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A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA History 244: Modern American History.
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Transcript of A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR ERA History 244: Modern American History.
THE ELECTION OF 1860
Abraham Lincoln (Republican) defeats Stephen A. Douglas (Northern
Democrat), John Breckinridge (Southern Democrat), and John Bell
(Constitutional Union Party) by winning 40% of the popular vote and 180
electoral votes. Lincoln receives no electoral votes from the Southern
states-in some of those states his name did not even appear on the ballot.
Lincoln won on a platform that promised not only the non-extension of
slavery into the western territories, but asserted that freedom was normal
condition of the territories, and slavery existed only as a state institution.
The question was how would the South react to losing an election to the
candidate of an anti-slavery party?
THE GREAT SECESSION WINTER
In reaction to Lincoln’s election, seven states leave
the Union (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana). These states
make it clear that they are leaving the United States
to protect the institution of slavery. Other states
where slavery is legal (NC, VA, AK, TN, KY, DE, MY,
MO) do NOT leave the Union—for the moment they
will wait to see what happens next.
SECESSION WINTER CONTINUED
Lincoln is firmly committed to not budging on the issue of slavery’s expansion
into the western territories. He won an election on that platform, and urges his
supporters to “hold firm” like a “chain of steel.”
For many northerners, the concept of a federal “Union” is sacred: the United
States at this time was the “last best hope” for democratic government in the
world. To allow secession would allow the minority to rule over the majority,
and majority rule is the foundation of democracy.
As a result, most Northerners view secession by armed force as treason.
Lincoln spoke for many when he asked if a state could leave a country, a county
could leave a state, and a town could leave a county. The result would be
anarchy.
AND THE WAR CAMEAny attempt at compromise would have had to recognize
both a property right in human beings, and severe
restrictions on the government’s ability to interfere with
slavery’s expansion. Both were unacceptable repudiations
of the Republican platform.
War comes when Southern states (now calling themselves
“The Confederacy”) open fire on a small garrison of Federal
troops stationed at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor on
April 12th, 1861. The bombardment will last 33 hours before
the fort surrenders.
In response, Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to put
down the rebellion. This prompts 4 more states, Virginia,
Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas, to leave the
Union.
PICTURE BOOK WAR
With the war officially underway, both sides clamored for one great battle
that would end the war.
At the battle of First Manassas, about 20 miles from Washington D.C.,
Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard defeated Union
forces under General Irwin McDowell on July 22nd, 1861. Late arriving
Confederate troops under General Joseph E. Johnston, using the railroad
to move troops from the Shenandoah Valley to the battlefield made the
difference. Union troops retreated somewhat chaotically to D.C., shocking
members of Congress who had ventured out with picnic lunches to watch
the battle.
EMANCIPATION, PART I
From almost the very beginning of the war, the Union army is freeing slaves
that escape to Union lines. In May, 1861, Union General Benjamin Butler
refused to return three slaves that had escaped to his line at Fort Monroe (VA);
Butler claimed that because the slaves had been working on Confederate
defenses, under the laws of war they could be confiscated at “contraband” or
property of war.
On August 6th, 1861, Congress passes the 1st Confiscation Act which declares
that Confederate masters would forfeit the labor of slaves used to support the
rebellion and that these slaves would be “discharged” from service. That is,
they would be freed. Importantly, this did not apply in KY, MD, DE, and MO,
slave states had not left the Union.
THE STORMY PRESENT
As 1862 begins, the Union is in trouble. The Army of the
Potomac, now under the command of George McClellan, has
barely moved since being beaten at Manassas the past July.
Ulysses S. Grant uses a joint army-navy operation to capture
Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River on February 6th, and Fort
Donnelson on the Cumberland River, on the 16th. Grant calls for
the “unconditional surrender” of all Confederates in these forts.
The victories boost Northern morale, and open the Confederate
heartland to Union armies.
TO THE GATES OF RICHMOND
Meanwhile, in the East, General McClellan and the Army of the
Potomac finally start moving towards the Confederate capital of
Richmond (VA) in the spring of 1862. By early June, they had moved
within site of the steeples of Richmond’s churches.
In a swift series of battles (called the Seven Days Battles), the Union
army was steadily driven back from Richmond in late June early July by
the Confederate Army of Northern VA commanded by Robert E. Lee. Lee
would follow up this success by crushing a Union force at Second Bull
Run in late August, then cross the Potomac and invade Maryland on
September 3rd, 1862.
EMANCIPATION, PART II
Recognizing the need to keep the loyal border states in the Union,
Lincoln develops a plan for emancipation in these states that would
be compensated, gradual, and voluntary. The Border States
however, continually reject Lincoln’s offer.
Deciding the time had come for a more vigorous prosecution of
the war, Lincoln presents a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
to his cabinet on July 22nd, 1862. Secretary of State William Seward
urges Lincoln to wait until after a military victory so that it will not
look like a desperate gamble of a beaten war effort.
FOREVER FREE
Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Maryland stopped on the banks of Antietam
Creek on September 17th, 1862. Five days later on September 22nd, Lincoln
makes his preliminary EP public knowledge.
Lincoln gave the Confederate states 100 days to return to the Union or
else face emancipation. On January 1st, 1863 the final proclamation will
free slaves “within any state, or designated part of a state, the people
whereof, shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then,
thenceforward, and forever, free.” The final proclamation also lifts the ban
on the enticing of slaves, and allows for their enlistment into the Union
army.
ON THE BATTLEFIELD
Key battles: Fredericksburg (VA), December 1862, Chancellorsville
(VA): May 1863 are both Confederate victories. After Chancellorsville,
General Lee will once again in vade the North. This time, the state is PA,
and he will clash with the Army of the Potomac at a small town called
Gettysburg.
After three days of fighting (July 1st-3rd), the Union army is ultimately
victorious. The next day, July 4th, 1863, Union General Ulysses Grant
captures Vicksburg Mississippi, the last Confederate stronghold on the
Mississippi River. The Confederacy is now split in half, and the twin
victories mark one key turning point in the war.
THE WAR AT HOME
As the war drags on, many civilians in the North
and South begin to register their anger about the
staggering number of deaths and about the specific
government policies.
Union losses at places like Fredericksburg and
Chancellorsville lead to waves of opposition to
emancipation. Many Democrats believe restoration
of the Union is the only legitimate war aim, and do
not want to fight to free slaves.
THE WAR AT HOME CONTINUED
Resentment at emancipation leads Peace Democrats
(Copperheads) to win control of state legislatures in places like
Illinois and Indiana during the fall of 1862. Some troops even
desert in the wake of emancipation.
In March 1863, Northern resentment is further enflamed by the
start of military conscription (a draft). Because northern
draftees could escape conscription by paying $300, many
working class men resented what they saw as a policy that
favored the wealthy.
DRAFT RIOTS
Drafting white men to fight for emancipation provoked
widespread resentment and rioting in some Northern cities in
1862-1863. The most famous were the NYC Draft Riots in July
1863.
Many working class Irish immigrants were the most susceptable
to competition from African Americans for jobs. Beginning on July
13th, rioters assaulted blacks, lynching a dozen African
Americans, setting fire to the Colored Orphans Asylum, and
attacked the homes of leading Republican supporters.
BLACK SOLDIERS IN BLUE
A particularly contentious issue for many Northerners was the enlistment of
black troops. Blacks were seen as not having the inherent intelligence
necessary for military service.
Starting after the Emancipation Proclamation, recruitment of black troops
proceeded quickly in the North (free blacks) and in places like the Mississippi
Valley (slaves). In the late spring and summer of 1863, black soldiers perform
well at the battles of Port Hudson, Olustee, and Battery Wagner. The
willingness to serve and die for the Union cause helps turn Northern public
opinion in favor of emancipation and the use of black troops. By war’s end
180,000 African Americans, including about 135,000 former slaves, serve in the
Union armies.
A SOUTH DIVIDED?
The South was divided over secession from the beginning:
MD/DE/KY/MO never joined the Confederacy; the entire section
of Western VA seceded from the state and joined the Union as
West Virginia. Most whites in the seceded states remain loyal to
the Confederacy but are hostile to president Jefferson Davis.
The Confederate commitment to states’ rights was at odds with
the huge centralized bureaucracy that imposed huge taxes,
impressed slaves, and burned private stores of cotton—enraging
slave owners.
SOUTH DIVIDED
Policies such as the “planter’s exemption” allowed wealthy sons of slave-
owners to purchase replacements, and as in the North, the draft generated
widespread resentment. Resistance to the Davis government was strongest in
Georgia, where Governor Joseph Brown launched a vitriolic assault on the
Davis government.
Southerners suffered more deprivations compared to their Union
counterparts. Destruction of property and mal-nourishment were common
Confederate experiences. Bread-riots erupted in several Southern cities in
1863; by 1864 Confederate money was worthless, and many southern women
encouraged husbands and sons to desert the Confederate armies to come home
and rescue their families from ruin.
GRANT TAKES COMMAND
In his ever-present search for a general who would fight, Lincoln appoints
General Ulysses Grant general in chief of the Union armies in March, 1864.
Previous generals (McClellan, Burnside, Hooker) had all withered under the
assaults of Robert E. Lee. Grant did not wither. In the late spring of 1864, Grant
and Lee clashed in a vicious series of engagements called the Overland
Campaign.
The first of these battles, The Wilderness (May 5th-6th) cost the Union 17,000
casualties and the Confederacy 11,000. Grant did not retreat. Determined to
break Lee’s lines, Grant continued to move South. Subsequent battles at
Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor cost both armies dearly, and would
ultimately lead to the siege of Petersburg, Lasting from June 1864-April 1865.
“IF IT TAKES ALL SUMMER”
Casualties from Grant’s campaign take its toll on Northern
morale, and weaken support for Lincoln, who faced re-election in
1864.
Democrats called the war a failure, and promised peace with the
Confederacy—with slavery still intact.
Salvation comes from the western theater: On September 1st,
General William Sherman captures Atlanta. Proving the war effort
had not been a failure and enhancing prospects for Union victory
and Lincoln’s re-election.
THE UNION FOREVER
In November 1864, Lincoln wins re-election. The war will now
continue until the Confederacy’s unconditional surrender. Lincoln
and the Republicans also view his re-election as a mandate to
secure emancipation by proposing a 13th Amendment to abolish
slavery. Without a constitutional amendment, there was no reason
to believe a defeated Confederacy would abandon their
commitment to slavery.
Congress passes the 13th Amendment and sends it to the states
in January 1865, it is finally ratified 11 months later.
VICTORY AND DEFEAT As Lincoln is pushing the 13th Amendment through Congress,
Grant and Sherman are pushing for the final defeat of the
Confederacy.
In late December, Sherman completed his destruction of Georgia
by capturing the coastal city of Savannah. From their he marched
into SC, capturing Charleston and Columbia.
On April 2nd, 1865, Grant broke through Lee’s line at Petersburg,
forcing the evacuation and fall of Richmond the following day. One
week later, on April 9th, 1865, Grant cornered Lee’s army at
Appomattox Court House, and forced the surrender of the Army of
Northern Virginia. For all practical purposes, the war was over.