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CHAPTER 14
CIVIL WAR and RECONSTRUCTION
“I put in many hours of weary work and soon thought myself quite a soldier. . . . I was
elected First Sergeant, much to my surprise. Just what a First Sergeant's duties might be, I
had no idea.”
Elisha Rhodes, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 1861
Confederate Private Edwin Jennison, killed at the Seven Days' Battles in 1862 See picture
page 414.
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LESSON 1
The FIGHTING BEGINS
Link to Our World
Why is it sometimes difficult to choose sides in a disagreement?
Focus on the Main Idea
As you read, think about why it was difficult for many Americans to choose sides during
the Civil War.
Preview Vocabulary
border state
Emancipation Proclamation
When Confederate soldiers fired on Fort Sumter, hopes for peace between the North and
the South ended. Now Americans had to make some hard decisions about going to war.
TAKING SIDES
In the weeks following the attack on Fort Sumter, many people thought that the war
would be short and easy. For most, the choice of which side to support was clear.
Most Northerners supported the Union. They were willing to go to war to save their flag
and all that it stood for. "If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my
country," wrote a soldier from New England, "I am ready . . . I am willing—perfectly
willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this government."
Most white Southerners supported the Confederacy. They were willing to go to war to win
their independence. Whether they owned slaves or not, many felt that the North was
trying to change the South. They thought that the government was taking away their
rights. The only way to get those rights back, they believed, was to leave the Union.
The need to defend their land also led many Southerners to join the fight. One young
soldier, caught early in the war by Union troops, told his captors, "I'm fighting because
you're down here."
For some Americans, however, the choice between the Union and the Confederacy was
not an easy one. People in Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware were torn
between the two sides. These border states were between the North and the South.
Although they allowed slavery,
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they had remained a part of the Union. When the time came for people in the border states
to choose sides, some fought for the North. Others fought for the South.
Taking sides was also hard for people living in some parts of the South. In the mountains
of eastern Tennessee and northern Alabama, there was very little slavery. Many people
there sided with the North. In western Virginia, feelings for the Union were so strong that
the people voted to break away from Virginia and form a new state. West Virginia joined
the Union in 1863.
Taking sides was also hard for many in the Indian nations. By the time of the war, the
Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw peoples had been driven from their
lands the Indian Territory, which is today Oklahoma. When it came time to choose sides,
most people in these five tribes had little reason to like either the North or the South. In
the end the Choctaws and the Chickasaws fought for the South. The Creeks, Seminoles,
and Cherokees were divided between the Union and the Confederacy.
The decisions people had to make in these early days of the war divided families and
friends. When war finally came, four of Henry Clay's grandsons decided to join the
Confederacy. Three others fought for the Union. Even President Lincoln's own family was
divided. Mary Todd Lincoln, his wife, had been born in Kentucky. Four of her brothers
fought for the South.
Why was taking sides hard for people in the border states?
LEE JOINS THE CONFEDERACY
On April 19, 1861—a week after the attack on Fort Sumter Robert E. Lee paced his
bedroom floor. It was nearly midnight. Lee was a United States Army colonel. The day
before, President Lincoln had asked him to take command of a Union army. Just hours
later Lee had learned that his home state of Virginia had seceded.
Lee loved his country. He was a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West
Point, New York. He had fought in the war with Mexico and had served his country for 32
years. Yet Lee also loved Virginia. Could he lead an army that would fight his family and
neighbors?
In some of the early battles, soldiers wore the clothes they had brought from home. Later,
Northern soldiers would wear blue uniforms (left). Southerners would wear gray (below).
See picture top of page 416.
Robert E. Lee led Confederate troops throughout the war. See picture bottom of page 416.
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REGIONS This map shows the division of the nation at the start of the Civil War. Which
states were the border states? See map page 417.
The next morning Lee told Mary, his wife, what he had decided. He turned down
Lincoln's offer and quit the Union army. A few days later he took command of Virginia's
troops. Lee knew he would be fighting old friends who were fighting for the Union. Even
so, he decided to serve Virginia. "I cannot raise my hand against my birthplace, my home,
my children," he said.
Why was it difficult for Robert E. Lee to choose sides in the war?
BATTLE PLANS
Three months after the attack on Fort Sumter, two armies of eager young men prepared
for the first major battle of the war. The battle took place at Bull Run, a stream near the
town of Manassas Junction, Virginia.
After hours of fighting, the South won the battle. The defeat shocked the Union.
Northerners had entered the war feeling very strong. The North had nearly twice as many
people as the South. It had more factories to make weapons and supplies. It had more
railroads to get those supplies to the troops.
But the South had proved more powerful than most Northerners had expected.
Southerners fighting to defend their own land had a very strong will to win. Stories were
already being told about the bravery of officers such as Stonewall Jackson.
Lincoln quickly began to look for new officers of his own. He called for more soldiers. He
also called for new battle plans.
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LEARNING FROM GRAPHS This graph compares the resources of the North and the
South at the beginning of the Civil War. Based on this graph, which side had greater
resources? See graph page 418.
An early Northern plan to win the war had to do with trade. The South depended on trade
with the North and with other countries to buy goods such as cloth, shoes, and guns. The
North hoped to cut off trade by setting up a blockade. Northern warships would stop
trading ships from leaving or entering Southern ports. Without trade, the South would
slowly become weaker.
Not everyone in the North liked the idea of a blockade. Some made fun of it, calling it the
Anaconda (a•nuh•KAHNI•duh) Plan. An anaconda is a large snake that squeezes its prey
to death. But this way of killing takes time. Many Northerners wanted quicker action.
They said the government should send the army to enter the South by force—to invade.
"On to Richmond!" they cried. Richmond, Virginia, was the Confederate capital.
At first the most important fighting plan of the Confederate leaders was simply to protect
their lands. Some Southerners compared their situation with the way things were for
George Washington and the Patriots during the Revolutionary War. Southerners hoped to
defend their homes against invaders and slowly wear down their enemy, just as the
Patriots had worn down the British.
But many Southerners, just like many Northerners, were impatient. Cries of "On to
Washington!" were soon answered with plans to invade the North.
Southerners also hoped that other countries would help them win the war. Britain and
France depended on cotton to keep their textile mills running. Many thought that these
countries would help the South as soon as their supplies of cotton ran low.
In both the North and the South, only men were allowed to join the army. Women,
however, found many ways to help. They took over factory, business, and farm jobs that
men left behind. They sent food to the troops, made bandages, and collected supplies.
Many women, such as Clara Barton and Sally Tompkins, worked as nurses. A few served
as spies, and some even dressed as men, joined the army, and fought in battles.
What were the strengths of the North? of the South?
THE WAR AND SLAVERY
As the fighting dragged on into 1862, Northern plans seemed to be working. The blockade
brought trade to a halt, and supplies ran very low in the South. Plantations and shops were
destroyed.
Even so, the North had not won yet. Thousands of Union soldiers were dying in battle.
President Lincoln knew he had to find a way to push the North to victory.
To Lincoln, the purpose of the war was to keep the country together—to save the
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WHO?
Clara Barton 1821-1912
"While our soldiers stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them." Clara Barton
followed the fighting from battle to battle, caring for sick and wounded Union soldiers.
Barton had always tried to help people in need. She taught school for a time and then
worked as a government clerk. When the Civil War broke out, she wanted to help. Her
work is still carried on by the American Red Cross. Barton founded the American branch
of this world organization in 1881.
Union. Yet he knew that slavery was the issue that had divided the country. He realized
that writing an order to free the slaves would greatly help the North. The loss of millions
of enslaved workers would be a blow to the South. Freeing the slaves would also help in
another way. It would turn the British, who needed cotton but were against slavery, away
from the South.
Lincoln held back on giving an order freeing the slaves—an Emancipation
Proclamation. He feared that such a step might turn people in the border states, as well
as some states in the North, against the Union. Lincoln's waiting made the abolitionists
angry. William Lloyd Garrison wrote that Lincoln was "nothing better than a wet rag."
As the war went on, Lincoln thought more and more about the question of slavery. Had
the time come to write an Emancipation Proclamation? What would be the consequences
of such a decision?
Why did Lincoln think that an Emancipation Proclamation would help the North?
Women in both the North and the South worked as nurses on the battlefields and in
hospitals. This nurse is helping wounded soldiers at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
See picture page 419.
LESSON 1 REVIEW
Check Understanding
1. Recall the Facts What were the battle plans of the North and the South?
2. Focus on the Main Idea Why was it difficult for many Americans to choose sides
during the Civil War?
Think Critically
3. Explore Viewpoints Why might a person in a border state have joined the Union army
or the Confederate army?
4. Past to Present During the war many people told President Lincoln how they felt about
slavery. How do government leaders learn about people's opinions today?
Show What You Know
Art Activity The Civil War divided many families and friends. Make a drawing that
shows how some people in the border states must have felt as family members and friends
joined different sides. Use your drawing to tell about the hard decisions people had to
make during the Civil War.
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LESSON 2
Learn with Literature
THE SIGNATURE THAT CHANGED AMERI CA
By Harold Holzer
In 1862 Abraham Lincoln faced one of his hardest decisions as President. He wanted to
save the Union, but the fighting seemed to go on and on between Union and Confederate
troops. Lincoln knew that an order to free the slaves could help the North.
Abolitionists wanted him to sign such an order. But Lincoln also knew that an
Emancipation Proclamation would make some people in both the North and the South
angry.
Read now about the days when Lincoln made a decision about slavery and took action. As
you read, think about why it is important for leaders to consider many points of view
before making a decision.
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It was January 1, 1863. The Civil War was still raging, but in Washington, D.C., this was
a day of celebration. At the White House, President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln welcomed
the new year by hosting a party. For hours they greeted hundreds of visitors, just as
Presidents and First Ladies had done for years.
But this was no ordinary New Year's Day at the White House. Today history would be
made.
In mid-afternoon the President quietly left the party and walked upstairs to his office on
the second floor. Waiting for him there were Secretary of State William H. Seward and
members of Lincoln's staff. On a large table in the center of the room sat an officiallooking document, written out in beautiful handwriting by a professional "engrosser."
Lincoln sat down at the table, the document spread out before him. The moment was at
hand. Now, at last, the President would sign the Emancipation Proclamation.
Abraham Lincoln took pen in hand, dipped it in ink, and then, unexpectedly, paused and
put the pen down. To his surprise—and to everyone else's—Lincoln's hand was trembling.
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It was not, Lincoln later said, "because of any uncertainty or hesitation on my part." As he
put it, "I never in my life felt more certain that I am doing right than I do in signing this
paper."
But greeting so many guests had taken a toll. "I have been shaking hands since 9 o'clock
this morning, and my hand is almost paralyzed," Lincoln explained. "If my name ever
goes into history it will be for this act, and my whole soul is in it. If my hand trembles
when I sign the proclamation, all who examine the document hereafter will say, 'He
hesitated."
After a few moments Lincoln again took pen in hand. The room was quiet except for the
muffled sounds of laughter and music drifting upstairs from the party below. Slowly but
firmly he wrote "Abraham
Lincoln" at the bottom of the document that declared all slaves in the Confederacy
"forever free."
With that, Lincoln glanced at his signature, looked up, smiled, and modestly said, "That
will do."
What Lincoln's proclamation did—and did not do—has been debated ever since. Some
argue that the Emancipation Proclamation did little. After all, it ordered slaves freed only
in the states of the Confederacy—the states where Lincoln had no authority. But in the
words of one contemporary, the document struck like a second Declaration of
Independence. In truth, nothing so revolutionary had happened since the Revolutionary
War itself. Perhaps that is why Lincoln worried so long before finally doing what some
thought he should have done the moment he became President. Lincoln had been against
slavery all his life. Seeing slaves in chains for the first time in New Orleans, he vowed: "If
I ever get a chance to hit this thing, I'll hit it hard." As a young legislator in Illinois, he had
been one of the few lawmakers to sign a resolution against slavery. Years later he spoke
angrily against the idea that slavery should be allowed to spread to the western territories.
True, Lincoln did not then believe in equality for Africans living in the United States. He
did not yet think they should be permitted to vote or sit on juries. But he differed with
most citizens of the day by declaring, "In the right to eat the bread which his own hands
earn," a black man "is my equal and . . . the equal of every living man." When Lincoln
was elected President in 1860, he promised to do nothing to interfere with slavery in the
slave states. He still believed that slavery was wrong, but he felt that personal belief did
not give him the right to act. After a year of war, however, Lincoln decided that the only
way to put the Union back together was to fight not only against
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Confederate armies but also against slavery itself. "We must free the slaves," he confided,
"or ourselves be subdued."
Then why did he not order slaves freed immediately? Lincoln believed that the country
was simply not ready for it. "It is my conviction," he said, "that had the proclamation been
issued even six months earlier than it was, public sentiment would not have sustained it."
The President worried that if he acted against slavery too soon, he would lose support in
the important border states, which he wanted so much to keep in the Union. Lincoln could
not afford to lose the slave state of Maryland, for example. If Maryland seceded, then
Washington, D.C., would become a capital city inside an enemy country! Lincoln
worried, too, that Northern voters might turn against Republicans and elect a new
Congress unwilling to continue the war. So he waited.
Not until July 1862 did Lincoln finally decide that he could safely act. "Things had gone
on from bad to worse," he said, "until I felt that we had reached the end of our rope . . .
that we had about played our last card and must change our tactics, or lose the game."
On July 22, a blisteringly hot summer day, Lincoln called a meeting of the Cabinet and
told the members he had an important decision to announce. He warned them that
he would listen to no arguments. He had already made up his mind. Then he unfolded
some papers and slowly read aloud his first draft of the proclamation. No one present
dared speak against it, but Secretary of State Seward expressed a reasonable concern.
With the war going so badly, wouldn't the announcement be taken by most Americans as
"a cry for help—our last shriek on the retreat?" Seward wanted the President to
Abraham Lincoln (third from left) meets with members of his Cabinet to discuss the
Emancipation Proclamation. Secretary of State William H. Seward is sitting across from
Lincoln. See picture page 423.
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Freedom made it possible for many former slaves to attend school for the first time. See
picture page 424.
postpone the proclamation until the Union could win a victory on the battlefield. Lincoln
agreed.
Over the next two months, emancipation was the best-kept secret in America. Then, on
September 17, 1862, Union troops finally gave Lincoln a victory. The North defeated the
South at the Battle of Antietam in Maryland. Five days later Abraham Lincoln announced
the Emancipation Proclamation.
Just as Lincoln had feared, the emancipation was immediately and bitterly attacked. Some
newspapers warned that it would set off riots. Union soldiers began deserting in greater
numbers than ever. That fall, Lincoln's Republican party suffered losses in elections for
Congress.
But Lincoln did not back down. On January 1—with his trembling hand steadied—he
signed the final proclamation. He even added his hope that former slaves would now join
Union armies to fight for the freedom the emancipation promised. Everyone knew that,
for all its good intentions, the Emancipation Proclamation would do nothing unless Union
armies could win victories in Rebel states. That is exactly what happened. The
Emancipation Proclamation freed 200,000 slaves as Union troops marched farther and
farther into the Confederacy. By the stroke of his pen, Lincoln had launched a second
American Revolution. He not only had helped end the shame of human bondage in
America but had guaranteed the survival of American democracy. As he put it, "By giving
freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free."
Literature Review
1. Why was it important for Lincoln to think about all points of view before deciding to
write the Emancipation Proclamation?
2. Why did some people think the Emancipation Proclamation did very little?
3. Lincoln said, "By giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free." Rewrite
Lincoln's words in your own words to show classmates what you think he meant.
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LESSON 3
THE LONG ROAD TO A UNION VICTORY
Link to Our World
What actions might help bring a difficult conflict to an end?
Focus on the Main Idea
As you read, think about the events that helped bring the Civil War to an end.
Preview Vocabulary
Gettysburg Address
assassination
The Emancipation Proclamation did not give enslaved people instant freedom. The order
was only for the states that had left the Union—not the four border states. And until Union
troops were sent to the Confederate states to see that the proclamation was carried out,
many people there remained enslaved. Still, it gave new hope to Africans and new spirit to
the North.
In the months that followed, the North seemed to be winning the war. Yet terrible battles
lay ahead, and many more soldiers would die before the war's end.
AFRICAN REGIMENTS
Africans had fought to defend the United States since the Revolutionary War. Over the
years, however, many had been kept from joining the army. By the start of the Civil War,
they were not allowed to serve.
As the war went on, many Africans decided to form their own regiments to fight for the
Union. While they trained, their leaders asked Congress to let them enlist. Finally, in
1862, with no end to the war in sight and fewer white soldiers joining the army, Congress
agreed. More than 186,000 Africans signed up. They formed 166 regiments of artillery,
cavalry, infantry, and engineers.
At first African soldiers were not paid as much as white soldiers. They were given poor
equipment and often ran out of supplies. To make things worse, Confederate soldiers said
that they would enslave or kill any black soldiers they captured.
Even with the hardships and the dangers, African soldiers soon proved themselves in
battle. They led raids behind
Like many other Africans in the United States, this soldier, Andrew Scott, fought for the
Union. See picture page 425.
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Confederate lines and served as spies and scouts. They fought in almost every battle,
facing some of the worst fighting of the war. More than 38,000 black soldiers lost their
lives defending the Union.
How did African regiments help the Union war effort?
GRANT LEADS THE UNION
Another boost for the North came when President Lincoln finally found a general as good
as Confederate general Robert E. Lee. His name was Ulysses S. Grant.
Like Lee, Grant had been educated at West Point and had fought in the war with Mexico.
When the Civil War began, Grant offered his services to the Union army. His quick
decisions in battles soon led to Union victories. After one battle, when the Confederates
asked for the terms of surrender, Grant replied, "No terms except an unconditional and
immediate surrender can be accepted." After that, Northerners liked to say that Grant's
initials, U. S., stood for Unconditional Surrender.
One of Grant's most important battles began in May 1863, at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
After two attacks Grant decided to lay siege to the city. For weeks Union guns pounded
Vicksburg. The trapped Confederates, both soldiers and townspeople, soon ran out of
food. They ate mules, horses, and dogs to stay alive. They tore down houses for firewood
and dug caves in hillsides for shelter. Finally, on the Fourth of July, the starving people of
Vicksburg gave in.
Vicksburg proved to be a key victory. It gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.
This, in turn, helped weaken the Confederacy by cutting it into two parts. As one Union
soldier wrote from Vicksburg, "This was the most glorious Fourth I ever
African troops played a key role in support of the Union. This photograph shows members
of an artillery unit completing cannon drills. See picture page 426.
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"I can't spare this man," President Lincoln once said about Ulysses S. Grant (above). "He
fights." Grant used this box (right) to carry his saddle and other field equipment. See
picture page 427.
spent." President Lincoln was overjoyed when he heard about the victory. Before long he
gave Grant command of all Union troops.
Why was Grant's victory at Vicksburg important?
GETTYSBURG
At about the same time that Grant won Vicksburg, other Union troops were facing the
invading army of Robert E. Lee in the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Battle
of Gettysburg ended in one of the most important Union victories of the war. But more
than 3,000 Union soldiers and nearly 4,000 Confederates were killed. More than 20,000
on each side were wounded or reported missing.
The fate of the Fourteenth Tennessee Regiment tells the story. When the battle began,
there were 365 men in the unit. When the battle ended, there were only 3.
On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln went to Gettysburg to dedicate a cemetery for
those who had died there. A crowd of nearly 6,000 people gathered for the ceremony.
Lincoln gave a short speech that day. In fact, he spoke for less than three minutes. A
photographer who was there hoped to take a picture of the President as he gave his
speech. But by the time the photographer had set up his heavy camera, Lincoln had
already sat down!
Lincoln's speech at Gettysburg was so short that many people in the crowd were
disappointed. Lincoln himself called it "a flat failure." But people soon realized that this
short speech, later known as the Gettysburg Address, was one of the most inspiring
ever given by an American leader.
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The Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation,
conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so
conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that
war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those
who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that
we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow—
this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far
above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather,
to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so
nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before
us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they
gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall
not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—
and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the
earth.
In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln spoke of the ideals of liberty and equality on which
the country had been founded. He honored the soldiers who had died defending those
ideals. And he called on Americans to try even harder to win the struggle those soldiers
had died for—to save "government of the people, by the people, for the people."
What did President Lincoln ask Americans to do in his speech at Gettysburg?
THE MARCH TO THE SEA
More Union victories followed those at Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Then came one of the
worst times for the South—the invasion of Georgia.
In 1864 Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led his army south from Tennessee
into Georgia. Through heavy fighting Sherman pushed to Atlanta, the railroad center of
the South. As he took the city, much of it burned to the ground.
From Atlanta, Sherman's troops headed toward Savannah, on the Atlantic coast. Their
march has become known as the March to the Sea. The goal of this terrible march was to
destroy everything that could help the South in the war. Sherman hoped that this would
break the South's will to fight. "We cannot change the hearts of those people of the
South," Sherman said, "but we can make war so terrible . . . make them so sick of war that
generations would pass away before they would again appeal to it." Cutting a path of
destruction 60 miles (96 km) wide and 300 miles (482 km) long, Union troops burned
homes and stores, destroyed crops, wrecked bridges, and tore up railroad tracks.
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LOCATION This map shows Union and Confederate victories in the major battles of the
war. Why do you think so many battles took place in Virginia and Maryland? See map
page 429.
On December 22, 1864, Savannah fell to Union troops. That night Sherman sent a
message to President Lincoln. "I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of
Savannah." Sherman then turned north and marched through South Carolina, destroying
even more than he had in Georgia.
What was the purpose of Sherman's March to the Sea?
LEE SURRENDERS
In April 1865 Grant's Union army met Lee's Confederate army in Virginia. Lee's troops
were starving, and their clothes were in rags. Grant's soldiers, who were well armed and
well fed, kept pushing the Confederate troops.
Finally, Lee was trapped. He could neither fight nor retreat. He had to make another
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hard decision. He decided to give up the fight—to surrender. "There is nothing left for me
to do but to go and see General Grant," Lee said. "And I would rather die a thousand
deaths."
Lee surrendered his army to Grant at the tiny Virginia town of Appomattox Courthouse
on April 9, 1865. In the next few weeks, as word of Lee's surrender reached them, other
Southern generals surrendered, too. The war was finally over.
What problems led to Lee's surrender?
ONE MORE TRAGIC DEATH
The war had ended, but there was still another tragedy to come. Abraham Lincoln did not
live to see peace return to the Union.
On April 14, 1865, just five days after Lee's surrender, Lincoln was murdered by a man
who thought he was helping the South. The murder of a political leader such as President
Lincoln is called an assassination (uh•sa•suhn•AY•shuhn).
The President and Mary Todd Lincoln, his wife, had been watching a play at Ford's
theater in Washington, D.C. It Robert E. Lee, 1865 was there that an actor named John
Wilkes Booth shot the President and ran. Booth died later, during his escape.
Lincoln's assassination shocked both the North and the South. Northerners had lost the
leader who had guided the Union to victory. Many gathered in the streets when they heard
the news. Some cried openly. Others marched silently. People hung black cloth
everywhere—on buildings, fences, and trees.
Many Southerners were also saddened by the death of the President. Lincoln had said
Robert E. Lee (seated at left) surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant (seated at right) at the home
of Wilmer McLean in Appomattox Courthouse. See picture page 430.
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WHAT?
Memorial Day
On May 5, 1866, people in Waterloo, New York, honored those who died in the Civil
War. The people closed businesses for the day and decorated soldiers' graves with
flowers. This was the beginning of the holiday known as Memorial Day, or Decoration
Day. On this day Americans remember those who gave their lives for their country. At
Arlington National Cemetery, a wreath is placed on the Tomb of the Unknowns. Four
unknown American soldiers who were killed in war are buried there. Today most states
observe Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. Many Southern states also have their
own days to honor Southern soldiers who died in the Civil War. This holiday is called
Confederate Memorial Day or Confederate Heroes Day.
This monument on Culp's Hill honors Confederate soldiers who died at the Battle of
Gettysburg. See picture page 431.
he would treat the South fairly in defeat. He had promised to bring the country together
again "with malice toward none, with charity for all." What would happen now that the
President was dead?
A Southerner named Mary Chesnut feared the worst. When she learned of the
assassination, Chesnut wrote in her diary, "Lincoln—old Abe Lincoln—killed . . . I know
this foul murder will bring down worse miseries on us."
Why was Lincoln's death a shock to both the North and the South?
LESSON 3 REVIEW
Check Understanding
1. Recall the Facts What is the Gettysburg Address?
2. Focus on the Main Idea What events helped bring the Civil War to an end?
Think Critically
3. Think More About It In what ways did individual Americans make a difference
during the war?
4. Past to Present Why do you think people today still find meaning in the words of
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address?
5. Explore Viewpoints If you had lived in the North during the Civil War, how might you
have felt about the March to the Sea? How might you have felt if you had lived in the
South?
Show What You Know
Diorama Activity Make a diorama of one of the events described in this lesson. Your
diorama should show either conflict or cooperation. Take turns with a partner, telling the
stories about the events each of you has shown.
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Compare Maps with Different Scales
See maps pages 432 and 433.
Why Is This Skill Important?
A map scale compares a distance on a map to a distance in the real world. It helps you
find the real distance between places. Map scales are different depending on how much
area is shown.
Knowing about different map scales can help you choose the best map for gathering the
information you need.
Map Scales
Look at the map below and the map on page 433. They show the same area around
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, but with different scales. On Map A, Gettysburg looks smaller.
For that reason the scale is said to be smaller. On Map B, Gettysburg appears larger, and
the scale is said to be larger.
When the map scale is larger, more details can be shown. For example, note the details of
the hills and woods on Map B. Also note that Map B is the larger map. It takes a larger
piece of paper to show a place on a map with a large scale than to show it on a map with a
smaller scale. Although they have different scales, Maps A and B can both be used to
measure the distance between the same two places.
Understand the Process
On July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union line stretched from
Spangler's Spring north to Culp's Hill, on to Cemetery Hill, south along Cemetery Ridge
to the hill called Little Round Top, and beyond. What was the distance between Cemetery
Hill and Little Round Top? To find out, follow the steps below:
1. On Map A, use a ruler to measure the exact length of the scale, or use a pencil to mark
off the length on a sheet of paper. How long is the line that stands for 1/2 mile?
2. Still using Map A, find Cemetery Hill and Little Round Top. Using the ruler or the
sheet
433
of paper you marked, measure the distance between these two hills. How many times can
you fit the 1/2-mile scale length end to end between the hills? Multiply the number of
scale lengths between the hills by the distance that the scale length represents. What is the
real distance between Cemetery Hill and Little Round Top?
3. Now go through the same steps for Map B. How long is the scale length that stands for
1/2 mile on Earth? Use that scale length to measure the distance between Cemetery Hill
and Little Round Top on the map. Are the distances you found on the two maps the same?
You should see that even when map scales are different, the distances shown on the maps
are the same.
4. Can you figure the distance between the Confederate line at the Peach Orchard and the
Union line at Little Round Top? Which map would you use?
Think and Apply
Think about how you use maps when you travel. Find two road maps with different
scales—perhaps a road map of your state and a road map of a large city within your state.
Compare the actual distances between two places that are on both maps. How far apart are
the two places? Are the distances the same on both maps? When would it be more helpful
to use the state map, with the smaller scale? When would it be more helpful to use the city
map, with the larger scale?
434
LESSON 4
LIFE AFTER the WAR
Link to Our World
How can new laws affect the lives of citizens?
Focus on the Main Idea
Read to learn about how new laws affected the lives of Americans in the years following
the Civil War.
Preview Vocabulary
sharecropping
Reconstruction
scalawag
carpetbagger
segregation
When the Civil War finally ended, it was clear that peace had not come easily. More than
600,000 soldiers had died. Many others had returned home wounded. Much of the South
was destroyed. And now the President was dead. As one Southerner remembered, "All the
talk was of burning homes, houses knocked to pieces . . . famine, murder, desolation."
The years following the war were hard ones. However, the end of the war brought new
hope to at least one group of people—the former slaves.
A FREE PEOPLE
With the Union victory, 4 million enslaved people were freed. Most slaves were already
free by the time the Civil War ended in 1865. In December of that year, the Thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution ended slavery in the United States forever. "I felt like a
bird out of a cage," one former slave remembered, looking back on the day he was set
free. "I could hardly ask to feel any better than I did that day"
Free Africans quickly began to form new communities. They built churches and schools.
They opened stores. They formed groups to help people find jobs and to take care of
people who were sick. In 1866, only one year after the war ended, one African leader
proudly said, "We have progressed a century in a year."
As soon as they could, many former slaves began to search for family members who had
been sold and sent away under slavery. Newspapers were filled with advertisements
asking for help in finding loved ones. This ad appeared in a newspaper in Nashville,
Tennessee.
435
“During the year 1849, Thomas Sample carried away from this city, as his slaves, our
daughter, Polly, and son, George. . . . We will give $100 each for them to any person who
will assist them, or . . . get word to us of their whereabouts.”
Many families never found their missing loved ones. But for those that did, it was a time
of great joy "I wish you could see this people as they step from slavery into freedom," one
Union soldier wrote to his wife. "Families which had been for a long time broken up are
united and oh! such happiness."
Former slaves worked hard to build new lives. Yet life remained difficult. Often it was
hard just to find food, clothing, and shelter. Many began to look to the United States
government for help.
How did free Africans help one another after the war?
WHAT?
Juneteenth
Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. But because
Union troops did not control Texas at the time, the order had little effect there. On June
19, 1865, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas. On that day Union General Gordon
Granger read an order declaring that all slaves in Texas were free. Today people in Texas
celebrate June 19, or Juneteenth, as a day of freedom. It is a state holiday marked by
picnics, parades, and family gatherings.
This photograph of people going to a Juneteenth celebration was taken in Houston about
1900. See picture page 435.
THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU
In 1865 Congress set up an organization to help former slaves. This group was called the
Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands—or the Freedmen's Bureau.
The Freedmen's Bureau gave food and other supplies to freed slaves. It also helped some
white farmers rebuild their farms. The most important work of the Freedmen's Bureau,
however, was education. Newly freed slaves were eager to learn to read and write. To
help meet this need, the Freedmen's Bureau built more than 4,000 schools and hired
thousands of teachers.
The Freedmen's Bureau also wanted to help former slaves earn a living by giving them
land to farm. This plan, however, did not work out. The land was to have come from the
plantations taken during the war, but white Southerners wanted the land back. In the end,
most former slaves were not given
436
Many former slaves, like those shown attending this Freedmen's Bureau school, were
eager to learn to read and write. See picture page 436.
free land. Without money to buy land of their own, they had to find work where they
could.
What was the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau?
SHARECROPPING
In their search for jobs, some former slaves went back to work on the plantations. Many
planters welcomed them. Fields needed to be plowed, and crops needed to be planted.
Now, however, planters had to pay Africans for their work.
In the days following the war, there was not much money. Instead of paying workers in
cash, many landowners paid them in shares. Under this system, known as
sharecropping, a landowner gave a worker a cabin, mules, tools, and seed. The worker
then farmed the land. At harvest time the landowner took part of the crops, plus enough to
cover the cost of the worker's rent and supplies. What was left was the worker's share.
Sharecropping gave landowners the help they needed to work the fields. It also gave
former slaves work for pay. Yet few people got ahead through sharecropping. When crops
failed, both landowners and workers suffered. Even in good times, most workers' shares
were very little, if anything at all.
Why did landowners pay workers in shares rather than in cash?
A NEW PRESIDENT
As Americans were getting used to their new lives after the war, government leaders
began making plans for bringing the country back together. This time of rebuilding was
called Reconstruction.
437
After Lincoln's death the Vice President, Andrew Johnson, became the new President.
Johnson tried to carry out Lincoln's promise to be fair to the South in defeat. He pardoned
most Confederates who promised loyalty to the United States. They were then given back
the rights of citizenship and were allowed to vote. Their states held elections, and state
governments went back to work.
Johnson also said that the Confederate states must abolish slavery. This requirement was
met when the Thirteenth Amendment was passed late in 1865. Johnson then said that the
last of the Confederate states could return to the Union.
Such easy terms, however, made some people angry. Many Northerners felt that the
Confederates were not being punished at all. White Southerners were being elected to
office and taking over state governments just as they always had. Yet no one talked about
the rights of former slaves. What would happen to them?
It was not long before white Southerners passed laws to limit the rights of former slaves.
These laws were called black codes. The black codes differed from state to state. In most
states Africans were not allowed to vote. In some they could not travel freely. They could
not own certain kinds of property or work in certain businesses. They could be made to
work in the fields if they could not find another job.
Many, however, faced an even worse problem. Shortly after the war ended, some white
Southerners formed secret groups to keep Africans from having their rights as free
persons. Most of those who joined these groups were upset about their war losses and
angry about the new rights of former slaves.
One such group was the Ku Klux Klan, or the KKK. Dressed in white robes and hoods, its
members delivered nighttime messages of hate. Klan members broke into homes and
attacked and killed Africans. They burned schools and churches. They hurt anyone who
helped former slaves. It was a time of terror for many people.
How did some white Southerners keep Africans from having their rights as free
persons?
CONGRESS TAKES ACTION
Many leaders of Congress were alarmed about the way former slaves in some Southern
states were being treated. They believed that President Johnson's Reconstruction plan was
not working. So they voted to change to a plan of their own—a plan that was much
tougher on white Southerners.
As sharecroppers, former slaves were paid for their work. But sharecropping was a hard
way to make a living, and it put many families in debt. See picture page 437.
438
First, Congress did away with the new state governments and put the Southern states
under the army's rule. Union soldiers kept order, and army officers were made governors.
Before each Southern state could reestablish its government, it had to write a new state
constitution giving all men, both black and white, the right to vote. To return to the Union,
a state also had to pass the Fourteenth Amendment. This amendment gave citizenship to
all people born in the United States—including former slaves.
Johnson was very angry about this plan and about other laws that Congress passed to cut
back his authority. Believing that these laws were unconstitutional, Johnson refused to
carry them out. Then, in 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach the
President, or charge him with a crime. He was put on trial in the Senate. There, in a very
close vote, he was found not guilty. Although he stayed in office, Johnson was no longer a
strong leader.
The Southern states began to write new state constitutions and pass the Fourteenth
Amendment. State elections were held once again. For the first time, African Americans
from the South were elected to Congress. They also served in state governments that took
over the job of rebuilding the South.
Why did Congress vote to change Johnson's Reconstruction plan?
RECONSTRUCTION ENDS
The new state governments made many important changes. They did away with the black
codes. They approved the Fifteenth Amendment, which said that no citizen could be kept
from voting because of race. They built hospitals and schools and repaired roads, bridges,
and railroads.
Yet the work of the state governments did not make everyone happy. To pay for their
projects, state leaders placed high taxes on land. These taxes hurt landowners who were
trying to get their farms and plantations working again. Some were forced to sell their
land because they could not pay the taxes.
Many white Southerners soon grew angry with their state leaders. They did not like the
fact that African Americans were voting and taking part in government. They did not like
the white Southerners who supported the government. They called them scalawags
(sKA•lih•wagz)—people who support something for their own gain. They also did not
like being told what to do by Northerners. Under military rule Northern soldiers guarded
their streets. Other Northerners went to the South to try to help with Reconstruction or to
make money buying
The disagreements between Congress and Andrew Johnson (far left) led to his
impeachment. Johnson was the only President in United States history ever to be
impeached. Johnson's trial in the Senate drew crowds of people, and tickets (left) were
scarce. See pictures page 438.
439
The first African Americans to serve in the United States Congress (left) were elected
during Reconstruction. Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi (seated at far left) was elected in
1870 to fill the Senate seat once held by Confederate President Jefferson Davis. See
picture page 439.
land or opening businesses. White Southerners called them carpetbaggers because
many of them arrived carrying their belongings in suitcases made of carpet pieces.
Some white Southerners tried again to take authority from their state leaders. One way
they did this was to control the way people voted. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan used
violence to keep African Americans from voting or to make sure they voted as they were
told. Sometimes the votes of African Americans simply were not counted.
In time white Southerners once again took control of their state governments. New state
laws were passed that made it very hard, if not impossible, for African Americans to vote.
African Americans had to go to separate schools and churches and sit in separate railroad
cars. Such laws led to the segregation, or separation, of black people and white people.
Reconstruction was over by 1877. In that year the last of the Union troops left the South.
The rights and freedoms African Americans had just won were again taken away.
How did white Southerners take authority back from their state leaders as
Reconstruction ended?
LESSON 4 REVIEW
Check Understanding
1. Recall the Facts In what ways did the government try to help former slaves?
2. Focus on the Main Idea How did new laws affect the lives of Americans in the years
following the Civil War?
Think Critically
3. Think More About It In what ways did life change for former slaves who became
sharecroppers?
4. Explore Viewpoints Why do you think Lincoln wanted to be fair to the South in
defeat?
5. Cause and Effect Why were many white Southerners angry with the state governments
set up during military rule?
Show What You Know
Writing Activity Imagine that you are a news reporter writing a story about
reconstruction. Write an interview with a former slave, a Southern white landowner, a
Union soldier stationed in the South, or a carpetbagger. Give both your questions and the
person's answers. Present your interview to the class.
440
CHAPTER 14 REVIEW
CONNECT MAIN IDEAS
Use this organizer to show that you understand how the chapter's main ideas are
connected. First copy the organizer onto a separate sheet of paper. Then complete it by
writing one or two sentences to summarize each idea or event.
WRITE MORE ABOUT IT
1. Write a Diary Entry Imagine that you are living in Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, or
Delaware at the beginning of the Civil War. Write a diary entry in which you tell why you
think some members of your family have chosen to fight for the North while others have
chosen to fight for the South.
2. Write a News Story Imagine that you are a newspaper reporter covering the White
House in 1863. Write an article for your newspaper in which you tell readers what the
Emancipation Proclamation will do, why President Lincoln decided to issue it, and how it
will affect the war.
441
USE VOCABULARY
Use each term in a complete sentence that will help explain its meaning.
1. border state
2. assassination
3. sharecropping
4. scalawag
5. carpetbagger
6. segregation
CHECK UNDERSTANDING
1. Why did the Confederacy hope to receive help from Britain and France?
2. Why did Lincoln finally decide to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?
3. How did African soldiers help the North?
4. What ideals did President Lincoln speak about in the Gettysburg Address?
5. During the March to the Sea, why did General Sherman try to destroy everything in his
path?
6. Why were some Southerners sad about Lincoln's death?
7. What was the purpose of the Freedmen's Bureau?
8. How did the black codes help bring about the end of President Johnson's
Reconstruction plan?
THINK CRITICALLY
1. Personally Speaking If you had been in Robert E. Lee's place, would you have made
the decision to join the Confederacy? Why or why not?
2. Explore Viewpoints Mary Chesnut wrote,
"I know this foul murder will bring down worse miseries on us." What do you think she
meant? Do you think she was right? Explain your answer.
3. Think More About It The most important
work of the Freedmen's Bureau was education. Why is education important to people in a
free country?
4. Past to Present Government leaders raised taxes to pay for rebuilding the South. Today
government leaders sometimes increase taxes to pay for new projects. How can taxes both
help and hurt people?
APPLY SKILLS
How to Compare Maps with Different Scales The maps of Gettysburg on pages 432 and
433 show the sites of many battles. You can visit these battle sites today at the Gettysburg
National Military Park in Pennsylvania. Use either map to answer the questions.
1. How far would you have to walk to go from the battle sites of Devil's Den to the
Wheatfield?
2. How far is it from the Wheatfield to the Peach Orchard?
3. Which map did you use to answer these questions? Why did you choose that map?
READ MORE ABOUT IT
The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War by Jim
Murphy. Clarion This book includes letters, diary entries, and photographs of young Civil
War soldiers.
A Separate Battle: Women and the Civil War by Ina Chang. Lodestar. This book
highlights the important contributions that women made in the Civil War.
Undying Glory: The Story of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment by Clinton Cox.
Scholastic. This book details the Massachusetts 54th, a regiment of African American
soldiers.
442
MAKING SOCIAL STUDIES RELEVANT
THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM GOES ON
See picture pages 442 and 443
The Civil War changed forever the way most Americans thought about one another.
People who had been friends had fought as enemies. People who had been enslaved were
now free. Those who had been thought of as property were now citizens of the United
States.
Yet the rights that African Americans had fought so long for were still kept out of reach.
In the years following the Civil War, many African Americans were kept from voting and
holding office. They were made to live their lives apart from other citizens, in separate
neighborhoods and schools. It would be 100 years after the Civil War before African
Americans would be given the full rights of United States citizenship.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Americans across the country began to take part in the civil rights
movement. This was a movement to gain the rights promised to all people in the
Constitution. One of the greatest leaders
of the civil rights movement was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1963 King gave a speech
about his hopes for the future. He said that he dreamed of a time when all the unfair ways
of the past would end. He dreamed of a day when "the sons of former slaves and the sons
of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." On
that day, King said, all Americans will finally be able to sing together the words of an old
spiritual,
"Free at last!
Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, We are free at last!"
443
THINK AND APPLY
Think about people today who are working for equal rights. Identify an individual or a
group working to protect people's rights and freedoms. Gather information about the
person or group, and prepare a report for the class.
444
UNIT 7 STORY CLOTH
See pictures pages 444 and 445.
Study the pictures shown in this story cloth to help you review the events you read about
in Unit 7.
Summarize the Main Ideas
1. As slavery continued in the South, more and more enslaved people tried to escape by
running away.
2. After Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860, Southern states seceded from the
Union.
3. During the Civil War thousands of people in both the North and the South joined the
war effort.
4. The war dragged on for four long years, destroying property and lives on both sides.
5. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate forces to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse in 1865.
6. During Reconstruction the Freedmen's Bureau opened schools for former slaves.
7. After the war, life was difficult for former slaves, even though they were now free.
Many tried to build new lives as sharecroppers.
Dramatize the Story Choose any of the people shown in the story cloth, and invent a
conversation they might have with us today describing their experiences. Act out the
conversation with a classmate.
446
UNIT 7 REVIEW
COOPERATIVE LEARNING WORKSHOP
Remember
•Share your ideas.
•Cooperate with others to plan your work.
•Take responsibility for your work.
•Show your group's work to the class.
•Discuss what you learned by working together.
Activity 1
Publish a Class Magazine
You and your classmates have decided to put together a magazine about the Civil War.
First, plan your magazine by preparing a table of contents. Decide what articles and
illustrations you would like to include. Give your magazine a title. Then form several
small groups, with each group working on a different part of the magazine. Once all the
groups have finished, put the parts together. Ask permission to display the magazine in
the school library.
Activity 2
Draw a Map
Work together to draw a map of the United States at the time of the Civil War. Use
different colors for the states of the Union and the states of the Confederacy. Write the
date on which each Southern state seceded. Draw diagonal lines on the border states.
Label the capitals of the North and the South and the key battle sites. Use your map to tell
classmates about one event of the Civil War.
Activity 3
Make Decision Cards
Work in a group to make decision cards. Each member of your group should choose a
well-known leader—Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Harriet Tubman, Henry Clay,
Stephen Douglas, Robert E. Lee, or another person that you have read about in this unit.
On a large note card, write the person's name and birth and death dates. Then write and
attach a paragraph describing how that person made a decision that affected history.
Activity 4
Honor Your Hero
Choose someone you admire from the Civil War as the subject of a poster for a display
called Heroes of the Civil War. Work together to find or draw a picture of the person or a
picture of a scene showing the person in action. Then add words or phrases around the
picture that tell what made that person a hero. Present your poster to the class.
447
USE VOCABULARY
Write the term that correctly matches each definition. Then use each term in a complete
sentence.
Confederacy
segregation
Gettysburg Address
spiritual
Reconstruction
1. a religious song based on a Bible story
2. the new country formed by the Southern states after they seceded from the Union
3. a famous speech given by Abraham Lincoln
4. a time of rebuilding
5. the separation of black people and white people
CHECK UNDERSTANDING
1. In what ways had the South come to depend on the work of enslaved people?
2. How did the Underground Railroad help slaves?
3. What was the Missouri Compromise? What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
4. How did the Emancipation Proclamation affect the war?
5. What problems led Congress to change President Johnson's Reconstruction plan?
THINK CRITICALLY
1. Explore Viewpoints Lincoln once was called "the miserable tool of traitors and
rebels." Today he is thought of as a great leader. Why might someone at the time have
been so critical of him?
2. Past to Present Why is it important for Presidents today to consider different
viewpoints before making a decision?
APPLY GEOGRAPHY SKILLS
How to Compare Maps with Different Scales The Battle of Gettysburg ended on July 3,
1863, when Pickett's Charge—led by Confederate General George Pickett—was stopped
at The Angle and the Copse of Trees. Use the map below and the maps on pages 432 and
433 to answer the questions.
1. Pickett's Charge began on the east side of Seminary Ridge. What was the distance
between the starting line of the charge and the Union line?
2. Compare the map on this page to Map A on page 432. Which would more clearly show
Pickett's Charge or other troop movements over small distances? Explain.