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The American Civil War Lifelong Learning Academy Daniel Stephens Topics The State of the Union 1860 The Mexican War The Institution of Slavery The Industrial Revolution Nat Turner Rebellion The Missouri Compromise Kansas-Nebraska Act (Popular Sovereignty) Bleeding Kansas The Creation of the Republican Party The Rail Splitter James Buchanan Lincoln/ Douglas Debates The Dred Scott Decision The Fugitive Slave Law Uncle Toms Cabin John Browns Raid The Election of 1860 Secession 1861: The Edge of the Razor The State of the Union The American Revolution is becoming a distant memory. America has expelled all foreign European Immigrants begin pouring in. The Frontier is expanding. Indian’s have been forcibly removed from the Southeast. Manifest Destiny takes hold of the American psyche The War for Texas Mexican expands under Santa Anna in the 1830’s. Texas free soilers and the Texas revolution Remember the Alamo! Santa Anna’s army would be defeated at the battle of San Jacinto on April 21st 1836 The Mexican War Manifest Destiny President Polk used Mexican aggression to annex Texas and California. Santa Anna promised to defend Mexico from foreign invaders. The war was extremely unpopular. There was many desertions among the ranks of the American army. The Mexican War The American Army landed troops in Vera Cruz and was able to march onto Mexico City Through the end of hostiles with Mexico the U.S. acquired California, Texas, New Mexico, and Utah. The war was seen by its participants and the American public as a sham. Many future commanders of the Civil War like Robert E. Lee, U.S. Grant, James Longstreet, Jefferson Davis, and William T. Sherman serve with distinction in the Mexican War. White Man’s Burden The institution of Slavery dates back in the United States to its fundamental roots. Native American tribal societies would take slaves as spoils of war and freely trade people between tribes. Spain, England, and France would bring Africans into North America as part of their expanding colonial empires. By 1776, Slaves were being sold and kept in all of the American colonies. By 1800, slavery had become unprofitable and was on the verge of dying out in the U.S. The Industrial Revolution American Style In the early 1800’s a wellspring of industrial invention and ingenuity stretches across both sides of the Atlantic. With the use of steam power and machinery the conversion of raw material into textiles becomes a thriving industry in America. The Cotton Gin makes the harvesting of cotton easier and extremely profitable. The demand of manpower for work in the textile mills of the North is fed by a dramatic increase in immigrant populations coming from Europe. Missouri Compromise In 1820 there would be a fight within the U.S. government on whether slavery would be permitted into the territories. The House of Representatives pushed to disallow any slavery into the new territories, while the Southern controlled Senate vetoed any such act. A compromise would be reached that any slave state brought into the United States would also have a free counterpart brought in as well. In 1820 Maine (free) and 1821 Missouri (slave) would become States. Before the bill was ratified an amendment was passed that no new territories above 36˚30’ would be slave. The Nat Turner Rebellion Born in 1800, Nat Turner was raised on tobacco farms throughout Virginia. In his twenties Nat Turner began receiving visions from God. Many would begin to refer to him as Prophet. In 1831, using natural occurrences as divine recognition, Nat and his trusted associates led a bloody insurrection through Virginia. The rebellion gathered over 70 slave and free blacks and killed over 60 whites and burned several homes and Plantations. Nat Turner was captured and executed ending the rebellion. Slavery The Institution By the 1850’s most of the northern states have either abolished slavery. The South with its agrarian based economy heavily relied on slavery for manpower in harvesting cotton. Out of 5.5 million people living in the South only 46,000 owned slaves, only 3,000 owned more than 100 slaves and only 12 owned more than 500. Protected by the Constitution, slavery guaranteed that the South would maintain a political presence in the Senate. The Political Landscape 1850 By 1850, Washington politics was a battleground of heated arguments and personal attacks. Any bill that passed the house that stood out as anti-slave would be immediately vetoed in the Senate. Debates on the floor of both houses could turn violent with members of either party possibly pulling knives, guns, or beating each other with canes. Kansas-Nebraska Act Territories acquired in the war with Mexico would be deemed unsuitable for farming. Fertile territories above 36˚30’ were off limits to slave holding. This would make it possible for southern Democrats and pro-slave factions to lose their controlling interests in the Senate. Kansas-Nebraska act would repeal the Missouri Compromise, declaring any such acts that limit the spread of slavery unconstitutional. Popular Sovereignty What Kansas-Nebraska did was institute the right of popular sovereignty. This gave the power of decision of free or slave to a voting majority within the new state. Douglas and his constituents believed they had found a way to quiet the pro-slave faction within the Democratic party. They also believed that slavery would never spread into the new territories. Bleeding Kansas Pro-slave Para-military factions quickly moved into Kansas to sway the vote to slave. Civilian insurrections flair up as pro-slave & antislave factions begin to fight each other for majority. Missouri raiders cross the border and burn the town of Lawrence Kansas. Two territorial governments form and fighting drags on for four years. 200 die in the violence carried out over the fate of Kansas. John Brown Born 1800, John Brown grew up in Massachusetts and Ohio. He becomes a member of the staunch Abolitionist group the Gileadites. In 1850 he moves out to the territories and fights for abolition. Brown surrounds himself with 29 men and begins violent attacks against pro-slave militia units. Brown massacres any pro-slave men he happens upon (massacre at Pottawatomie Creek). Fearing capture and prosecution John Brown leaves Kansas in 1858 for Canada. President Buchanan James Buchanan, a Democrat was serving as an ambassador to England. Buchanan was considered electable due to his lack of involvement with Kansas. Members of the other parties would charge him with being sympathetic to pro-slave factions in the South. Buchanan’s presidency would be characterized by his lack of involvement. The Formation of the Republican Party During the 1857 election a new political party would be given birth. Coming out of the Whig, Free Soil, and Know Nothing parties the new Republican party would arise. The Republican parties platform was centralized government, modernization, and strengthening a central U.S. economy. In opposition is the Democratic party who stood for de-centralized government, more power to the states, and traditionalism. The first Republican candidate for President would be John C. Freemont, who would be defeated by James Buchanan in the 1857 election. The Rail Splitter Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky, February 12, 1809. Lincolns Father Thomas enjoyed success in Kentucky. Lincoln’s mother Nancy died of milk sickness when Lincoln was nine. Thomas would marry Sarah Johnson, who took it upon herself to educate Abe. At 22 Lincoln would leave home and seek his fortunes. He would take on a variety of jobs like flatboat sailor, general store owner and Captain in Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk Rebellion. In 1832 he would begin campaigning for a career in politics. Honest Abe 1834 Lincoln began teaching himself law. Of the same year, Lincoln won his first political appointment, a seat in the Illinois state legislature. In 1836 Lincoln would pass the Illinois bar and begin practicing law in Springfield. In 1846, Lincoln served in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Whig. Lincoln returned to Illinois and took up being a trial lawyer. He would not enter politics again until 1854. The Lincoln Douglas Debates From 1854 to 1857 Lincoln would try several times to run for Senate. In 1857, Lincoln will oppose Stephen Douglas for his seat in the U.S. Senate. Lincoln who opposed Douglas's views on Popular Sovereignty and slavery argued that Douglas did not uphold the values of the founding fathers ( House Divided). Lincoln would lose to Douglas, but these debates would elevate Lincoln into the political spotlight, and lead to the Republican nomination fro President. The Dread Scott Decision March, 1857 The U.S. Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that Dread Scott, a Slave be returned into bondage. Twenty years before Scott, as a slave, moved from Missouri to Wisconsin with his master. While in Wisconsin his master died, and Scott started living as a freed man since Wisconsin was a free state. When faced with a return to bondage, Scott and his lawyers argued that he had a right to be free. The lower courts decided that Scott had no rights because he was property, which is protected by the Constitution. The Supreme Court would uphold the ruling, and that Congress and territorial legislature had no right to restrict slavery anywhere. The Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act In 1850 as part of the Compromise, it was made legal for Federal agents to pursue escaped or runaway slaves into free territories and states. With tensions mounting in the North over Kansas, Dread Scott, and the rise of moral abolition Federal marshals began facing angry mobs in opposition to their practice. Further opposition came when State courts and legislatures began passing personal freedom laws protecting fugitive slaves by declaring them free if found in residence in a non-slave state. During this time the Underground railroad would become into prominence. The Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a unconnected system of waypoints and safe houses were fugitive slaves could hide from slave hunters as they moved north into Canada. Figures like Harriet Tubman would risk their lives moving runaways across the Mason Dixon line into the North. From there, fugitives would move into crawlspaces, secret rooms, and basements. In the South several groups would appear to help escaped slaves to only return them for the reward. Uncle Tom’s Cabin In 1852 in reaction to the Fugitive Slave Law, Harriet Beecher Stowe, wrote a book about the horrors of southern slavery. Stowe, who had never visited the South or a Plantation painted a picture of brutality, murder, and degradation. The book became an instant bestseller in the North selling 300,000 copies in one year. The book was so popular that in 1862 Lincoln said to Mrs. Stowe “So you are the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.” John Browns Raid After killing pro-slavers in Kansas, Brown and his followers fled to Canada. 1859, Brown has a plan to move across the South in a bloody insurrection. He targets the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry Va. To start this rebellion. On October 16th, Brown and his followers snuck into Harpers Ferry killing a freed black rail man and took the arsenal building. John Brown’s Raid There was a running gun battle as Brown and his followers hold up in an engine house and took hostages. Washington dispatches a detachment of Marines led by an Army Colonel home on leave and an Cavalry Lt. who was visiting him. Robert E. Lee & JEB Stuart lead the Marines in and quickly take the engine house, killing several of Brown’s followers including his Sons, and taking Brown captive. John Browns Body John Brown was tried for treason with the purpose of inciting rebellion by the state of Virginia. Brown is sentenced to death by hanging. The Governor dispatches a unit of cadets from VMI led by their instructor Thomas J. Jackson. Brown, it was said, calmly walked to the gallows and met his death only stopping to hand a note to his guard. In attendance would be Walt Whitman as a journalist, and John Wilkes Booth, disguised as a militia soldier. The Election of 1860 The election of 1860 had four Candidates. The Republican Party ran Lincoln, The northern Democrats ran Stephen Douglas, The Constitutional Union Party (Know Nothings) nominated John Bell, and John Breckenridge, the former V.P. ran as the southern Democrats choice. Lincoln would win every northern state except New Jersey. He did not appear on ballets in most of the Southern States. Lincoln would take the electoral vote by 59% and gain 40% of the popular vote. Secession: For Whom The Bells Toll December 1860, South Carolina delegation would vote to sever its ties with the federal government, The question comes up what is there to do about Fort Sumter. Buchanan moves to re-supply the Federal Fort Charleston’s batteries open up on the ship deterring its re-supply. Two days later Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama secede. By February 1, 1861 Georgia Louisiana, and Texas leave the Union. President Buchanan fails to take action, preferring to leave the whole mess to Lincoln. Lincoln’s Inaugural Address Lincoln comes into office March 4th 1861. In his inaugural address, Lincoln makes his message clear to the seceded states. 1. Secession is illegal and unjustified. 2. All States in open rebellion were in fact still part of the Union. 3. He would not send Federal troops into these rebellious states, unless provoked by hostile action. 4. The Federal instillations would remain in U.S. possession this includes Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens. 5. He will uphold the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. This includes the right of slavery were it existed. The Confederacy and Mr. Davis Meanwhile in Montgomery, Alabama the newly formed Confederate States was quickly trying to form a government. For their President they select a Senator from Mississippi and one time Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis. Davis’s first act as President is to call up 100,000 volunteers to serve a period of twelve months. The Confederate Congress authorizes the use of force to take possession of Federal instillations which included Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens. The Confederate Constitution is drafted giving the Central government control over troop movement and regulated powers. Jefferson Davis Born in 1808 in Kentucky, Davis and Lincoln would only be separated by less than 100 miles. He would serve under Zachary Taylor in Wisconsin and during the Blackhawk wars. He would leave the army and marry Taylor’s daughter Sarah, but she would die in of malaria after three months. Davis would recover and move to Mississippi and meet and fall in love with Varina Howell. They would marry in 1845 He would serve as a Colonel under Taylor in the Mexican war. He would distinguish himself at the battle of Buena Vista. He would serve in the Senate as a representative of Mississippi. Under Franklyn Pierce, Davis would serve as Secretary of War. He would return to the Senate and speak out against secession. He would resign from the Senate in 1860 after Mississippi seceded from the Union. 1861: The Razors Edge As supplies are running out for the garrison of Fort Sumter, things begin to become desperate. Lincoln not wishing to be seen as an aggressor, does not want to send warships to re-supply Sumter, but must send something to feed the men garrisoned there. Jefferson Davis not wishing to be seen as the aggressor bulks up the batteries of Charleston and waits for Lincoln to make the first move. Neither side wants to start a Civil War, but neither side can back down.