Chapter 4
The Union in Peril
Slavery divides the nation. North and South enter a long and destructive civil war that
ends slavery. African Americans briefly enjoy full civil rights, but new laws discriminate
against them.
Section 1: The Divisive Politics of Slavery
Disagreements over slavery heighten regional tensions and leads to the breakup of the
Union.
Section 1: The Divisive Politics of Slavery
Differences Between North and South
Controversy over Slavery Worsens
Southern plantation economy relies on enslaved labor
Industrialized North does not depend on slavery
South tries to spread slavery in West
North’s opposition to slavery intensifies, tries to stop its spread
Slavery in the Territories
Statehood for California
California applies for statehood as free state in 1849; angers South
The Compromise of 1850
Slave state Texas claims eastern half of New Mexico Territory
Southern states threaten secession—withdrawal from Union
Compromise of 1850 has provisions for both sides
California becomes free state; tougher fugitive slave law enacted
Popular sovereignty, or vote, decides slavery issue in NM, Utah
Protest, Resistance, and Violence
Fugitive Slave Act
Slaves denied trial by jury; helpers fined and imprisoned
Northerners defy Act, help send slaves to safety in Canada
The Underground Railroad
Abolitionists develop Underground Railroad—escape routes from South
Harriet Tubman is conductor on 19 trips to free African Americans
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe increases protests
Tension in Kansas and Nebraska
Kansas, Nebraska territories north of 3630’ line, closed to slavery
1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act allows popular sovereignty on slavery
“Bleeding Kansas”
- Proslavery settlers from Missouri cross border to vote in Kansas
Fraudulent victory leads to violent struggle over slavery in Kansas
Violence in the Senate
Charles Sumner verbally attacks slavery, singles out Andrew Butler
Preston S. Brooks, Butler’s nephew, assaults Sumner on Senate floor
New Political Parties Emerge
Slavery Divides Whigs
Democrat Franklin Pierce elected president in 1852
Northern, Southern Whigs split over slavery in territories
Nativist Know-Nothings also split by region over slavery
The Free-Soilers’ Voice
Free-Soilers fear slavery will drive down wages of white workers
The New Republican Party
Republican Party forms in 1854; oppose slavery in territories
Democrat James Buchanan elected president (1856); secession averted
Conflicts Lead to Secession
The Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott, a slave taken to free territory by owner, claims freedom
Supreme Court denies appeal; Scott has no legal rights, not a citizen
North angry; South reads ruling as guaranteed extension of slavery
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
1858 Senate race between Senator Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln
Douglas wants popular sovereignty to decide if state is free or slave
Lincoln considers slavery immoral; wants constitutional amendment
Harper’s Ferry
John Brown leads group to arsenal to start slave uprising (1859)
Troops put down rebellion; Brown is tried, executed
Lincoln Is Elected President
1860, Lincoln beats 3 candidates, wins no southern electoral votes
Southern Secession
7 states secede after Lincoln’s victory; form Confederacy in 1861
Former senator Jefferson Davis elected president of Confederacy
Section 2: The Civil War Begins
Shortly after the nation’s Southern states seced from the Union, war begins between the
North and South.
Section 2: The Civil War Begins
Union and Confederate Forces Clash
Southern States Take Sides
1861, Fort Sumter in Charleston falls; Lincoln calls for volunteers
4 more slave states join Confederacy
Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri remain in Union
Strengths and Strategies
Northern strengths: more people, factories, food production
Southern strengths: cotton, good generals, motivated soldiers
Union plan: blockade ports, split South in two, capture Richmond
Bull Run
Bull Run—first battle, near Washington; Confederate victory
Thomas J. Jackson called Stonewall Jackson for firm stand in battle
Union Armies in the West
Ulysses S. Grant pushes south; captures forts, wins at Shiloh
David G. Farragut takes New Orleans, the Confederacy’s busiest port
The War for the Capitals
Robert E. Lee takes command of Confederate Army in 1862:
- drives General George McClellan from Richmond
- loses at Antietam, bloodiest one-day battle
McClellan removed from command, lets battered Confederates withdraw
The Politics of War
Britain Remains Neutral
Britain does not need cotton, does need Northern goods
Proclaiming Emancipation
Emancipation Proclamation empowers army to free Confederate slaves
Gives soldiers moral purpose; compromise no longer possible
Both Sides Face Political Dissent
Lincoln, Davis suspend habeas corpus to suppress disloyalty, dissent
Life During Wartime
War Leads to Social Upheaval
Casualties, desertions lead to conscription on both sides
Conscription—draft that forces men to enlist; leads to draft riots
African Americans Fight for Freedom
African Americans are 1% of North’s population, 10% of army
Serve in separate regiments, paid less than whites for most of war
Soldiers Suffer on Both Sides
Soldiers often sick from camp filth, limited diet, poor medical care
Prisons overcrowded, unsanitary; many die of malnutrition, disease
Women Work to Improve Conditions
Thousands of women serve as nurses for both sides
Union nurse Clara Barton later founds American Red Cross
The War Affects Regional Economies
Confederacy faces food shortage, increased prices, inflation
Union army’s need for supplies supports Northern industry
North’s standard of living declines
Congress enacts income tax (percentage of income) to pay for war
Section 3: The North Takes Charge
After four years of bloody fighting, the Union wears down the Confederacy and wins the
war.
Section 3: The North Takes Charge
The Tide Turns
Southern Victories
December 1862, Fredericksburg; May 1863, Chancellorsville
The Battle of Gettysburg
North wins decisive three-day battle of Gettysburg, July 1863
Total casualties were more than 30%; South demoralized
The Gettysburg Address
Nov. 1863, Lincoln gives Gettysburg Address at cemetery dedication
Speech helps country realize it is a unified nation
Grant Wins at Vicksburg
May-July 1863, Grant sieges Vicksburg after unsuccessful attacks
The Confederacy Wears Down
Confederates Seek Peace
Confederacy no longer able to attack; works toward armistice
Southern newspapers, legislators, public call for peace
Total War
Lincoln appoints Grant commander of all Union Armies (1864)
Grant appoints William Tecumseh Sherman as Western commander
Grant, Sherman wage total war to destroy South’s will to fight
Grant’s strategy to decimate Lee’s army while Sherman raids Georgia
Sherman’s March
Spring 1864, Sherman creates a path of destruction through Georgia
The Election of 1864
Lincoln’s unexpected reelection helped by Sherman’s victories
The Surrender at Appomatox
April 1865, Grant, Lee sign surrender at Appomatox Court House
Within a month, all remaining Confederate resistance collapses
The War Changes the Nation
Human Cost of the War
Approximately 360,000 Union and 260,000 Confederate soldiers die
Political and Economic Changes
Civil War increases power, authority of federal government
Southern economy shattered: industry, farmlands destroyed
A Revolution in Warfare
Developments in military technology make fighting more deadly
Ironclad ships change naval warfare
The War Changes Lives
The Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment bans slavery in all states
Lincoln Is Assassinated
April 14, 1865, Lincoln is shot at Ford’s Theater
Assassin John Wilkes Booth escapes, trapped by Union cavalry, shot
7 million people pay respects to Lincoln’s funeral train
Section 4: Reconstruction and Its Effects
After the Civil War, the nation embarks on a period known as Reconstruction, during
which attempts are made to readmit the South to the Union.
Section 4: Reconstruction and Its Effects
The Politics of Reconstruction
Building a New South
Freedmen’s Bureau provides social services, medical care, education
Reconstruction—U.S. rebuilds, readmits South into Union (1865–1877)
Lincoln’s Plan
State readmitted if 10% of 1860 voters swear allegiance to Union
Radical Republicans consider plan too lenient:
- want to destroy political power of former slaveholders
- want full citizenship and suffrage for African Americans
Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s successor, forms own plan
Excludes Confederate leaders, wealthy landowners
Congress rejects new Southern governments, congressmen
Congressional Reconstruction
Congress passes Civil Rights Act, Freedmen’s Bureau Act (1866)
Fourteenth Amendment grants full citizenship to African Americans
Reconstruction Act of 1867 divides Confederacy into districts
Johnson Impeached
House impeaches for blocking Reconstruction; Senate does not convict
U. S. Grant Elected
Grant elected president in 1868; wins 9 of 10 African-American votes
Fifteenth Amendment protects voting rights of African Americans
Reconstructing Society
Conditions in the Postwar South
By 1870, all former Confederate states have rejoined Union
Republican governments begin public works programs, social services
Politics in the Postwar South
Scalawags—farmers who joined Republicans, want to improve position
Carpetbaggers—Northern Republicans, moved to the South after the war
Many Southern whites reject higher status, equal rights for blacks
Former Slaves Improve Their Lives
Freedmen found own churches; ministers become community leaders
Republican governments, church groups found schools, universities
Thousands move to reunite with family, find jobs
African Americans in Reconstruction
Few black officeholders; Hiram Revels is first black senator
Sharecropping and Tenant Farming
Sharecropping—to farm land owned by another, keep only part of crops
Tenant farmers rent land from owner
The Collapse of Reconstruction
The Collapse of Reconstruction
Ku Klux Klan—southern vigilante group, wants to:
- destroy Republicans, aid planter class, repress African Americans
- to achieve goals, KKK kills thousand of men, women, children
Enforcement Acts of 1870, 1871 uphold federal power in South
In 1872, Amnesty Act passes, Freedmen’s Bureau expires
Support for Reconstruction Fades
Republicans splinter; panic of 1873 distracts North’s attention
Supreme Court rules against Radical Republican changes
Democrats “Redeem” the South
Democrats regain control as 1876 election deal ends Reconstruction