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III. The Civil War and Reconstruction. True The majority of the American people in the middle of the 19 th century did not want to abolish slavery. The Abolitionists were always a minority.
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True The majority of the American people in the middle of the 19th century did not want to abolish slavery. The Abolitionists were always a minority. However, the land acquired from Mexico brought to the surface the issue of the expansion of slavery. Four options emerged: Abolish slavery Keep slavery out of the new territories (Free Soil) Popular Sovereignty (Let the people decide) Encourage the expansion of slavery. 1. What made slavery such a hot issue throughout the nation was the question over the expansion of slavery into new territories and states.
True Slavery had been an issue ever since the founding days of the republic. Settlements like the Missouri Compromise only postponed the issue. The acquisition of the Mexican session brought the issue up to a front burner. Another compromise in 1850 brought California in as a free state, but only after concessions were made to the slave states. Books like Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which publicized the horrible conditions of slavery, increased the tension further. 2. The tension leading up to the Civil War built up only gradually over a long period of time.
False Lincoln was a member of the new Republican party. The Republicans were opposed to the spread of slavery. Although he was supported by Abolitionists, Lincoln did not support the abolition of slavery. Nevertheless, Lincoln’s election in 1860 was the final straw that provoked six southern states into seceding from the union. 3. Abraham Lincoln stated during his presidential campaign in 1860 that he planned to abolish slavery throughout the United States.
False The Supreme Court did hand down a case in 1857 called Dred Scott, and the case did make matters worse. However, in this case, the Supreme Court ruled that since Dred Scott was a slave, he could not sue for his freedom even though his master had taken him to a free state. They went on to say that the Federal Government could not decide where slavery could expand, that this should be left up to the individual states. The case was hailed as a victory in the south and a disaster in the north. It was seen as one more step towards Civil War. 4. In 1857, the Supreme Court only made matters worse when they ruled slavery to be unconstitutional.
5. A sneak preview for the Civil War could be seen in the late 1850’s by the violence and killing that took place in Kansas. • True • In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed to allow these two territories to become states based on Stephen Douglas’ principle of popular sovereignty. • In Kansas, pro-slavery factions and abolitionists both poured in and began to engage in brutally violent acts against each other. The most notorious examples of this violence were the murders committed by John Brown. • Bleeding Kansas eventually took the lives of over 200 people and foreshadowed the terrible violence of the Civil War
6. In 1861, Missouri seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. • False • During the Civil war, 11 states seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Missouri was not one of them. • Instead, Missouri was one of four border states that had allowed slavery but did not secede (Delaware, Kentucky and Maryland were the other three. In addition, West Virginia seceded from Virginia in order to remain in the Union). • Within Missouri, both sides resorted to bloody guerilla tactics, making the fighting in Missouri amongst the worst in the nation.
7. Compared to the wars that America participated in during the 20th century, there were relatively few American casualties during the Civil War. • False • Every soldier who died on both sides was an American • The war involved a number of new weapons, including the first iron-clad ships, submarines, hot air balloons, a primitive machine gun and most important, breach-loaded rifles. • Unfortunately, medical knowledge, such as germ theory, did not keep up with advances in military technology.
How do the casualties compare? • Rank War Years Deaths Deaths per Day Deaths per Population • 1American Civil War 1861–1865 625,000 599 1.988% 2World War II 1941–1945 405,399 416 0.307% • 3World War I 1917–1918 116,516 279 0.110% • 4Vietnam War 1964–1973 58,151 260 .003% • 5Korean War 1950–1953 36,516 450 .002% • 6Revolutionary War 1775–1783 25,000 110 .899% • 7War of 1812 1812–1815 20,000 310 .345% • 8Mex-American War 1846–1848 13,283 290 .057% • 9Philippine War 1899–1902 4,196 50 .006% • 10Iraq War 2003–present 4,056 2.35 0.001%
True Lincoln’s goal after Fort Sumter was fired upon in April of 1861 was to preserve the Union. After a northern “victory” in the battle of Antietam, Lincoln decided to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. It went into effect on January 1, 1863. This shift in the war’s goals reflected the practical goal of keeping the British from supporting the Confederacy. A change in the moral purpose of the war. 8. Freeing the slaves was not the original reason for fighting the Civil war, but it became a major goal by the end.
9. Gettysburg and Vicksburg proved to be the decisive turning point battles of the Civil War. • True • Up to July of 1863, the South won most battles. The Confederates were fighting a defensive strategy on their own soil, and the Union’s efforts to capture Richmond were costly disasters. • In July of 1863, Union forces captured Vicksburg which gave them control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two. At the same time, they stopped a Confederate invasion of the North at Gettysburg. • The war still dragged on for two more years and was characterized by “total war” and attrition.
10. Most historians would call the Reconstruction of the South after the Civil War a success for white southerners as well as for former slaves. • False • Reconstruction was hampered as the Civil War concluded in April, 1865 because President Lincoln was assassinated. • As a result, Andrew Johnson (his vice-president) was unable to prevent Congressional Reconstruction, which proved to be much harsher on the South. • This meant that white southerners could not vote while their former slaves were elected to office. • It meant the military occupation of the South which presided over the corruption of the Scalawags and the Carpetbaggers. • It also meant some improvements, including schools built for the former slaves by the Freedman’s Bureau and passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. • After years of turmoil that saw the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, the troops were finally withdrawn in 1876. During the 11 years of Reconstruction, nothing was ever done to help the former slaves economically. Many historians consider Reconstruction to be a failure, and as a result, racial discrimination, Jim Crow segregation and a system of sharecropping would survive for another 100 years.
