Download Civil War DBQ - St. Charles Parish Public Schools

Civil War
1861-1865
BIG QUESTION: What were the effects of the Civil War on Louisiana, and how did it impact
growth and development in Louisiana?
8.2.5 Analyze causes and effects of major events and evaluate their impact on the growth and development of Louisiana
8.2.6 Identify and describe economic, social, and political characteristics of Louisiana during the Antebellum/plantation
economy, the Civil War, and the Reconstruction eras
8.7.1 Explain how the United States and world foreign policy have affected Louisiana
Document 1: Causes of the Civil War
Although several factors contributed to Southern secession, slavery was the dominant cause of the Civil
War. Economic, social, and political factors all played significant roles in the onset of war, but the issue of
whether slavery should be permitted in the western territories acquired during the 1846–48 MexicanAmerican War proved to be the principal issue on the eve of war.
The secession of the Southern states in 1860–61 and the ensuing outbreak of hostilities culminated
decades of friction between North and South arising from the fundamental differences between the Northern
and Southern economies. The North's economy, which consisted of a growing manufacturing sector, major
commercial interests, and small farms, was establishing itself as an industrial society (it had 85 percent of the
nation's industry and 90 percent of its industrial output in 1860) and sought to prohibit the expansion of
slavery into the western territories that would eventually become new states. Opponents of slavery opposed its
expansion partly because they did not want to compete against slave labor. The South's economy, on the other
hand, was for the most part agricultural and based on large plantations using slave labor to cultivate crops.
Whereas the North wanted high tariffs to protect its industrial concerns from British competition, the South
exported virtually its entire cotton output abroad and wanted low tariffs or none at all so as to be able to buy
British goods at the cheapest possible prices. But increasingly slavery became the issue. Southerners feared not
only that they would lose the federal government's protection of slavery in the new territories but that the
North's stance would endanger the future of slavery in the South itself.
The regions' political stance, masked by compromise since the 1820s, ultimately led to the rupture between
the sections. The North wanted a strong central government that would protect its trading and financial
interests, control the national currency, and fund internal improvements. The South, which was less dependent
on the federal government, saw no need to strengthen it and feared that a stronger central government might
interfere with the institution of slavery and further weaken state sovereignty.
The irrevocable break occurred in 1860 when Abraham Lincoln, candidate of the Republican Party, which
sought to end slavery in the territories, won the presidential election. Although Lincoln insisted that he had no
intention to interfere with slavery where it existed, the Southern states feared Northern domination
Use the text above to record differences between the North and South when it came to economics and politics
prior to the Civil War.
Economic Differences
NORTH
SOUTH
Political Stance
Document 2
On November 06, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States of America. The debate
over slavery had reached a fevered pitch. The election of a perceived abolitionist bewildered and infuriated
Southerners, particularly since Lincoln's name had not even appeared on the ballot in ten Southern states. To
the average citizen, it seemed a betrayal of democracy. To the fire-eating political extremists in the South, it
provided an excuse.
http://www.usskidd.com/battles-secession.html
Document 3
A print of Lincoln and his Vice President (Election of 1860)
Dec 20, 1860 - South Carolina secedes from the Union. Followed within two months by Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. Seven states of the Deep South, those in which the slavery system is
most entrenched, leave the Union. Many Southerners favored secession as part of the idea that the states
have rights and powers which the federal government cannot legally deny. The supporters of states' rights
held that the national government was a league of independent states, any of which had the right to secede.
Source: American Political Prints, 1766 - 1876: A Catalog of the Collections in the Library of Congress,
Continues to the next page….
Document 4
Use Documents 2, 3, and 4
to answer the questions
below.
1. Using Lincoln's 1860 campaign poster, what did the Republican party support?
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2. What does the phrase "Free Territory" mean?
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3. What part of the country would vote for Lincoln? Why?
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4. Why would the election of Lincoln cause Southern states to leave the Union?
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5. Looking at the map, what can you conclude about the political structure of America at the time of this election?
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Document 5:
Secession & Seizure: Louisiana's Entry into the Rebellion (December, 1860 ~ April, 1861)
Governor Thomas Overton Moore of Louisiana called the state legislature into special session for early
December after receiving numerous petitions and appeals. When they convened in Baton Rouge on December
10, secession was a foregone conclusion, though there was still significant opposition to it and strong support
for a "cooperationist" approach. The legislators authorized Moore to hold an election of delegates for a
convention to decide the question of whether or not Louisiana should remain in the Union. Though they set
the date for the election of delegates on January 07, 1861, they ignored the state's constitution by refusing to
put the question of such a convention to a popular vote. As one historian would later note, the legislature itself
took "the first illegal and revolutionary step towards secession."
One hundred twenty-three delegates were elected around the state on January 07 and the convention was
scheduled to begin on January 23. Prior to the election, public opinion had begun to swing. Voters in northcentral Louisiana had been for a large part staunchly Unionist in their views. Even voters in New Orleans had
been conflicted. A large foreign population existed there along with families from the North, all of whom had
brought manufacturing and mercantile skills to the city. Cooperationist efforts were made toward establishing
the Crescent City as a "free city," thus avoiding the pitfalls of war and the disruption of commerce. Business,
after all, was more important than slavery and that latter institution had actually been in decline in the city in
recent years (though the record amounts of cotton and sugar that was shipped through its port was a direct
result of slaves found elsewhere in the state). But in spite of all of this, those in favor of disunion saw their
numbers grow steadily.
In the space of forty-eight hours, Governor Thomas Overton Moore seized three forts, two barracks, one
hospital, and one arsenal with the stores, ammunition, and weaponry that accompanied these installations. To
do so, troops were mustered, armed, and transported via riverboats with arrangements having been made to
acquire the use of those boats ahead of time. No claims of spontaneity or on-the-spot decisions can be made
for the Governor or his staff. The timing of these seizures and the variety of their locations indicates a preplanned and coordinated attack. By the time Major Haskins had arranged for passage for his men and
marched his men aboard a riverboat headed north out-of-state from Baton Rouge on January 13, Louisiana was
well on its way out of the Union and in armed revolt. And all before the Convention had ever met.
Explaining his actions to the state legislature on January 22, Governor Moore stated:
" Near this capital, where the delegates of the sovereign people are about to assemble, was a military depot,
capable, in unscrupulous hands, of being overawing and restraining the deliberations of a free people. . . . I
decided to take possession of the military posts and munitions of war within the state . . . in order to prevent
a collision between Federal troops and the people of the state. . . ."
The following day on January 23, the one hundred twenty-three delegates called the Convention to order
in the Capitol at Baton Rouge. The next three days were tumultuous as opinions were voiced, points were
debated, and resolutions were submitted. On January 26, 1861, the delegates voted 113 to 17 for secession and
Louisiana formally left the Union.
http://www.usskidd.com/battles-secession.html
QUESTION: Were the actions of Governor Moore wise? Use 2 pieces of textual evidence to support your
answer.
Document 6
Shortages and Sacrifices
Once the war began, people at home suffered. The federal blockade of New Orleans at the
beginning of the war quickly created shortages. Ships could not reach the city with needed goods. For
a city based on trade, the blockade was a death grip. Speculators drove up the prices of basic goods.
Counterfeiters made Confederate money even more inflated and worthless.
Shortages affected every area of life. People were hungry for war news, but newspapers struggled
to survive. A shortage of paper forced The Weekly News of Shreveport to become the Semi-Weekly
News. The editor was finally forced to print his newspaper on the back of wallpaper rolls!
Imported coffee was also not available. Acorns, parched cornmeal, and okra seeds were all
tried as substitutes. These ―make do‖ products were soon labeled ―Confederate.‖ For example, a
Confederate bridle was a rope halter, and a Confederate bonnet was a simple hat woven of palmetto
fronds. Confederate flour was poor quality cornmeal.
The items that were available were often so inflated in price that few could buy them. The price
of a dozen eggs reached $5, as did a pound of butter. An apple cost 50 cents—if one could be found.
Often there was no flour, sugar, or meat available at any price. High prices, almost worthless
Confederate money, and a shortage of money choked the economy.
As the war dragged on, people reverted to the skills of the past to make what they needed. The
oldest women in the communities remembered how to weave cloth on the old looms and the plant
dyes used to color the hand-woven cloth. Confederate Governor Allen encouraged this home
manufacturing.
Life in Occupied New Orleans
During most of the war years, New Orleans was an occupied city, isolated from the rest of the
state. After April 1862, the city was under the control of the United States Army. General Benjamin
Butler and his troops were responsible for maintaining order and running the city.
General Butler was determined to control the city. In his words, ―New Orleans is a conquered
city. And, by the law of nations, lies subject to the will of the conqueror.‖ Butler clearly informed the
citizens of New Orleans that he would tolerate no disrespect for the United States. He ordered that
William Mumford be hanged for pulling down the American flag. This was the first of many acts that
enraged the citizens.
Butler was furious at the attitude displayed toward his troops. He retaliated when he heard reports
of the rude comments made to his soldiers by Confederate women, whom he privately called ―sherebels.‖ Saying that no lady would make such remarks, Butler issued Order No. 28. The order said
that any woman who insulted any officer of the United States would be treated like a ―woman of the
town plying her avocation.‖
Butler’s action was criticized around the world. One northern newspaper even joined in the
name calling, labeling him ―Beast Butler.‖ The British Parliament and the London Times also
condemned his order. Generations have repeated the story of the ladies’ revenge against Butler. They
placed his picture at the bottom of their chamber pots!
In other actions, General Butler re-opened the port to international trade. He knew that a
prosperous New Orleans would help the Union war effort. The citizens of New Orleans benefited
when goods became available and the economy improved.
He ordered his soldiers to respect private property and not to enter homes or businesses without
authority. However, when the U.S. Congress passed the Confiscation Act, Butler interpreted it strictly.
By September 1862, Butler began seizing the property of anyone who had not signed an oath of
allegiance to the United States. Many accused Butler of using this law for his own benefit. The
confiscated property was sold at auction, with General Butler’s brother in charge. The secretary of the
U.S. Treasury even warned Butler to ―avoid the appearance of evil.‖
While some felt Butler’s actions were unjust and harsh, others believed he did what he had to do
to control the city. Many of his programs helped the city and its people. He kept the city clean and its
citizens fed. The poor were paid to clean the city, and this ―broom battalion‖ kept the city so clean that
disease was greatly reduced. There were no outbreaks of cholera or yellow fever during the occupied
years.
Butler continued to be criticized. The foreign diplomats in New Orleans complained to the U.S.
government about his actions. For example, when he took weapons from the Confederates, he also
seized the weapons of people who lived in New Orleans but were citizens of other countries. At the
end of 1862, Butler was replaced by General Nathaniel Banks.
General Banks was more moderate in his treatment of the city. One of the first things he did was
reopen the Episcopal churches, earning the gratitude and approval of the city. Butler had closed the
churches because the pastors prayed for Jefferson Davis instead of President Lincoln.
Questions:
1. Of all the shortages and sacrifices that happened, which do you think was the toughest for the
people? Explain why.
2. Do you agree with the actions of General Butler? (AECR)
Document 7
Wartime Governments
During the war, Louisiana actually had two state governments. The Confederate government
controlled all of the state outside the Union lines. That government had to relocate several times to
avoid capture by the Union army.
Government in Union-Occupied Louisiana
After New Orleans was captured, President Lincoln worked to restore a loyal government to the
state. According to Lincoln’s plan, once 10 percent of the voters signed a loyalty oath, an election
could be held. People loyal to the Union soon formed political associations and began preparing for
elections.
Lincoln directed General Banks to hold an election in occupied Louisiana as soon as possible. He
wanted to show that the state, and the other seceded states, could easily return to the Union. Only
those who had signed loyalty oaths were allowed to vote in that election.
In February 1864, Michael J. Hahn was elected the governor of Louisiana for the Union-occupied
region. He replaced Colonel George F. Shepley, who had been the military governor. The elected
government worked with the military commanders in occupied Louisiana. During the war, this was
the state government recognized by the United States.
Government in Confederate Louisiana
The state government for Confederate Louisiana faced challenging obstacles. The capital was moved
several times—from Baton Rouge to Opelousas to Shreveport—to avoid federal troops.
The most urgent problem for Confederate Louisiana was funding for the war. This need for money
made life in Louisiana even more difficult. First, the Confederacy sold bonds to raise money. When
this voluntary approach to raising money no longer worked, an income tax was established. Still later,
a tax-in-kind required that 10 percent of every crop be given to the Confederate government.
These economic problems made it almost impossible to provide for the needs of the people and
support the war effort. The governor who was elected to head Confederate Louisiana in 1863 won the
gratitude of the people at that time and the respect of historians today. Henry Watkins Allen was an
injured Confederate officer who took charge of the state when the fall of the Confederacy already
seemed likely. His creative and practical programs kept Louisiana from starving and lessened the
suffering.
Governor Allen called for relief (financial aid) for soldiers’ dependents and pensions for wounded
soldiers. He wanted to control the manufacture and importation of liquor, because he believed the
corn was better used to feed people and livestock than to make whiskey. He set up a factory to make
medicine at the old Mount Lebanon College in Webster Parish. He kept the trade routes to Mexico
open and imported the medicine that could not be made.
Cotton ―cards‖ were made and distributed so that cotton could be carded (cleaned and combed),
spun, and woven. This helped with the shortage of cloth that could no longer be imported.
By this time, Louisiana was almost entirely cut off from the rest of the Confederacy. Allen told the
Confederate government that he needed to take care of the people of Louisiana and could no longer
refuse to sell the cotton to Europe. He financed his state aid by buying cotton and sending it through
Texas to the blockade runners at Galveston. State stores provided what the people needed.
The War Ends
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate army to Union General
Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The Confederate forces west of the Mississippi
surrendered in Shreveport in June. More than six hundred Civil War battle, engagement, and
skirmish sites mark the map of Louisiana.
Governor Allen led the troubled state through the last days of the war. He told the former
Confederates to ―submit to the inevitable‖ and ―begin life anew.‖ These words foreshadow the years to
come.
Questions:
1. Which government was recognized by the United States?
2. List 3 problems the government in Confederate Louisiana faced.
Document 8
Social and Political Changes
These troops (more than 24,000 African American Louisianans ) symbolized the most dramatic of the
changes Louisiana witnessed during the war—the ending of slavery. In 1860, Louisiana possessed 331,726
slaves, which were 46.8 percent of the state’s population (and 59 percent of the population outside of New
Orleans). Emancipation came unevenly to the state. As soon as General Butler arrived in New Orleans,
runaway slaves, known as ―contrabands,‖ escaped to his lines. Officially, Butler returned slaves belonging to
loyal slaveholders while allowing slaves of Confederate owners to remain in New Orleans, yet in practice this
distinction was difficult to maintain. A similar divergence occurred when President Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, which freed the slaves in rebel controlled areas but not those
within Union lines. In Louisiana, this meant that slaves in New Orleans and many of the sugarcane parishes
did not fall under its mandate. Nevertheless, the state’s unionist 1864 Constitution ended this distinction by
abolishing slavery in Louisiana a year before the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery throughout the United
States. During this whole process, the Union army helped supervise a transition from slave labor to free, wage
labor, a transition that remained incomplete at war’s end.
The 1864 Constitution was emblematic of Louisiana’s role as a test case for President Lincoln’s
Reconstruction policies. As early as December 1862, the Union government held congressional elections in
New Orleans. Later, Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction called for a state’s reentry in the
Union after a portion of the population equaling 10 percent of the votes cast in the 1860 presidential election
swore loyalty to the United States. This plan, dubbed the 10 Percent Plan, went into effect in Louisiana in 1864
and resulted in a new constitution, which ended slavery but did not allow African Americans to vote. In 1864,
Unionist voters selected Michael Hahn as governor, and when the legislature selected Hahn to be U.S. senator
in March 1865, Lt. Governor James Madison Wells succeeded him as ruler of the reconstructed portion of the
state.
The end of slavery was only one of the many striking changes to the home front in Louisiana. The absence
of military age white males, the disruption of the sugar and cotton trade, rampant inflation, lack of credit, and
the presence of an occupation army—and some Confederates as well—all contributed to tremendous suffering
for the civilian population. For many Louisianans, starvation was a real threat, as armies either seized or
destroyed food crops. Some planters, who possessed the means to move, fled to Texas, often with their slaves.
Other Louisianans struggled to feed, clothe, and house themselves. The Confederate state government tried to
help by allocating $5 million to soldiers’ families and distributing food to those in need, but this amount did
not prove sufficient to alleviate all of the state’s suffering, especially in areas that saw repeated Union
incursions. Confederate Governor Henry Watkins Allen, elected in 1863 to succeed Governor Moore, gained
lasting fame for his efforts to aid Louisiana’s plain folk in the Confederate portion of Louisiana during the final
year of the war.
1. Describe the effect of the Civil War on slavery in Louisiana.
2. Describe ways in which the government changed as a result of the Civil War.
3. Life in Louisiana is changed by the Civil War. Find 3 pieces of evidence to support this statement.