply to President for a pardon

3. old slave states must ratify the 13^th amendment that banned slavery

- plan implemented

- Congress shows up, Republicans ticked off when former Confederate leaders are now serving with them in Congress

Black Codes- rise in the south

- laws that limited the rights of blacks

- goal- to keep the social structure that same as it was before (blacks in subservient positions, field workers, etc)

- Ex) blacks must have proof of job, if not considered a vagrant and could be sentenced to plantation work

- Ex) blacks must have a license to perform non-Ag jobs

Congress takes over- Feel Johnson is being too nice to the ex-Confeds

- Civil Rights Act

o Citizenship to all persons born in US (except Indians)

o All citizens have equal rights under the law

o Vetoed by Johnson

o Veto overridden by Congress, this signals they can pretty well do what they want with out Johnson interfering

o CRA- eventually becomes 14^th amendment

Radical Reconstruction- time when the Radical Repubs in Congress controls Reconstruction

1. South occupied by troops (to enforce the law)

2. new state Constitutions must be written by ex-Confed states with black voting rights included

3. states must ratify 14^th amendment to be re-admitted to the union

- Irony alert- the Union’s standpoint during the war was that the CSA states didn’t have the right to leave the Union and thus they never did

Impeachment-

- Congress passes a law that Pres cannot fire Cabinet members with out Congressional approval

o This was to protect Lincoln’s appointments since he was Repub and now Pres Johnson is a Dem

- Johnson defies Congress and fires his Sec of War anyway

- Congress says Johnson broke the law

§ Real reason- Johnson stood in the way of Congress’ plan for Reconstruction

- Result- Johnson impeached in the House, vote in Senate to kick him out fell 1 vote short of the 2/3 needed

Grant- elected in 1868, many blacks voted in southern states during this election b/c troops were there to enforce the laws

- 15^th amendment passed- called for universal male suffrage

7.5

Carpetbaggers- northerners that came to the south to profit, get elected to office

Scalawags- southerners that cooperated with Reconstruction (traitors)

Black vote-

- goes up big time in the south

- many blacks elected to state/Federal office

Reforms-

- state gov’t has to pay for rebuilding = higher taxes

- corruption spreads in some state/local gov’ts

- southern people mad about taxes, corruption, blame the gov’t, made up of Republicans and blacks

KKK- attack Republicans, blacks, teachers, people that where involved in Reconstruction

- some whites and blacks organize militias to fight back

- Grant cracked down, but few Klansmen were convicted

Depression/Corruption/Scandals- causes

- Dems gain more power in Congress

End of Reconstruction-

- Election of 1872

o Hayes (R) vs. Tilden (D)

o Election disputed because on state is screwed up

§ Counted one way, Hayes wins, the other, Tilden wins

o Result- House of Reps desides

§ Lets Hayes win if he promises to remove Federal troops in the south

o Result of the result-

§ Federal law will not be enforced in the south

§ Black vote goes down

Life in the new south-

- many blacks forced back onto the farm

o become tenant farmers- live on land but paid rent

o worked in fields for wages

o became sharcroppers- pay rent with a portion of the crop

§ this arrangement rarely left them with enough $ to buy their own land and thus trapped them in poor economic situations