The Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877)

The Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877) How did slavery cause the U.S. to divide in the 1850s? What defined the Civil War? How did the Civil War redefine America? How can we learn from the good and bad of Reconstruction to succeed at current reconstruction efforts? The Road to the Civil War From 1850 to 1861, the North and South grew increasingly divided over the issue of states’ rights, particularly on the matter of slavery. A viscous cycle had the popularity of abolitionism in the North increasing in response to every occasion the South tried to reaffirm slavery, expand slavery to new states, or further limit the freedoms of slaves. The issue of whether new states would be slave or free was particularly divisive. The new Republican Party located exclusively in the North largely based their political platform on not expanding slavery. Eventually, the lower South secedes when Lincoln is elected without even appearing on the ballot in those states. Free Soil Party Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Law Kansas-Nebraska Act “Bleeding Kansas” Sumner-Brooks incident Uncle Tom’s Cabin Dred Scott v. Sanford Lincoln-Douglas debates Harpers Ferry raid election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln Confederacy Jefferson Davis The Civil War The upper South will join the Confederacy when Lincoln asked states to provide troops after the Confederates took Fort Sumter. Four slave states, known as the border states, did not secede. The Civil War had begun. The North’s advantages included numbers and manufacturing. The South’s advantages included its defensive position and superior military leadership. The Union expected a quick war, while the Confederacy would look to Europe for recognition and help to ensure its ability to hold the South as its own. The Civil War is sometimes referred to as the first modern war because of the technology used, such as the telegraph, photography, and new weapons capable of killing many people from greater distances. As the war dragged on, the Union would try to attack the South’s willingness to fight, as seen in Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Lincoln would try to keep Europe from recognizing the Confederacy by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation (this also encouraged African Americans to join the Union army). Lincoln went through a series of generals to find a leader that might defeat Robert E. Lee, finally settling on Ulysses S. Grant. The South would become more desperate as resources dwindled, including Lee’s failed attempts to win a battle in Union territory. During the Civil War, Lincoln set a precedent for expanded executive powers in time of war, such as by suspending writ of habeas corpus. Support for war lessened with time, including draft riots. Without the Southern Democrats in Congress, Republicans were able to pass legislation that Southern Democrats might have otherwise blocked, such as those promoting westward migration. The Union eventually won, ending the debate over states’ rights, slavery, and Lincoln’s life when he was assassinated five days after Appomattox. Fort Sumter Union Anaconda Plan First Bull Run Robert E. Lee Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson “Tardy” George McClellan Antietam Emancipation Proclamation Gettysburg Gettysburg Address Ulysses S. Grant Vicksburg March to the Sea election of 1864 Copperheads Appomattox Courthouse John Wilkes Booth Reconstruction Reconstruction was the time period from 1865-1877 defined by the Confederate states reentering the Union. The Constitution does not say what branch of government might oversee states reentering the union, leaving the President and Congress will compete for this responsibility. Even before the Civil War ended, Lincoln had devised his Ten Percent plan to bring the Southern states back as quickly as possible. Radical Republicans saw this as too lenient on the South, so they devised their own plan that served to punish the South. After Lincoln’s death and with Congress in recess, Andrew Johnson carries out his own plan for Reconstruction that is the most lenient on the South of all. The South largely returns to how it was before the war but without slavery, though the Black Codes and sharecropping leave African Americans in a lifestyle very similar to slavery. Congress returns from recess to begin Congressional Reconstruction, led by the Radical Republicans in Congress. This includes a number of acts passed to support the well-being and equal rights of African Americans in the South as well as attacks on Johnson. The South’s stubbornness in accepting change outlasts the North’s interest in reconstructing the South. Racist terrorist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, fight to keep the ways of the Old South. Northern political scandals, such as the Whiskey Ring scandal, turns Northerners’ focus back to the North. Finally, the Compromise of 1877 ends Reconstruction by pulling the federal troops out that were enforcing the new laws. The successes of Reconstruction included permanent laws for equality (though not enforced). The failures include Jim Crow laws and a solidly Democrat South that would last until the mid-20th century. 13th Amendment Ten Percent Plan Radical Republicans Wade-Davis Bill Presidential Reconstruction sharecropping tenant farming Black Codes Congressional Reconstruction (a.k.a. Radical Reconstruction) Freedmen’s Bureau Civil Rights Act of 1866 14th Amendment Military Reconstruction Tenure of Office Act impeachment of Johnson 15th Amendment scalawags carpetbaggers Ku Klux Klan Whiskey Ring Scandal Compromise of 1877 Jim Crow Solid South