Chapter 10: Expansion and Conf lict
Chapter 11: Sectional Conf lict Increases
Chapter 12: The Civil War
Chapter 13: Reconstruction and the New South
 As the 1800s pressed on, many Americans began to buy into the belief
of manifest destiny
 God intended the nation to expand from coast to coast
 Would open up settlement to more people, getting away from crowded
eastern cities
 However, other nations laid claim to most lands west of the Mississippi
River
 Texas: originally part of Mexico, who had gained independence from
Spain
 Mexico opened settlement in Texas to Americans
 However, the area was overrun by Americans, many of whom wanted to
form their own nation, free of Mexican control
 War broke out between Mexico and Texas
 Most famous battle happened at the Alamo in San Antonio, were hundreds of
Texans were killed
 Used the Alamo as the battle cry to defeat Mexico

Led by Sam Houston, the Texans prevailed and declared the
independent Republic of Texas in 1836
 Tensions between Texas and Mexico ran high for years after the war
 The United States and Texas both expressed interest in
making Texas a part of the United States
 James K. Polk ran for president in 1844 on a platform
calling for the annexation
 After winning, the annexation was signed in March 1845
 Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with the United States
 Tensions furthered when Polk sent troops to the Rio
Grande, insisting that it was the border
 Mexico recognized the Nueces River, miles north of the Rio
Grande, as the legal border
 On May 9, 1846, Mexican troops crossed the river and
attacked American troops
 Polk encouraged Congress to declare war on May 13
 The short war would greatly change the makeup of the
North American continent
 Troops were mobilized to attack various areas of Mexico
 Gen. Zachary Taylor invaded central Mexico
 Gen. Stephan Kearny took New Mexico and turned his attention to
California
 Capt. John C. Fremont led a revolt of settlers in Northern California
that became known as the Bear Flag Revolt in June 1846
 California was under American control by Jan. 1847
 Northern Mexico was also defeated quickly, by Feb. 1847
 The final battle would see Mexico City fall to the Americans in Sept.
1847
 Invasion at Veracruz, led by Gen. Winfield Scott
 Pressed across Mexico, forcing surrender of Mexico City on Sept. 14
 Ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
 Gave the US all territory west of Mississippi River under Mexican control
 US paid Mexico $15 million
 In 1853, the US purchased land of Arizona and New Mexico in the Gadsden
Purchase for $10 million
 There were many reasons for people to move west
 Promise of land
 Religious freedom
 Mineral wealth
 Traveled over many routes to get to the west
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Santa Fe Trail: Independence, MO to Santa Fe, NM
Oregon Trail: Independence, MO to Portland, OR
Old Spanish Trail: Santa Fe, NM to Los Angeles, CA
Mormon Trail: Illinois to Salt Lake City, UT
 Many struggles along the routes
 Weather and trail conditions (Donner Party, 1846-47)
 Conflict with Native Americans
 Promised with Treaty of Fort Laramie to respect tribes and settlers,
while paying tribes each year (another broken promise)
 In 1848, near present day Sacramento, John Sutter found gold in
the American River
 Sparked an epic rush of settlers to California hoping to strike it
rich
 Settlers were called forty-niners
 Most were unsuccessful, but some did strike it rich
 Towns and mining camps sprung up overnight
 Most settlers were young unmarried men
 Supplies were expensive
 Crime, drinking, gambling, fighting, and prostitution were rampant
in the camps
 Chinese and Native American workers were exploited for cheap
labor and forced them off their lands, decimating the population
 The rush was short lived, and paled in comparison to other
rushes that would eventually happen
 With the acquisition of all of the new lands, the question of slavery continued
to persist
 Some insisted on expanding the Missouri Compromise line
 Others called for popular sovereignty, allowing residents of the territories to
choose
 The Wilmot Proviso proposed banning slavery in all the territories, but was
defeated before becoming law

Most important issue of election of 1848
 Whigs ran Zachary Taylor, who did not express opinion on the matter
 Democrats ran Lewis Cass, popular sovereignty proponent
 A new party, the Free Soil Party, called for banning slavery everywhere

Zachary Taylor won the election, immediately having to deal with a partisan
Congress on the issue
 Admitted CA in 1849 as a free state
 Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, and John C. Calhoun debated compromises in the
Senate on slavery
 Taylor died before they were passed; his successor, Millard Fillmore, supported
the measures, signing the Compromise of 1850 into law
 Allowed territories to choose slavery or free status
 With the Compromise of 1850, an intense election came in 1852
 Franklin Pierce (D) and Winfield Scott (Whig)
 Pierce easily won, but was an ineffective president, letting slavery
strengthen, not weaken, in the nation
 Fugitive Slave Act: made it a crime to assist runaway slaves and
gave government assistance to return slaves
 The law outraged many, especially in the North
 Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to high acclaim in
the North, dismay in the South
 Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): nullified the Missouri
Compromise, giving all states and territories the choice
 Led to severe violence in Kansas when they petitioned to become a
state
 Quickly became known as “Bleeding Kansas”
 Missouri residents poured into Kansas to vote for a pro-slavery gov’t
 John Brown led a raid where he murdered pro-slavery supporters
 Senator Charles Sumner of MA was beaten by Congressman Preston
Brooks of SC for a scathing speech about the South (“Bleeding
Sumner”)
 In 1854, the Republican Party formed as an anti-slavery party
 Allied with the Know Nothings to win midterm elections in 1854
 Nominated John C. Fremont in 1856 for president, but was defeated by
Democrat James Buchanan

In Kansas, two separate governments, one pro slavery, one anti slavery,
formed
 Pro slavery government based in Lecompton, KS
 Based on the Lecompton Constitution, that gave voters the right to
choose whether or not to have slavery in the territory, and eventually,
state
 Another blow to the abolitionist cause came through the Supreme
Court in Dred Scott v. Sanford
 Scott, former slave, sued for his freedom
 Sanford sued to gain Scott back
 Court decided that Scott was to return because, as a black man, he had
no rights, and was also property, so he was sent back to slavery
 President Buchanan supported the decision, pushing the nation closer
to war
 Abraham Lincoln came into prominence in the late 1850s,
debating Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas on several occasions
in the lead up to a Senate campaign in 1858, and again in 1860 for
president
 Lincoln lost the election in 1858, but made a name for himself that
got him nominated in 1860 for president
 Harpers Ferry, VA, 1859
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John Brown organized a raid on a federal arsenal
Hoped to arm slaves to revolt
Rebellion crushed, Brown executed for treason
Hero to the North, devil in the South
 Election of 1860
 Divided Democratic Party lost to Republican Abraham Lincoln
 Shortly after the election, 11 states seceded from the Union to form
the Confederate States of America
 Chose Jefferson Davis as president
 Lincoln tried to restore the Union, but to no avail
 The Crittenden Compromise was one last attempt to save the
Union, but was rejected
 Union troops stationed at Fort Sumter, SC were told to leave by
Confederate forces, but refused
 Attacked on April 12, 1861
 Fort was surrendered by the Union on April 15, 1861
 First official battle of the Civil War
 Lincoln called for volunteers, stating that the South was in a
“state of rebellion”
 States quickly chose sides, with 4 slave states staying in the
Union
 Split up families, with brothers fighting on opposite sides
 North had more supplies, more transportation, and more troops
 South had cotton, fight on home turf, and better trained troops, led
by Gen. Robert E. Lee
 The first major battle after Fort Sumter was the First Battle of
Bull Run, or Manassas
 Fought July 21, 1861, 30 miles from Washington
 Initially thought to go the Union’s way, but the Union troops were
over run
 Confederate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson turned back the
Union charge, winning the battle
 The loss at Bull Run made the US realize the war would not be
won as quickly as they though
 The Union hoped to cut off all supplies to the South and win the
war this way
 Controversial Anaconda Plan would blockade the South
 The South hoped to gain recognition from a foreign nation
 Cut off cotton shipments to England hoping that they would help
the Confederacy to gain the cotton, but the plan failed miserably
 Both sides suffered shortages in supplies, illness, and filthy
conditions
 Both sides used conscription, or the draft, to gain the necessary
troops
 Women took over jobs men usually worked to provide for the
war
 While not able to fight, many women volunteered as nurses in field
hospitals
 Clara Barton was the most famous, eventually forming the Red
Cross
 Opposition to the war came from the North and South
 To quiet opposition, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus
 Much of it was over the draft, especially when $300 could buy your
way out of being drafted
 “rich man’s war, poor man’s fight”

In the North, antiwar Democrats were known as Copperheads, after
the poisonous snake
 Union troops in the West were led by Ulysses S. Grant
 Shiloh: April 1862, gave Union ability to control Mississippi River Valley
of TN
 New Orleans: April 1862, Union victory gave them control of most
important port on the river

In the East, Gen. George McClellan was in charge
 Very timid leader, actions probably prolonged the war
 Lost several battles in 1862
 However, did achieve victory in the bloodiest single day of the war
 September 1862 at Antietam, in Maryland
 Over 25,000 combined casualties
 Confederates retreated, but McClellan refused to pursue and was fired, replaced
by Ambrose Burnside
 At this point, Lincoln drafted the Emancipation Proclamation
 Set to take effect on January 1, 1863
 Freed slaves in confederate areas, not those under Union control
 Also ordered black regiments of soldiers to be formed
 Most famous was the MA 54th Infantry, made famous by the movie Glory
 Burnside did not do much better as commander
 Lost battle at Fredericksburg, VA in Dec. 1862
 Was replaced by Gen. Joseph Hooker
 Hooker lost Battle of Chancellorsville, VA in April 1863
 With new found confidence, General Lee decided to invade the
North at Gettysburg, PA in July 1863
 Battle raged for 3 days, becoming bloodiest of the war
 Union General George Meade held the ground
 Withstood Pickett’s Charge, where thousands of Confederate troops
were killed trying to take the field
 Over 50,000 casualties combined in the battle

In November 1863, Lincoln visited the battle site and dedicated the
cemetery with the Gettysburg Address
 Finally, Lincoln was able to find his commander of the Union
army in Gen. Grant after he was able to win many important
battles in the western theatre of the war
 After Gettysburg, the Union went on the offensive, winning numerous
important battles
 Vicksburg: gave Union full control of MS River in July 1863 after a long
siege of the city
 However, the Confederates held their ground through the rest of the
year and into 1864
 Defeated Union forces in many battles in VA
 Convinced Grant to fight a war of attrition, to slowly starve the enemy

Finally, the city of Atlanta fell to Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman in
Sept. 1864
 Led his army on a march to the sea at Savannah, GA
 Destroyed anything of military importance
 Ensured Lincoln’s reelection in Nov. 1864
 Continued the destruction into the Carolinas, where civilian property
was also destroyed

Grant cornered Lee at Appomattox Court House, VA in April 1865
 Lee surrendered, ending the war, on April 9
 Rebel troops could lay down their arms and go home
 Grant also fed the Confederate troops and gave them clothes
 During the course of the war, the South was nearly completely
destroyed
 Lincoln had proposed a plan to rebuild the South and re-admit
the states to the Union
 All Southerners were pardoned, except high ranking Confederate
leaders
 Accept an end to slavery and swear allegiance
 After 10% of the state’s population did, they were re-admitted
 Many opposed to the plan, saying it was too lenient
 However, less than a week after the war ended, Lincoln was
assassinated
 Attended a play, My American Cousin, at Ford’s Theatre in
Washington DC on April 14, 1865
 Shot by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth
 Died early the next morning from the wound to the head
 Nationwide manhunt caught Booth a couple of weeks later
 Andrew Johnson took over as president when Lincoln was
killed
 Oversaw the passage of two of the Civil War Amendments
 13th: abolished slavery
 14th: granted blacks citizenship
 However, was ineffective at enforcing the amendments
 Southern states established black codes, or Jim Crow laws,
that hindered rights to newly freed slaves
 Republicans were split on how Reconstruction should
happen
 Moderates believed that it should help re-admit states and
rebuilt
 The Radical Republicans called for extreme change to
enfranchise blacks into American society
 Assimilating former slaves into society would be tough
 Freedman’s Bureau: established to provide schools, food,
clothing, and employment for former slaves
 Civil Rights Act of 1866: granted all those born in the US full
citizenship, but did not grant voting rights
 President Johnson and countless others opposed many of
the Reconstruction measures
 Johnson was impeached in 1868, but acquitted by one vote
 Violated the Tenure of Office Act by firing his secretary of war
 By the election of 1868, he was finished, giving way for
Ulysses S. Grant chance at the presidency
 Upon his election, the 15th Amendment was passed,
granting blacks voting rights
 With the ability to vote, many blacks were able to vote for blacks for office in
the 1870s
 The government paid to rebuild the south, but southerners loathed the people
there to help
 Carpetbaggers: northerners cashing in on southern misery
 Scalawags: southerners sympathetic to the Republican cause

The Ku Klux Klan formed as a terror groups against blacks and supporters
 Depicted the ghosts of dead Confederate soldiers
 Used threats, violence, and lynchings to scare people
 Virtually destroyed in 1871 by federal laws prohibiting the group from operating

The Panic of 1873 sent the nation into a depression, greatly affecting the 1876
presidential election
 Republican Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote to Democrate Samuel J.
Tilden
 The electoral college gave the victory to Hayes
 The Compromise of 1877 gave Hayes the presidency, with the promise that
Union troops left the South, ending Reconstruction
 Sharecropping became common in the South
 Landowner would allow a tenant to farm their land
 Pay for the land with some of the crops
 Very poor people as a result
The South began to industrialize, with factories springing up in
various cities
 Discrimination against blacks was rampant

 Jim Crow laws made blacks second class citizens
 Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 legalized segregation
 However, life for blacks did drastically improve from previous
decades
 Some people like Booker T. Washington proposed that blacks focus
on becoming economically successful, then focusing on civil rights
 Others focused on the violence and discrimination against blacks,
claiming that economic success couldn’t come without a stop to the
violence