History Notes on US Presidents (PDF)

History notes 11/06 Martin van buren - 8th president, jackson’s right hand man - Common people vote for van buren, things will continue how they were ~ a lot of problems - Van buren has to deal with everything jackson did ~ got rid of bank ~ indian removal act,...

History notes 11/06 Martin van buren - 8th president, jackson’s right hand man - Common people vote for van buren, things will continue how they were ~ a lot of problems - Van buren has to deal with everything jackson did ~ got rid of bank ~ indian removal act, doesn’t take place until van buren is president Panic of 1837, “martin van ruin” - 1837, economy crashed ~ 5 years economic depression ~ result of jackson killing bank ~ agreed with jackson’s policies when vp, couldn’t get mad at him ~ got very bad, people started calling him martin van ruin Trail of tears - Orders military to go to indian territory and remove all cherokees ~ around 4,000 dies ~ poor conditions, no food, 8,000 miles Whigs - Form from national republicans (anti jackson), covers the whole country ~ henry clay, john quincy adams, william henry harrison - William henry harrison runs for next president, 1840 ~ tippecanoe, fought when he was younger Tippecanoe and tyler too - First modern campaign, william henry harrison - Democrats label him as a drunk, lazy bumpkin ~ harrison campaign embraced this though, had rallies where they gave out hard ciders - Economy was weak so harrison became 9th president William henry harrison - Longest inaugural address, 2 hours, very cold, no coat ~ gets sick and dies in 30 days - Vice president, john tyler becomes the next president John tyler - Prior to becoming a whig, he was a democrat ~ hated jackson so much, he joined the whigs ~ he believed everything democrats believe - Tyler vetoes everything whigs do ~ doesn’t get much done ~ nobody likes him, neither party accepts him - Annexed texas just before leaving office  ~ not enough support from the senate Manifest destiny - Polk wanted a nation from ocean to ocean - Civil war, 1860, quarter million people moved westward ~ 1850, 4 million people moved past appalachian mountains ~ squatters, a person who settles on a land that they don’t own - 1830-40 ~ a lot of moving to the west ~ 6 months to get there by horse/walking ~ no trees, hardly any water in the great plains (desert) ~ at first the natives are friendly but they realize the amount ~ not easy to get to oregon territory, california, texas ~ there are no more land to buy Texas - Mexico owned texas, want to build a population, brings in people to colonize - Stephen austin ~ one of the first empresario to convince americans to settle in texas ~ brings democracy and slavery with them ~ mexican → if they want to settle they have to learn spanish, become christian, and follow all their laws ~ none of the americans follow that rule ~ mexico realizes americans are taking over, bans immigration and closes its borders in 1830 ~ the americans still keep coming - After texas breaks free mexico is outraged, boundary dispute ~ polk wants all of texas, california, all of mexican territory ~ 1845, sends john slidaell to resolve issue ~ mexican president doesn’t talk to him, doesn’t agree to the sale ~ offensive to mexico, no deal, have to go to war ~ polk starts going into unclaimed territory ~ mexico army fights americans, kills 11 ~ polk has a reason to go to war now Santa anna - 1833, Austin started pushing for texas independence ~ tries to work out agreements with mexican president santa anna ~ form an army and claim independence in 1834 ~ santa anna fights back, this starts the texas revolution The alamo - Old spanish mission where 150 texans held out to fight santa anna's men  - Small band of texans held out for 13 days, survivors were mostly women, children, and servants - Davy crockett and jim bowie were among the dead - Remember the alamo became the battle cry Battle of san jacinto - Sam houston, chief of texas forces, wais for chance to fight santa anna ~ napping in their camp, texans attacked, santa anna captured - Houstan convinced anna to withdraw texas and sign a treaty recognizing their independence, texas becomes a nation - Texas asked for annexation as a slave state, mexico still claimed ownership of territory New president - 1844, james k polk becomes president, goal was to annex texas - Polk insisted us had rights to oregon territory but britain had claimed that land for years ~ campaigned with slogan ‘fifty-four forty or fight’ War with mexico 1846-48 - Polk asked congress for a declaration of war, may 1846 ~ congress thinks it’s another part of manifest destiny - Taylor and polk are in a disagreement, different parties - Polk brings back santa anna with a deal - Treaty of guadalupe hidalgo ~ mexico gave the is california, nevada, arizona, utah, new mexico, colorado, wyoming ~ us paid mexico $15 million ~ slavery is another issue that leads to the civil war History notes 11/08 - Abolitionist movement →started after 2nd great awakening - Texas came in as slave state, oregon as free ~ more states were coming in, slavery was the issue - Wilmot proviso - Election of 1848 ~ slavery in the west was a key issue ~ brought martin van buren back as candidate for free soil - Quaker & creepy grinky sisters History notes 11/12 - Political upheaval and the rise of sectional political parties - Slavery temporarily under wraps - 1852, election (whigs and democrats) ~ whigs, winfield scott, difficulty finding issue, no stance on slavery (made up of people from north and south (slave and antislavery people)) ~ difficult to appeal to both north and south  ~ democrats, franklin pierce, pro slavery both north and stance, promised to defend comprosie ~ wins, no break in party ike whigs ~ franklin pierce is one of the worst president in history - Know nothing party ~ known as american party, hates immigrants ~ don’t talk about slavery or anything else, just anti-immigrants ~ mostly ireland and some germany immigrants (influx of irish, potato famine) ~ restrict amount of people coming into country, harder to become citizens, no vote ~ took control of state legislatures Kansas-nebraska act - Developed by democratic senator from illinois, stephen douglas (has debates with lincoln) ~ northern whig - Wants transcontinental railroad go through the northern route to go through illinois - Allows kansas and nebraska to vote whether they want slavery or not → popular sovereignty ~ both above the missouri compromise line, tearing it up and making new agreement ~ northern abolitionist is not happy with it - Sees parties becoming sectionalized - Kansas nebraska act changed american politics and increased sectionalism, 1854 - Whigs fall apart, antislavery whigs join northern democrats, form a new party called republicans, 1856 - Pro slavery whigs join democratic party The rise of republicans - Free soil believers joined republican party ~ support high tariffs, protect high industry ~ everything whigs wanted except no slavery Nation divided 1856-1860 - Uncle tom's cabin, 1852, novel written by harriet beacher stowe ~ about slavery in the south, depicts slavery as harsh as it really is ~ becomes a bestseller, amongst abolitionist and people who hadn’t thought about it ~ becomes a rallying cry for anti slavery in the north ~ in the south, they put a bounty on her head, considered her as evil - Liconln blames the war on harriet beacher stowe’s book Bleeding kansas - Kansas nebraska act proposed popular sovereignty - A lot of people from missouri cross the border to kansas and vote for slavery ~ fraudulent voters - 4 years, anti slaves and slaves are fighting each other in kansas territory  ~ preview of civil war ~ republicans gain more power, “look what happens if you support slavery” ~ free soilers create their own anti slavery government ~ pro slavery residence created kansas first territorial legislature and wrote laws protecting slavery Sectionalism in election of 1856 - John c fremont, republic, campaigned only in free state - Know nothing fillmore, sectional compromise - Buchanan, democrat - Republicans are beginning to grow, not enough to win - Southerners are relieved that slavery is safe for at least 4 years Dred scott case 1857 - Dred scott decision, buchanan wants to push slavery issue to supreme court - Dred scott is a slave, owner took him to minnesota (free state) ~ sues his owner, takes his case to supreme court, against him ~ no right to property, deems him as property ~ no limit on slavery now → sets america to civil war ~ helps republicans gain power, slave conspiracy → taking over all branches of government to enforce slavery Lincoln Douglas debates - Democrat stephen douglas ran against republican lincoln for the 1858 illinois senate, debates ~ lincoln argues popular sovereignty is wrong because it supports slavery ~ douglas said lincoln is favoring racial equality and a radical plan to extinguish slavery that would force the us into civil war ~ lincoln lost the election Election of 1860 - Lincoln nominated for republicans ~ illinois is a swing state at the time, guarantee illinois ~ high tariff, free land in west to expand population, expand transcontinental railroad, no expansion for slavery - Democrats aren’t on the same page ~ split into three factions ~ northern democrat, stephen douglas, popular sovereignty for slavery ~ southern, breckenridge, protect slavery and expand ~ divided into three sections, not enough votes to win - Lincoln wins, southern states start succeeded before he wa seven in office ~ ultimate threat to southerners History notes 11/14/24 - Lincoln becoming president in 1860 cause trouble immediately regarding slavery ~ 7 states (deep south) seceded, starting with south carolina ~ form a confederate state of america, jefferson davis (1st president), 1862 ~ form a new constitution, exactly the same as us constitution except with protected slavery ~ federal government is weak, “confederacy will carry on the legacy” ~ fort sumter, first shots of the civil war, south carolina ~ confederate battery open fire, people of ft sumter are without food and supplies but refuse to surrender ~ lincoln sees this as an attack on the united states, makes union stay together ~ congress has the power to suppress insurrection - Lincoln calls for an army after fort sumter attack ~ upper south states immediately start to seceded → because lincoln is using force ~ border states → slave states but choose to believe lincoln - Southern secession ~ lincoln elected president, deep south secedes, cas attack ft sumter, lincoln calls for troops, upper south seceded - Material advantages, 1860 ~ south →population, farm acreage, manufacturing workers (british and french sell armory, wants southern cotton), bank capital ~ north → double population, equal farm acreage, 6 times manufacturing workers, 2.5 times bank capital ~ south is at a huge material disadvantage ~ recognize the south but can't because of slavery - Confederate advantages ~ south as better generals, military leadership (lee, jackson) ~ home field advantage ~ defense as objective, not conquest ~ high stakes - Objectives ~ union → preserve the union, want a long war ~ confederacy → maintain independence, want a short war, early victory - Anaconda plan, winfield scott ~ blockade the south → keep supplies away from europe for south ~ capture richmond (confederate capital) ~ gain control of the mississippi river, from the city of new orleans, texas and louisiana will become isolated Civil war - Main army → virginia army and tennessee army  - Napoleonic tactics, line up ~ last ancient war, because fighting with old tactics but it is the first modern war ~ mass casualties, medicine has not caught up with technology (infections/injuries) ~ musket rifles, spiral grooves, make projectiles accurate - battles ~ fort sumter, SC, confederate victory, began the civil war ~ first bull run VA, confederate victory, myth of confederate invincibility ~ people didn’t think it was a real war, picnics History notes 11/18 - Two theaters of operation, main one is eastern - 1862, series of battles, all in virginia except for antietam (maryland) ~ confederates won all, robert e lee is the leader - Peninsula campaign, when they try to capture the capitol, richmond, fails ~ driven back by lee in the seven days battle ~ mcclellan, runs for president against lincoln ~ democrat, unionist, proslavery - Second bull run, defeated another union army in northern virginia - Lee takes his army to invade maryland ~ already short of food, unfortunately someone told the union army lee’s plan, union army took out their troops to stop lee ~ battle of antietam - Antietam, lee and mclennan fight, bloodiest single day of the war ~ lee retreated to VA ~ strategic victory for the union ~ victory for the north because they were able to push the confederates out of their territory ~ lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation, and fired mclennan, replaced by burnside ~ mclennan didn’t pursue, kept his army safe - The british recognizes the confederacy because they get cotton from them - Lincoln makes slavery the main issue of the war, emancipation proclamation ~ this way, british won’t recognize the confederate states because of slavery ~ hopes the slaves in the south rebels against the confederate states - Lincoln orders burnside to take richmond ~ intercepts burnside before getting to richmond, intercepts him at fredericksburg ~ same as mclennan, soft gets fired - Western theater ~ ulysses s grant, tries to get control of the mississippi river to split confederacy into two parts - Battle of shiloh, 1862  ~ grant caught off guard by a confederate attack, withstands it, gets a new army at night and counter attacks and forces a confederate retreats ~ can replace people quickly because of railroads systems - Capture of new orleans ~ union gains control of the entire city and river, confederates can’t get supplies anymore ~ union attempt to take texas and galveston but fails - Hooker replaces burnside - North is short on men, start a draft ~ if you own more than 20 slaves, you're exempt from the war ~ poor farmers are doing the fighting for the south ~ if you can pay $6000, you don’t have to go to the army ~ the poor is fighting for the war on both sides - North, draft is very unpopular, especially in nyc ~ 1863, draft riot breaks out, mostly irish immigrants start attacking african americans throughout the city, 100 people are killed in this riot ~ they just got to america, if slavery is gone they would have to fight for factory jobs ~ military is called in to stop the riot with gunfire - A lot of people in the north want to make peace with the south, mostly democrats who stayed in the union, copperheads ~ against abraham lincoln - 1863, lee has one final plan to turn the tide of the war ~ invaded pennsylvania with his army, union army meets them at gettysburg, pa ~ turning point of the civil war, eventually the union won ~ lee is out of supplies, people, no money ~ lee's first tactical defeat - Back in mississippi, vicksburg has been surrounded by general grant, river side, american navy has boats surrounded ~ refuse to surrender, honor would be gone as southerners ~ food starts running out, starts eating animals ~ unions start digging holes around the city and put dynamintes in them, creates a whole and union attacks ~ defeating lee's army in northern territories - Back to back losses at gettysburg and vicksburg bigg turning points for lee Total war - Destroy infrastructure, food and water supplies, attack civilians - Lincoln orders somebody to do total war - African americans in the civil war ~ 180000 african americans enlisted in the union army  ~ only whites could be drafted, african americans that fight were volunteers, segregated units, led by white officers, paid less than whites, corrected in 1864 ~ had to be dedicated to fight - 1864 presidential election, lincoln wins ~ lincoln is up against mcclellan ~ peace democrats, return to pre war state of affairs mcclellan supporters ~ moderate republicans, win the war preserve the union, abolish slavery, lincoln supporters ~ radical republicans, abolish slavery - End of the war, lincoln puts grant and sherman in charge ~ fighting what is left of lee's army ~ sherman's job is to capture atlanta, sherman's march 1864-65 ~ drives across the south, army has no supplies, take what they need to survive (steals what they need as they march across the south), trail of destruction - The burning of columbia - 1865, lincoln meets with confederate VP to discuss war ~ proposed conditions ~ the south must rejoin union, and free slaves ~ lincoln refuses, war happens ~ lee surrenders to grant - South was destroyed, difficult rebuild History notes 12/03 - Reconstruction, how to put country back into one piece after war - Lincoln → 10% plan, doesn’t ask congress for any approval ~ pardon to all but highest ranking military and civilian confederate officers ~ write a new constitution, 10% of population of state swears allegiance to country, then state can get back in ~ doesn’t happen, gets assassinated before put in place, vp andrew johnson become president - 13th amendments, ratified in dec 1865 ~ abolishes slavery in entire united states, except as punishment for crime (south uses this as a loophole, white supremacy, replacing slavery as other means) ~ congress has power to enforce this article by appropriate legislature ~ president johnson is not a fan, democrat and southerner, didn’t believe in confederacy - Freedmen’s bureau, 1865 ~ start african american schools, helps with housing and jobs, not many resources ~ southerners hate these people, mostly from the north, coming down into the south to change the southern way of life → starts calling them carpetbaggers - Presidential reconstruction ~ lincoln chose andrew johnson as vp to stop southerners from succeeding - 10% + plan ~ offers amnesty when you take an oath except confederate civil and military officers and those who owned over $20,000 → apply directly to johnson ~ a lot of rich plantation owners gets pardoned by johnson, forgives them for transgressions ~ plantation owners start taking over the government again ~ riff between president and congress - Southerners start doing whatever they want ~ black codes → unfair laws (that make absolute zero sense.) ~ a lot of the former slaves are put in prison and works at plantations again - Congress breaks with the president ~ pass freedmen’s bureau bill ~ pass a civil rights act, guarantee equality of all races ~ johnson vetoes, congress overrides johnson's veto, first time in history - Radical reconstruction ~ start passing legislations - 14th amendment ~ equal protection for all people ~ people born in the us are automatically us citizens ~ southern states would be punished for deny the right to vote to black people - 1866 bi-election ~ congress is up for re-election ~ johnson is trying to get congress to get taken over by democrats ~ he loses big ~ republicans win 3-1 majority ad gained control of every northern state - Radical republicans ~ divide south into 5 districts, general in charge of each military district, place army to enforce the laws ~ bi racial society, equal rights for everyone, uses military to make that happen ~ military reconstruction act ~ command of the army act ~ president can’t issue orders directly to military, has to go through congress first ~ tenure of office act → happens because of johnson ~ president can’t remove any officials without senate's consent ~ designed to protect radical members of lincoln's government - President johnson's impeachment ~ removed stanton in feb 1868 ~ replaced generals in the field who were more sympathetic to radical reconstruction  ~ house impeached johnson on feb 24 ~ trial lasted for 11 weeks, acquitted 35-19, one vote short to find him guilty ~ first impeachment in american history - Black senate and house delegates ~ blacks could register and vote in states since 1867 ~ mostly black veterans, knowledgeable - 15th amendment ~ regardless of race, if you are male you can vote ~ women's rights groups were furious that they weren’t granted a vote - Invisible empire of the south ~ accused of crime, - Radicals enforce enforcement act, kkk act - The abandonment of radical reconstruction ~ after about 10 years, people are getting tired of the military ~ country is under economic depression under general grant - 1876 election ~ hayes v tilden → tie in electoral votes ~ unofficial name → corrupt bargain number two ~ hayes gets electoral votes because he says he would remove radical reconstruction