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The Nation Splits Apart The Main Idea By 1850 the issue of slavery dominated national politics, leading to sectional divisions and, finally, the secession of the southern states. Reading Focus • What was the abolition movement? • How did the issue of slavery influence expansion in the 1850s? • How did other sectional conflicts influence national politics in the 1850s? • What was Abraham Lincoln’s path to the White House? • How and why did the South secede and form the Confederacy? Life as an Enslaved Person • Enslaved African Americans were denied their most basic right — freedom. They had no choice but to work whenever the slaveholder demanded it. • Most enslaved people lived on farms or plantations in the South, doing farm work, hard labor, or servant duties in the household. • In cities, enslaved people worked in mills, offices, and homes; they also worked in the mines and in forests as lumberjacks. • Enslaved people mostly lived in intolerable conditions – Poor food and shelter – Non-existent medical care – Possibility of separation from family • Despite this, many found comfort in community, culture, and religion. Anti-Slavery Efforts in the South Some African Americans in the South were freemen, or African Americans who had been emancipated. These men and women faced legal and social discrimination, yet still played a large role in anti-slavery activities. Many freemen helped enslaved people escape, and many bravely spoke out for freedom for all African Americans. In 1831 the deadliest slave uprising in American history took place. Nat Turner and his accomplices killed dozens of whites before the uprising was put down by a local militia. Other enslaved African Americans chose to attempt escape, trying to reach the free states of the North, Canada, or Mexico. • Over the years, a constantly changing network of escape routes developed called the Underground Railroad. Sympathetic whites and freemen provided help to escaping slaves. Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery herself, helped many on their journey to freedom. The Abolition Movement in the North • The number of enslaved people trying to escape increased in the 1830s, possibly encouraged by an anti-slavery movement in the Northern states. • The Second Great Awakening’s focus on morality caused many Northerners to see slavery as wrong and ungodly. • Many joined reform societies to stop slavery • 1833: William Lloyd Garrison founded the American AntiSlavery Society. • It was the first group to call for an immediate end to U.S. slavery. • In five years, had over 1,500 chapters in the North. • Many abolitionists were women. • Sarah and Angela Grimké, daughters of a Southern slaveholder, were abolitionists. • They moved to the North to support abolition and women’s rights. • Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery, was a leading abolitionist. • He published an 1845 biography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Opposition to Abolition • Though the majority of white southerners did not own enslaved people, the minority who did found abolition outrageous, as if it were an attack on their livelihood and, to some, their religion. • Slaveholders argued that slavery was essential to cotton production, which was a powerful argument even in the North, because cotton accounted for 55% of American exports. • In fact, most Northerners supported slavery as well, since freedom for slaves meant more competition for jobs. • Still, the pressure to abolish slavery in the U.S. was undeniable. Kansas, Expansion, and Slavery In Kansas, the government left the issue of slavery for the residents to decide, though there were widely differing opinions. During the 1850s, several violent battles took place between pro-slavery and antislavery forces, including the Marais des Cygnes Massacre, when a gang of 30 proslavery men gunned down 11 anti-slavery settlers and killed five. So much violence took place that the area was called “Bleeding Kansas,” and the North and South realized that Kansas would play a leading role in deciding the slavery issue in America. Victory in the Mexican War raised an important question about U.S. expansion. As new states formed and joined the Union, would they allow slavery? In Congress, only perfect balance between slave and anti-slave states meant equal representation for both sides. The Compromise of 1850 Adding California to the Union as an anti-slavery state would shift the balance of power in Congress toward the North. In January 1850 Kentucky Senator Henry Clay introduced a plan to preserve the balance of power, sparking long debates. After months of debate, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850, which admitted California as a free state, set the Texas-New Mexico border, outlawed slave commerce in the nation’s capital, and made slavery a popular sovereignty issue in Utah and New Mexico. One provision, the Fugitive Slave Act, made it a crime to aid runaway slaves and allowed the arrest of escaped slaves. Many northerners actively broke this law, which angered slave owners. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an anti-slavery book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, became a huge success despite Southern outrage. The Kansas-Nebraska Act A proposed railroad to link California with the rest of the nation caused conflict. Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas thought that a northern route would make Chicago an urban center. He proposed organizing the western lands into two territories, Nebraska, and Kansas. To win southern support, he suggested dropping the Missouri Compromise’s ban on slavery, in favor of popular sovereignty, where residents vote to decide on the issue. In May 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law, which outraged northerners, weakened the Democrats, and destroyed the Whig Party. Soon after, northern Whigs joined the Free-Soil Party and other anti-slavery parties to found the Republican Party. Sectional Conflicts in Kansas In Lawrence, Kansas, a sheriff's posse attacked anti-slavery newspapers and burned buildings in what is known as the Sack of Lawrence. In response, John Brown, an abolitionist, and others killed five pro-slavery settlers on Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas. Before Kansas could apply for statehood, voters had to approve a constitution to allow or ban slavery. To win votes, both sides raised money and organized to bring in more settlers. Fraud and violence marked early elections. Armed pro-slavery Missourians crossed into Kansas to vote. By 1856 Kansas had two governments— one for slavery and one against. In 1857 a pro-slavery convention tried to push through a pro-slavery Kansas constitution, the Lecompton constitution, which allowed slavery and excluded freed slaves from the Bill of Rights. It was not ratified. Kansas was eventually admitted as a free state, which deepened sectional divisions. Events Spark National Political Conflict Election of 1856 • The nation was divided on presidential candidates. • Democrats nominated James Buchanan, a former senator. • The New Republican and American Parties nominated others. • Democrats won by characterizing Republicans as extremists on slavery. Dred Scott Decision • Buchanan had pledged not to interfere with slavery where it existed. • Dred Scott, a slave who lived on free soil, sued for freedom. • The Court ruled that the 5th Amendment protected slave owners’ rights. John Brown’s Raid • Abolitionist John Brown planned a raid on the U.S. arsenal to get guns for a slave revolt. • U.S. Marines stormed the arsenal and captured Brown and his followers. • They were tried for treason and executed, though many northerners thought Brown was a hero. Abraham Lincoln Rises Lincoln’s Upbringing • Lincoln was born in 1809 in a one-room cabin near Louisville, Kentucky. • Lincoln’s family was very poor, held no slaves, and opposed slavery. They moved to the Indiana Territory in 1816. • In 1828 he got a job on a riverboat from Indiana to New Orleans, and there had his first contact with slavery at a New Orleans slave auction. Lincoln’s Early Political Career • Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois, and ran for state legislature. • He won a seat in the Illinois General Assembly and studied law at home. • He married Mary Todd, the daughter of a Kentucky slaveholder. • In 1846 he was elected to Congress, and proposed the radical idea of “compensated emancipation,” or paying slave owners to free their slaves. • Lincoln campaigned for successful Whig Party presidential candidate Zachary Taylor, and was upset that he was not given the position he was promised. • He resigned from Congress in 1849 and went home to Illinois to practice law. However, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed all residents to vote on slavery, sparked him to reenter politics as a Republican. Debates and Election The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Lincoln defeated Stephen A. Douglas in the Senatorial race. • The Election of 1860 In his acceptance speech, he called the U.S. “a house divided against itself” on the issue of slavery. Two years later, Lincoln and Douglas ran against each other for president, facing hard battles. National news attention about the speech led to the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The Democrats were divided and split completely, as southern Democrats walked out of the nominating convention. The remaining Democrats nominated Douglas, and southern Democrats elected John Breckenridge. During the debates: – Lincoln challenged Douglas on popular sovereignty. Southern moderates started their own party, the Constitutional Union Party. – In the Freeport Doctrine, Douglas said people could stop slavery by refusing to pass laws allowing it. The Republicans chose Lincoln because his abolitionist views were strong but moderate. – Lincoln called slavery immoral but denied proposing racial equality. Lincoln won the election in the North and became president. Southern Secession: Causes and Effects • A week after Lincoln’s election, the South Carolina legislature called a convention to consider leaving the Union. • They decided for it, and the rest of the Lower South quickly followed, including Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. • Four other states—Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas—also threatened to secede. • Though many southerners and even up to 40 percent of delegates opposed secession, the decision was made by radicals at the convention. • Northern reactions to secession varied, with some happy to lose the slave states and others worried about the long-term effects. Causes of Secession The Compromise of 1850 The Kansas-Nebraska Act The Lincoln-Douglas Debates The Election of 1860 Effects of Secession South Carolina fears a northerncontrolled government will act against slavery and withdraws from the Union. Several states follow, forming the Confederate States of America. The Confederacy is Born • In February 1861, representatives of the seven seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama, to form a new nation. They wrote a constitution that allowed slavery and guaranteed slave holder’s rights. • They chose Jefferson Davis, a former U.S. Senator from Mississippi, as president. • They created an association of the states called the Confederate States of America, or the Confederacy, which, problematically, lacked national currency and official headquarters. • The House and Senate sought ways to avoid war, including appointing special committees to suggest possible solutions. • One plan, the Crittenden Compromise, proposed new constitutional amendments, including allowing slavery in some parts of America and compensating slave holders for escaped slaves. • The negotiations failed, as Lincoln’s presidency was a main reason for secession. Lincoln privately opposed any extension of slavery, though he promised in his inaugural speech not to interfere with slavery where it already existed. The Civil War The Main Idea The Civil War broke out following a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, leading to widespread fighting, heavy casualties, and the eventual defeat of the Confederacy. Reading Focus • How did the Civil War begin, and what were some early battles? • What was life like during the Civil War? • How did continued fighting turn the tide of the war? • What happened in the final phase of the war? The Civil War Begins • In 1861 Lincoln sent only non-military supplies to the struggling soldiers at Fort Sumter, one of few Union-held places in the South. • The Confederacy opened fire on Fort Sumter and the Civil War began. • Lincoln called for volunteers to join the northern army and slave states in the Union were forced to choose sides. • Questions rose over border states such as Maryland and Missouri, which went to the Union, and Kentucky, which went to the Confederacy. • The North and South had different goals and advantages for war. Northern Goals and Advantages Goals: Southern Goals and Advantages Goals: Preserve the Union Preserve their way of life Abolish slavery Be left alone with slavery unchanged Advantages: Advantages: Larger population Nation’s best soldiers More railroads Cotton exports for foreign aid Tactics, Technology, and Battle Though the top generals of both sides were trained at West Point and knew military tactics from the Mexican War, this Civil War was different for many reasons: Far deadlier weapons, including better rifles, machine guns, and exploding shells The use of observation balloons and camouflage Officers and government communicated quickly by telegraph. Railroads moved large numbers of troops quickly The Battle of Bull Run near Washington, D.C. was the war’s first major battle. Untrained troops on both sides transformed the battle to chaos and ended hopes for a short war. Different Regions of the War War in the East War in the West Gaining control of the Mississippi River would split the Confederacy in two. In early 1862 Union general Ulysses S. Grant opened two major water routes into the western Confederacy. Grant moved South, winning a major victory at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee, but the fierce battle dashed northern hopes that the rebellion would collapse on its own. A Union fleet under Admiral David Farragut moved north along the Mississippi, capturing New Orleans and other river cities. Union general George B. McClellan delayed his attack on the Confederate capital at Richmond. Confederate general Robert E. Lee lured Union forces to the Second Battle of Bull Run in Virginia, and won. Defeat in Virginia hurt northern morale, so Lee wanted to invade Maryland, hoping a victory on Union soil would force northern surrender or gain foreign trust and aid. The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest of the war, was considered a Union victory only because it stopped Lee’s northern invasion. African Americans during the Civil War • • • • • • In the South, slave labor helped to provide the food necessary to feed the Confederate army. Thousands of slaves, however, escaped to join invading Union troops, and many were hired. As the fighting continued, some northerners wanted not only to preserve the union but to punish the South for its slavery policies and free the slaves. On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing enslaved people in all areas that were in rebellion against the U.S. Some northerners opposed the proclamation, others thought it did not go far enough. The proclamation encouraged freedmen to join Union forces, where almost 180,000 African Americans served in segregated units. Conditions at War and at Home • • • Conditions for Soldiers The Home Front Women and War Most soldiers died not from wounds but from contagious diseases and illness due to poor sanitation and polluted water. • Southerners suffered property damage, food shortages, and inflation. • Some women disguised themselves as men and enlisted in the army, while some worked as spies. Soldiers spent most of their days in camp, doing drills, writing letters home, and playing games. Conditions were terrible for prisoners of war at overcrowded camps and prisons. • The Confederacy, started the first U.S. draft and the North followed, which caused riots. • Anti-war demonstrators hurt the Union war effort, They were called Copperheads by critics and were jailed without trial. • Women took over daily life at home, on plantations, and in factories. • About 3,000 women served in the Union army as nurses • Some women, such as Clara Barton, cared for the wounded on battlefields. Fighting Continues • The Civil War tore America apart, but it also had international effects. – Union naval blockades stopped the South from trading with the world. – When blockades became hard to cross southerners used blockade runners, or low, sleek ships that took cotton to Caribbean ports for transfer to Europe. – Southerners made an ironclad ship that withstood cannon fire to break through the blockade, but when the North built one also, the first ironclad battle took place and changed naval warfare forever. • Though most action was in the East, forces also clashed west of the Mississippi River over natural resources, additional soldiers, and territory. – Congress admitted Kansas, Dakota, Colorado, and Nevada territories as free states, then they created Idaho, Arizona, and Montana territories. – Lincoln appointed pro-Union officials to head the territories. – He did not enforce the draft in the West, though many joined voluntarily. • More than 10,000 Native Americans fought, many for the Union. Three Major Battles • After disastrous Union losses at Fredericksburg in December 1862, Union forces were ready to fight again by spring. • General Joseph Hooker was now in command, and he led three major battles in 1862 and 1863. Chancellorsville • Hooker planned to take Richmond by surprise. • Lee marched his army west, leaving some behind as a distraction. • Lee ordered a surprise attack and won the battle. Gettysburg • Lee tried to invade the North again. • In this three day battle, troops held positions for two days, until 15,000 Confederate troops charged the center lines and in the battle lost most of their troops. Lee retreated to Virginia. Vicksburg • Meanwhile, Grant took Vicksburg, a Confederate stronghold in Mississippi. • He shelled the city for weeks, trying to starve out defenders, until they surrendered. The Final Phase Campaigns of 1864 The Election of 1864 After major victories, the Confederacy won the Battle of Chickamauga, but Grant rescued the Union at Chattanooga. While Sherman took Atlanta, the Democrats chose popular General George McClellan as their candidate. Lincoln gave Grant control of all the Union armies, and Grant moved the Army of the Potomac further and further south, despite heavy losses in the Battle of the Wilderness and the Battle of Spotsylvania. The Republicans chose Andrew Johnson, a pro-Union Democrat, as Lincoln’s vice president to help Lincoln’s wavering appeal. The Emancipation Proclamation and high casualties made the war unpopular and even Lincoln expected to lose the election. News of Sherman’s Atlanta capture shifted public opinion, and Lincoln defeated McClellan, allowing Congress to pass the Thirteenth Amendment ending slavery. After the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant began a siege of Richmond to cut supplies to the capital. Then Union general Sherman invaded Georgia, laid siege to Atlanta, closed railroad access to the city, and forced Confederate general Hood’s troops to abandon the city. The War Ends • • • • • • As Lincoln began his second term in March 1865, the war seemed nearly over. Lincoln announced his intention to be forgiving to the South in order to build up the nation’s strength. After the election, Sherman’s troops marched across Georgia in “Sherman’s March to Sea,” and burned much of Atlanta. Sherman believed that striking at economic resources would help win the war. His troops slaughtered livestock, destroyed crops, and looted homes and businesses. Eventually Confederate leaders were forced out of Richmond, and and Lee surrendered when he found his troops surrounded. Lee and Grant met to negotiate terms of the Confederacy’s surrender, which were very generous for such a long and bitter conflict: Lee’s troops were to turn over their weapons and leave. The North celebrated, but Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, before the official end of the war, changed the course of American history.