The Civil War and Reconstruction
Events that led to the Secession of the Southern
States.
 Advantages and disadvantages of both sides
 Military “turning points” that effected the
outcome of the war.
 Events that led to the end of the war
 Confrontations between the President and
Congress over Reconstruction policies.
 The nature of Radical Reconstruction
 Events that caused the end of Radical
Reconstruction and the return of “white
supremacy” in the Southern States.

Various tensions within and between the North
and South came together to cause the Civil War.
 A fundamental disagreement between
Northerners and Southerners about the
constitution contributed to the Civil War.
 Slavery became a crisis in the context of western
expansion.
 Compromise on slavery, dating from the
ratification of the constitution, became harder
and eventually impossible by 1860.

How did a lack of, or limited, economic
interdependence lead to friction between the North,
West, and South?
 What role did Cotton play in forming the Southern
dependence on Slavery and how did that dependence
lead a population of mostly non-slave owning people to
be willing to wage war of the “peculiar institution”?
 In what ways did the North and the South differ in
terms of their views on the Constitution and legality of
secession?
 How did the North and South’s attitudes towards each
other affect the general demeanor of the nation
towards the issue of slavery, how did it drive the nation
out to radical extremes?


How did a lack of, or limited, economic interdependence lead to friction
between the North, West, and South?

By the 1830s the nation was forming into three separate and distinct regions.
▪ The South produced Cash Crops like tobacco, rice, and COTTON (the invention of the Cotton Gin caused a
boom in demand for cotton and for slavery).
▪ The North was mainly a manufacturing society based on Banking, Shipping, Industry, and small and big
business (creating a viable Middle Class in the North).
▪ The West had been primarily pioneer settlers who lived by subsistence farming, however by this time
large corn, wheat, and dairy farms were becoming prominent.

When the West shifted from subsistence farming to mass production of foodstuffs (corn,
wheat, etc.) they forged an economic alliance with the North who traded finished
manufactured products for food.
▪ This relationship was only made stronger by the containment of slavery to the Southern United States.
▪ Preventing slavery from moving west created more (not less) economic opportunity for the Northern and
Western citizens.
▪ Although the North was tied to the South by Cotton and Textiles , the Northern economic diversity
limited the importance of Southern Cotton . The opportunities in the West were far more important.

The South’s fantasy that “Cotton was King” and consequently the dependence of the North
and foreign nations like Great Britain would keep them economically viable caused the South
to reject industrialization and remain very static socially, politically, and economically.
▪ The political leadership of the South, although distrusted and disliked by many southerners, was the
Planter=Slave Owner Class who believed their livelihood depended on the continued existence and
spread of slavery across the nation.

What role did Cotton play in forming the Southern dependence on Slavery and
how did that dependence lead a population of mostly non-slave owning
people to be willing to wage war of the “peculiar institution”?
 As important as Tobacco, Rice, and Indigo were, no crop was more important to the
South than Cotton.
 The political leadership of the South postured with the belief that Southern Cotton
was so vital to the North that they would continue to compromise on the expansion
of slavery into western lands.
▪ Southern politicians used the quotes “Cotton is King” and the “Cotton Kingdom” to emphasize
that the Northern economy would collapse without Southern Cotton.
▪ The South would later base much of its military strategy in the Civil War on the delusion that the
British would enter the Civil War on the South’s behalf to keep from losing access to their cotton.
 Most white southerners were subsistence farmers who owned no slaves, only about
25% of the southern population owned slaves and smaller still was the percentage
that owned slaves in large numbers.
▪ Many of these people, though they distrusted the Planter Class, either feared the economic loss
that may come from abolition, had dreams of economic growth that would allow them to one day
own slaves, or held onto a deep-seeded racism that fostered a belief in white superiority.
▪ The Planter class held the political power, they controlled the flow of information, and they
perpetuated the concept of African Slaves as property/investments/second-class humans
▪ The South during this time was a different world, life moved at a slower pace, society was based
on rigid social structure, and their was little emphasis on education and social mobility.

In what ways did the North and the South differ in terms of their views on the
Constitution and legality of secession?


Compact Theory
▪ The States, not the people, created the union.
▪ States’ Rights are supreme in conflicts with the laws and actions of the Federal Government
▪ The use of Personal Liberty Laws by Northern States that did not wish to cooperate with the new
Federal Fugitive Slave Law drafted in 1850.
▪ The States can deem the laws of the Federal Government null and void if they deem it “necessary and
proper” to do so.
▪ The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
▪ The Hartford Convention
▪ The South Carolina Exposition and Protest (related to the Tariff of Abominations)
▪ The Ordinance of Nullification (1832) (again related to the Tariff of Abominations).
▪ If a State voluntarily joined the Union, it should be able to voluntarily withdraw (secede) from the Union.
Contract Theory
▪ The people, not the States, created the Union.
▪ The Federal Government is Supreme.
▪ Federal laws and actions take precedence over the States.
▪ Reference the rulings of the Marshall Court, John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government, and the
general intent of the Constitution.
▪ Secession is illegal
▪ Texas v. White (1869) – Supreme Court ruled that Texas had never seceded from the Union, that
secession and legislative actions therein were null.

How did the North and South’s attitudes towards each other affect the
general demeanor of the nation towards the issue of slavery, how did it drive
the nation out to radical extremes?
 The South towards the North
▪ Many southerners saw their society as the peak of chivalrous, gentile living.
▪ Southerners looked upon the cities of the north as dirty, barbaric, and riddled with crime and disease.
▪ Southerners convinced themselves that their treatment of slaves was far more humane than the living
and working conditions of the northern “wage slave” (as wage laborers were characterized by the
southern Planter Class.
▪ The Planter Class portrayed the slave as an investment (some slaves cost as much as $2000), where
the northern wage laborer could be easily replaced the slave had to be cared for and maintained.
▪ Many southerners even perpetuated the myth of the “happy slave” who lived better than most free
citizens of the north.
▪ These arguments are rendered ignorant when the truth of harsh mistreatment, dissolving of families,
and brutal torture come to light.
▪ The Southerner was convinced that the only reason the north wished to contain slavery was that it would
lead to greater economic opportunity and, consequently, more money in the hands of the North’s
wealthy elite.
▪ Industrial Capitalists saw the west as a goldmine for economic growth, sought to poison the country
with lenient immigration laws, and sought monopoly in the guise of capitalism that would only serve
to abuse the consumer and worker as the wealthy elite increased their profit.
▪ Increasingly, political power in the South fell into the hands of “Fire Eaters” (a group of militant political
leaders who saw abolition as an act of war against the southern states).
▪ These extremists would not bend on any issue that proposed the containment, let alone the abolition,
of slavery.

How did the North and South’s attitudes towards each other affect the general demeanor of the
nation towards the issue of slavery, how did it drive the nation out to radical extremes?
 The North towards the South
▪ Don’t make the mistake of believing that most northerners were morally opposed to
slavery.
▪ Many northerners, not directly exposed to the institution, were apathetic toward
slavery.
▪ Many of those who were opposed to slavery only wished to stop it spreading to the west.
▪ Others, like Abraham Lincoln and James Monroe, supported the American Colonization
Society which proposed to move African Slaves back to Africa. This effort ultimately
resulted in the formation of Liberia in West Africa and its capitol city of Monrovia.
▪ Most northerners were, however, alarmed by the prospect of slavery expanding into the
rich opportunities for economic development in places like Kansas, Oregon, and California.
▪ Slavery was seen as destructive of Capitalism and limiting economic opportunity.
▪ Plantation Agriculture discouraged industrialization. As long as Britain was dependent
on Southern Cotton they would continue to provide manufactured and commercial
products.
▪ Most northerners saw the South as “old fashioned”, “behind the times”, a static society
with little opportunity for economic growth, and therefor not a place for investment and
certainly not a place where the “wage laborer” had any future as long as slavery continued
to exist.
▪ Because of this very few immigrants settled in the South, most settled in the northern
cities or moved into the western territories.

How did the North and South’s attitudes towards each other
affect the general demeanor of the nation towards the issue of
slavery, how did it drive the nation out to radical extremes?
 From this clash of cultures three groups of extremists emerged that
would prove to inflexible on any debate on the issue of slavery.
▪ Increasingly, political power in the South fell into the hands of “Fire Eaters” (a
group of militant political leaders who saw abolition as an act of war against the
southern states).
▪ The Fire Eaters were militants who would refuse to bend on any compromise that would contain, let
alone abolish slavery.
▪ From a combination of Northern Democrats, Whigs, Know-Nothings, and Free
Soilers the Republican Party was formed with the motto of “Free Labor, Free
Soil, Free Men”.
▪ From the Republican Party would emerge Abraham Lincoln who pledged to halt the westward
expansion of slavery and made the famous statement “a house divided cannot stand” quoting biblical
scripture.
▪ Rather than working to contain slavery, Abolitionists worked to eliminate the
“evil institution”.
▪ The ranks of the Abolitions ranged from speakers and writers like William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick
Douglass to activists like Harriet Tubman to violent radicals like Nat Turner and John Brown.




Were the compromises of Clay, Calhoun,
and Webster really successes or were they
only delaying the inevitable?
How did the Compromise of 1850
guarantee that there would be a Civil War?
How did Abraham Lincoln’s emergence in
politics become the beginning of the end?
In what ways did Legislation, Court Cases,
and acts of violence contribute to the
steady move toward Civil War?

Were the compromises of Clay, Calhoun, and Webster really successes or were
they only delaying the inevitable?
 Compromises at the Constitutional Convention
▪ The Slave Trade (Commerce) Compromise
▪ Banned the importation of slaves as of 1808
▪ The Three-Fifths Compromise
▪ Allowed the southern states to count three of every five slaves toward Congressional representation.
 The Missouri Compromise of 1820
▪ This compromise was initially designed to sooth Northern fears of an imbalance in the Senate
between Free and Slave states.
▪ Maine was admitted to the Union as a Free State, Missouri as a Slave State.
▪ The Compromise established a dividing line at 36 30 North Latitude. North of the line would be
free, south of it would be slave.
▪ Although initially successful, the Compromise would later stir Southern fears of an imbalance in
the Senate that would be further stirred by the Wilmot Proposal (banning slavery in all of the
Mexican Cession).
 The Compromise Tariff of 1833
▪ This Compromise came in response to John C. Calhoun’s call for secession in South Carolina over
the Tariff of Abominations (1828) and President Andrew Jackson’s potential use of the Force Bill
to send federal troops into South Carolina to collect the tariff.
▪ The Compromise Tariff lowered the Tariff gradually over the next ten years and John C. Calhoun
resigned as Vice President to return to the Senate.
▪ South Carolina was now to the Civil War what Massachusetts was to the Revolution.

How did the Compromise of 1850 guarantee that there would be a Civil War?
 In 1849 Gold is discovered in California and 100,000 settlers move to the territory
and apply to enter the Union as a free state.
 Southern Fire Eaters were strongly opposed and threatened secession if this
occurred.
 Henry Clay stepped in and proposed a Compromise, but died (as did John C.
Calhoun) before it could be signed into law by President Millard Fillmore.
 Clay’s initial attempt to pass each component through Congress individually failed,
but after his death Stephen Douglas picked up the Compromise and presented it to
Congress as an omnibus bill. The measure passed.
▪ California would enter as a free state
▪ A new Fugitive Slave Law would require the Federal Government to assist in the capture and
return of runaway slaves.
▪ The Slave Trade (not ownership) was banned in Washington DC
▪ The territory gained from Mexico (The Mexican Cession) would determine the question of slavery
through popular sovereignty .
▪ Popular Sovereignty was the idea of Stephen Douglas
▪ It would allow territorial citizens to vote on the issue of slavery and take the issue out of the hands of the
Federal Government.
 This would prove to be the final Compromise of the antebellum period.

How did Abraham Lincoln’s emergence in politics become the
beginning of the end?
 In 1858 Abraham Lincoln ran for the Senate seat in Illinois against Stephen
Douglas (Compromise of 1850).
 The two engaged in a series of debates centered around the issue of
slavery.
▪ Lincoln’s rhetoric (even though he was not an abolitionist) found favor with those who
opposed the westward expansion of slavery and were morally opposed to the
institution.
▪ Where Lincoln addressed slavery as a moral issue (“if slavery is not wrong then
nothing is”), Stephen Douglas approached slavery as a legal issue.
▪ In the Freeport Doctrine Douglas asserted that slavery could only exist in communities that passed
laws (slave codes) to establish and maintain it.
▪ This infuriated Southerners who had latched onto the Dred Scott decision’s ruling that slavery could
exist anywhere and that Congress had no right to regulate the property of territorial citizens.
▪ However, Douglas could not say anything else without destroying the credibility of his own doctrine
of popular sovereignty.
 Abraham Lincoln was then elected President, despite losing the Senatorial
election in 1858, in 1860 prompting the secession of seven southern states
and the beginning of the Civil War.

In what ways did Legislation, Court Cases, and acts of
violence contribute to the steady move toward Civil
War?
 The Kansas-Nebraska Act
▪ Stephen Douglas was pushing a Bill that would build a major
railroad line through Illinois (through his own landholdings).
▪ To get the Bill passed he went to Southern Democrats and struck a
deal that became known as the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
▪ The Nebraska Territory would be divided into the Kansas and Nebraska
territories.
▪ Settlers there would determine the status of slavery through popular
sovereignty.
▪ Northerners were outraged, both these territories were north of 36 30 and
deemed free territory by the Missouri Compromise.
▪ So angered were Northerners that they formed the Republican
Party with the intent of standing against the “slavocracy” of the
South.

In what ways did Legislation, Court Cases, and acts of
violence contribute to the steady move toward Civil War?
 The Dred Scott Decision
▪ Scott was a slave who lived in Missouri, then was taken for two years to
live in Wisconsin (a free state), then back to Missouri.
▪ Scott sued in Federal Court for his freedom on the grounds that once on
free soil he was free.
▪ Headed by Chief Justice Roger Taney, the pro-southern Court went well
beyond the scope of the case in its decision.
▪ Congress had no authority to regulate the private property (slaves) of any citizen
without due process of law.
▪ The Missouri Compromise was ruled unconstitutional, no w there were no limits on
where slavery could or could not exist.
▪ African Americans were not citizens of the United States and therefore could not
sue their masters for freedom.
▪ The South saw a great victory in the Dred Scott decision and hoped to
capitalize on it and push slavery further west.

In what ways did Legislation, Court Cases, and acts of violence contribute to the steady
move toward Civil War?

Bleeding Kansas:
▪ In 1854 Kansas was granted the right to determine the slavery question by vote.
▪ The majority of Kansas’s population was anti-slavery farmers, so obviously Kansas would vote to become
a free territory.
▪ When “border ruffians” from Missouri (a pro-slavery) state began appearing in Kansas the vote came into
question. In response organizations like the New England Emigrant Society began sending anti-slavery
voters to Kansas. Before long there were more voters than actual residents of Kansas.
▪ Two governments were soon formed in Kansas.
▪ The pro-slavery government formed in Lecompton, Kansas
▪ The anti-slavery government formed in Topeka, Kansas
▪ Hostilities soon ensued
▪ Shortly after the two governments were formed, pro-slavery forced attacked and massacred citizens
in the anti-slavery town of Lawrence, Kansas (the Sack of Lawrence).
▪ In response to the Sack of Lawrence, John Brown organized a massacre of his own at Pottawatomie
Creek, Kansas
▪ Together with other events this became a mini-Civil War in Kansas.
▪ In 1856 President Buchanan (the ultimate Shultz) accepted the Lecompton Constitution and put Kansas
up as a slave state.
▪ Stephen Douglas united with Congressional Republicans and fought for and won Kansas’s admission as a
free state.
▪ The Violence in Kansas became known as “Bleeding Kansas” and should have warned the nation of what
a Civil War would look like.

In what ways did Legislation, Court Cases, and acts of
violence contribute to the steady move toward Civil
War?
 The Caning of Charles Sumner
▪ Senator Charles Sumner made a harsh speech, “The Crime Against
Kansas”, in which Sumner made highly critical, personal, and
accusatory remarks about South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler.
▪ Butler’s nephew Congressman Preston Brooks defended his Uncle
(who had been absent during the speech) by walking into the Senate
and pummeling Sumner with a cane.
▪ Brooks argued that dueling was too good for Sumner, caning was
more fitting a dog.
▪ Brooks was censured by the Congress and Sumner was put out of
work for three years.
▪ It was not uncommon for Senators and Representatives to begin
showing up in the Capitol Building armed.

In what ways did Legislation, Court Cases, and acts of violence
contribute to the steady move toward Civil War?
 John Brown’s (of Pottawatomie Creek) Raid on Harper’s Ferry:
▪ Brown was convinced that the evil Planter-Slave Owner Class in the South could be
compelled to end slavery only through bloodshed.
▪ In an attempt to initiate a slave rebellion, Brown resurfaced in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
▪ Harper’s Ferry was home to a Federal arsenal that Brown hoped to use to arm his slave revolt.
▪ Brown was met there by U.S. Army forces led by Colonel Robert E. Lee
▪ Lee was a rising star in the U.S. Army and would later be Lincoln’s first choice to lead the Army of the
Potomac in the Civil War.
▪ Brown’s hope that slaves would flock to him and initiate a rebellion was crushed.
▪ Brown was captured, convicted of Treason against the state of Virginia, and hung for
his crimes.
▪ From the gallows, Brown made the famous statement that “the crimes of this guilty
land could be purged only through blood” and was considered a martyr for the cause
by many northern abolitionists.
▪ The South became increasingly suspicious of northern efforts to cause and contribute
to violent slave revolts.




How did the Election of Abraham Lincoln
initiate the Civil War?
What were the strengths and weaknesses
of each side entering the War?
What military “turning points” led to the
culmination of the Civil War?
In what ways did Grant’s policy of Total War
and Sherman’s “March to the Sea”
influence the Election of 1864 and help
bring the war to an end?

How did the Election of Abraham Lincoln initiate the Civil War?
 The Candidates:
▪ Republican Party: Abraham Lincoln – Contain Slavery to the Southeast.
▪ Northern Democrat Party: Stephen Douglas – Popular Sovereignty should
decide the Slavery question.
▪ Southern Democrat Party: John Breckinridge – opposed the containment of
slavery.
▪ Constitutional Union Party: John Bell – Preserve the Union; position on
slavery was ambiguous.
 Lincoln won the election with only 39% of the popular vote and did
not appear on many Southern ballots.
 South Carolina and six other “Deep South” states seceded
immediately upon Lincoln’s election. Others waited to see if
Lincoln would use force against South Carolina when he took office
in March.
 During the “Lame-Duck” period Captain Do-Nothing James
Buchanan did nothing about the secessionitis gripping the South.

What were the strengths and weaknesses of each side entering the War?
 The Confederacy
▪ Strengths
▪ Better Generals (Lee and Jackson); many of the West Point grads went with the Confederacy.
▪ Their President, Jefferson Davis, had been the Secretary of War.
▪ Cotton, a profitable commodity, could potentially lure foreign assistance
▪ Weaknesses
▪ Small Population
▪ New and weak central government
▪ Economy was underdeveloped, lacked industry, and depended on foreign powers for manufactured and
commercial products.
▪ Lacked a powerful navy
 The Union
▪ Strengths
▪
▪
▪
▪
Large Population
More factories, railroads, telegraph lines, food production; did not depend on foreign assistance
Strong and effective political leadership
Although not powerful by European standards, a much more powerful navy than the Confederacy
▪ Weaknesses
▪ A population that was not totally committed to “Lincoln’s War”
▪ Copperheads (Northern Politicians who sympathized with the Confederacy and undermined Lincoln.
▪ Less experienced Generals, although this would change by the end of the war.

What military “turning points” led to the culmination of the Civil War?
 Getting Started
▪ Hostilities commenced on April 12, 1861 when South Carolina artillery batteries
opened fire on Fort Sumter.
▪ By not reinforcing Fort Sumter, Lincoln allowed the Confederacy to open
hostilities giving him authority to seized greater Executive Powers in the
name of suppressing rebellion.
▪ Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion and the remaining
Confederate States (North Carolina being the last) seceded from the Union in
protest.
▪ In what became known as the Trent Affair, an U.S. warship stopped a British ship
carrying two Confederate Diplomats and arrested the two men. The British
protested (maybe they forgot the Chesapeake Incident) and Lincoln released the
men fearing the British may enter the war.
▪ Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus and arrested hundreds of Confederate
sympathizers in an effort to prevent the secession of Maryland.
▪ Possibly most important, Lincoln was able to prevent the secession of Maryland
and three other “Border States” (slave states that could have increased the
Confederate population by 50%)

What military “turning points” led to the culmination of
the Civil War?
 Early Stages of the War:
▪ General Winfield Scott (Mexican War) developed the Union’s strategy for
retaking the Confederacy. It featured the capture of Richmond, conquest
of the Mississippi River Valley, and a Naval Blockade of Southern ports. It
became known as the Anaconda Plan.
▪ The Confederacy’s strategy was based primarily on waging a defensive
war (although surviving a long war was unrealistic) and luring assistance
from Great Britain (which had recently abolished slavery).
▪ The first major battle of the Civil War was the Battle of First Bull Run,
which put on full display how unprepared both sides were for this
conflict.
▪ Although it appeared the Union was on the brink of victory, a counterattack led by
General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson sent the Union Army into a panicked retreat
back to Washington DC.
▪ Some historians argue that if the Confederates had taken advantage of the
situation and marched on the Capitol, they may have won the war in 1861.
▪ That assumes the Confederate Army was prepared enough to siege Washington DC.

What military “turning points” led to the culmination of the Civil War?
 The Confederacy’s first invasion of the North:
▪ The brilliance of Confederate General Robert E. Lee was put on display during the Seven
Days War (the Peninsula Campaign).
▪ Confederate victory at the Battle of Second Bull Run prompted Lee to launch an invasion of
the North to put pressure on Washington DC and attempt to strong-arm a political
settlement to the rebellion. At least, he hoped it would encourage the British to recognize
the Confederacy and join the war.
▪ Lee’s Army was intercepted at Antietam Creek, defeated, and forced to retreat back into
Virginia.
▪ The Battle of Antietam was one of the bloodiest days of the Civil War.
▪ Lincoln was furious that his commander did not pursue Lee’s Army into Virginia.
▪ Lincoln used the “victory” (it was really a draw) at Antietam to issue the Emancipation
Proclamation, which shifted the focus of the war from preserving the Union to abolishing
slavery.
 This encouraged slaves to run away from the plantations, tying up valuable
Confederate resources.
 This made possible the enlistment of African American soldiers in the Union Army
(400,000).
 This destroyed any Confederate hopes that Britain would enter the war.

What military “turning points” led to the culmination of
the Civil War?
 Lee’s Second Invasion of the North:
▪ Robert E. Lee’s brilliant victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville (split his
force in the face of larger Union adversaries and won anyway), inspired
his second invasion of the North.
▪ Lee’s invading Army (against orders) engaged Union Cavalry in
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on July 1, 1863.
▪ 50,000 casualties were suffered by the two armies at this horrific battle.
▪ Lee ordered the infamous “Pickett’s Charge” on the final day of Gettysburg and
much of the Confederate Army was destroyed.
▪ Lincoln would later make his “Gettysburg Address” in memorial of the battle and
his words gave purpose to the war, redefined the Union , and stated that slavery
was the “unfinished business” these men had died for.
▪ When combined with the Union victory at Vicksburg (giving the Union
Army control of the Mississippi River Valley) Gettysburg becomes the
“Turning Point” of the Civil War. The Confederate Army would never fully
recover and the end of the War was at least conceivable at this point.

In what ways did Grant’s policy of Total War and
Sherman’s “March to the Sea” influence the Election of
1864 and help bring the war to an end?
 Grant takes command:
▪ Grant had been placed in command of the Union Army in the west
successfully sieging Confederate Forts Henry and Donelson. Grant’s
conquest of the Northern Mississippi River was completed at the
horrific Battle of Shiloh.
▪ Grant’s push into the State of Mississippi was complimented by the
capture of the city of New Orleans by the U.S. Navy commanded by
David Farragut.
▪ Grant completed his conquest of the Mississippi River Valley on July
4, 1863 when he finally completed his siege of Vicksburg (the same
day that Lee was defeated at Gettysburg).
▪ In early 1864, Lincoln named Ulysses S. Grant commander of all
Union Armies.

In what ways did Grant’s policy of Total War and Sherman’s “March to
the Sea” influence the Election of 1864 and help bring the war to an
end?
 Grant launches a “war of attrition”.
▪ Grant’s strategy revolved around the concept of “Total War”. He would not worry
about strategic targets, simply hounding the weakened Army of Northern
Virginia till it could no longer exist as a viable fighting force.
▪ The Battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor all demonstrated
that Grant (“The Butcher”) was willing to suffer horrific casualties in order to
reduce the Confederate Army and force them into a defensive perimeter around
Richmond.
▪ Further South, Grant authorized General William T. Sherman to make his
infamous march to Atlanta, which led to the “March to the Sea” ending with the
burning of Columbia, South Carolina the Capitol of the state and seat of
secession.
▪ Sherman’s forces burned cotton fields, barns, homes, anything the Confederate Army
could use (military or civilian) to survive.
▪ Sherman’s forces burned Atlanta, Georgia
▪ Sherman’s path of destruction broke the will of many Southerners to fight on and helped
bring a swift end to the war.

In what ways did Grant’s policy of Total War and
Sherman’s “March to the Sea” influence the Election of
1864 and help bring the war to an end?
 The Election of 1864 and the end of the war:
▪ The fall of Atlanta and the support of federal troops through absentee
ballots helped Lincoln win reelection in 1864 facing stiff opposition from
General George McClellan and the Democrat Party.
▪ On April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at
Appomattox Court House ending the Civil War.
▪ Ulysses S. Grant tried to set the tone for Reconstruction by allowing the
Confederates to leave Appomattox Court House with their weapons and their
horses believing the war in earnest was over.
▪ Five days after Lee’s surrender Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by
John Wilkes Booth. The loss of Lincoln and the outrage over his murder
doomed the nation to a vicious period of Radical Reconstruction.




In what ways was the Civil War crucial to
the development of the United States and
the Federal System in general?
What were some of the costs of war?
How did the “Federal Union” continue
business during the Civil War?
What was Lincoln’s approach to
Reconstruction as Confederate States were
reconquered?

In what ways was the Civil War crucial to
the development of the United States and
the Federal System in general?
 The War was a catalyst in the industrialization
of the United States and industrial capitalist
class became dominant in American society.
 The Federal government was deemed
paramount in relation to the states.
 The War forever ended the institution of slavery
(13th Amendment).

What were some of the costs of war?
 The Civil War cost roughly $7 Billion in 1860 dollars





($76 Billion in today’s money).
618,000 dead in combat
Immense property damage
The Southern economy was in ruins
Northern “carpetbaggers” came south to buy land
cheap and flip the real estate for profit.
Though the war was over and slavery ended,
sectional differences still remained to haunt the
Reconstruction process.

How did the “Federal Union” continue business during the
Civil War?
 Congress passed the Morrill Tariff Act of 1861 initiating a
Republican program of high tariffs to protect American
Industry.
 The Homestead Act of 1862 promoted settlement of the
Great Plains by granting 160 acres of federal land free to any
person or family that would live on it for five years.
 The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 encouraged states to use
the revenue from sale of federal lands to support Agricultural
and Technical Colleges (North Carolina A&T and NC State
University are examples in North Carolina).
 The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 authorized the construction
of a transcontinental railroad over northern territories to link
the markets of California, the Midwest, and the Eastern
states.

What was Lincoln’s approach to Reconstruction as Confederate States
were reconquered?
 In his second Inaugural Address, Lincoln urged that the South be treated
with “malice toward none and charity toward all” and that the nation work
for lasting peace with honor.
 Lincoln viewed (as part of the Contract Theory) secession as illegal, the
crime of men not the states.
 Therefore Lincoln pushed for what becomes known as “Easy
Reconstruction”.
▪ Once 10% of a state’s population pledged their allegiance to the United States and
renounced secession they could begin sending representatives back to Congress.
▪ This outraged many northerners who felt the Confederacy needed to punished
severely for secession to create a deterrent for any future thoughts of secession.
▪ In some cases former Confederate States were sending representatives back to
Washington before the Civil War had even ended which disgusted the “Radical
Republicans” in Congress.
▪ These actions would lead to a fight between Congress and the President (although it
would not be Lincoln) over control of the Reconstruction process.
1.
Which of the following is not an accurate
statement regarding the north in the
antebellum period?
A. Its industrial development was greater than the
B.
C.
D.
E.
other two regions
The textile industry was important to several of the
states in this region
The planter class was dominant in most of the states
in the region
Northerners favored a high protective tariff
Much of the nation’s banking industry was located in
the north
2.
The “turning point” of the American Civil
War occurred at:
A. First Bull Run
B. Second Bull Run
C. The confrontation between the Monitor and the
Merrimac
D. Antietam
E. Gettysburg
3.
Which of the following is consistent with the
Contract Theory?
A. The South Carolina Exposition
B. The political views of John C. Calhoun
C. The states, not the federal government, being
supreme
D. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
E. The decisions handed down by the Marshall
Court
4.
The Compromise of 1850:
A. Banned slavery in Washington DC
B. Allowed Kansas to enter the union as a slave
state
C. Ended the Fugitive Slave Law
D. Gave all the land taken from Mexico to Texas
E. Allowed California to enter the union as a free
state
5.
Popular Sovereignty was the idea that:
A. The government of each new territory should be
B.
C.
D.
E.
elected by the people
The American public should vote on whether to
admit states with or without slavery
It was for the citizens of a territory to decide if their
territory would enter the union as a free or slave
state.
The United States should assume popular control of
the territory acquired from Mexico
Slavery should be prohibited from any territory
acquired by the United States
6.
In the Dred Scott decision, the Supreme Court:
A. Avoided controversy by ruling that Dred Scott had
B.
C.
D.
E.
no right to sue in Civil Court.
Ruled that the Kansas-Nebraska Act was
unconstitutional
Ruled that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the
territories because slaves were private property
Ruled that slaves could sue in federal court only if
their masters allowed them to do so
Ruled that a slave that had been transported to a
free state or territory was a free citizen of the United
States
7.
The Crittenden Proposal:
A. Banned slavery west of the Mississippi River
B. Would have granted the Southern states their
independence if they abolished slavery
C. Would have lowered the protective tariff in return
for abolishing the Fugitive Slave Law
D. Ended the slave trade but not slavery in Washington
DC
E. Would have guaranteed slaveholders’ the right to
won slaves south of the 36 30 line out to the Pacific
Ocean
8.
In the election of 1860:
A. Most southerners refused to vote in protest of
B.
C.
D.
E.
Lincoln’s candidacy
The majority of citizens living in the three
sections voted for Abraham Lincoln
The Tariff was the most controversial issue
The vast majority of southerners voted for the
compromise candidate, John Bell
The Republicans gained control of the executive
branch for the first time
9.
The Emancipation Proclamation:
A. Abolished slavery in all states that were in open
B.
C.
D.
E.
rebellion
Abolished slavery in the border states
Ended the slave trade but not slavery in
Washington DC
Was ruled unconstitutional by the Taney
Supreme Court
Allowed for popular sovereignty in those states
that willingly returned to the Union
10.
Which of the following is not associated with
the North during the war?
A. Continued industrialization
B. The Morrill Tariff Act of 1861
C. The Homestead Act of 1862
D. The use of African Americans in the United
States military
E. The ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment
guaranteeing voting rights to male U.S. citizens
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
C
E
E
E
C
C
E
E
A
E






Attitudes and economic/political forces influenced the dimensions of
Reconstruction.
Lincoln and Johnson’s lenient Reconstruction plans clashed with the
Radical Republican’s Reconstruction methods and objectives.
The Republican Party sought to contain African Americans in the South in
order to establish the nucleus of the Republican Party in that section of the
country.
Southern “redeemers” temporarily reinstated the South’s antebellum
political and social system, leading to the more punitive Radical
Reconstruction.
Reactionaries regained control of the South, African Americans were
relegated to sharecropping and tenant farming, and African Americans
were returned to social and political subordination.
A “corrupt bargain” between the Southern Democrats and the
mainstream Republican Party would ultimately end Radical
Reconstruction.



In what ways was the power of the Federal
Government expanded by the Civil War and
how would this effect Reconstruction
policies?
What were the economic and political
foundations of Reconstruction?
What impact did the assassination of
Lincoln have on Reconstruction?

In what ways was the power of the Federal Government expanded
by the Civil War and how would this effect Reconstruction policies?
 The Federal Government implemented a Draft (Conscription) for the




first time in its history. This action sparked violent draft riots in New
York City that had to be put down by the U.S. Navy.
The Federal Government took it upon itself to protect the
constitutional rights of one segment of U.S. society.
To pay for the war the Federal Government sold war bonds,
implemented the nation’s first income tax, and printed paper money
(greenbacks) in large amounts.
At various times Lincoln justified going outside the constitution by
asserting what became known as War Powers. This set a precedent
that the constitution could be viewed more flexibly during time of war
giving the President the authority to limit free speech, right to
assembly, free press, and various rights of the accused (including
habeas corpus).
The role of the Federal Government in general was expanded greatly
during the Civil War and its supremacy in national law was firmly
established.

In what ways was the power of the Federal Government
expanded by the Civil War and how would this effect
Reconstruction policies?
 In March 1865 Congress passed the Bureau of Refugees,
Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Act establishing the
Freedmen’s Bureau to assist former slaves and destitute whites
recovering from the war.
▪ The Freedmen’s Bureau took lands from former slave owners and redistributed it
to poor whites and former slaves to use for farmland and subsistence farming.
▪ The Freedmen’s Bureau established schools to educate African Americans and
poor whites, many of which were operated by northern women.
▪ President Andrew Jackson (placed in the Vice Presidency only because he was a
War Democrat from Tennessee) undermined the Freedmen’s Bureau by returning
confiscated lands to their previous owners.
▪ Many Southerners resented the presence of northerners in the South after the
war calling them “carpetbaggers” and accusing them of coming south only to
take advantage of the depressed southern economy and seek personal gain.
▪ Although the Civil War was over, the war for hearts and minds and civil rights was
only beginning.

In what ways was the power of the Federal
Government expanded by the Civil War and how
would this effect Reconstruction policies?
 Probably the most severe example of the new
willingness of the Federal Government to exert political
and military force to employ federal policy was the
stationing of federal troops in the south after the Civil
War to maintain peace and stability.
 The former Confederacy was eventually broken down
into military districts governed by Generals who carried
out federal law.
 During this brief window from 1864 to 1877 African
Americans were able to attend school, start businesses,
vote, and hold political office.

What were the economic and political foundations of
Reconstruction?
 Containment of African Americans in the South
▪ African Americans would naturally support the Republican Party following the
Civil War, if they all moved north or west the Party would lose influence in the
south.
▪ African Americans that moved north would represent a significant increase in job
competition for low-wage northern immigrants and urban poor.
▪ Many northerners supported ending slavery, as long as the freed slaves stayed
where they were. The South did not have a monopoly on racism.
 The Establishment of the Republican Party as a National Party and the
demotion of the Democrat Party to at best a nuisance.
▪ The Planter Aristocracy was stripped of their political rights in the South (many
of which had been the politicians of secession prior to the war).
▪ African Americans were provided just enough political and economic opportunity
to entice them to stay in the South and establish a southern base for the
Republican Party.
▪ The Democrat Party was labeled the Party of Secession in an effort to prevent
their reemergence after the war.

What impact did the assassination of Lincoln have
on Reconstruction?
 Abraham Lincoln supported a moderate Reconstruction
and had the political clout to carry it out, but he was cut
down before this could happen.
 Remember, Lincoln believed secession was impossible
and that certain individuals had committed the crime of
secession and rebellion.
 Under Lincoln’s plan:
▪ 10% of eligible voters needed to take a loyalty oath.
▪ The State had to renounce the Compact Theory and accept the
Contract Theory.
▪ Military Governors would oversee the Southern States until
these terms were agreed to.



How did Congress’s plan for Reconstruction
differ from that of Lincoln and what events
set their plan in motion?
What role did the impeachment of
President Andrew Johnson play in the
conflict between Congress and the
President over Reconstruction?
How did the South respond to Radical
Reconstruction?

How did Congress’s plan for Reconstruction differ from that of
Lincoln and what events set their plan in motion?
 With Lincoln out of the way, Congress began to pursue a more
punitive Reconstruction plan and increasingly saw Andrew Johnson
as an obstacle.
 Johnson’s Plan mirrored Lincoln’s with a few additions:
▪ He disenfranchised the Planter Aristocracy (for which his disdain was well
known). Johnson began to alienate his Republican supporters when he
started issuing pardons to the very people he claimed to be taking power
from.
▪ The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (Lincoln) had pardoned all
but war criminals and high ranking officials. The Amnesty Act of 1872
(Johnson) lifted all remaining obstacles for the former Confederates.
▪ One can only imagine the horror of the Radical Republicans when the Vice President of
the Confederate States of America reclaimed his seat in the United States Senate.
▪ Johnson required that the Southern States ratify the 13th Amendment
abolishing slavery, but did nothing to guarantee suffrage.

How did Congress’s plan for Reconstruction differ from
that of Lincoln and what events set their plan in
motion?
 The newly formed state governments begin reinstating
white supremacy:
▪ Southern states began establishing “Black Codes”
▪ African Americans were barred from land ownership, their mobility
limited, and many were forced to sign work contracts that resigned
them to sharecropping and tenant farming for the same people who
had owned them prior to the war.
▪ African Americans were not allowed to testify in Court against
whites, serve on juries, and had many other rights severely limited.
▪ The Radical Republicans first attempted to put their more punitive
Reconstruction plan in place as early as 1864 in the Wade-Davis Bill,
but Lincoln was able to use a “pocket veto” to kill the effort.

How did Congress’s plan for Reconstruction differ from that of Lincoln and
what events set their plan in motion?
 The leaders of the Radical Republicans were Senator Charles Sumner and
Representative Thaddeus Stevens.
 The Radical Republicans passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, it was vetoed by
Johnson, but they overrode the veto. They knew something more permanent was
necessary.
▪ African Americans were citizens of the United States
▪ Attempts to restrict basic rights would be illegal
▪ The Federal Government, not the States, would be responsible for enforcing this Act
 The Radical Republicans proposed the 14th Amendment, but the Southern states
refused to ratify.
 In the Reconstruction Act of 1867 the Radical Republicans asserted control of the
Reconstruction process, invalidated all State constitutions ratified under “Easy
Reconstruction” and instituted a military occupation of the South.
▪ New State Constitutions had to be ratified by Congress
▪ Southern States would have to ratify the 14th Amendment
▪ African American voting rights would be overseen by federal troops (Hiram Revels became the
first African American elected to the Senate , in Jefferson Davis’s old seat, and 900,000 African
Americans would vote for Ulysses S. Grant in 1868.

What role did the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson play in the
conflict between Congress and the President over Reconstruction?
 The Radical Republicans passed the Tenure of Office Act over Johnson’s veto.
▪ The President was barred from dismissing any military or civilian official
without the consent of the Senate.
▪ This would have dramatically reduced the President’s powers as
Commander-in-Chief
 In a challenge to the law, Johnson fired Secretary of State Edwin Stanton (an
ally of the Radical Republicans and head of the military occupation of the
south).
 Johnson was charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors” and impeached,
but Congress failed to convict by one vote.
 Potential consequences had Johnson been successfully removed from office:
▪ The system of checks and balances would have been irreparably damaged.
▪ The independence of the Executive Branch would have been destroyed.
▪ It would have encouraged any majority party in Congress to remove any
sitting President that opposed their political philosophy.

How did the South respond to Radical Reconstruction?
 Much of the South’s upper class accepted Radical
Reconstruction, tried to gain the trust of new African
American voters, and tried to use their new relationship to
turn them into Democrats.
 The Democrat Party worked to retake control of Southern
Politics from the Scalawags (Southern Republicans
supportive of Radical Reconstruction).
 The Ku Klux Klan and the Knights of the Camellia were
formed to intimidate and subordinate African Americans and
supportive white Republicans during this period.
▪ Their main aim was to prevent African Americans from voting or
starting businesses.
▪ The only success of the Grant Administration was using the Force
Act to unleash the U.S. military on the Ku Klux Klan and the
Knights.
▪ Still many African Americans and white sympathizers were hesitant
to vote during this period.




What role did the Grant Administration play in
the nation tiring of the Republican Party?
What were the key components of the
Compromise (“Corrupt Bargain”) of 1877?
What was the South’s immediate response to
the end of Radical Reconstruction and how did
this impact the Southern Democratic Party?
What is the Legacy of the Reconstruction
period?

What role did the Grant Administration play in the nation tiring of the Republican Party?
 Grant’s administration was extremely corrupt, packed with “spoilsmen” that engaged in bribes
and illegal contracts.
▪ The Credit Mobilier
▪ The Railroad Company was making profits as high as 348% off government subsidies for
building the Transcontinental Railroad.
▪ Owners gave stock options and bribes to influential Congressmen and Grant
Administration officials as high as the Vice President to prevent investigation.
▪ The Whiskey Ring
▪ Federal liquor agents conspired with distillers to defraud the government of millions in
taxes.
 The corruption of political machines like the Tweed Ring in New York City, combined with
Presidential scandals, gave people the impression that Reconstruction programs were just
another opportunity for the wealthy to scam money off the taxpayer.
▪ Boss Tweed and his cronies defrauded the taxpayers of New York City of roughly $200
million before being exposed by political cartoonist Thomas Nast.
 Wall Street corruption turned people more toward a need for reform in the government.
▪ In 1869 Wall Street financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk employed President Grant’s
brother-in-law in an attempt to corner the nation’s gold market.
▪ The Treasury Department brake the scheme, but not before Gould raked in huge profits.
 Corruption soured the public on President Grant and the Republican Party and turned
attention away from Reconstruction efforts.

What were the key components of the Compromise
(“Corrupt Bargain”) of 1877?
 Setting the stage
▪ Federal Troops had been removed from all southern states except
South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. The Democrat Party had
retaken control of much of the South.
▪ The Republican Party nominated Rutherford B. Hayes from Ohio,
untouched by the scandals of the Grant administration.
▪ The Democrats nominated Charles Tilden, who had made a name
fighting the corruption of the Tweed Ring in New York.
▪ Tilden won the popular vote by a landslide, but the results in South
Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana were contested.
▪ A Congressional Panel was assembled to decide the issue and voted
a straight party line giving those states to Hayes who would then win
the electoral college.
▪ The Democrats threatened to filibuster the results and send the
election to the House of Representatives where they held a majority.
▪ The stage was set for “corrupt bargain”.

What were the key components of the
Compromise (“Corrupt Bargain”) of 1877?
 Let’s Make a Deal!
▪ Hayes becomes President
▪ The last of the Federal Troops would be
removed from the South.
▪ Congress would support the construction
of a Southern Transcontinental Railroad.
▪ Hayes agreed to name a Southern
Democrat to a Cabinet position

What was the South’s immediate response to the end of Radical
Reconstruction and how did this impact the Southern Democratic Party?
 Political restrictions were put in place to circumvent the Fifteenth Amendment.
▪ Poll Taxes, a voting fee, disenfranchised poor African Americans and whites
alike.
▪ Literacy tests capitalized on the limited educational opportunities for African
Americans in the South.
▪ Gerrymandering Districts were used to manipulate the vote in places where
African Americans held a majority.
▪ The Grandfather Clause was used to help limit the number of disenfranchised
whites.
 Jim Crow Laws were passed barring African Americans from public and municipal
facilities. Violations of these laws resulted in threats, beatings, and lynchings.
 Various economic sanctions were put in place to maintain the subjugation of
African Americans and keep them dependent on their white neighbors.
 Consequently the Southern Democratic Party took firm hold of Southern politics
in what has become known as the Solid South and firmly entrenched policies of
segregation.

What is the Legacy of the Reconstruction
period?
 The Federal Government can intervene to
redress grievances and address social,
economic, and political needs of those who
have been exploited.
 The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments would set
the stage for later Civil Rights Movements in the
1950s and 1960s.
11.
The original purpose of the Freedmen’s
Bureau was to:
A. Generate support among southern whites to
B.
C.
D.
E.
attempt to end federal military occupation.
Organize African Americans as sharecroppers
Provide freed African Americans with food,
clothing, and educational opportunities
Register blacks to vote
Enroll poor whites and blacks into trade unions
12.
Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction, developed in 1863,
allowed for a state to be readmitted once:
A. Fifty percent of its voters took an oath of allegiance to
B.
C.
D.
E.
the Union.
The state legislature ratified the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments
Ten percent of its voters repudiated the contract theory
It paid for war damages caused by the Confederate Army
It abolished slavery and ten percent of its voters took an
oath of loyalty to the union.
13.
The fourteenth amendment to the
Constitution:
A. Abolished slavery
B. Gave the federal government supreme authority
over the states
C. Gave black males the right to vote
D. Defined citizenship rights
E. Gave to women the right to vote
14. Carpetbaggers were:
A. Southerners who supported Radical Republican
B.
C.
D.
E.
governments in the south.
Northerners such as teachers and ministers who traveled
South after the Civil War to aid the freedmen.
Former Confederate political leaders who regained their
political seats in Congress when Reconstruction ended
Freed African Americans who fled to the West after being
emancipated
Southern governments that refused to accept the
Thirteenth Amendment
15. Andrew Johnson was impeached because:
A. Southerners were opposed to his Radical
B.
C.
D.
E.
Reconstruction policies
He failed to enforce federal law in combating the
KKK
He was involved in the assassination of President
Lincoln
Hid administration was involved in a number of
corrupt activities
He was an obstacle to the Radical Republican’s
Reconstruction policies
16. In the election of 1876:
A. The Republicans swept the south
B. The contested election was decided by the
Supreme Court
C. Tilden received more electoral votes but fare
fewer popular votes than Hayes
D. Most white southerners refused to vote
E. Republicans claimed that African Americans had
been denied the right to vote in several southern
states.
17.
Which of the following did not attempt to
disenfranchise African American voters?
A. Force Act
B. Gerrymandering
C. Literacy Test
D. Grandfather Clause
E. Poll Tax
18. Jim Crow Laws:
A. Were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme
B.
C.
D.
E.
Court immediately following the end of the Civil
War
Were designed to subordinate African Americans
Allowed for the integration of all public facilities
Were passed by Radical Republicans
Were designed to address the abuses of racist
organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and
Knights of the White Camellia
19. Hiram Revels:
A. Was the leader of the Radical Republicans in the
B.
C.
D.
E.
House of Representatives
Was head of the Freedmen’s Bureau
Was involved in a scandal which seriously
damaged the Grant administration
Was the first African American elected to
Congress
Was instrumental in organizing resistance to the
Ku Klux Klan
20.
In the Compromise that was reached by Republicans
and Democrats over the impasse in the Presidential
election between Hayes and Tilden:
A. Tilden was given the presidency in return for selecting
B.
C.
D.
E.
Republicans for every cabinet position in his
administration
The Radical Republicans agreed to disband if Hayes was
given the Presidency
Southerners generally voted for a third-party candidate
Hayes was given the presidency if the South agreed to
ratify the Fifteenth Amendment
Hayes was given the presidency in return for the removal
of federal troops from the south.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
C
E
D
B
E
E
A
B
D
E