Download Unit 4: The Crisis of Union – Chapters 10, 11, 12

Unit 4: The Crisis of Union – Chapters 10, 11, 12
GPS 8 - The student will explain the relationship between growing north-south
divisions and westward expansion.
A. Explain how slavery became a significant issue in American politics
including the slave [rebellion] of Nat Turner, and the rise of abolitionism
(William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglas and Grimke sisters)[284 – 288]
B. Explain the Missouri Compromise and the issue of slavery in western
states and territories. [257 & 258]
C. Describe the Nullification Crisis and the emergence of states’ rights
ideology, including the role of John C. Calhoun and the idea of
sectionalism. [268 & 241]
D. Describe the war with Mexico and the Wilmot Proviso. [306 – 311, 321]
E. Explain the Compromise of 1850. [322 – 324]
EQ 68 - Why did slavery become such a divisive issue in America after the Mexican American
War?


Second Great Awakening ideas of equality and improving lives of others
Gradualism/colonization of Slaves no longer viable solutions
o Cotton gin – made slavery too profitable, saw actual increase in slavery
o Colonization – impractical and most slaves wanted freedom not Africa

Mexican American War territories
o New territories, same problem = spread of slavery, right to travel with
property
o Missouri Compromise ideas breaking down

William Lloyd Garrison and other agitators make slavery divisive issue
through articles, speeches and books
EQ 69 - How did the following individuals: Nat Turner, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick
Douglas, and the Grimke sisters, agitate for abolition?

Nat Turner – led slave revolt 1831 in Virginia
o Scared whites – led to restrictive slave laws – i.e. no education for slaves,
no religious meeting for slaves, slave patrols/southern militia

William Lloyd Garrison [Massachusetts] – The Liberator newspaper
o Responsible for rapid development of abolition movement
o Articles, speeches against evil/sin of slavery
o Organized New England Antislavery Society and the American Antislavery
Society

Frederick Douglas [Massachusetts] – speeches, Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglas
Grimke Sisters [Southern Born]- Speeches appealing directly to southern women

EQ 70 - How did the Missouri Compromise of 1820 attempt to resolve the issue of
slavery in the territories?

Problem of slavery in the new territories
o Issue 1 – Missouri’s admittance as a slave state would add 2 more senators from
a slave state into the senate and give slave states greater power in the senate
[Balance of Power problem] Northern states had more population and
therefore more power in the House.
o
Issue 2 – can congress ban spread of slavery into Louisiana territory like ban of
Northwest territory/ordinance? For northerners answer is yes because of
precedent of Northwest Ordinance, for southerners answer is no because
south would lose political power over time and believed north would
eventually abolition slavery in south.

1820 Act of Congress = Missouri Compromise - dealt with issue of Slavery in the
Louisiana Territories
o Missouri 24th state - first created from Louisiana Territory – Slavery allowed
o Maine 25th state – created out of Massachusetts – Free State
o Senate continues divided evenly between northern free states and southern
slave states – Balance of Power maintained
o Missouri Compromise Line – for new states
 North of Line [Missouri southern border] = No Slavery
 South of Line [Missouri southern border] = Slavery


Henry Clay “the Great Compromiser” solutions
Compromise stayed in effect until Kansas Nebraska Act
EQ 71 - Why did Southern states believe they had the constitutional right to declare laws of
Congress null?

James Madison and Thomas Jefferson’s Virginia/Kentucky Resolutions Idea
o Argued that constitution created a compact between states
o Argued that states had right to declare federal laws as unconstitutional like
Supreme Court’s power of judicial review
o Argued for strict construction view of Constitution and powers of the national
government
o Ideas in resolutions led to southern acceptance of ideas like nullification and
secession
EQ 72 - How did the Nullification Crisis and John C. Calhoun’s actions lead to the emergence
of a states’ rights ideology?
 Nullification Crisis
o Sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson
o Economic downturn in South Carolina gets worse after federal government
passage of “Tariff of Abominations”
o Tariffs helped one part of country but hurt another for this reason Vice President
John C. Calhoun argued for ….
 John C. Calhoun’s Nullification Idea
o South Carolina joined US as a sovereign state can leave US as a sovereign
state
o Idea reminiscent of Virginia/Kentucky Resolutions
o Any state can “nullify” any federal law = meaning any state would not have to
obey any federal law it deems as unconstitutional after a state convention votes
to nullify
EQ 73 - Why did America go to war with Mexico in 1848?

Background to Mexican American War
o 1836 Texas secedes from Mexico, declared independence
o Mexico does not recognize independence of Texas, considers Texas a
rogue province of Mexico
o US Annexes Texas in 1845 – Mexico does not accept annexation
o Mexico warned US annexation of Texas would lead to war – US
ignores warning

After Texas Annexation
o Asserted reasons for war = Border Dispute – Rio Grande or Nueces /
which river should be border
o Real reason for war = President Polk’s desire for Manifest Destiny to
be realized, for America to go from sea to shining sea
EQ 74 - What is the significance of the Wilmot Proviso?

Provision offered by Congressman David Wilmot
o No slavery should be allowed in any territory obtained as a result of
Mexican American war

Continually brought up issue of slavery in the territories and led to greater
tensions in Congress and between the states.

Ideas of Wilmot Proviso eventually formed platform of the Republican Party
EQ 75 - How did the Compromise of 1850 try to resolve the issue of slavery in the
territories?

Background – 1848 Presidential Election – Slavery in the territories main issue
o Ideas to deal with of slavery
 Popular sovereignty – Let citizens in territories decide for
themselves
 Free Soil – No slavery in the territories at all
 Continue Missouri compromise idea
o 1849 – California Gold Rush – Issue of Slavery in California
o California seeks admission as a free state

Problem – Unbalanced Senate – Slave state senators will be a minority in
Senate if California admitted as Free State

Henry Clay – The Great Compromiser
o California – Free state
o Popular Sovereignty to be use for territories of Utah and New Mexico
o Strong Federal enforcement of Fugitive Slave Act
GPS 9 The student will identify key events, issues, and individuals relating to the
causes, course, and consequences of the Civil War.
A. Explain the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the failure of popular sovereignty, Dred
Scott case, and John Brown’s Raid. [329 & 330, 334, 337 & 338]
B. Describe President Lincoln’s efforts to preserve the Union as seen in his
second inaugural addresses and the Gettysburg speech and in his use of
emergency powers i.e. decision to suspend habeas corpus. [336, 341- 343,
353, 363, 371 & 372]
C. Describe the role of Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson,
William T. Sherman, and Jefferson Davis. [337, 343, 350, 355, 358, 369, 373,
376, 378]
D. Explain the importance of Fort Sumter, Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg,
and the Battle for Atlanta. [343, 344, 362, 369 – 371, 378 & 379]
E. Describe the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation. [363]
F. Explain the importance of the growing economic disparity between the
North, and the South through an examination of population, functioning
railroads, and industrial output. [350 – 356]
EQ 76 - Why did violence occur in Kansas and Nebraska after the Kansas-Nebraska
act?

Background – Stephen Douglas’s Role – Head of committee on territories
o Set the country toward civil war by seeking to transcontinental railroad go
through Chicago?
o Sought to divide territory west of Missouri into a Nebraska territory
o Southern senators refused to support Douglas idea until Douglas repealed
Missouri Compromise
o Douglas Idea – divide territory into two states – Nebraska by free state of
Illinois, Kansas by slave state Missouri
o Passage of Kansas-Nebraska Act led to “Bleeding Kansas”

Proslavery forces from Missouri poured into Kansas to make it a slave state

Antislavery forces from the North poured into Kansas to make it a free state

March 1856 – Kansas has two state capitols and two state governments
o Territorial “civil war” = Bleeding Kansas prelude to THE CIVIL WAR
o Lecompton Constitution – House of Rep. blocked acceptance of Kansas
“Slave Constitution”
EQ 77 - Why was the Dred Scott case the first time the Supreme Court declared a law
unconstitutional?

President James Buchanan – ineffective, weak – argued that Supreme Court
should decide question of slavery in the territories in his Inaugural Address

Southern Justices dominated Supreme Court

Background - Dred Scott
o The slave Dred Scott taken to free territory by master
o Abolitionists aided Scott to sue for freedom arguing that since he was on
free territory, he should be considered free
o Supreme Court ruled against Scott – held that blacks were not citizens,
could not sue in courts, had no rights, property not humans
o Supreme Court also ruled that Missouri Compromise was
unconstitutional

Result of Dred Scott decision
o Northern outrage over Supreme Court Case, outrage over ‘free soil’
declared unconstitutional
o Southern insistence on following Dred Scott decision, Southern threats to
secede
EQ 78 - Why was John Brown considered a hero in the north and a terrorist in the
South?

Background
o Fervent abolitionist – worked with Underground Railroad
o Went to “Bleeding Kansas” took part in Pottawatomie Massacre

Northern Perspective Hero
o Willing to fight and die trying to free slaves
o Religious man – following God’s will to free all slaves
o Martyr of a noble cause – “Angel of Light”
o Abolitionist feelings grew stronger more united in North

Southern Perspective
o Murderer - killed proslavery settlers in Kansas
o Insurrectionist - attempted to incite slave rebellion in South – Harper’s
Ferry’s Raid
o Believed all abolitionist would act like John Brown
o Southern militias become better organized – Southerners convinced
compromise more and more unlikely.
EQ 79 - How did President Lincoln try to preserve the union as expressed in his
suspension of habeas corpus, Gettysburg Address, and Second Inaugural Address?

Lincoln’s efforts to preserve the Union BEFORE the Civil War
o Refused to attack – waited for South to start war- Did not fire first shot of
Civil War
o Appealed directly to South with 1st Inaugural Address
 Promised no invasion of the South unless necessary
 Argued Constitution created perpetual Union – binding contract
 Willing to accept existence of slavery in the South
 Willing to “hold, occupy, and possess” federal property in South

Lincoln’s efforts to preserve the Union DURING the Civil War
o Martial Law in Maryland
o Suspended Writ of Habeas Corpus
o Acted as Commander in Chief – Fired McClellan
o Stretched and Stressed President’s War Powers
o Issued Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address one of the greatest speeches in US history
o One of the shortest in history
o Expressed war as struggle for freedom
o Eloquently stated the sacrifice and bravery of soldiers from both sides
o Evokes patriotism and what America’s purpose is in this world

Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
o Pointed out that chief cause of war being slavery in the South
o Pointed out how both sides expected a short war – neither expected the
number of dead or length of year
o Suggested God is not on either side but may be using war to punish
America for the sin of slavery
o Last paragraph a great appeal for unity after war to bind and heal the
nation’s wounds.

Lincoln’s assassination ended possibility of “easy” reconstruction
o First president assassinated
o Mourned by millions in the north
o Assassination changed dramatically the politics of Reconstruction
 How to bring South back into Union
 What would be the status of freed slaves
 Assassination hardened Republicans to “punish” South for Civil
War
 Lincoln would have sought conciliatory tone and methods to bring
South back into the Union – 10percent plan.
EQ 80 - Why were the following individuals significant during the Civil War: US Grant,
William T. Sherman, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis?

U.S. Grant - nicknamed “Unconditional Surrender” Grant
 Union’s Greatest General – Commander of Troops in the West
 Won numerous victories in the West
 Gained control of Tennessee and Cumberland rivers with victories
in Fort Donelson and Fort Henry
 Battle of Shiloh – stunned nation over number of dead – Grant
called butcher
 Battle of Vicksburg – Grant gains control over Mississippi River
 Becomes General in Chief of all union forces – assigned task of beating
General Lee

William T. Sherman
 General Grant’s right hand man
 Instrumental in the Battle of Atlanta
 His “March to the Sea” helped end the war quickly – Total War

Robert E. Lee
 South’s and America’s greatest General
 Offered command of all Union forces by Abraham Lincoln
 Refused to fight against his country – Virginia
 His brilliant leadership of the Army of Virginia prolonged the war
 Always outnumbered – won nearly every battle
 His example of surrender encouraged other southerners to accept defeat
with the same grace and dignity

Stone Wall Jackson
 General Lee’s right hand man
 His brilliant leadership of the Calvary and his personal courage inspired
Southerners to continue fighting
 His untimely death damaged Lee’s ability to continue fighting the war

Jefferson Davis
 President of the Confederacy
 His inept leadership help lead to South’s downfall
 Confederacy government’s weaknesses mirrors weaknesses of Articles of
Confederation
 Could not gain alliances with Britain or France to help against war with
Union
 Began Civil War with order to fire on Fort Sumter
EQ 81 - How did each of the following battles affect the course of the Civil War: Fort
Sumter, Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and Atlanta?
 Fort Sumter
 South and Jefferson started war by firing on
 Fort Sumter surrenders on April 12, 1861 start of Civil War
 South seen as instigator, volunteers poured to join Union Army in the
North

Battle of Antietam
 Turning point of Civil War because
 Lee’s invasion of Maryland unsuccessful
 Lee and Jefferson Davis sought to convince North to accept
South’s independence with a Southern victory in Northern territory
 Lee and Jefferson Davis hoped a victory in Antietam would be like
the Battle of Saratoga and convince Britain and/or France to ally
with South
 Battle of Antietam – single bloodiest day in US history
 British refused to recognize Southern independence or become
mediator between North and South
 Battle convinced Lincoln to issue Emancipation Proclamation
and change nature of war.

Battle of Vicksburg
 Union gains control of Miss. River
 Siege of Vicksburg ends with surrender by Confederate forces
 Cuts Confederacy in half and loses vital means of transport – Miss.
River
 General Grant gains recognition and gets promoted by Lincoln to
Command all Union forces

Battle of Gettysburg
 Turning point of Civil War because
 Second attempt to invade North and win crucial victory
 First significant defeat for Lee
 Like battle of Antietam - Kept British from recognizing
Confederacy
 After Gettysburg – Lee and South were kept on the defensive
 Union victory provided Republicans with popularity and political
power

Battle of Atlanta
 Union forces destroy rail center in Atlanta and then burn Atlanta to the
ground – 1/3 city of Atlanta destroyed by fire
 Sherman occupies Atlanta and launches his “March to the Sea”
 Sherman’s March to sea then to South Carolina
 Destroyed Southern will/capacity to continue to fight
 Engage in Total War
 Devastated Southern economy
 Sherman’s March Left Lee’s Army of Virginia as only viable military
force
EQ 82 - How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the Civil War and American
society?
 Lincoln issued Emancipation Proclamation
o Freed only slaves in the rebellious south, did not abolish slavery in the
border states needed to fight the war
o As battle casualties rose and length of war dragged on North united to
punish south by abolition of slavery




Emancipation Proclamation changed nature of Civil War - from preserving
Union to liberating humans
Motivated both sides to fight longer and harder
Union Army one of liberation
Proclamation kept Britain from recognizing Southern independence
EQ 83 - How did the North and South grow in their differences?

Northern states characteristics
o More populated - Large immigrant population
o Economy industrialized – experienced a wartime boom – 80% of nations
factories in North – easily able to make weapons, equipment, clothes
o Most of the railroads, canals, roads in the North
o North able to finance war by issuing “greenbacks”
o Agriculture based on food production not cash crops
o Politics dominated by Republican Party
o Lincoln led strong, effective central government

Southern States
o Less populated – few immigrants
o Many men kept out of war because of need to keep slave population from
rebelling
o Food shortages, Equipment and supply shortages due to distribution
problems
o Politics dominated by Democrat Party
o Confederacy – weak, ineffective central government
o Difficulty in raising money to pay for war
o Best soldiers – sharpshooters and Best generals
o Fighting on home ground – more motivated and easier to defend

Differences between North and South based on fundamentally different
ideas about federalism and slavery
GPS 10 The student will identify the legal, political, and social dimensions of Reconstruction.
A. Compare and contrast Presidential Reconstruction with Radical Republican
Reconstruction. [387 & 392 - 394]
B. Explain efforts to redistribute land in the South among the former slaves, provide
advanced education i.e., Morehouse College, and the Freedmen’s Bureau. [389]
C. Describe the significance of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. [379, 393, 395]
D. Explain Black codes, the Ku Klux Klan, and other forms of resistance to racial equality
during Reconstruction. [393, 402]
E. Explain the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in relationship to Reconstruction. [394]
GPS 10 The student will identify the legal, political, and social dimensions of
Reconstruction continued.
EQ 84 - Why did President Lincoln and the Radical Republicans differ over how to
reunite the South with the rest of the country after the Civil War?


Problems of Reconstruction
o A devastated Southern economy
 Agricultural system destroyed - Thousands unemployed, hungry,
homeless
 infrastructure destroyed – railroads and buildings
 Confederate economy/money worthless
o Status of Freed slaves – equal citizens or wards of the state?
o Confederate leaders – pardons or trials for treason
o Status of southern states – how do they rejoin
Presidential Reconstruction
o Lincoln’s 10 % Plan – moderate policy of reconciliation
 Proclamation of Amnesty
 10% of southern voters must take oath of loyalty
 States must free slaves – ban slavery
 Military governors removed and new state government formed
 Lincoln’s ideas – South never left because Constitution does not allow
states to leave and reconciliation not revenge will lead to recovery
o

Johnson’s Restoration Program - moderate policy of reconciliation
 Closely resembled Lincoln’s Plan
 Proclamation of Amnesty
 Pardon all who took oath of loyalty
 Excluded rich planter elites and former confederate political and military
leaders from presidential pardon
 To rejoin Union – Southern states must
 hold a state constitutional convention,
 revoke ordinance of secession
 ratify 13th Amendment
 reject all Civil War debts
Radical Republican Reconstruction Plans
o Three Goals
 Prevent leaders of the confederacy from returning to power
 Promote Republican Party domination in the South
 Political equality of blacks through right to vote
o Republican Party fear that end of Three Fifths Compromise
o Wade Davis Bill – rejected/vetoed by Lincoln
 Majority of whites must take oath of allegiance
 State constitutional conventions that must
 Abolish slavery, Reject confederate debts, Deprive all former
confederate leaders of political rights and power
o Republican anger over election of former Confederate leaders and Black Codes
 Radical Republicans kick out elected southern leaders
 Military Reconstruction Act
 Puts South under military rule
 Military ensures Southern states rejoin union by
o Giving right to vote to all male citizens
o Ratify 14th Amendment
o Getting approval of all state constitution from Congress
EQ 85 - How did the Radical Republicans try to ensure equality for former slaves after
the Civil War?

Freedmen’s Bureau
o Created in response to refugee problem of freed slaves following
Sherman’s army’s March to the Sea
o Assigned Tasks
 Feed and cloth war refugees
 Find work on plantations for former slaves – negotiate contracts for
work
 Provided schools for African-Americans – Lasting/important
contribution in the South

Civil War Amendments
o 13th Amendment - Abolished slavery in all of America not just the
southern states [Emancipation Proclamation]
o 14th Amendment – Due process clause / Equal Protection under the
law
 effort to override black codes in the South
 “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law nor deny to any person the equal
protection of the laws.”
th
o 15 Amendment – gave right to vote to African-American adult males

Various Reconstruction Acts – efforts to override black codes and white
resistance to granting African-Americans equality in the South
o Civil Rights Act 1866
 Granted citizenship to all persons born in US – except Native
Americans
 African-American could own property – sue in court
 Gave federal government power to sue people who violates civil
rights of African-Americans
o Military Reconstruction Act
 Overturned Andrew Johnson’s reconstruction
 Divided South into five military districts with military governors
 Confederate states must hold new constitutional convention
 Must give all adult males right to vote, must ratify 14th Amendment
o Enforcement Acts –
 1st – federal crime to interfere with citizen’s right to vote
 2nd – federal election under federal control in South
 3rd called “Ku Klux Klan Act” - outlawed activities of KKK
o First time African-American gain elected office in the South as
Republicans – Hiram Revels [1st Senator] & Joseph Rainey [1st Rep.]
o “Black Republicanism” – numerous elected African-Americans in all
levels of government in the South
EQ 86 - Why did the13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments fail to help former slaves
achieve equality?
 13th Abolished slavery but was replaced with tenant farming/sharecropping
o Sharecropper Cycle – debt peonage

14th Provided Equal Rights and Due Process
o Supreme Court decisions undermined it – narrow/strict interpretation

15th Provided Voting rights
o Without Federal enforcements[Army], southern states disenfranchised
blacks through –grandfathers clause, poll tax, literacy tests
EQ 87 - How did the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments help African American achieve
equality?




13th Abolishes Slavery – No return to slavery possible
14th Due Process/Equal Protection – would be used by Blacks and other groups
to fight for equal rights in the future
15th Suffrage – would be used by blacks for fight for suffrage in the future
14th and 15th would be used in the future to secure rights when Supreme
Court reinterprets Amendments in various decisions
EQ 88 - How did Southerners resist racial equality during the Reconstruction Era?

Black Codes – laws in the South that limited African-American rights
o Annual contracts for black workers
o Children must be apprenticed and can be whipped
o Must get license to do work off plantations

Sharecropping/tenant farming
o Crop lien system / High interest rates from furnishing merchants led to
debt peonage
Anti-voting laws
o Grandfather clause, poll tax, literacy tests
KKK – intimidation, violence


EQ 89 - Why was Andrew Johnson impeached and acquitted?

Impeachment [accusation of high crimes and misdemeanors/breaking oath of
office]
o Johnson impeached because he broke Tenure of Office Act designed to
stop him from interfering with Reconstruction – House of Representatives
accused Johnson of undermining Radical Republican Reconstruction
o House of Representatives impeaches but Senate holds trial
o Senators fail to convict Johnson/acquits Johnson – They believed finding
Johnson guilty of policy differences rather than crimes would set bad
precedent for future – undermine and weaken future presidents ability to
lead.