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The following questions refer to John Gast’s 1872 painting, American Progress . What is the idea of Manifest Destiny, and how does this painting reflect it? Who are the big winners and losers in this picture, what symbolism exists? How are the environment and landscape going to change?.
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The following questions refer to John Gast’s 1872 painting, American Progress. What is the idea of Manifest Destiny, and how does this painting reflect it? Who are the big winners and losers in this picture, what symbolism exists? How are the environment and landscape going to change?
The Tide Turns • The South won several battles in 1863, but lost Stonewall Jackson when he was shot accidentally by his own troops • Robert E. Lee decided to invade the north that year, and was defeated at the battle of Gettysburg, which turned the tide of the war • After three days of intense fighting, Lee retreated to VA
Continued • In Nov. 1863, a cemetery was dedicated at Gettysburg; more than 50,000 soldiers were lost on both sides • President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address, which honored the dead and asked Americans to rededicate themselves to preserving the Union • The next day, General Grant captured Vicksburg for the Union, and effectively split the Confederacy in two (July 4)
The Confederacy Wears Down • The losses at Gettysburg and Vicksburg caused Southern morale to drop; the South was losing resources and people quickly • Grant gave William Sherman command of the Mississippi; both generals believed in waging total war, where they wanted to destroy the South’s will to fight • Grant fought Lee in VA, while Sherman invaded GA and marched towards the sea, destroying everything in his path
Continued • On April 3, 1865, Union troops conquered Richmond; on April 9, Lee and Grant met in Appomattox Court House, and arranged the Confederate surrender • Lincoln insisted the terms be generous and allowed soldiers to go home
The War Changes the Nation • The Union lost 360,000 men, and the South lost 260,000 • The federal government also increased its power through conscription and an income tax • The economic gap widened between the two sides; the Southern economy collapsed due to losing slavery and the industry and railroads being destroyed • The war changed with tech. advances as well; the rifle and ironclad ship changed war forever
Final Changes • In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery everywhere in the U.S. • Five days after the surrender, Lincoln was shot by a Southern sympathizer John Wilkes Booth • The country had lost its key figure for strength