Download Slavery, Secession, and Civil War

Slavery, Secession, and
Civil War
Unit 5
Tensions Over Slavery
 Slavery is a system in which African
Americans were bought, sold, and owned like
property.
 Planters in the South depended on slaves to
provide labor for their huge plantations.
 The South wanted to expand slavery into new
territories, while the North wanted the
expansion of slavery halted- if not ended.
 This struggle led to constant battles for power
in the national government.
State’s Rights
 Southerners demanded states’ rights,
believing that the federal government should
restrict itself to powers specifically stated in
the Constitution.
 This was in large part to the distrust of
northern politicians whom they believed were
out to end slavery.
South Carolina Nullification Crisis
 The conflict between states’ rights and federal
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authority reached a boiling point in the early 1830s
during Andrew Jackson’s presidency.
South Carolina protest high tariffs on British goods.
John C. Calhoun argued in favor of the Doctrine of
Nullification, which says that a state could refuse to
enforce a law it saw as unconstitutional.
South Carolina threatened to secede if the tariffs
were not repealed.
A solution was proposed by Henry Clay, but the event
increased sectionalism between North & South.
Slaves and Free Blacks
 Most African Americans in the antebellum
South were slaves during the 1800s.
 If they were fortunate, slaves had masters
who valued them at least as expensive
property if not as human beings.
 They were forced to work long hours,
whipped if master thought it necessary, and
lived in shacks providing only the bare
necessities.
 Slave marriages were not legally recognized.
Slaves and Free Blacks
 The Atlantic Slave trade ended in 1808, but
slaves were still bought and sold within the
United States.
 This business became so profitable that it
became known as the Second Middle
Passage – breaking up family units
 Slave owners justified slavery by appealing to
paternalism – the idea that they were actually
caring for and nurturing their slaves.
Slaves and Free Blacks
 Some free blacks lived in the upper South.
 These African Americans were free because the had
purchased their own freedom, their masters had
freed them for some reason, or because they were
born to free parents.
 Most worked as artisans, farmers, or simple laborers,
but a few owned businesses and some even owned
black slaves themselves.
 Free blacks often wore badges so whites would
recognize that they were not slaves.
 Many were mulattos – people of color who had both
black and white ancestry.
The Abolitionist Movement
 Abolitionist advocated the complete
end to slavery.
 Key white figures in the movement
were William Lloyd Garrison and the
Grimke Sisters.
 Garrison founded the anti-slavery
newspaper called the Liberator and
established the American Anti-Slavery
Society.
 Sarah and Angelina Grimke were
members of a prominent slave-owning
family who won national acclaim for
their passionate anti-slavery speeches
The Abolitionist Movement
 Frederick Douglas was an
important African American
Abolitionist.
 After escaping slavery in
Maryland, Douglas educated
himself and became the most
prominent African American
speaker
 He even helped John Brown
plan the Harper’s Ferry Raid
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
 Nat Turner was a slave and
believed that he had a divine
mission to deliver his people from
slavery (he was also a preacher)
 160 people, both black and white,
were killed
 Southern abolitionists societies
came to and end and slave codes
were made tighter and strictly
enforced.
 Turner and 19 others were hanged
for their role and slaves were no
longer allowed to be preachers.
Slavery and New Territories
 As the US acquired new territories in the
West, the debate over slavery grew more
intense.
 Whether or not these territories should allow
slavery was the object of much heated
debate.
 No political issue caused more division in the
US as it expanded west than the institution of
slavery.
The Missouri Compromise
 Slave states and free states were equally
represented in the Senate when Missouri
applied for statehood.
 Missouri would be admitted as a slave state
and Maine as a free state; the southern
boundary of Missouri - 36°30’ N – would be a
dividing line for any new states admitted to
the Union.
 North of this line would be free, south would
be slave.
The Missouri Compromise
Wilmot Proviso
 The US went to war with Mexico in 1846 and
the issue of slavery was a major problem in
the territory gained from them
 David Wilmot proposed banning slavery from
any land gained from Mexico; Northerners
embraced it; Southerners denounced it.
 The debate exposed the serious sectional
divisions over slavery that existed in the
country.
Compromise of 1850
 Compromise admitted California as a free
state and declared the unorganized western
territories free as well.
 Utah and New Mexico were allowed to decide
the issue by popular sovereignty (will of the
people)
 Fugitive Slave Law required northern states
to forcibly return escaped slaves to their
owners in the South
Kansas-Nebraska Act
 This act allowed the previously free and
unorganized territories of Kansas and
Nebraska to choose whether or not to permit
slavery by popular sovereignty.
 Pro-slavery and abolitionist rushed into
Kansas to set up rival governments
 The territory became known as Bleeding
Kansas as both sides fought armed clashes
Kansas Nebraska Act
Red = Free
Grey = Slave
Green = Unorganized
Territory
Caning of Charles Sumner
 Charles Sumner was a Senator who
delivered a two day speech against the
Kansas Nebraska Act.
 A Congressman from South Carolina, Preston
Brooks, approached Sumner on the Senate
floor and beats Sumner with a cane, almost
killing him; causing him to be absent from the
Senate for three years to recover.
 Sumner-Brooks incident was a brutal
example of how inflamed passions had
become over slavery.
Caning of Charles Sumner
Dred Scott Decision
 Dred Scott, a slave, had been taken by his owner to a
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free territory for four years and then returned to
Missouri.
Scott sued (with abolitionist help) for his freedom.
Supreme Court ruled that he had no right to sue
because he was not a citizen, but a slave.
Declared the Missouri Compromise to be
unconstitutional because it deprived slave owners of
due process – violating the 5th Amendment
It suggested that slaveholders could keep their slaves
in any state.
John Brown’s Raid
 1859, John Brown and a group of radical
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abolitionist attacked the federal arsenal at
Harper’s Ferry.
They hoped to seize weapons to start an
armed uprising of slaves.
Plan failed; US troops under Colonel
Robert E. Lee surrounded the arsenal and
forced Brown to surrender.
Brown was charged with treason and
hanged.
This showed Southerners they would have
to shed blood to protect their way of life.
Lincoln and the Election of 1860
 1854, a coalition of northern Democrats,
Whigs and Free Soilers (party that opposed
slavery in the new territories) came together
and formed the Republican Party.
 It did not call for the immediate end to slavery,
but opposed its expansion into new
territories.
 Abraham Lincoln emerged as its most
formidable figures
Lincoln and the Election of 1860
 The Presidential election of 1860 brought the
country to the boiling point regarding slavery.
 The Democratic party split along sectional
lines – Northern Democrats nominated
Stephen Douglas, Southern Democrats
nominated John Breckinridge.
 The Republicans nominated Lincoln.
 Southerners felt Lincoln would prohibit
slavery in the west and dismantle it in the
South.
Lincoln and the Election of 1860
 When Lincoln won the election, South
Carolina responded by seceding from the
Union on Dec. 20, 1860
 Within two months, Mississippi, Alabama,
Georgia, Florida, and Texas had all followed.
 February 1861, Confederate States of
America was formed with Jefferson Davis as
president.; Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia
as Vice-President.
Fort Sumter
 Lincoln knew he did not have enough support
to launch a military action against the South.
 Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, SC were
running low on supplies and Lincoln informed
the S.C. Governor that he was sending
supplies (food not weapons)
 S.C. fired on Fort Sumter April 12, 1861 –
This gave Lincoln the support he needed and
he issued a call for 75,000 soldiers.
 The Civil War had begun.
Abraham Lincoln
 President of the United
States during the Civil
War
 First Republican
President in History
Ulysses S. Grant
 Initially, General in charge of
the Western battles
 Became Commander of
entire Union Army in 1864
 He defeated the South and
accepted Lee’s surrender at
Appomattox Courthouse.
 Became the 18th President
of the U.S.
William T. Sherman
 Took command of Western
forces after Grant
 Captured Atlanta in 1864
and helped Lincoln to get
re-elected
 Most remembered for his
“march to the Sea” in which
he burned and destroyed
southern cities and railways
in an effort to disrupt the
Confederate war effort.
Jefferson Davis
 First and only president of
the Confederate States of
America
Robert E. Lee
 Commander of the
Confederate’s Army of
Northern Virginia
 Despite winning several
impressive victories during the
course of the war, he did not
have enough resources or men
to sustain the war effort
 He surrendered to General
Grant at Appomattox
Courthouse in 1865
Stonewall Jackson
 Confederate General and right-
hand-man to R.E. Lee
 Brilliant military commander; noted
for his use of geography.
 Battle of Chancellorsville, he
marched his troops 12 miles
undetected to attack Union forces.
 Shot by his own men at Battle of
Chancellorsville; died of pneumonia
several days later.
First Battle of Bull Run
 Also known as Manasses; it was the first
confrontation between two armies and a
humiliating defeat for the Union forces
 Confederates could have invaded the Capital
of Washington D.C. if they had been more
organized.
 This battle made it evident that the war would
be longer that expected
 This led Lincoln to adopt the Anaconda Plan
Anaconda Plan
 Proposed by General Winfield Scott
 Involved surrounding the Confederacy and
cutting off all supplies.
 It restricted Southern trade and
communications by seizing control of the
Mississippi River cutting the Confederacy in
half.
 Instituted a coastal blockade (Southerners
used blockade runners to get through)
Lincoln’s Political Struggles
 Concerned that Maryland would join the
Confederacy, he declared martial law to
prevent D.C. from being surrounded by the
Confederacy.
 He suspended Habeas corpus (the right that
a person cannot be imprisoned without being
brought before a judge) and jailed supporters
of the Confederacy.
 Lincoln instituted the military draft and people
became angry because wealthy people could
pay $300 to get out of it.
Lincoln’s Political Struggles
 Lincoln’s most notable opponents were called
the Copperheads – after the snake.
 They were Union democrats that criticized
Lincoln and the war.
 They believed that freed slaves would
migrate north and take jobs away from
whites.
 Radical copperheads encouraged Union
soldiers to desert (abandon) the army and
called on citizens to resist the draft
Emancipation Proclamation
 January, 1863 after a much needed Union
victory at Antietam, Maryland, President
Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation.
 This freed slaves in Confederate states, while
maintaining slavery in the border states.
 This gave the war a moral focus beyond
saving the Union.
 It also encouraged African Americans to enlist
in the Union Military.
Election of 1864 and Lincoln’s Second
Inaugural Address
 Lincoln was in danger of losing the 1864
election because of Northern discontent with
the war.
 The Capture of Atlanta was evidence that the
end of the war was near, so Lincoln won reelection
 In his second inaugural address, Lincoln
expressed his sorrow that so many had died
on both sides and he communicated his
vision for rebuilding the South rather than
punishing it.
Key Battles
of the
Civil War
Eastern Theater
The Eastern Theater
 On land, the war was fought on two primary
fronts or theaters: eastern and western.
 1862, Robert E. Lee assumed command of
the Northern Army of Virginia.
 One of his first major victories was the
Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)
 This battle ended hopes of the Union of
capturing Richmond (Confederate Capital)
and emboldened Lee to attempt to invade the
north.
Antietam (September 17, 1862)
 Lee and his Generals tried to maintain secrecy as
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they planned the invasion of the North.
A copy of Lee’s orders were found wrapped around
some cigars at an abandoned Confederate camp.
General McClellan prepared the union forces at
Antietam Creek, Maryland
This was the bloodiest day of the war, halting the
Confederate advance.
McClellan allowed Lee’s Army to escape.
Chancellorsville (May 1-5, 1863)
 This battle is known as “Lee’s Perfect Battle”
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because of the great planning and good fortune.
Thanks to the efforts of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson,
Lee’s army defeated more than 70,000 Union troops
with only 40,000 Confederate troops.
Jackson was accidently shot by his own troops; his
left arm had to be amputated, but he contracted
pneumonia and died.
Lee said, “ Jackson has lost his left arm but I have
lost my right”
Lee would be without his most talented general at
Gettysburg.
Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)
 Fought outside Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, this battle
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was a key turning point in the war.
Without Jackson, Lee’s forces proved to be less
aggressive and failed to win the high ground early in
the battle.
General George Meade defeated Lee’s army and
ended any hope of the South invading the North.
With 51,000 soldiers dead, Gettysburg was the
bloodiest battle of the entire Civil War.
Four months later, Lincoln gives his “Gettysburg
Address” at a ceremony dedicated a cemetery on the
sight.
Key Battles
of the
Civil War
Western Theater
Vicksburg (May 15-July 4, 1863)
 Vicksburg, Mississippi was the last obstacle
to total union control of the Mississippi River.
 General Ulysses S. Grant laid siege to the
city.
 Siege – army surrounds the enemy, cuts off
their supplies, and starves them into
surrendering.)
 By the time they surrendered two months
later, residents were eating horses, mules,
dogs, and even rats.
Atlanta Campaign (May 1864)
 Grant puts William T. Sherman in charge of the
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western forces.
Sherman begins an invasion of Georgia and he
wanted to reach Atlanta because of its importance as
a railroad hub.
Confederate General Johnston attacked in several
small encounters with a stand at Kennesaw
Mountain.
Sherman flanked (moved around) Johnston and
crossed the Chattahoochee River and took Atlanta
the next day.
This victory convinced the North victory was at hand
and they re-elected Lincoln to a second term.
March to the Sea
(May-December 1864)
 After taking Atlanta, Sherman ordered the city
burned and began his March to the Sea.
 On his way, the army burned buildings,
destroyed rail lines, set fire to factories and
demolished bridges in an attempt to cripple
the South’s ability to keep fighting.
 Savannah surrendered without a fight and
Sherman gave the city to Lincoln as a
Christmas gift.
Union Victory
 Grant began a series of head-to-head confrontations
with Lee designed to crush the Confederate army.
 In two months, the Union army lost 65,000 men, but
because of the overwhelming numbers meant the
Confederates were on the retreat.
 April 9, 1865, Lee’s surrendered his army to Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse ending the war.
 General Johnston surrendered his army to Sherman
at a North Carolina farmhouse known as Bennett
Place.
Reasons for the Union Victory
 North had a much larger population and had more
men and the Union had more labor to produce war
supplies and keep the economy running.
 The North had more railroads to move supplies
efficiently and quicker
 North had more industry to produce weapons,
ammunition, clothes, blankets, and other supplies
 The South’s passion to defend their homeland was
not enough to overcome these advantages to win.