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Unit 4 Terms
Chapter 17
Cotton Kingdom – Before Eli Whitney’s invention, the South was going through an economic depression, with its lands over cropped, forcing
many Southerners to consider freeing their uneconomical slaves. However the invention of the Cotton Gin made the short-staple cotton the new king of
the South, and slavery was given new life. The South became an agricultural factory, pumping out cotton for the use of Northern factories, and thus
needing more slaves and more land. However, shippers from New England took up much of the profits as they took the produce to England, but the
trade with England meant that the British relied heavily upon southern cotton, and would therefore presumably support the South were war to break out.
“Peculiar Institution” – Only a small handful of aristocratic southerners were plantation owners who owned large numbers of slaves. However the
North grew joined to the “peculiar institution,” and felt its tug constantly, with the one-crop economy needing large numbers of laborers in order to stay
successful. Many of the whites in the South who did not even own any slaves were still stark defenders of the slave system, with their “American dream”
of upward social mobility, coming with the purchase of slaves. Thousands of blacks were smuggled into the nation with the growth of a new market for
them, and the number of slaves rapidly increased, both through smuggling but (mainly) through natural reproduction. Slaves were a primary source of
investment in the south, and much of Southern capital ($2 Billion) was invested in slaves. However, the lives of slaves were very difficult, and floggings
were the only “incentive” forcing the slaves to comply with their master’s wishes. By 1860, most slaves were concentrated in the Deep South, where the
Cotton Kingdom reached its heart. The slaves were deprived of dignity and independence, and they used their Christian religion to help them through
their hard times.
Harriet Beecher Stowe – HB Stowe wrote the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin which captured the evils of slavery. The daughter of Lyman Beecher of the
Lane Theological Seminary, and the preacher-abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher, she was an influential abolitionist author. She captured the poor
conditions of slaves in her work, their lack of civil and political rights, their minimal protection from cruel punishment, and their lives of hard work,
ignorance, and oppression.
Nat Turner – Many slaves worked at the slowest pace possible to help stop slavery, and stole food and other objects from their owners. All the
slaves wanted freedom and while some tried to flee; others led rebellion. Denmark Vesey led one such rebellion in Charleston in 1822, while a slave
called Gabriel led another in Richmond. In 1831, Nat Turner led an uprising that slaughtered about 60 Virginians, mostly women and children – but
revenge by owners and the governing bodies was swift and cruel. However Turner’s rebellion caused fear to grow in the hearts of slave owners, for they
were now constantly aware of the slave threat.
The Anti-slavery Movement – The inhumanity of the slave system made numerous antislavery societies sprout, starting with the Quakers early
on. The American Colonization Society was started in 1817 to transport blacks back to Africa, and the Republic of Liberia was set up as a safe-haven for
these people. However most African-Americans were too different to go back to their ancestral routes, and only 15,000 made the move. The unchaining
of slaves in the West Indies by the British brought further support to the new movements against the “peculiar institution.”
Theodore Dwight Weld – Many people were made into abolitionists by the religious fervor of the Second Great Awakening, including Theodore
Dwight Weld, who had been evangelized by Charles Finney in NY’s burned over district in the 20s. Simple in his speeches but direct, Weld appealed
greatly to rural audiences. Weld was aided by the wealth Arthur and Lewis Tappan (brothers) who paid his way to Lane Theological Seminary of Lyman
Beech (remember Uncle Tom’s Cabin? Her father!). He was expelled with his fellow “lane rebels” for preaching antislavery. Weld also created a
pamphlet called American Slavery As It Is, which contained compelling arguments that greatly influenced Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
The Liberator – William Lloyd Garrison was another abolitionist born of the 2nd Great Awakening, who published the rash newspaper, The
Liberator, in Boston. Garrison triggered a 30-year war of words between the two sides on the issue. Uncompromising and staunch, Garrison stated that
the evil of slavery had to be stamped out. Garrison renounced politics as a method of solving the issue, and burnt a copy of the Constitution for its
acceptance of slavery. The newspaper was released at the same time as Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831, and Garrison was condemned as a terrorist as
a result, although no real connection has been known established.
American Anti-Slavery Society – The American Anti-Slavery Society was set up by dedicated abolitionists in order to discuss the removal of
slavery from the nation. Among this society was Wendell Phillips, another man of strict principles, who refused to wear or eat anything from the south
(sugar cane and cotton), because slaves produced them.
David Walker – Walker was a black abolitionist who wrote the significant Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World (1829), which advocated a
bloody end to slavery. Such people were living monuments of the cause for abolition.
Sojourner Truth – Sojourner Truth was a freed black woman in NY who fought for womens rights and black emancipation.
Frederick Douglass – Frederick Douglass was a former slave, who became a great orator and abolitionist – but along with numerous other free
blacks, he was despised by the white populations in both the North and South (the North hated the individual free blacks, while the South hated blacks in
general). Douglass lectured widely on the topic of slavery, although he was the subject of constant threats. He published his autobiography Narrative of
the Life of Frederick Douglass in 1845,which depicted his remarkable origins as the son of a black slave woman and a white father, as well as his
escape to the North. Douglass looked to politics in order to solve the issue of slavery, and end the problems it caused, and he supported the Free Soil
Party.
Liberty Party – The abolitionists who supported a political solution to the Slavery issue formed the Liberty Party in 1840, which sought to free
slaves through federal government. The Free Soil Party took up a similar stance in 1848, and the Republican Party finally championed the cause in the
1850s. However the lack of political progress meant that most of those who had sought a political situation realized that war was the only really way to
get rid of slavery.
Positive Good – Southerners defended slavery by saying that it was in fact a positive good, thus arguing the morality of the slave system. They
claimed slavery was supported by the Bible and Aristotle, and that it was beneficial for the Africans who were lifted from the jungle and clothed with the
blessings of Christian civilization. Southern whites were quick to contrast their own slaves with Northern “wage slaves,” women and children who had to
work in cramped conditions, and could be made redundant easily, with no form of protection for later years. As the South sought to defend itself against
the moral issues of slavery, the whole topic became a sort of taboo, with people avoiding any embarrassing questions about the status of slavery.
Gag Resolution – As piles of petitions poured upon Congress from abolitionists, the southerners drove the Gag Resolution through the House of
Representatives, which required all such antislavery appeals to be tabled without debate. This was an attack on the Bill of Rights, and was eventually
repealed after much debate on the behalf of John Quincy Adams. Southern whites were inflamed by the large amount of abolitionist literature which
increased the tension with the slaves and increased their drive against chains. The Washington government in 1835 ordered southern postmasters to
destroy abolitionist material and southern state officials to arrest postmasters who did not comply. In this way the right of free press was infringed upon.
Reverend Elijah P. Lovejoy – Their own fellow Northerners hated many of the extreme abolitionists. The North had many serious investments in
the South, and the southern planters owed northern bankers about $300 million by the late 1850s. The transportation revolution had resulted in a new
continental economy, of which the South was a vital part. Reverend Lovejoy of Alton, Illinois, not only cried out against slavery, but also held responsible
the innocence of women. His printing press was destroyed four times, and he was finally killed by a mob in 1837, the first martyr of the abolitionist cause.
Soon the antislavery calls had made a deep dent in the Northern mind, and a growing number began opposing its extension to western territories,
although few were prepared to abolish slavery outright.
Chapter 18
John Tyler – Harrison died only 4 weeks into his Presidency, leaving the Virginian Tyler in his position. Stubbornly attached to principle, Tyler had
once been a democrat, but could not agree with Jackson’s authoritarian rule. Taylor was a Democrat at heart, and had only been nominated as vice
president in order to attract some of the Southern votes – as President he refused to accept many of the Whig proposals. Taylor vetoed Clay’s bill for a
new Bank of the United States twice, and then the tariff proposed by the Whigs, because it included a plan to spread revenue from the sales of land to
the states. Taylor’s entire cabinet resigned (except Daniel Webster), and he was formally expelled from the Whig Party. He finally accepted a moderate
tariff of 32% in 1842, realizing that some sort of higher tariff was indeed needed. Impeachment charges were also brought upon him, although they
failed. When the Democrats, under James Polk, won the 1844 election, Taylor took this as a mandate to acquire Texas, and arranging for annexation by
a joint resolution, avoided the 2/3 majority in the senate needed for a treaty. The bill passed in early 1845, and Texas was annexed.
Lord Ashburton – As relations between England and America grew cold, with both sides involved in a war of words in magazines etc. This
coldness grew when Americans helped insurgents in Canada, and the Caroline was caught by British ships carrying supplies for the insurgents. When
British officials in the Bahamas offered asylum to 130 Virginia slaves who had rebelled and captured the American ship Creole, matters grew worse. The
issue of Maine also still remained, and the British wanted to build a road westward from Halifax to Quebec – but that road passed through disputed
territory. Ugly fights had already flared up between Canadian and American lumber-jacks in the area, and the small-scale clash had been called the
“Aristook War.” The London Foreign Office sent a non-professional diplomat, the financer Lord Ashburton who had married a wealthy American woman,
when the crisis deepened in 1842. Ashburton quickly established friendly relations with Webster, and after much diplomacy an agreement was made to
split the land, where Americans would get 7,000 sq. miles, and England 5,000, but the British got the desired Halifax-Quebec route.
Robert Gray – Both the Americans and the British had strong claims to Oregon Country. The British Hudson Bay Company had populated the area
north of the Columbia River, where large amounts of trade occurred with the Indians of the Pacific Northwest. Americans pointed to explorations by
Captain Robert Gray in 1792, who had found the river and named it after his ship, and the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-6. Many missionaries and
other settlers also lived in Oregon. In the 1840s “Oregon Fever” caused many people to move West. The Americans and British lived peacefully, sharing
the land.
Manifest Destiny – Manifest Destiny was a belief that swept across the United States in the 1840s and 1850s. This belief stated that the American
people were destined to take over the whole continent. The democrats took advantage of these expansionist emotions, with slogans such as “All of
Oregon or None.” The election campaigns of 1844 were in fact a byproduct of the expansionist feelings.
James K. Polk – The expansionist Democrats nominated Tennessee’s James Polk as their presidential candidate for the 1844 election – the first
“dark horse” candidate. Polk beat the Whigs’ Henry Clay in the presidential race by taking a strong siding with expansionists. Clay tried to appeal to both
expansionists and non-expansionists, and as a result was beaten by a small margin through losing New York State by 5,000 votes. Because of the
election, the Democrats believed that they had a mandate by the people for the annexation of Texas and a generally expansionist policy. James Polk
was named “Young Hickory” for his likeness to Jackson; he was methodical and hardworking shrew, persistent, and narrow minded. Polk had a 4-point
plan for his presidency, all of which he accomplished: Oregon, California, Tariff and the Independent Treasury. The independent treasury system was
put in place in 1846.
Liberty Party – Clay would have won the 1844 election had he not lost the New York State vote by 5,000 votes. The Liberty Party, against the
Democrat’s expansionist notions, absorbed nearly 16,000 votes that would have otherwise gone to the Kentuckian. Ironically they prevented Clay from
winning the election, and helped pro-annexation Polk win the election.
Walker Tariff – One of Polk’s aims as President was a lower tariff. His Secretary of the Treasury, Robert J Walker, devised a bill that reduced the
tariff from the 32% level of the Tariff of 1842 to 32%. The Walker Tariff of 1846 proved to be an excellent revenue producer, as a boom in the economy
followed it.
Oregon and Polk – Once Texas had been acquired, the Southern Democrats cooled off the idea of occupying all of Oregon. Polk was himself a
southerner, and bound by offers by previous Presidents to the British, once again offered them the compromise line of 49˚. The British did not accept this
at first, but later, realizing that the Americans were gaining a stronger foothold in Oregon, and having furred-out the area and no longer so eager to
control the Columbia River, made the same offer to the Americans in early 1846. Polk passed the offer onto the Senate, which accepted the
compromise. However many of the extremists on both sides (expansionists and non-expansionists) were not pleased.
John Slidell – Polk really wanted to have California, and the access to the Pacific and consequently the Orient it offered. Polk wanted to buy
Oregon from Mexico, but relations with Mexico were icy, with the issue of Texas as well as some $3 million in damages owed by Mexico to America.
Polk wanted to somehow get his hands on California that was scarcely populated by 13,000 Spanish-Mexicans and displaced Indians. Rumors began
circulating that Britain was about to buy or seize California, and in a desperate attempt, Polk dispatched John Slidell to Mexico City as minister in later
1845, instructing him to offer up to $25 million for California and the territory to the East. However, the Mexicans would not even let Slidell present his
“insulting” proposition.
“Spot” Resolutions – Polk wanted to declare war on the Mexicans, and he sent a force of 4,000 under General Zachary Taylor to march from the
Neuces River to the Rio Grande, provocatively near Mexican forces. He wanted the Mexicans to attack, but they didn’t. Polk told his cabinet that he
proposed to ask Congress to declare war based on unpaid claims and Slidell’s rejection, but some members said that they would be more satisfied if
Mexicans should fire first. That evening news of bloodshed arrived – Mexican troops had crossed the Rio Grande and attacked General Taylor’s
command, with a loss of sixteen Americans dead or wounded. Polk was further aroused, and sent a strong message to Congress declaring that
hostilities had been forced on America, despite efforts to prevent fighting – “American blood on the American soil”. War was declared as the parties
united in a cry for war. However Lincoln introduced a series of “spot” resolutions, which requested information as to the precise spot on American soil on
which American blood had been spilt. Some extreme antislavery agitators of the North branded the President a liar. Polk provoked war because the
situation was becoming dangerous with the British threat on California, and Polk was not prepared to give up this sacred prize.
John C Fremont – Stephen W Kearny led a detachment of 700 troops over the Santa Fe Trail to Santa Fe from Fort Leavenworth and easily
overcame the outpost. He then went on the California, but that had already been won, for when war broke out, Captain Fremont just happened to be in
California with several dozen well-armed men. Collaborating with American naval officers and local Americans, he helped overthrow Mexican rule in
1846 and plant the banner of the short-lived California Republic Flag.
General Zachary Taylor – The general, who had provoked the war by marching from the Nueces River to the Rio Grande, made the main thrust.
Polk had made a deal with Santa Anna, the Mexican dictator who had been dethroned and exiled, that in exchange for transporting him back to Mexico,
he would sell out his country – but Santa Anna proceeded to rally his countrymen in defense of their soil. General Taylor drove forward the main army,
and after several victories reached Buena Vista, where his 5,000 men were attacked by some 20,000 troops under Santa Anna. After great difficulty the
Mexicans were driven back, and Taylor was made into a war hero. Taylor was replaced by General Winfield Scott as the main leader of forces when the
main expedition pushed from Vera Cruz early in 1817. Although he was limited by expiring enlistments, lack of troops, and disease, Scott battled up to
Mexico City in September 1847, proving himself to be a distinguished general also.
Nicholas P. Trist – Along with Scott’s army Polk sent the chief clerk of the State Department, Nicholas P Trist who was to negotiate a peace. Trist
and Scott arranged for an armistice with Santa Anna at the cost of $10,000. The bribe was pocketed by the dictator, who used the time to bolster his
defenses. Polk recalled the blundering envoy, but Trist continued to negotiate.
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – Trist signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848, and forwarded it to Washington. The treaty
granted Texas and all lands westward to the ocean, including California, to the USA. The US agreed to pay $15 million and assume the claims of its
citizens against Mexico (approx $3.25 million), in exchange for about ½ of Mexico. Polk submitted the treaty to Senate, which approved it 38 to 14. Two
things forced Polk to accept the treaty – the growth of the “Conscience Whigs” and the swelling group of expansionists who called for control of all
Mexico, which would have caused more troubles. Because of the treaty, America’s land mass increased by 1/3rd, an addition even greater than that of
the Louisiana Purchase. The war turned out to be a practice ground for the civil war, where far more lives would be lost than the 13,000 lost in the
Mexican War.
Conscience Whigs – The antislavery Whigs in Congress, dubbed the “Mexican Whigs: or “Conscience Whigs” had soon begun to denounce the
war. The Whigs controlled the House after 1847, and they threatened voting down supplies for the armies, which would have forced Scott to retreat
without any sort of victory. This was one factor that forced the Southerners and Polk to accept the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
David Wilmot – In 1846, shortly after the shooting had started, David Wilmot, the representative of Pennsylvania, fearful of the growth of slave,
introduced a bill that would have prevented slavery from existing in any of the territories gained from Mexico. The Wilmot amendment twice passed the
House, but it failed to get through the Senate. The “Wilmot Proviso” would have denied the Southerners prospective slave states, and soon became the
symbol of the burning issue of slavery in the territories that was to cause the Civil War. Although California and Texas were the great fruits of Polk’s
labor, they also resulted in the Civil War for they re-aroused the question of slavery which divided the nation.
Chapter 19
General Lewis Cass – With the issue of slavery looming with the end of Polk’s presidency, he refused to run a second term due to overwork and
chronic diarrhea. The National Convention at Baltimore chose the aging leader General Lewis Cass, a veteran of the War of 1812, as the presidential
nomination for the election of 1848. Although the party remained neutral on the issue of slavery, Cass was the reputed “father of popular sovereignty.”
He ran in competition with Zachary Taylor, the hero of Mexican War, who was nominated by the Whigs. He was a Louisiana Planter, but undecided on
the issue of the extension of slavery he continued the Whig tradition of avoiding all controversial issues.
Popular Sovereignty – This doctrine stated that the general sovereign people of a territory should themselves determine the status of slavery
within that state. Popular sovereignty seemed to fit in with the democratic tradition of self-determination, and seemed a comfortable compromise
between the abolitionist bid for a ban on slaver in the territories and southern demands that Congress protect slavery in the territories, and therefore was
popular with both politicians and the public. However, it could serve to spread the evils of slavery.
Free Soil Party – Antislavery activists in the North distrusted the silence of both the Whig and the Democrat nominations, and therefore decided to
make their own party. They stood behind the Wilmot Proviso and against any extension of slavery. They also broadened their appeal by advocating
federal aid for internal improvements and by urging free government homesteads for settlers. Attracting northern democrats, industrialists annoyed at
Democrat reduction in protective tariffs, “conscience Whigs” and many abolitionists. Condemning slavery for destroying chances of whites rising up
through social classes, they stated that only without slavery could the social mobility of the nation be preserved in the West. They nominated the expresident Martin Van Buren, and managed to pull enough votes away from the Democrats in New York to grant the Whigs a win.
Underground Railroad – The South had a number of issues about which it was concerned. Most important was the admission of California as a
Free State, which would have tipped the political balance in the Senate. New Mexico and Utah were also pushing for admission as free states. Texas
also wanted control of Santa Fe and a large amount of land North of the current Texas boundaries. Northern abolitionists also pushed for the abolition of
slavery in the District of Columbia. Finally, they were agitated by the loss of runaway slaves, many of whom were assisted by the Underground Railroad,
an informal chain of anti-slavery homes through which slaves could escape to Canada. Those who ran the railroad seemed to be refusing to obey the
laws passed by Congress in 1793, which had proven to be inadequate. The South was losing perhaps 1,000 runaways a year, but hurt most of all was
southern pride.
Harriet Tubman – Harriet Tubman was one of the most amazing of the “conductors” of the Underground Railroad. An illiterate runaway slave from
Maryland, she traveled into the South 13 times, rescuing over 300 slaves including her parents.
“Fire-eaters” – By 1850, California had submitted its paperwork for admission as a free state, but “fire-eaters” in the South, angered by this
proposition that would sway the political power towards abolitionists, threatened secession. The crisis brought the most distinguished statesmen together
in congress – Clay Calhoun and Webster appeared together for the last time. These “fire-eaters” were violently opposed to any concessions by the
South in the form of a compromise. In mid-1980 an assemblage of such southern extremists met in Nashville, Tennessee, and not only took a strong
position in favor of slavery but condemned the compromise measures then being hammered out in Congress. However the winds of prosperity from high
cotton prices lulled southern anger, and they reluctantly accepted the Compromise
Stephen Arnold Douglas – Henry Clay came to Congress to design his third great compromise, and although old and enfeebled, proposed and
defended a series of compromises. 37 yr old Senator Douglas, the “Little Giant,” to whom Clay’s compromise was handed down, ably defended the
compromise. He and Clay urged that both North and South make concessions in order to save the union. However, John C. Calhoun, while accepting
the need for compromise, condemned Clay’s compromises as unacceptable. He pleaded to Congress to leave slavery alone, and to respect the South’s
views as a minority and restore the political balance.
7th of March Speech – Webster’s 7th of March speech was probably his finest. In it he claimed that god had already decided upon the fate of
slavery in the West, and that the Wilmot Proviso had already been passed by holy decree. Webster concluded that compromise and concessions would
provide the only solutions. Over 100,000 copies of the speech were mailed out, and his speech helped greatly to strengthen Union sentiment. However,
Abolitionists condemned him as a traitor, although he had in fact never been an abolitionist but in fact a unionist.
William Henry Seward – WH Seward was a younger Senator from New York who spoke vehemently against any concessions by the North that
might allow the extension of slavery into the West. Representing the newer generations from the North, he had not grown up with strong sentiments
about Union, and like his companions was more interested in purifying the Union than in patching and preserving it. They seemed not to realize that
compromise had brought the Union together, and that when the sections could no longer compromise, they would have to part company. President
Taylor seemed to be greatly affected by men like Seward, and appeared bent on vetoing any compromise bill passed by Congress.
Higher Law – Seward argued that all Christians must obey both God’s moral law and the laws set by man. He therefore stated that slavery should
be excluded from the western territories in accordance with an even “higher law” than the constitution itself – the law of god. This statement was
wrenched out of context, and may have cost Seward the presidential nomination in 1860.
Millard Fillmore - The death of President Taylor in 1850 allowed the conciliatory New York lawyer, Vice President Millard Fillmore to come into
power, who gladly signed the compromise when it was passed in its final form. As presiding officer of the Senate, he had been impressed by the
arguments for conciliation. Much debate went on before the final form of the compromise was developed, with “Union Savers” like Clay, Webster, and
Douglas arguing for conciliation. These arguments were strengthened by the upsurge of prosperity, particularly due to California gold.
Compromise of 1850 –The Compromise admitted California as a free state, and divided the remainder of the Mexican Cession are into the
territories of New Mexico and Utah, which were to be open to popular sovereignty. The territory disputed by Texas an New Mexico was to be
surrendered to New Mexico in exchange for $10 million in government compensation. The Compromise of 1850 also enacted a more stringent Fugitive
Slave Law, while banning the slave trade (buying and selling of slaves) in the District of Columbia. However the North clearly gained a lot more through
the compromise, with greater political power with the extra free state, and a step towards emancipation in Columbia clear wins. Mexico had also lost
much valuable land, and in the long run the $10 million was not actually worth very much. The compromise delayed the war about 10 years, which
bought time for the North to grow in population, wealth, and power. In many ways it allowed the North to win the war when the time came.
Fugitive Slave Law – By 1850 Southerners were demanding a stronger fugitive-slave law to combat the Underground Railroad and the escape of
slaves. The one from 1793 was far from stringent enough, particularly since some state authorities refused to cooperate. For the slave owners, the
Underground Railroad represented a direct strike at their honor, and the fact that Northern authorities let the slaves get away infuriated them. With the
compromise they finally got what they had wanted, but it actually ended up acting against them. It acted to increase the northern feeling of hatred
against the south, as Northerners could see how badly the slaves were treated, without being able to testify on their own behalf, or have trial by jury. The
new Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 stirred up a stir of opposition in the North, and many of those who had previously been moderates became abolitionists.
The southerners were in turn embittered that the northerners would not return their slaves, particularly when states passed legislation that hampered
enforcement of the law.
“Personal Liberty Laws” – As the people of the northern states were embittered at the Fugitive Slave Laws and began helping the runaway
slaves, state legislation was passed to hamper the effect of the law. In Massachusetts a bill was passed making it a penal offense for any state official to
enforce the new federal statute – much like southern ideas of nullification. Other states passed “personal liberty laws” which denied local jails to federal
officials and otherwise hampered enforcement.
Frank Pierce – Meeting in Baltimore, the Democratic Convention chose the second “dark horse” candidate ever, Franklin Pierce of New
Hampshire. As a pro-southern northerner, he was acceptable to the slavery wing of the Democratic party. His platform for the presidency was complete
acceptance of the Compromise of 1850. The Whigs chose the famous general, Winfield Scott rather than Fillmore or Webster, who boasted the creation
of the Compromise of 1850. The Whigs backed the Compromise also, but Scott’s personality repelled the masses, and as a result Pierce won the
election. The Whigs were completely split, with the Anti-slavery Whigs of the North deploring Scott’s platform, and the Southerners accepting the
platform but hating the candidate. This split soon led to the destruction of the disorganized Whig Party, and gave birth to new sectional parties. The
Pierce administration was very expansionist, with a cabinet with many Southerners (including Secretary of War Jefferson Davis), giving strength to their
bid to expand slavery. Nicaragua, Cuba and Japan were all interests of the nation in this period.
Ostend Manifesto – Sugar-rich Cuba was among the last parts of Spain’s empire, and with its large population of black slaves attracted
Southerners, who wanted to carve several states out of it to regain the political balance in the Senate. Two “filibustering” expeditions were sent, both of
which failed. Then in 1854, Spanish officials in Cuba seized an American ship, the “Black Warrior,” on a technicality. Bogged down with the start of the
Crimean War, Pierce knew that the other European powers would not come to the help of Spain, and sought to help the Southern expansionist. The
secretary of state then instructed the American ministers in Spain, England, and France to provide confidential recommendations for the acquisition of
Cuba. Meeting at Ostend, Belgium, the three envoys drew up the Ostend Manifesto, which urged the administration to offer $120 million, and if this offer
was refused, and American interests were continually hurt, to take it over by force. The document leaked, causing an uprising among Northern freesoilers – as a result Pierce was forced to drop his plans for Cuba.
James Gadsden – One of the greatest problems after the Mexican War was transportation. Ships had to sail all the way round South America, or
pass through the jungles of Panama before reaching California and Oregon. Land transport was limited to walking or horse. A transcontinental railroad
was the only answer. Due to high costs, there could be only one line, but the question was whether it should terminate in the North or in the South. The
South was eager to have it in the South to boost the economy. The most desirable route seemed to run slightly through Mexico, and so Jefferson Davis,
Secretary of War, organized for James Gadsden, a South Carolinian railroad man, to be appointed minister of Mexico. He negotiated the Gadsden
Purchase for $10 million with Santa Anna, and although it was criticized by some northerners, it was accepted. The proposed route through the South
now ran through organized territory, a great advantage for those proposing the Southern railroad route. In response, Northerners took it upon
themselves to organize the territories of Nebraska.
Kansas-Nebraska Act – Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois proposed an act that would split Nebraska into two states, Kansas and Nebraska,
both of which would be open to slavery through popular sovereignty. It was presumed that Kansas would become a slave state and Nebraska a free
state. Douglas himself had invested seriously in Chicago real estate and railway stock, and wanted to make some cash, and endear himself with the
voters of Illinois. This act also involved repealing the Missouri Compromise, an idea loved by Southerners, who had not seen the area as potential slave
area. Pierce threw his weight behind the act, and it passed. The act brought the issue of slavery up once again and led the way to the civil war. The
northerners were embittered by the act, and no longer enforced the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. The Southerners became greatly angered when freesoilers tried to control Kansas, contrary to the presumed deal. The proud Democrats were shattered by the act, and the Republican Party grew out of the
Kansas-Nebraska act, which embraced Democrats, Free Soilers, Know-Nothings, and other foes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Chapter 20
HB Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Dismayed by the Fugitive Slave Law, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which described the
inhumanity of slavery in the deep South, and the cruel splitting of families. The success of the novel both in the US and abroad was sensational, with
sales into the millions – and its political force unimaginable. Abe Lincoln said to her, “So you’re the little woman who wrote that book that made this
Great War”. Much of the book was exaggeration, as Stowe had never even been to the deep South, although she had visited Kentucky, and lived for
many years in Ohio. The novel was also very popular in the England and France, and it swayed the European masses towards the North, and when the
war started, the governments could not aid the South because of the population’s great moral siding with the North.
The Impending Crisis of the South - This was a book written by Hinton R. Helper, a nonaristocratic white from North Carolina, and published 5
years after Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Helper tried to prove through an array of statistics that indirectly the non-slaveholding whites were the ones who suffered
the most from slavery. Helper’s influence was negligible among the Southern whites, where book-burning parties were held, but in the North thousands
of copies were sold in condensed form, and distributed as campaign literature by Republicans. The two books (UT’s Cabin, and the Imp. Crisis) caused
the South to become very uncomfortable and increasingly unwilling to sleep under the same roof as their hostile Yankee bedfellows.
New England Emigrant Aid Society – Kansas, with its popular sovereignty decree under the Kansas-Nebraska act, was becoming a battle field
for pro-slavery and abolitionist forces. The New England Emigrant Aid Company was set up by abolitionist groups to send anti-slaverites from the North
to Kansas to forestall the South (and to make a profit). About 2,000 abolitionists were sent, many of them carrying guns. In reaction, some Southern
hotheads assisted groups of well-armed slave-owners move into Kansas, however most slave-owners realized that their valuable slaves might well be
lost if they moved onto volatile Kansas soil.
“Bleeding Kansas” – The situation in Kansas only grew worse, with the two forces taking up arms. When the day came in 1855 to elect members
of the first territorial legislature, pro-slavery “border ruffians” poured in from Missouri to vote. The pro-slavery forced triumphed and set up their own
puppet government at Shawnee Mission. The free-soilers, unable to stand this, set up their own government in Topeka. Tension mounted as settlers
feuded over conflicting land claims, and the breaking point came when a gang of proslavery raiders shot up and burned part of the free-soil town of
Lawrence. Then John Brown led a band of men to Pottawatomie Creek in May 1856 and hacked to pieces five surprised men, presumed to be
proslavery forces. The Kansas conflict destroyed millions of dollars worth of property, and cost scores of lives.
Lecompton Constitution – A constitution written by proslavery forces when the population of Kansas was sufficient to ask for statehood. People
could vote for the constitution with slavery, or without, and even if the voted for without, one of the constitution’s provisions would protect current slaveowners. Free-soilers boycotted the polls, and the slaveryites approved the constitution in 1857. President Buchanan threw his weight behind the
constitution, but Senator Douglas was against it. Finally, another vote was taken, upon the whole constitution, and it was snowed under by anti-slavery
forces. President Buchanan, by antagonizing the numerous Douglas Democrats in the North hopelessly divided the Democratic Party.
Charles Sumner – Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, a tall and imposing figure, was a leading abolitionist. He made a speech “The
Crime Against Kansas” which insulted many Southerners, including Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina – one of the best-liked members of the
Senate. Congressman Brooks of South Carolina, normally a peaceable man, and a distant cousin of Andrew Butler, approached Sumner on May 22,
1856 and pounded him unconscious with a cane until it broke. Sumner’s seat was left empty until he returned 3 ½ years later by Massachusetts, and the
House of Representatives could not muster enough votes to impeach Butler, who resigned and was then reelected by a proud South Carolina. It was an
ominous warning, and both the speech and the response helped arouse greater sectionalism.
James Buchanan – The Democrats met in Cincinnati to nominate their presidential candidate, and rather than choosing Pierce or Douglas, they
chose James Buchanan, who was relatively enemyless, but no giant like Lincoln. The democrats called for popular sovereignty to be used in the
territories to decide on the issue of slavery. Buchanan won 174-114, and it was fortunate that this occurred, for a Republican win would have thrust the
nation into war early, and without Abe Lincoln, the Union may have well lost the war.
John C Fremont - Republicans, instead of choosing Seward (who didn’t think it was a Republican year yet), chose John C Fremont, the so-called
pathfinder of the West, who had played an important role in the Mexican War, but had practically no political experience. The Republican platform was
completely against the extension of slavery into the territories. Even though the Republicans lost this first election, they managed to muster 114 electoral
votes, a significant number considering the party was still only 2 years old. Fremont lost much ground because of much doubt on his honesty, capacity,
and sound judgment.
American Party – The recent influx of immigrant from Ireland and Germany had alarmed “nativists,” and they organized the American Party, who
came to be known as the know-nothing party because of their secretiveness, and in 1856 nominated the lackluster ex-president Fillmore. He managed
to gather 871,731 popular votes, and 8 electoral votes.
Dred Scott Decision – The Supreme Court handed down The Dred Scott decision on March 6, 1857, just after Buchanan’s entrance into the
Whitehouse. Dred Scott, a black slave, had lived with his master for 5 years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Backed by interested abolitionists, he
sued for freedom based on his long residence on free soil. The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was a black slave and not a citizen, and hence
could not sue in the federal courts, but went further under Chief Justice Taney of slave state Maryland, to make a sweeping decision on the larger issue
of slavery. The majority of the court decreed that because a slave was private property, he or she could be taken into any territory and legally held there
in slavery, in accordance with the Fifth Amendment that clearly forbade Congress to deprive people of property without due process of law. The court
also decreed that the already repealed Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, and that Congress had no power to ban slavery from the territories.
Southerners loved the ruling, while the champions of popular sovereignty were aghast. Abolitionists were infuriated, and they insisted that the ruling of
the Court was merely an opinion, not a decision. Southerners were inflamed by the Northern response.
Panic of 1857 – In-pouring California gold caused large inflation rates, while the Crimean War had over-stimulated the growth of grain, and
frenzied speculation in land and railroads ripped the economy. When the Panic of 1857 came, more than 5,000 businesses failed in a year,
unemployment rose rapidly, and starvation became commonplace in urban areas. The North was hit hardest, and the financial distress gave new vigor
to demands for free farms from the public domain for the landless, rather than the government’s policy of selling land for profit. Eastern industrialists
were against it, as were Southerners, and when the Homestead Act was finally passed by Congress, which made public lands available at 25c per acre,
it was vetoed by President Buchanan, the Southern sympathizer. The panic also caused need for more protection for northern industrialists. Both these
helped the Republicans in winning the upcoming election.
King Cotton – The South, enjoying favorable cotton prices abroad, rode out the storm of the Panic of 1857 with flying colors, which seemed to
prove that cotton really was King and that its economic kingdom was stronger than that of the North. This fatal delusion helped drive the overconfident
Southerners closer to secession. Their trust in King Cotton later proved fallible, while King Wheat and King Corn prevailed.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates – Lincoln, as Republican nominee for the Senate seat in Illinois, boldly challenged Douglas to a series of joint debates.
Douglas accepted, and seven meetings took place from August to October 1858. Douglas was well groomed and polished, while Lincoln was the
antithesis. Douglas very much beat Lincoln in the debates and the Senatorial voting, but through them, Lincoln stumbled into national limelight in
company with the North’s most prominent northern politicians. Newspapers published detailed accounts, and Lincoln began to emerge as a potential
Republican nominee for President, while Douglas lost support in the South through his opposition to the Lecompton Constitution and defiance of the
Supreme Court.
Freeport Doctrine- The most famous of the Lincoln-Douglas debates occurred at Freeport, Illinois, where Lincoln nearly overcame Douglas. He
asked about the validity of the Dred Scott decision, in such a case as when a territory were to vote down slavery, against the Supreme Courts decision.
Douglas’ response came to be known as the Freeport Doctrine, in which he said that no matter how the Supreme Court ruled, slavery would stay down if
the people voted it down, and that that laws to protect slavery would have to be passed by the territorial legislatures. Therefore, if there were no laws to
protect slavery, then slaves could run away, and there would be no slave owners moving there. Slavery would naturally disappear in those states.
Harpers Ferry - John Brown, the same man of the Pottawatomie slaughter, decided to try to invade the South secretly with a handful of his
followers, while calling upon the slaves to rise, furnish them with arms, and establish a kind of black free state as a sanctuary. Securing several
thousand dollars from abolitionists for guns, he took over the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, killing 7 innocent people, and injuring ten or so more. The
slaves failed to rise, and the wounded Brown and his men were quickly captured by US Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert.
Brown was convicted of murder and treason and hung, although many abolitionists came to think of him as a martyr, and tolled bells, lowered flags, and
held rallies on the day of his execution. The South saw him as a murderer, and although moderate northerners, including Republican leaders, deeply
deplored the acts, the South concluded that the entire North shared the violent abolitionist view.
Constitutional Union Party– The Democrats split in two (North and South) when they could not agree on Douglas as the candidate (the
Southerners regarded him as a traitor) with a 2/3 majority. The Northerners chose Douglas in Baltimore, while the southern Democrats selected John C
Breckinridge, a moderate from the border state of Kentucky. The southern Democrats favored extension of slavery and the annexation of Cuba.
Meanwhile the middle-of-the-road group, fearing for the Union, organized the Constitutional Union Party, which consisted of former Whigs and knownothings, and selected John Bell as their candidate for the presidency. Meanwhile, the Republicans chose Lincoln over Seward, for he had fewer
enemies. The Republican platform was aimed at all non-southerners with its different aspects: protective tariff, complete rights for immigrants, a Pacific
railroad, internal improvements, and free homesteads and land.
John Bell – Bell, of the Constitutional Union Party, managed to win the electoral vote of some of the Border States through his union-saving
platform. Lincoln won the election with 39% of the votes thus setting off a chain reaction of succession, but the election was really 2 elections, one in the
North and one in the South. The North and South democrats together amassed 370,000 more votes than did Lincoln, and so Lincoln’s election was
largely the result of division in the Democratic Party.
Crittenden Compromise – South Carolina and 6 other states seceded following Lincoln’s election, and in February 1861 created the Confederate
States of America, with Jefferson Davis as the President. Senator James Henry Crittenden of Kentucky took the role of compromiser, and proposed
amendments to the Constitution that were designed to appease the South. Slavery was to be prohibited north of the line 36º 30’, but ensured south of
that line. Lincoln flatly rejected the scheme, having emerged from the lame duck period that deepened the crisis. He had been elected on a platform that
opposed the extension of slavery, and he felt that as a matter of principle he could not concede.
Southern Nationalism – With Lincoln’s arrival, the South began its secession. South Carolina was first, which seceded 4 days after Lincoln was
elected. The special convention meeting at Charleston in December 1860 voted unanimously for South Carolina’ Secession. Alabama, Mississippi,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas soon followed, with four more joining later, bringing the total to 11. The first 7 met in Montgomery, Alabama, and
created the new nation, the Confederate States of America, who chose the West Pointer and formal cabinet member Jefferson Davis as their President.
The Southerners were alarmed at the tipping of the political balance against them, the triumph of the new sectional Republican Party, abolitionist
nagging, and northern interference. Southerners supported secession because they thought the Northerners would not try to stop them, and thought the
Yankees unable or unwilling to fight, mainly because of their reliance on the South’s Cotton. Southern Nationalism grew rapidly, and the South could not,
and would not view with complacency the possibility of being lorded over by the hostile North. Many saw the Declaration of Independence to apply
perfectly to them, and no seceder though their actions as immoral or wrong – 13 states had voluntarily joined the union, now 11 were voluntarily
withdrawing from them. Like the 13 states of Colonial days, Southerners thought that they too would prosper without the burden of oppression.
Chapter 21
King Cotton – King Cotton failed the Southerners when they needed it the most, and the European nations did not come to the aid of the
Confederate cause when war broke out and the flow of Confederate cotton stopped. Enormous exports of cotton from 1857-1860 had piled up surpluses
in British warehouses, and the British had a hefty supply of Cotton when the war broke out. By the time sources had run out, Lincoln had announced his
slave-emancipation policy, and so the masses were not going to demand a war. Northerners sent food to help the starving unemployed masses in
England, while the wartime economy helped Britain through the period. India and Egypt also increased their production in response to heightened
demand. King Wheat and King Corn, the monarchs of Northern agriculture proved more powerful that that of the South, due to the fact that a series of
bad harvests in England had caused a need for importation, which came readily from England.
Trent Affair – The Trent Affair was the first major crisis with Britain. In late 1861, a Union warship stopped a British mail streamer, the Trent, north
of Cuba, and forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats bound for Europe. Britons were outraged, and troops were readied in Canada for war while
the London Foreign Office prepared an ultimatum demanding surrender of the prisoners and an apology. Slow communication allowed passions to cool,
and Lincoln soon gave up the Trent prisoners.
Alabama – Another Anglo-American crisis grew with the un-neutral building in England of Confederate commerce-raiders, noticeably the Alabama.
These vessels were not warships within the meaning of loop holed British law because they left their shipyards elsewhere. The Alabama escaped in
1862 to Azores, where it took on arms from two British ships that followed it. The Alabama captured over 60 Union trade ships, which delighted
competing Britons and angered the North, which had to divert some of the strength of its blockade to protect its merchant ships. The Alabama was finally
destroyed by a stronger Union cruiser off the coast of France in 1864 and was quickly destroyed. In 1871, Britain agreed to submit the Alabama dispute
to arbitration, and in 1872 paid American claimants $15.5 million in damages.
Laird Rams - The final crisis after the Alabama occurred in 1863 by the construction of 2 Laird rams by the shipyards of John Laird for the
Confederates. These ships had iron rams and large-caliber guns, and could have been very effective in destroying the wooden ships of the US
blockade. In retaliation for such acts the Americans would have attacked Canada, causing a full dress war. . Minister Adams ordered that the rams not
be sold while threatening war, and at the last minute, the Royal Navy bought the boat, leaving all happy but the Confederates.
Charles Francis Adams – Adams was the American minister with Britain and had to overcome to numerous crises including the Trent affair, the
Alabama and the Laird Rams. Under his influence, the British eventually gave up the practice of allowing Confederate ships to be built by British shipbuilders. American anger was also directed at Canada, where Irish-Americans unleashed their fury.
Napoleon III- Taking advantage of America’s preoccupation, Napoleon III dispatched a French army to occupy Mexico City in 1863. The following
year he installed Austrian Archduke Maximilian as the emperor of Mexico. These actions were obvious violations of the Monroe Doctrine, and France
was gambling on the idea that the Union would lose the war.
Maximilian - However, when the shooting stopped in 1865, Secretary of State Seward prepared to march south. Napoleon realized his gamble was
doomed, and reluctantly took French leave of his ill-starred puppet in 1867,k and Maximilian soon crumpled ingloriously before a Mexican firing squad.
Jefferson Davis – As president of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis had in view a tight and strong central government. However,
determined states’ rights supporters fought bitterly to the end. The regime even had troubles persuading certain state troops to serve outside their own
borders. Formed based on secession, it could not logically deny future secession either. Although Davis was an eloquent orator and administrator, he
did not enjoy real personal popularity, and was often in disagreement with his Congress – at times there was serious talk of impeachment. Davis was
inclined to defy rather than lead public opinion. Davis overworked himself with the details of both civil government and military operations – no one could
doubt his devotion, courage and sincerity, but the task proved beyond his powers. Davis was also less able to exercise arbitrary power as Lincoln did,
mainly because of the states’ righters.
Edwin Stanton – Lincoln, unlike Davis in the North had far less troubles. The North enjoyed a long-established government, financial stability, and
global recognition. Lincoln proved to be a more effective leader than the inflexible Davis, and holding aloft the banner of Union with inspiring utterances,
he demonstrated charitableness toward the South and forbearance toward backbiting colleagues. He once said, “Did Stanton say I was a damned Fool?
Then I dare say I must be one, for Stanton is generally right and he always says what he means.”
1863 Draft Riots - Congress passed a federal conscription law for the first time in 1863, but the provisions were greatly unfair to the poor. Rich
boys could hire substitutes or buy exemption with $300. The draft was condemned in Democratic strongholds of the North, notably in New York City. In
1863 a big riot broke out largely by underprivileged and anti-black Irish Americans. For several days the city was at the mercy of a burning, drunken,
pillaging mob. Riots also occurred in other places. However, conscription had to be employed a year earlier in the South due to lack of men.
Morrill Tariff – In order to raise revenue in the North, excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol were substantially increased, and an income tax was
levied for the first time. Early in 1861, after the Southern members of Congress had seceded, Congress passed the Morrill Tariff Act, which superseded
the low Tariff of 1857. However, the necessities of war soon pushed this amount higher, with the increases both for gathering more revenue and
protecting northern industries, which were harmed by the new internal taxes. The Republican Party thus became associated with the protective Tariff.
Greenbacks – The Washington Treasury also issued green paper money, which came to be known as “greenbacks,” totaling $450 million at face
value. This currency was inadequately supported by gold, and so its value was determined by the nation’s credit. The holders of the notes were indirectly
taxed as the value of the currency slowly withered in their hands with the force of inflation. But borrowing was a far larger source of federal funds; the
federal Treasury netted $2.6 billion through the sale of bonds, which bore interest and which were payable at a later date. The Treasury was forced to
market its bonds through the private banking house of Cooke and Company (the moderns technique of selling bonds directly to the people had not yet
been devised).
National Banking Act – The National Banking System was authorized by Congress in 1863, and was launched to act as a stimulant to the sale of
government bonds, and to create a standard bank-note currency to replace “rag money” issued by unreliable bankers. Banks that joined the NBS could
buy government bonds and issue sound paper money backed by them. This turned out to be the first step towards a unified banking network since 1836,
when A. Jackson killed the BUS. This new system continued to function for 50 years, until it was replace by the Federal Reserve System in 1913.
Southern Economy – The South had far deeper economic problems. Customs duties were choked off by the Union blockade, but large issues of
Confederate bonds totaling $400 million were sold at home and abroad. The Richmond regime also increased taxes sharply, and imposed a 10% levy
on farm produce, but states’ righters were opposed to heavy direct taxes, and only 1% of their total revenue was raised in this way. The Confederate
issued blue-backed paper money when they saw other sources begin to be exhausted. Runaway inflation occurred as Southern presses continued to
grind out poorly backed treasury notes totaling more than $1 billion. The Confederate paper dollar finally sunk to a level where it was worth only 1.6c
when Lee surrendered. Overall, the war inflicted a 9,000% inflation rate on the Confederacy, but only 80% on the Union.
Clara Barton – Clara Barton and Dorothea Dix, superintendent of nurses for the Union army, helped transform nursing from a lowly service into a
respected profession – and in the process opened up another major sphere of employment for women in the postwar era. Sally Tompkins took up a
similar role in the South. The role of women grew rapidly with the war, with women taking important roles in Washington DC as clerks, and many women
taking up industrial employment.
Salmon Chase – Salmon Chase was Lincoln’s over-ambitious secretary of the treasury, who led a faction of critics of Lincoln’s presidency. Such
political infighting caused many problems for Lincoln, and factions in his own party, distrusting his ability or doubting his commitment to abolition, sought
to tie his hands or even remove him from office.
WH Seward – Seward acted as Secretary of State under Lincoln, and recommended that Lincoln declare war on one of the European nations, in
the hope that the South would reunite with the North upon such an event. Lincoln did not listen to Seward’s advice. Seward also prepared forces to
attack Maximilian, Napoleon III’s puppet emperor of Mexico, upon which Napoleon promptly removed his support from Maximilian.
Chapter 22
1st Bull Run – The first battle of the War, took place at Manassas Junction, some 30 miles southwest of Washington. Lincoln decided that it might
be worth a try, and so a 30,000-man army, accompanied by Congressmen and spectators set off on July 21, 1861, as if heading for a sporting event. At
first the battle went well, but “stonewall” Jackson wouldn’t budge, and with the arrival of Confederate reinforcements panic seized union troops and they
fled. It was not very decisive in a military sense, but psychologically it was very important. The North prepared for a full-length war, while many
Southerners thought that the war was al over, and so many left the army.
George B McClellan – General GB McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac (the force near Washington) later in 1861, and
dubbed “young Napoleon” he was a serious student of warfare who had seen plenty of fighting, first in the Mexican War and then as an observer in the
Crimean War. McClellan was a superb organizer and drillmaster, and he injected splendid morale into the morale of the army who idolized him, but he
was not prepared to run any risks or lose any men. He constantly (incorrectly) thought that the enemy army outnumbered his own, and was overcautious, and was very proud and arrogant – addressing the President in an arrogant tone, and privately referring to him as a “baboon.” McClellan
doggedly continued to drill his army without moving it towards Richmond, and Lincoln, after threatening to “borrow” the army if it was not used, finally
ordered McClellan to advance. McClellan was temporarily abandoned as commander of the Army of the Potomac following the Peninsular Campaign,
but reinstated for Antietam, where he failed to pursue Lee and was thus removed from his field command for the second and final time.
Peninsular Campaign – McClellan finally decided on a water-borne approach to Richmond, which lies at the western base of a narrow peninsula
formed by the James and York Rivers, and thus the campaign came to be known as the peninsula campaign. McClellan transferred his 100,000 men to
the peninsula, and then inched towards the capital. After taking a month to capture Yorktown, he came close to Richmond. At this crucial time, Lincoln
diverted McClellan’s anticipated reinforcements to chase “Stonewall” Jackson in Shenandoah Valley, who seemed to be threatening Washington. After a
reconnaissance mission by “Jeb” Stuart’s Confederate Cavalry, General Robert E Lee launched a devastating counterattack – the Seven Days’ Battles –
June 26th-July 2nd, 1862. The Confederates slowly drove McClellan back to the sea, and Union forces abandoned to Peninsula Campaign. Lincoln
began to draft the emancipation proclamation, and Union strategy now turned toward total war. The new strategy had 6 main aspects: blockade the
South, liberate the slaves, seize the Mississippi River backbone, chop the Confederacy to pieces by sending troops through Georgia and Carolina,
decapitate it by capturing the capital at Richmond, and finally (under Grant), try everywhere to engage the enemy's main strength and to grind it into
submission.
USS Monitor & CSS Monitor – The Union’s blockade started leakily, but soon grew in strength with foreign acceptance. The most alarming
Confederate threat to the Union blockade came in 1862 when Southerners raised and reconditioned the former wooden US war-ship, the Merrimack,
and plated its sides with old iron railroad rails. Renamed the Virginia, this clumsy but powerful ship destroyed two wooden ships of the Union navy in the
Virginia waters of Chesapeake Bay, and it also threatened catastrophe to the entire Yankee blockading fleet. A tiny Union ironclad, the Monitor, built in
about 100 days, arrived just in time. For 4 hours, on March 9, 1862, the two ships fought each other in the first test of the new ironclad warships. A few
months later, Confederates destroyed the Merrimack to keep it from the grasp of advancing Union troops.
2nd Bull Run – Robert E Lee next decided to move northward, and at the Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29-30, 1862), he encountered a
Federal force under General John Pope. Pope boasted many accomplishments from the western theater of war, but Lee inflicted a crushing defeat.
Emboldened by this success, Lee daringly thrust into Maryland, hoping to strike a blow that would encourage foreign intervention but also seduce the
still-wavering Border States into the Confederacy. However, the Marylanders, seeing the Confederate Army’s poor state, did not respond to Lee’s arrival.
Antietam – Events finally converged toward a showdown at Antietam Creek, Maryland. Lincoln restored the popular McClellan to command of the
main Northern army. Two Union soldiers found a copy of Lee’s battle plans wrapped around a packet of three cigars dropped by a Confederate officer,
and with this crucial piece of intelligence, McClellan succeeded in halting Lee at Antietam on September 17, 1862, in one of the bitterest and bloodiest
days of the war. The battle was more or less a draw, and Lee retired across the Potomac. However, the engagement was the most decisive of the Civil
war – the Confederates were never again so close to success. The British and French governments did not intervene as a result, and the battle gave
Lincoln the long-awaited victory that he needed for launching his Emancipation Proclamation, which had been ready since the summer of 1862.
Emancipation Proclamation – On September 23, 1862, Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that on January 1,
1863, the president would issue a final proclamation freeing the slaves of the South. On that date, he did as promised, and the war metamorphosed into
a moral war. The Emancipation Proclamation declared free the slaves in those Confederate states still in rebellion, but not those in the Border states –
about 800,000 – so he didn’t free the slaves that he could, but those that he couldn’t. Many black slaves fled to the invading Union armies, but Lincoln’s
immediate goal was to strengthen the moral cause of the Union at home and abroad, and the proclamation changed the nature of the war because it
effectively removed any chance of negotiated settlement or foreign intervention. Opposition mounted in the North against supporting an “abolition war”
and many border-state volunteers deserted the Union Army. The moral position of the North was improved, while the South’s was correspondingly
diminished.
Fredericksburg – After Antietam, Lincoln replaced McClellan with General AE Burnsides. Protesting his unfitness for this responsibility, Burnside
proved it when he launched a rash frontal attack on Lee’s strong position on December 13, 1862. More than 10,00 Northern soldiers were killer or
wounded in “Burnside’s Slaughter Pen.”
Chancellorsville – Burnside yielded his command to “Fighting Joe” Hooker, an aggressive officer. At Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 2-4, 1863, Lee
daringly divided his numerically inferior force and sent Jackson to attack the Union flank. Hooker was badly beaten but not crushed, and this victory was
probably Lee’s most brilliant. Lee decided to follow up his stunning victory by invading the North again, this time through Pennsylvania, thinking that a
decisive blow would add strength to noisy peace prodders in the North and encourage foreign intervention.
Thomas J. Jackson – The battle of Chancellorsville was dearly bought, Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own men in the gathering dusk and
died a few days later. Jackson had been a key partner in Lee’s exploits, and together they had made the perfect team. Jackson was a great strategist,
and the master of speed and deception. Lee lamented “I have lost my right arm” when Jackson died, and Southern folklore depicts how Jackson
outflanked the angels while galloping into Heaven.
Meade – Three days before the battle of Gettysburg, Union General G. Meade was told that he was to replace Hooker. Meade took his stand atop
a low ridge flanking a shallow valley near quiet little Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There his 92,000 men locked in combat with Lee’s 76,000. The battle
seesawed across the rolling green slopes for three days, July 1-3, 1863, and the outcome was in doubt to the very end. The failure of General George
Pickett’s magnificent but futile charge finally broke the back of the Confederate attack, and broke the heart of the Confederate cause. Pickett’s charge
was the last real chance for the confederates to win the war.
Gettysburg – As the battle of Gettysburg raged, Davis sent a peace delegation toward Union lines near Norfolk, Virginia, hoping that Lee would
win the battle. The Union triumph resulted in Lincoln not allowing the Confederate peace mission to pass through Union lines – from now on the
Confederate cause was doomed, although the Confederacy fought on for another two more years. Later in the autumn of 1863, Lincoln journeyed to
Gettysburg to dedicate the cemetery; he read a two-minute speech following a two-hour speech by the orator of the day. He said that the war was a
struggle to preserve democracy, and the proposition that “all men are created equal.” Although the address attracted very little attention, the president
was speaking for the ages, and his speech was technically very significant.
Ulysses S Grant – Grant proved the type of general that the Civil War called for, and he led the Union armies to victory after a number of victories
in the West. US Grant was a graduate of West Point, and had fought well in the Mexican War. He was stationed at isolated frontier posts, where
boredom drove him to alcohol. Resigning from the army to avoid a court-martial for drunkenness, and following failure in various business ventures, he
rejoined the army when war started. Grant was sloppy, silent and shy, but his boldness and resourcefulness caused him to rise in position rapidly.
Grant’s first successes came in the northern Tennessee Theater, where after heavy fighting he captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the
Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers in February 1862. Grant demanded unconditional surrender when the Confederate commander at Fort Donelson
asked for terms, thus giving him the name “Unconditional Surrender” Grant. Grant’s triumph in Tennessee was crucial; it not only riveted Kentucky more
securely to the Union, but also opened the gateway to the strategically important region of Tennessee, as well as to Georgia and the heart of Dixie.
Shiloh – Grant next attempted to exploit his victory by capturing the junction of the main Confederate north-south and east-west railroads in the
Mississippi Valley at Corinth, Mississippi. However a Confederate force foiled his plans in a gory battle at Shiloh, just over the Tennessee border from
Corinth, on April 6-7, 1862. Though Grant successfully counterattacked, the impressive Confederate showing at Shiloh confirmed that there would be no
quick end to the war in the West.
Vicksburg – In the spring of 1862, a flotilla commanded by David G Farragut joined with a Northern Army to capture New Orleans, the main artery
of the Confederacy’s west. This left the eastern part with a jeopardized backdoor from Vicksburg to Port Hudson through which provisions from
Louisiana and Texas were sent. The fortress of Vicksburg, located on a hairpin turn of the Mississippi, was the South’s sentinel protecting the lifeline to
the western sources of supply. Grant was now given command of the Union forces attacking Vicksburg, and the campaign turned out to be his best.
After a long period of besiegement the beleaguered city at length surrendered on July 4, 1863, the day after the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. Five
days later came the fall of port Hudson, the last Confederate fort on the Mississippi River. The spinal chord of the Confederacy was thus broken, and the
two back-to-back victories conclusively tipped the diplomatic scales in favor of the North, as England stopped delivery of the Laird rams, and France
killed a deal for the sale of six naval vessels to the Confederates.
William Tecumseh Sherman – Grant was transferred to the east Tennessee theater, where the Confederates had driven Union forces from the
battlefield at Chickamauga into the city of Chattanooga, to which the laid siege. Grant won a series of desperate engagements near the ciry, including
Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain; Chattanooga was liberated, the state was Confederates, and the way was thus opened for an invasion of
Georgia – and Grant was rewarded by being made general-in-chief. Georgia’s conquest was entrusted to General William Tecumseh Sherman, who
captured Atlanta in September 1864, and burned the city in November of that year. He then daringly left his supply base, lived off the country for some
250 miles, and weeks later emerged at Savannah on the sea. Sherman’s 60,000 men cut a 60-mile swath of destruction through Georgia, burning
buildings, tearing up railroads, and generally destroying the south. He was a pioneer practitioner of “total war,” although at times discipline within his
armies broke down. After seizing Savannah as a Christmas present for Lincoln, Sherman’s army veered north into South Carolina, where after much
viciousness, they burned the capital city of Columbia. Crunching northward, Sherman’s conquering army had rolled deep into North Carolina by the time
the war ended.
Copperheads – Copperheads were the extreme “peace democrats” who openly obstructed the war through attacks against the draft, against
Lincoln, and especially against emancipation. They denounced the president and the “nigger war,” while commanding considerable political strength in
the southern parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Without Douglas’s leadership (he died of typhoid) many democrats divided into “war democrats” and
“peace democrats.”
Clement L Vallandigham – Vallandigham, an ex-congressman from Ohio, was notorious among Copperheads. He possessed brilliant oratorical
gifts, and as a Southern partisan he publicly demanded an end to the war. He was finally convicted by a military tribunal in 1863 for treasonable
utterances and was then sentenced to prison. Lincoln decided that if Vallandigham liked the Confederates so much, he ought to be banished to their
lines, which happened. Vallandigham worked his way to Canada, from where he ran for the governorship of Ohio on foreign soil and polled a substantial
but insufficient vote. Before the war ended he returned to his Ohio, where he was not further prosecuted. His strange case inspired Edward Hale to right
his story of Philip Nolan, “The Man without a Country,” which helped stir devotion to the Union in the North.
Union Party – As the election of 1864 approaches, Lincoln’s authority depended on his retaining Republican support while spiking the threat from
the Peace Democrats and Copperheads. The Republican Party thus cleverly joined with the War Democrats to form the Union Party, which at first
opposed renominating Lincoln, but finally accepted. Andrew Johnson was selected as his running mate in order to gather the border-state and wardemocrat votes. The other Democrats nominated the deposed war hero, General McClellan, with the Copperheads forcing a platform denouncing the
war as a failure. A succession of Northern victories near Election Day, the President pulled through with 55% of the votes. The last battle arena, that of
politics, was thus also lost by the South.
The Wilderness – Lincoln needed a general who could stomach large numbers of casualties, and who could make true use of the North’s massive
economic advantages – US Grant. Grant thus struck toward Richmond with 100,000 men, engaging in a series of furious battles in the Wilderness of
Virginia during May and June of 1854. In the Wilderness Campaign, grant suffered 50,000 casualties, about the same number as Lee. In a ghastly
gamble, on June 3, 1864, Grant ordered a frontal assault on the impregnable position of Cold Harbor. In a few minutes, 7,000 men were killed or
wounded, and the North’s public opinion was appalled by Grant’s style of warfare. The same strategy was continued by Grant all year, and in February
1865, the Confederates tried desperately to negotiate for peace between the “two countries.” Lincoln himself met with Confederate representatives
aboard a Union ship moored at Hampton Roads, Virginia, but he would accept nothing short of Union and emancipation, and the Southerners could
accept nothing short of independence – so the war went on.
Robert E Lee & The End – Most conspicuous among the dozen or so first-rate Southern commanders at the start of the war was Lee, whose
knightly bearing and chivalric sense of honor embodied the Southern ideal. Although having been offered command of Northern troops, he joined the
South when Virginia his native state seceded. Lee was at the head of the Confederate’s main army in the East, and his forces were the Confederates’
only chance of success; but being chased towards Richmond, his army was rapidly depleting. The end came suddenly when advancing Northern troops
captured Richmond after it held out against repeated Union assaults, and set fire to it, then cornered Lee at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia, in April
1865. Grant and Lee met on the 9th, Palm Sunday, and Grant offered generous terms of surrender, including food for Lee’s army. Grant’s men cheered,
but they were silenced by Grant’s stern admonition, “The war is over; the rebels are our countrymen again.” The Civil War was over, with over 600,000
dead and the cream of the nation’s young manhood and potential leadership gone. Direct monetary costs of the conflict totaled about $15 billion, not
taking into account continued expenses. The greatest constitutional decision of the century was in a sense written in blood and handed down at
Appomattox Courthouse, in which Lee surrendered. Nullification, secession, and the extreme states’ righters were laid to rest, and the Republic was
saved. It showed that democratic ideals embodied in the USA could work. The war also provided inspiration to the champions of democracy and
liberalism the world over – the great English Reform Bill of 1867 which made Britain into a true democracy, was passed 2 years later. The “lost cause” of
the South was lost, the shameful cancer of slavery was sliced by the sword, and African-Americans were finally in apposition to claim their rights to
liberty. America still had a long way to go to make promises of freedom a reality for its citizens (and still does), but emancipation was a start on a long
road. The US was free to fulfill its destiny as the dominant republic of the hemisphere – and eventually of the world (hahaha).
John Wilkes Booth – On the night of April 14, 1865 (Good Friday), only 5 days after Lee’s surrender, President Lincoln was murdered in Ford’s
Theater in Washington, by a half-crazed, fanatically Pro-Southern actor, John Wilkes Booth. Booth slipped behind Lincoln as he sat in his box and shot
him in the head. Lincoln expired in the arms of victory, at the very pinnacle of his fame – and his dramatic death helped to erase the memory of his
shortcomings and caused his nobler qualities to stand out in clearer relief. The South only later realized that Lincoln’s death was a calamity for them, for
he had been a moderate in comparison to the radical Republicans. The assassination increased bitterness in the North, partly because of the fantastic
rumor that Jefferson Davis had plotted it.
Andrew Johnson – Lincoln’s death made Andrew Johnson president, a small slave owner from Tennessee and “War Democrat.” Johnson, without
Lincoln’s victorious history, was unable to mediate between the North and South, and thus left to suffer the fate of being impeached by embittered
members of his own party. Andrew Johnson, hot-tempered and impetuous, lacked the tact, reasonableness and common sense of Lincoln.
Chapter 23
The Freedman’s Bureau – The cope with the problem that the freedmen were overwhelmingly unskilled, unlettered and without property or
money, Congress passed an act creating the Freedman’s Bureau. On paper at least, the bureau was intended to be a kind of primitive welfare agency. It
was to provide food, clothing, medical care, and education both to freedmen and to white refugees. The bureau was most effective in education; it taught
about 200,000 blacks, many who had a passion of reading, to read. The Bureau was also authorized to settle former slaves of forty-acre tracts
confiscated from the confederates, but very little land made it into the hands the blacks. The White South saw the organization as a meddlesome federal
interlope that threatened to upset white racial dominance. Johnson repeatedly tried to kill the organization, which expired in 1872.
Oliver O. Howard – Union General O Howard, a warmly sympathetic friend of blacks, was put in charge of this new organization. He later founded
and served president of Howard University in Washington DC.
Andrew Johnson – Johnson, the new President, was faced with a sea of troubles. He was born in North Carolina and moved to Tennessee,
starting from very humble grounds. He was selected as vice-President in order to gather votes from the border states, and to attract some war-democrat
votes. But in essence he was the wrong man at the wrong time in the wrong place – all went bad. Some radical republicans thought that Johnson would
side with them when President Lincoln was shot, however Johnson soon disillusioned them, agreeing with Lincoln that the states had never been
outside of the Union, and therefore should be quickly readmitted through the “10 percent” plan. Johnson made his own Reconstruction proclamation,
which disfranchised certain leading Confederates, although he could pardon them. It called for special state conventions, which were required to repeal
the ordinances of secession, repudiate all Confederate debts, and ratify the slave-freeing Thirteenth Amendments.
“10 Percent” Plan – In 1863, Lincoln had proclaimed his “10 percent” reconstruction plan, which decreed that a state could be reintegrated into the
union when 10 percent of its voters in the presidential election of 1860 had taken an oath of allegiance to the USA and pledged to abide by
emancipation. This idea was sharply opposed by Congress, where republicans feared that restoration of the planter aristocracy to power could lead to
the re-enslavement of the blacks. Republicans quickly slammed the Wade-Davis Bill through Congress in 1864, which required 50% to take allegiance,
and demanded stronger safeguards for emancipation. Lincoln “pocket-vetoed” this bill by refusing to sign it after Congress had adjourned.
“Conquered Provinces”- Congress and the Republicans believed that the seceders had “committed suicide” by leaving the union, and therefore
forfeited all their rights. They could therefore only be readmitted as “conquered provinces” on such conditions as Congress should decree.
“Moderate Republicans” – The majority moderate Republicans of the party tended to agree with Lincoln on the matter, but stating that the states
should be readmitted only on Congress’ terms. They soon became distinctly different to the radical Republicans, who wanted the who Southern social
structure uprooted. Moderate Republicans soon also moved away from Johnson, heavily criticizing him for his Reconstruction plan that soon proved to
produce very similar conditions to those prior to the war. When radical programs became prominent later on, the moderate Republicans, more attuned
to time-honored principles of self-government and states’ rights, recoiled from the full implementation of their plans. They preferred policies that
restrained the states from abridging citizen’s rights.
Black Codes – The Black Codes were oppressive laws passed, in varying severity in Southern states. The first was passed ion Mississippi in
1865. They aimed to ensure a stable and subservient labor force that would allow the reemergence of he Cotton Kingdom – whites wanted to ensure
they retained the tight control they exercised over black laborers. Dire penalties were imposed by the codes on those who tried to escape their labor
contracts, thus creating a system much like slavery. The codes also restored the pre-emancipation system of race-relations. The oppressive laws
mocked the idea of freedom, and seemed to contradict the cause for which so much blood had been spilled by the North – some began to wonder
whether the North had really even won the war.
Radical Republicans – Those politicians opposed to the swift re-admittance of the South to the Union came to be known as radical republicans.
When Southern states sent their first congressmen, many of them former Confederates, they were not allowed into Congress (December 4, 1865).
President Johnson further offended Republicans when he announced on December 6 that the recently rebellious states were in his view now restored
into the Union. After the congressional elections of 1866 they had a 2/3 majority in both houses, and so were able to override any vetoes but the
president. The final policies adopted by Congress were a mix of Radical and Moderate Republican ideas.
Civil Rights Bill – The Republicans quickly passed the Civil Rights Bill, which conferred on blacks the privilege of American citizenship and struck
at the Black Codes. President Johnson vetoed the measure, but in April congressmen overrode his veto, something they repeatedly did henceforth.
14th Amendment – The Republicans decided to rivet the principles of the Civil Rights Bill into the Constitution as the Fourteenth Amendment.
They feared that the Southerners might one day gain control of Congress and repeal the Bill. The proposed new amendment was sweeping. It:
1.
Conferred civil rights, including citizenship but excluding the franchise, on the freedmen.
2.
Reduced the representation of a state in Congress and the Electoral College if it denied blacks the ballot.
3.
Disqualified from federal office former Confederates,
4.
Guaranteed the federal debt, while repudiating all Confederate debts.
The Radical faction was disappointed that the 14th amendment did not grant the right to vote, but all Republicans were agreed that no state should
be welcomed back into the Union without first ratifying the 14th Amendment. President Johnson advised Southern states to reject it, and all but
Tennessee did just that.
“Swing Around the Circle” – Johnson decided to make several speeches on his way to Chicago in 1866, speaking against the radical
Republicans of his congress. These came to be known as his “swing ‘round the circle,” and were a series of errors. He stated the Republicans had
planned large-scale anti-black riots and murder in the South. As audiences furled insults at him, he shouted back angry retorts. The dignity of his high
office sank to a new low. When the ballets of the congressional elections of 1866 were counted, the radical republicans won a large majority – more than
2/3 in both houses.
Charles Sumner – The idealist Charles Sumner, who tirelessly labored for both black freedom and racial equality, led the radicals in the Senate.
Thaddeus Stevens – Stevens of Pennsylvania led the radicals in the House. 74 years old in 1866, he defended run-away slaves in courts for free,
and his affection and devotion to blacks was matched only by his hatred of rebellious white southerners. The radicals wanted to keep the Southern
states out of Congress for as long as possible and apply federal power to bring about a drastic social and economic transformation in the South.
Military Reconstruction Act – Against a backdrop of vicious and bloody race riots that had erupted in several Southern cities, Congress passed
the Reconstruction Act on March 2, 1867. Supplemented by later measures, this piece of legislation divided the South into five military districts, each to
be stationed with 20,000 Union soldiers. The act also ordered that all states ratify the 14th Amendment, but stopped short of ordering education or giving
the freedmen land at Federal expense. The main aim of the moderates was to create an electorate in Southern states that would vote those states back
into the Union on acceptable terms and thus free the federal governments from direct responsibility for the protection of black rights. Prodded by the
Union armies, the Southern states soon wrote new constitutions, and when the new Republican regimes were put firmly in place, troops were removed
out. Finally in 1877, the last federal muskets were removed from state politics.
Fifteenth Amendment – But the Radical Republicans still worried that once the unrepentant states were readmitted they would amend their
constitutions to withdraw the ballot from the blacks. The only answer was to incorporate Black Suffrage in the Constitution, finally achieved by the
Fifteenth Amendment, passed by Congress in 1869 and ratified by the required number of states in 1870.
Ex parte Milligan (1855) – The Supreme Court had ruled in the case Ex parte Milligan, that military tribunals could not try civilians, even during
wartime, in areas where the civil courts were open. However, the circumstances were extraordinary, and so for a while the practice was continued, event
thought the war was over.
Scalawags – Scalawags were Southerners, often former Unionists and Whigs. The former Confederates accused them of plundering the treasuries
of the Southern states through their political influence in the radical governments.
Carpetbaggers – The carpetbaggers were supposedly sleazy Northerners who had packed their goods into carpetbag suitcases at the War’s end
and come South to seek personal power and profit. In fact, most were former Union soldiers and Northern businessmen and professionals who wanted
to play a role in modernizing the “New South.”
KKK – Many Southern whites resorted to savage measures against “radical” rule. Many resented the success and ability of black legislators. A
number of secret organizations were created, most notorious of which was the “Invisible Empire of the South” or Ku Klux Klan, founded in Tennessee in
1866. Besheeted nightriders would approach the cabin of an “upstart” black pretending to be the ghosts of the confederate armies. Such tomfoolery and
terror proved to be partially effective, but violence was also often used. By such atrocious acts, blacks were “kept in their place” by the racist whites.
Force Acts (1870-1) – Congress, enraged by this night-riding lawlessness, passed the harsh Force Acts of 1870 and 1871. Federal troops were
able stamp out much of the “lash law,” but by this time the KKK had already done its work of intimidation. Many such organizations continued their work
and tactics in disguise. For many years following the white South openly flouted the 14th and 15th Amendments, with wholesale disfranchisement of the
blacks achieved through intimidation, fraud and trickery.
Tenure of Office Acts – Radicals were becoming increasingly angered with Johnson, as he acted as a roadblock for their progress. They decided
to remove his power through constitutional processes, under which radical Senator Ben Wade of Ohio would become president. In 1867 Congress
passed the Tenure of Office Act over Johnson’s veto, which requited the president to secure the consent of the Senate before he could remove his
appointees once they had been approved by that body (aimed at Edwin M Stanton, a radical informer and spy in the cabinet as Secretary of War). They
tried also to impeach the president, but the proceedings were stopped in the Senate with the lack of one vote, due to fear of destabilization of the federal
government, and unfair tipping of the checks and balances system.