Download Causes of Civil War to Reconstruction

Compromises to Avoid War
Missouri Compromise Key Points:
To preserve a balance of power in Congress
between free and slave states:
1. Maine—admitted as free state
2. Missouri—admitted as a slave state
3. The rest of Louisiana Territory—states
north of 36 30' would be free states
below 36 30' would be slave states.
Compromise of 1850 key points:
1. California—free state
2. Rest of the Mexican Cession divided into
A. New Mexico territory
B. Utah territory
3. Popular sovereignty (people rule) would decide whether or not to allow slavery
4. Congress passed a Fugitive Slave Act to force northerners to help return runaway
slaves.
5. Slaves could no longer be bought or sold in Washington DC
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 Key Points:
1. Popular sovereignty would decide if slavery was permitted in the Kansas and Nebraska
territories.
2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act replaced the Missouri Compromise which had closed the
Northern part of the Louisiana territory to slavery.
Causes of the Civil War
1. Abolitionists continued to oppose slavery. The
south wanted to bring slavery into the new
territories. (Sectional differences)
2. Fugitive Slave Law in the North—would order
all citizens in the US to assist in the return of
enslaved people who had escaped from their
owners. It would also deny a jury trial to
escaped slaves.
3. Impact of Harriet Beecher Stowe's book, Uncle Tom's Cabin—this caused people in
the north and south to fight more for their causes and ultimately pushed the two sides
toward war. The north thought slavery would ruin the US. The south felt that the
northerners were worse than slave owners because they gave out meager salaries in
their factories while southerners at least took a personal responsibility for their
workers.
4. State’s Rights vs. Federalism
Strong Central Gov’t. vs. States’ Rights
The South felt the North should not be able to
make laws pertaining to the slaves.
5. "Bleeding Kansas"—1,200 New Englanders went
to Kansas to fight against slavery. Tensions in Kansas escalated between proslavery
settlers in Missouri. Conflict over popular sovereignty vote between pro and
antislavery. There was a summer of murderous raids sparked by John Bowen in
response to proslavery supporters.
6. Start of the Republican Party—Disgusted at the Kansas-Nebraska bill, Northerners
launched a new republican party. They dedicated themselves to stopping slavery. They
also demanded the repeal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Act.
7. Dred Scott Decision—A Supreme Court decision that declared slaves were not
citizens but were the property of their owners.
8. Balance of Free-Slave States—more states were becoming Free states. This would
give them the numbers in the senate to abolish slavery.
9. Impact of Presidential Election 1860—Due to sectional differences, the Republican
and Democratic parties were no longer national parties. Abraham Lincoln won the
presidency without a single electoral vote from the South. He had only 39% of the
popular vote, but he had won 180 electoral votes.
10. Secession from the South—the south felt they were not going to be represented with
the election of Abraham Lincoln.
When the war starts Lincoln's goal is to preserve the union (USA)—NOT to abolish
slavery. With the Emancipation Proclamation, now the goal is to end slavery.
Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
 All slaves in areas of rebellion against the government would be FREE (land under
Confederate control).
 This did not bring an immediate end to slavery, but it promised that an enslaved people
would be free when the North won the war.
 This ended any chance that France and Great Britain would intervene in the war.
 It also changes the purpose of the war
Southern economy during the war
 There were food shortages during the war—many farms resisted the central
government’s pleas to shift from raising cotton to growing food crops.
 Southern women worked the land
 Southern industry grew during the war—railroad track, guns, ammunition, and many
other items—however, the Confederacy never was able to provide all the manufactured
goods its army needed.
Northern economy during the war
 Most northern industries boomed, except the industries that relied on southern cotton
 There were farms and factories to produce nearly everything its army and civilian
population needed.
 Women replaced men in factories
Opposition during the war
 Copperheads (Democrats) in the north were afraid that freed slaves would flood to
the north and take their jobs.
 They tried to persuade Union soldiers to desert the army and Northerners to
resist the draft.
 To silence the Copperheads and war opponents, Lincoln took extreme measures
o He shut down opposition newspapers
o Suspended the writ of habeas corpus in some areas
Writ of
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habeas corpus
Legal protection requiring that a court determine if a person is lawfully imprisoned.
Without it people can be held in jail indefinitely without even being charged.
The Constitution allows suspension of the writ during a rebellion
13,000 Americans who objected to the war were imprisoned during the war
Gettysburg Address
 Lincoln delivered a two minute speech, which became known as the Gettysburg Address.
 It eloquently explained the meaning of the Civil War.
 Freedom and equality no longer belonged to a few, as they had in 1776. They were the
right of everyone.
 Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address marked a great milestone in the expansion of liberty to
all Americans.
Lincoln's Vice President in election of 1864 is Andrew Johnson from Tennessee (South)
Lincoln was assassinated shortly after Lee’s
surrender. He did not live to see the official end of the war.
"Reconstruction" Amendments
13th Amendment—abolishes slavery in United States.
Lincoln wants to get the South back into the Union as quickly as possible. All Southern white
males could regain full rights by taking a simple oath to the Union, except high Confederate
officials.
The Radical Republicans were upset by this and felt Lincoln was not doing enough. They
wanted to protect the rights of blacks and loyal whites in the south.
Black Codes
White people still dominated southern society and new governments in the south
They established black codes—laws that restricted freedmen’s rights.
 Curfews –black people were not allowed out after dusk
 Vagrancy—if black people didn’t work they could be whipped or fined
 Labor contracts—had to commit to a year of work; if they quit before then, they did
not receive any wages earned
 Land restrictions—could rent homes only in rural areas
President Johnson passes the 14th amendment in response to the black codes
14th Amendment—grants full rights of citizenship to former slaves
15th Amendment—gives right for all former slaves (male) to vote