QUIT
4
The Union in Peril
CHAPTER OBJECTIVE
INTERACT WITH HISTORY
TIME LINE
MAP
GRAPH
SECTION
1 The Divisive Politics of Slavery
SECTION
2 The Civil War Begins
SECTION
3 The North Takes Charge
SECTION
4 Reconstruction and Its Effects
VISUAL SUMMARY
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4
The Union in Peril
CHAPTER OBJECTIVE
To understand the events that led to the Civil War, the
course and outcome of the war, and the establishment
and eventual failure of Reconstruction
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The Union in Peril
INTERACT
WITH HISTORY
The year is 1850. Across the United States a debate is raging,
dividing North from South: Is slavery a property right or is it a
violation of liberty and human dignity? The future of the
Union depends on compromise—but for many people on both
sides, compromise is unacceptable.
How can the Union be saved?
Examine the Issues
• Is it possible to compromise on an ethical issue such as slavery?
• What are the obstacles to altering an institution, such as slavery,
that is fundamental to a region’s economy and way of life?
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The Union in Peril
TIME LINE
The United States
The World
1851 The Great Exhibition opens in London.
1852 Franklin Pierce is elected president. Uncle
Tom’s Cabin published.
1854 Charles Dickens’s Hard Times is
published.
1856 James Buchanan is elected president.
1857 The Supreme Court rules against Dred
Scott.
1860 Abraham Lincoln wins presidential
election. South Carolina secedes.
1861 The Confederacy is formed. Civil War
begins.
1863 Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg.
1861 Russian serfs emancipated by Czar
Alexander II.
continued . . .
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The Union in Peril
TIME LINE
The United States
The World
1864 Maximilian of Austria becomes emperor of
Mexico.
1865 Civil War ends. Lincoln is assassinated;
Andrew Johnson becomes president.
1868 Ulysses S. Grant is elected president.
1868 Cubans revolt against Spain.
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes is elected president.
1876 Japan forces Korea to open ports to trade.
1877 Reconstruction ends.
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1
The Divisive Politics of Slavery
KEY IDEA
The issue of slavery leads to increased
tension and violence between the North and
the South and finally brings the nation to
the brink of war.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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The Divisive Politics of Slavery
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
Disagreements over slavery
heightened regional tensions and
led to the breakup of the Union.
The modern Democratic and
Republican parties emerged from
the political tensions of the mid19th century.
TERMS & NAMES
• Harriet Tubman
• Stephen Douglas
• Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Franklin Pierce
• Abraham Lincoln
• Underground Railroad
• Jefferson Davis
• Confederacy
• popular sovereignty
• Dred Scott
• secession
ASSESSMENT
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The Divisive Politics of Slavery
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. List four
events that heightened tensions between the North and South.
Event One
The Compromise of 1850
includes a new fugitive
slave law
Event Three
1857, Dred Scott Decision
Supreme Court case causes
sectional passions to explode
Event Two
1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
book on slavery stirs strong
reactions
Event Four
1859, John Brown attacks Harpers
Ferry
attempt to start a slave uprising
intensifies sectional feeling in the country
continued . . .
1
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The Divisive Politics of Slavery
ASSESSMENT
2. Do you think there were any points at which civil war
might have been averted? Think About:
• the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act, and
the Kansas-Nebraska Act
• the new political parties
• the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dred Scott decision
• the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
• Yes. The Supreme Court made a major blunder in the Dred
Scott decision.
• No. The conflict was inevitable.
continued . . .
1
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The Divisive Politics of Slavery
ASSESSMENT
3. John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Beecher Stowe,
and Stephen Douglas all opposed slavery. Who do you
think had the greatest impact on American history and
why?
ANSWER
Responses should reflect understanding of the strengths
and weaknesses of each individual and an awareness of
their contributions.
continued . . .
1
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The Divisive Politics of Slavery
ASSESSMENT
4. How did the tension between states’ rights and national
government authority manifest itself in the events leading
up to the Civil War?
ANSWER
Popular sovereignty reinforced states’ rights. The Dred
Scott decision convinced many Northerners that the slave
states were influencing the national government.
Lincoln’s election frightened supporters of states’ rights,
because he believed that Congress could abolish slavery.
End of Section 1
MAP
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GRAPH
2
The Civil War Begins
KEY IDEA
The Civil War becomes a more prolonged,
deadly conflict than anyone had predicted
and has a significant impact on civilians,
soldiers, and African Americans.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
MAP
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GRAPH
2
The Civil War Begins
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
Shortly after the nation’s
Southern states seceded from
the Union, war began
between the North and South.
The nation’s identity was
forged in part by the Civil War.
Sectional divisions remain very
strong today.
TERMS & NAMES
• Fort Sumter
• Bull Run
• Emancipation Proclamation
• Robert E. Lee
• Antietam
• Stonewall Jackson
• Clara Barton
• conscription
• Ulysses S. Grant
• income tax
ASSESSMENT
MAP
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GRAPH
2
The Civil War Begins
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. List
the military actions and social and economic changes of
the first two years of the Civil War.
Military Actions
Social & Economic Changes
1. Bull Run
1. African Americans join Union army
2. Shiloh
2. Food shortages in South
3. Antietam
3. Battlefield medicine
4. First income tax
continued . . .
MAP
GRAPH
2
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The Civil War Begins
ASSESSMENT
2. What effects did the Civil War have on women and
African Americans? Think About:
• the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation
• women’s role in the war effort
ANSWER
Opportunities expanded for both groups. For example,
the Emancipation Proclamation allowed African
Americans to fight for the Union, and new jobs, such as
nursing, opened to women.
continued . . .
MAP
GRAPH
2
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The Civil War Begins
ASSESSMENT
3. What advantages did the Union have over the South?
ANSWER
The Union had greater human resources, more factories,
greater food production, and a more extensive railroad
system.
End of Section 2
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The North Takes Charge
KEY IDEA
The South surrenders to the North.
However, the war has an enduring effect on
the nation and on American lives.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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The North Takes Charge
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
After four years of bloody fighting,
the Union wore down the
Confederacy and won the war.
The Union victory confirmed the
authority of the federal
government over the states.
TERMS & NAMES
• Thirteenth Amendment
• Gettysburg
• William Tecumseh Sherman
• Gettysburg Address
• Vicksburg
• Appomattox Court House
• John Wilkes Booth
ASSESSMENT
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The North Takes Charge
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. List
political, economic, physical, and social consequences of
the Civil War.
Freed enslaved people; prevented disintegration of Union
Political
Economic
Consequences of
the Civil War
Physical
Social
Stimulated economic growth of the North and contributed
to economic decline of the South
Widespread destruction of houses, livestock, and railroads
in the South; increased industrialization in the North
Family life in both North and South disrupted by departure of
millions of men to fight in the war and the high casualty rate
continued . . .
3
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The North Takes Charge
ASSESSMENT
2. Grant and Sherman used the strategy of total war. Do you
think the end justifies the means? That is, did defeating the
Confederacy justify harming civilians? Think About:
• their reasons for targeting the civilian population
• Sherman’s march through Georgia
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
• Yes. Saving the Union and abolishing slavery were worth
the cost of civilian lives.
• No. Killing defenseless citizens is immoral under any
circumstances.
continued . . .
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The North Takes Charge
ASSESSMENT
3. How did Lincoln abolish slavery in all states?
ANSWER
Lincoln thought that a constitutional amendment would
be necessary to abolish slavery, and the Thirteenth
Amendment was passed at the end of 1865.
continued . . .
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The North Takes Charge
ASSESSMENT
4. Why did the Union’s victory strengthen the power of
the national government?
ANSWER
It ensured that states would never again threaten secession.
End of Section 3
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Reconstruction and Its Effects
KEY IDEA
Reconstruction results in many political, social,
and economic changes in the South before
being ended in 1877.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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Reconstruction and Its Effects
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
After the Civil War, the nation embarked
on a period known as Reconstruction,
during which attempts were made to
readmit the South to the Union.
The Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments, passed as part of
Reconstruction, gave civil rights
to Americans of all races.
TERMS & NAMES
• Freedmen’s Bureau
• Reconstruction
• Fourteenth Amendment
• Radical Republicans
• scalawag
• Fifteenth Amendment
• Andrew Johnson
• carpetbagger
• Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
• sharecropping
• Hiram Revels
ASSESSMENT
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Reconstruction and Its Effects
ASSESSMENT
1. Look at the graphic to help organize your thoughts. List five
problems facing the South after the Civil War. Then describe the
solution that was attempted for each problem.
Problem
Attempted Solution
Reuniting North and South
Congressional Reconstruction
Physical devastation of the South
Public Works Programs
Former slaves need assistance
Freedmen’s Bureau established
Former slaves need land
40 acres and a mule plan
Vigilante groups arise
Enforcement Acts
continued . . .
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Reconstruction and Its Effects
ASSESSMENT
2. Do you think that Reconstruction had positive effects
on Southern society? Think About:
• the formation of the Ku Klux Klan
• why so many African Americans turned to sharecropping
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
• Reconstruction’s positive effects include the Freedmen’s Bureau’s assistance
to former slaves.
• Reconstruction had negative effects: by trying to help former slaves it
encouraged a backlash that intensified racism and led to the rise of the Ku
Klux Klan; by not offering land to former slaves, it forced African Americans
into sharecropping.
continued . . .
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Reconstruction and Its Effects
ASSESSMENT
3. How did the Radical Republicans hope to reconstruct
the South?
ANSWER
The Radical Republicans wanted to destroy the political
power of former slaveholders. They also wanted African
Americans to be given full citizenship, including the
right to vote.
End of Section 4