Ofek Bar-Or: Era of Good Feelings Through Reconstruction Notes PDF

Era of Good Feelings 1. From the end of the War of 1812: 1815- around 1828 2. A period of time when America realized it was a permanent global presence a. Large amount of self confidence about what America could contribute to world history 3. Sectional divisions = relatively quiet + little political strife 4. The federalist party disintegrated and the democratic-republicans took over as the only political party for a while. James Monroe ran unopposed in 1816 a. seemed like real unity American Cultural Nationalism* b. Using art and literature to express American uniqueness and pride c. America expressed differences from Britain i. America started to have its own culture ii. Noah Webster 1. Wrote a dictionary and a book called “American Spelling book” that changed spellings and said American English is different from Great Britain English d. Two internationally famous American writers (put American literature on the map) i. Washington Irving 1. Wrote stories about New York a. Book called Knickerbocker Tails i. Legends of Sleepy hollow and Rip Van Winkle ii. James Fenimore Cooper 1. Wrote books about American Indians in New York 2. Most famous for book “The Last of the Mohicans” e. Writers wrote and artist painted or sculpted mythologized paintings of the Founding Fathers which made them seem like ancient heroes or gods i. Mason Weems 1. Wrote a famous biography of George Washington a. mythologised him as a god i. Cherry tree story ii. Washington could break walnuts with one hand 5. Second Great Awakening** a. Big emotional revival in 1820s i. Everyone went + gathered in tents for religious meetings b. Very emotional i. Heaven and hell featured again ii. Being saved 1. Repeat of idea from 1st Great Awakening c. Methodists and Baptists boomed as a result i. Employed the common man d. Important Concept: big religious change: rejection of the ideas of predestination i. rejecting Calvinism/Puritanism ii. Now people can earn their way to heaven by doing good deeds 1. Part of American pride: People are doing good things to improve society 2. Big cause of many reform movements 6. Early Industrialization- early 1800s a. The economy boomed during the “era” i. Industrial revolution in America b. Americans are proud of their inventions during this time i. The steamboat 1. First workable steamboat was the Clermont a. Built by Robert Fulton b. Steamed up the Hudson River ii. Cotton Gin** 1. Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 2. Took off during the “Era” 3. Helped separate the hard seeds from cotton a. Super laborious 4. Caused a huge boom in cotton growing a. Replaced tobacco as the main southern crop 5. Caused a boom in textile factories in the North 6. Greatly increased demand for slaves iii. Telegraph 1. Invented by Samuel Morse 2. communicate by wire over hundreds of miles using dots and dashes a. Morse code c. Advances in transportation i. Turnpike Era 1. Late 1700s - early 1800s 2. Many roads built but privately owned a. Constant debate about how much the government should fund infrastructure b. PA turnpike i. one of the first build + had tolls c. National Road aka Cumerland Road i. 1811 ii. First nationally funded road 1. Funding was hotly debated d. Canal age i. 1820s - 1830s ii. There was a frenzy of building canals around the nation to build the economy iii.The Erie Canal* 1. Went all the way across NY 2. Connected Great lakes to Atlantic ocean 3. Caused a boom in cities around great lakes a. Buffalo, cleveland, detroit, chicago 4. Made NY most important port 5. Boosted national spirit e. Railroads i. Invented in early 1800s ii. Lastly replaced canal boats as most important form of transportation in 1840s 1. Railroads made a boom for western economy 7. Henry Clay’s American System** a. Henry Clay was acclaimed as being the Senate's “Great Compromiser” for helping congress to compromise i. Respected senator from Kentucky who was a War Hawk ii. Plan to boost the national economy iii. Called for Internal improvements aka infrastructure; protective tariffs; Continue the national bank 1. Was controversial because southerners hated tariffs + national bank: a. They felt that tariffs kept prices of manufactured goods high which they had to buy but didn’t make b. Also, the bank was an evil eastern city businessmen entity intended on stealing money from honest Americans iv. This plan was politically fought for years Five ways the government controls the economy: 1. Taxes a. If you raise taxes, government can build public works and fund social programs b. If you lower taxes, people have more money to spend + invest 2. Regulations a. Rules and laws that restrict businesses i. Safety standards ii. Breaking up monopolies iii. Minimum wage iv. Pollution controls 3. Interest rates a. Lower interest rates to make people borrow more to have more money to have more money in the economy b. Raise interests rates if inflation is too high; if people don’t have $ to spend→lower economy 4. Direct stimulus a. The government spends money on things like infrastructure i. Or the government gives out money ii. The government injects money into the economy which sparks it 5. Trade agreements a. The government can increase trades between other countries by lowering regulations b. Can raise or lower tariffs to increase or decrease c. Tariff of 1816 i. First protective tariff to protect American factories ii. The size of tariffs was controversial from then until now. But even more so which it was the biggest source of government revenue before the income tax of 1913 d. Panic of 1819 i. A panic is a really fast and relatively short-lasting economic fall where businesses fall + unemployment rises 1. Depression lasts longer e. Second Bank of the United States* i. Hamilton’s bank renewed ii. Bank raised interest rates to lower inflation but they raised it too high so businesses and farms failed 1. Arguably the end of the era of Good Feelings, but some say Election of 1824 6. Obtaining Florida- 1819 a. Florida was considered a national problem because violent Seminoles Indians attacks on Georgia, and Florida was a haven for runaway slaves and pirates b. President Monroe sent General Andrew Jackson to secure the border but Jackson disobeyed order + invaded florida and went on a killing rampage i. Killed spanish + british pirates ii. Captured Pensacola, FL iii. Spain protected but eventually negotiated + made the Adam/ Odes Treaty 1. Gave us florida in exchange for money + promise that US wouldn’t invade texas 7. The Missouri Compromise, 1820 a. Background: there was a tradition of balance between the number of slave states and the number of free states i. Senate would be more balanced b. In 1820 missouri wanted to enter the US as a slave state i. Henry Clay made a compromise which divided Massachusetts into 2 free states - mass and Maine ii. Prohibited slavery in LA territory above the southern border of Missouri + made MIssouri a slave state iii. So, balance was kept + a border between slave + free states in western territories was established iv. Slave debate subsided for for 50 years 8. Monroe Doctrine a. Background: Latin American countries started to break away from Spain. Other European countries were threatening invading and taking over Latin America b. Monroe issued a doctrine (policy) written by John Quincy Adams that warned Europe to stay out of the Americas and promised that America would stay out of Europe i. Made America responsible for defending all of North and South America from a European attack ii. We were too weak when it was issued to back it up, but later backed up our words by helping kick the French from Mexico after Civil war and many times after that Election of 1824 1. End of Era of good feelings + transition to age of jackson 2. Every secretary of State had become president up to then a. Jefferson, madison, monroe etc 3. John Q Adams was Monroe’s Secretary of State and people assumed he would become president a. But when you make assumptions, you make an ass out of you and me 4. In 1824, four candidates ran for president but nobody receives the majority of electoral votes a. Election then thrown to the house b. Jackson was ahead in both popular and electoral vote i. The Corrupt bargain 1. JQA met with Senator Clay + said he would make him Secretary of State if clay would support Adams and not Jackson a. ie he bribed clay + clay supported Adams b. House made Adams president + clay was named SoS 2. Andrew Jackson says this is bad and corrupt! It’s a secret deal. The Presidency was “stolen” said Jackson supporters 5. John Quincy Adam’s presidency a. 1825 - 1829 b. Brilliant man but very unpopular c. had a nationalist plan based on Clay’s American system but the senate voted down his ideas every time including a national college and national space observatory i. Too many jackson supporters hated him d. Single accomplishment: Passed the Tariff of 1828 - Tariff of Abomination i. Big increase in tariffs + Jackson supporters hated it ii. Southerners hate the tarriffs Topic 6: Age of Jackson 1. Known for big increases in democracy for white men and reform movements and indian removal 2. Jackson personally worried about the “common man” and whether he had enough rights 3. Jackson played up to the common man and frowned on elites who were Businessmen, city people, northeasters, a. Started a type of populism that was used by future politicians i. Including trump ii. Appeal to the common, uneducated man and their common sense as opposed to the educated is populism Reform movements (many movements to improve America) a. People wanted to cure alcoholism, slaves, lack of education, etc. Democratic reforms: b. Universal white male suffrage i. During this time states dropped religious + property requirements to vote 1. All white men over the age of 21 could vote c. Party conventions i. Issue was how does a political party choose a candidate 1. Previously it wa a small elite meeting called a caucus 2. now it was in a big meeting hall where thousands of of people decided d. Popular election of the president i. Before Jackson, most states had the state legislatures choose the presidential electors. Now (1830s) every state but SC had the people directly vote for president Jackson’s Presidency 1. Jackson’s personality a. Huge temper i. Would get into duels + kill people ii. Literally wore a puffy white shirt, turned sideways, and he was so thin that his opponent didn’t know where to shoot b. He held grudges c. Very violent man d. War hero i. Won the battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812 + conquered Florida 2. Events in Jackson’s Presidency a. Jackson’s inauguration i. Washington DC was flooded with common people who trashed the city and got drunk + ruined the carpets of the white house ii. Many “elites “ thought he mob had taken over b. The Spoils System* i. Aka patronage- giving jobs (rotation of power which is good) ii. Jackson gave jobs to his friends + relatives + said it was fair and democratic 1. Most people think patronage is bad c. The growth of the Whig Party i. New political party arose that was anti-Jackson 1. Accused jackson of acting like a tyrant + populist dictator ii. Generally believed in Henry Clay’s American system of government d. The Webster-Haynes Debate i. 1830 ii. Danial Webster was super good at arguing debated from the nationalist (pro-Union) and antislavery side, Haynes argued for the South and slavery. Haynes was coached by John C. Calhoun (previous war hawk) e. Nullification Crisis- 1832 i. JQA passed “Tariff of Abomination” ii. South Carolina, led by Senator John C. Calhoun, said that they would not pass the tariffs 1. Calhoun supported Virginia + Kentucky Resolution a. Claimed the right of state nullification of national law iii. In General, Jackson agreed with states rights + nullification + hated tariffs but because he was president he viewed SC as defying him so he threatened to invade with the army iv. A compromise led by Henry Clay was devised and the tariff was lowered so SC agreed to play f. The Peggy Eaton aka Petticoat Affair i. John Eaton was Jackson’s Secretary of State 1. John Eaton married the tavern keeper’s daughter, peggy ii. The other secretaries wives (led by calhoun’s wife) did not socialize with peggy eaton iii. Jackson ordered his secretaries to order their wives to socialize with peggy eaton and the women refused so jackson fired all the members of his cabinet and then hired some friends instead known as the kitchen cabinet g. Indian Removal Act and the Trail of Tears* i. 1830 - 1838 ii. Indian removal is the forced resettlement of thousands of eastern Indians to lands west of the Mississipps 1. Mostly to “Indian Territory” aka Oklahoma iii. Passed the Indian Removal Act of 1830** 1. Jackson argued it was for the Indian benefit because it was safer out west, but his racism was obvious 2. Crazily compared the journey of Christian migration to Indians 3. Many Cherokees wanted to stay in the east 4. Cherokee’s sued to the Supreme court to stay and won 2 cases: i. Cherokee Nation vs Georgia ii. Worcester vs Georgia- Indians won the right to stay, but Jackson ignored the Supreme Court iv. Trail of Tears** 1. Cherokee were forcefully removed at gunpoint in 1838 (during Van Buren’s presidency) + they could only take what they could carry 2. Forced to march to Oklahoma 3. 4000 died along the way h. The Bank War i. Jackson hates the second bank of the US because it was in Philly and symbolized northeastern business 1. THEME: rural farmers are always in debt to banks so farmers hate them ii. Jackson wanted to destroy the bank 1. he pulled the federal money out of the national bank and put it in states banks - pet banks iii. Second bank raised interest rates to show its power 1. Major mistake a. Crashed the economy b. Turned the public against the bank so it closed iv. The economy went into the Panic of 1837 v. Jackson got his way and the bank was closed vi. Not having a national bank was a major problem for the economy for decades Reform Movements 1. Time period is sometimes known as the age of reform or otherwise it's just part of the Age of Jackson 2. Period when American started to try and improve society by starting reform movements 3. Causes of the Age of Reform a. Second Great Awakening and rejection of predestination i. You could earn your way into heaven so start reform movements b. Romanticism i. Movement that believed people were capable of great things ii. Romantics were obsessed with nature and big drama in nature iii. Mankind didn’t have to be humble and people shouldn’t live a conventional life c. Order and control i. The idea that america was growing so fast and had so many strange immigrants and inventions that people were becoming unruly and society needed to be fixed to make it more stable d. The democratic reforms for Jacksonian politics inspired other reforms The Major Reform Movements: e. Temperance i. Attempt to make alcohol illegal 1. Eventually renamed prohibition ii. In the 1830s people drank 3x as much as today 1. It was a source of leisure 2. Alcohol was considered valuable 3. Alcohol was safer to drink than bad water + milk 4. Pubs and saloons were considered community centers iii. Results of too much alcohol was crime, child + wife abuse, sickness, death, and poverty (bec. workers were fired) iv. American society for the Promotion of Temperance 1. Startin in 1826 2. Had people sign a pledge not to drink a. By 1840 a million people had signed 3. 1841 Maine briefly outlawed alcohol v. Cultural split 1. Protestants + rural people favored temperance 2. Catholics, Jews, Urban ppl generally opposed temperance a. Shows religious importance 3. Women supported temperance more than men f. Abolition i. The movement to free the slaves 1. Being an abolitionist was very different than anti-slavery ppl ii. Abolitionists thought that slavery should be illegal everywhere iii. Anti slavery people just didn’t like slavery, didn’t want it extended but would leave it alone in the south 1. Most northerners were anti-slavery but against abolition iv. Some abolitionists thought Africans should be free and then go back to africa 1. They build a colony in Liberia called Monrovia William Loyd Garrison- most important abolitionist 2. Lived in boston + started an abolitionist newspaper called “The Liberator” 3. A major supported or Fredirk Douglass until they had a falling out 4. Wrote slavery is evil + blacks are evil 5. Founded American Anti-Slavery Society a. Had 250,000 supporters by 1838 v. Fredrick Douglass** 1. He was the most famous black man in America in the 19th century 2. He was an escaped slave who ran away from Baltimore + he got false papers + went to NE to be a sailor when friends bought his freedom 3. He met up with abolitionist and they realized he was incredible writer and speaker a. Wrote his story and it became a bestseller Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, American Slave 4. He made an abolitionist newspaper called “The North Star” where he pushed for freeing slaves but for equal treatment of Blacks a. Very small minority of white Americans agreed 5. Abused his whole life a. People beat him, burning down his house g. Women’s Rights Movement i. In the 1800s women couldn’t 1. Vote 2. Go to college 3. Own property or money if married 4. Keep kids after divorce 5. They had now say in making laws ii. Early feminists included 1. Lucretia Mott a. Wrote discourse on Women in Philadelphia 2. Sarah and Angelina Gimke a. Lived in charleston but became feminists abolitionists and quaker 3. Sojourner Truth a. A former slave - abolitionists and feminists iii. Seneca Falls Convention* 1. 1848 2. First female rights convention in world history 3. Elizabeth Cady Stanton led + organized 4. Happened in upstate NY 5. Also attend by Frekirck Douglass 6. Produced the Declaration of Sentiments* a. Said that all men + women are created equal b. Based Declaration is modeled after the Declaration of independence i. Males are tyrants instead of the king h. Fixing asylums and Prisons i. There was a movement to make them more professional and humane ii. Debtors prisons were closed 1. Dorothea Dix started a national movement for humane treatment of the mentally ill and improving asylum a. She also became important in the nursing and sanitation movement during the civil war i. Public Education i. Big push in the 1830s to have more children educated in public schools ii. Took decades for it to become a universal practice 1. Not until early 1900s was high school mandatory iii. Horase Mann* 1. First ever secretary of education in MA and pushed for free public education 2. Doubled the length of the school year 3. Promoted education for the sake of democracy 4. Many people also promoted education because it aided assimilation and indoctrinated people towards specific values and traditions a. Made people more like white protestants b. Part of to “order and control” c. Make people like W.A.S.P.S. i. While anglo saxon protestants→ wanted to make people the same New Religions and Philosophies: j. Were concurrent/connected to reform movements k. Part of age of reform was coming up with new religions and philosophies and ways to live as they thought they were reforming the current religions + older philosophies l. Mormonism- known to be very nice i. Most important religion invented in America ii. Official name: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS for short) iii. Started by Joseph Smith in upstate NY 1. Said an angel showed him a new book of the bible on golden plates 2. Said jesus was in America 3. Indians were once jews 4. Was told plygamy was great 5. build a new Jerusalem in America iv. After Smith was killed, Brigham Young brought all Mormons to Salt Lake City as their Jerusalem v. Mormons are very nice m. Shakers i. Existed throughout the northwest and current midwest ii. Called shakers because they had an ecstatic dance in which congregation would shake themselves from sin iii. Believed in no sex at all 1. Even to make kids iv. The only way to get shakers was to convert v. Existed from 1850s - 1970s →there are only a few left vi. Made very nice wooden furniture n. Millennialism i. A person named Willima MIller preached that he figured out that the world would end on OCtober 12, 1844 ii. Everyone went up to a mountain and nothing happened iii. Many people left but the ones who didn’t changed their names to Seventh Day Adventists o. Transcendentalism i. Both a philosophy and a lifestyle that people embraced during the 1830s and 1840 ii. The hippies of the time iii. Believed that you needed to leave the limitations of society behind and live a life that’s more expressive and instinctive iv. Loved nature + more sexually liberated Two famous transcendentalists: 1. Ralph Waldo Emerson a. Wrote essays about poetry and lectured b. Wrote an essay called nature about the quest for self-fulfillment and connection with the natural world c. Also wrote a guide to life essay called “self reliance” 2. Henry David Thoreau a. Walden - 1854 book about his adventures in MA on the edge of Walden Pond where he lived alone for two years to see what nature had to teach him i. Reflected on simple living in nature ii. Taught him to live simply and reject industrialism and imperialism 1. Hippy like b. Wrote Civil Disobedience i. A essay explaining his refusal to pay taxes to fund the Mexican War 1. Went to jail for it ii. Wrote that people need to resist the government non-violently 1. Was a big inspiration for MLK and Gandhi a. Spearheaded peaceful protests Utopian communities 1. Communities not restricted by old fashioned rules and were highly influenced by transcendentalism 2. Brook Farm v. MA 1841 vi. Emmerson, Hawthorne, some feminist were there vii. Practiced a kind of socialism 1. Everyone did labor and made art together viii. Built an innovative school ix. In 1847 they had a fire and ran out of money so the community stopped p. Oneida Community i. Upstate NY ii. Made silverware iii. Experimented with “free love” 1. Spouse sharing 2. Sex outside of marriage iv. Nation frowned upon the town and their behavior 1. Went underground- their behavior Democracy in America: - Our government lifts up the poor class - Multiple people doing many things, although they are less skilled - If you want to focus on one great thing, democracy may be wrong - Not anything great happens, but democracy considers everyone rights (ex. art) Alexis de Tocqueville- frenchman who wrote a book called “Democracy in America” He toured America and made many astutes between monarchy and democracy. He admired the eventevness and lifting everyone up in America, but he said the South was lifeless because of slavery. Manifest Destiny and the South 1. The belief that the US was destined to conquer all of North America and maybe all the western hemisphere. Based on the premise that American Democracy + Christianity were wonderful things and needed to be spread. a. Also represented racism: opinion that white Americans were better than Indians Mexican American War 1. Leading up to the war a. The Texas Revolution i. Background: Mexico had been inviting Americans to settle in Texas 1. Why? to populate the region 2. Stephen Austin brought in a lot of settlers by promising them land in Texas ii. Mexico had 2 rules for the incoming Americans 1. No slaves 2. Must be Catholic a. Americans pretend to be Catholic and pretend their slaves were just servants iii. In 1836, the Texan (who had been Americans) revolted against Mexico 1. The Alamo a. Old spanish mission, a small group of Texas who were held up for many days there i. Davy Crockett was among the famous Americans there b. All of the men were wiped out i. Women and children were allowed to live c. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led the Mexican army. He was dictator and top general of Mexico 2. Battle of San Jacinto a. General Sam Houson, a well known drunk, caught Santa Ana with his pants down and a black girl 3. The Treaty of Texas Independence a. Made Texas an independent country from 1836 -1845 b. Santa Anna signed this treaty with a knife to his throat i. Santa Anna immediately renounced it after being released c. Said that the southern border of Texas was the Rio Grande River instead of the Nueces River→ making Texas larger d. Texas applied to be a state but the US government said no i. Didn’t want to antagonize Mexico or have a giant slave state b. Oregon Dispute i. Dispute over who owned northern Oregon, the US or British? ii. “54-40 or Fight” was a slogan of Americans demanding what is now British Columbia. iii. Even though President James Polk was very into Manifest Destiny, he made a treaty with Great Britain to avoid war- we got WA and OR and they got British Columbia. Mexican-American War** 2. Background and the War a. Texas became a state in 1845. As a result Mexico immediately broke off relations with the US There was a question: what was the border between Mexican and American territory. America insisted it was further south, at the Rio Grande River, than Mexico did (Americans wanted more). The US moved troops into that disputed area and Mexico attacked them. We declared war because “they shot first.” They said we invaded their territory. There was some opposition to the war though most Americans were in favor. Famous opposers are Thoreau who went to jail, John Quincy Adams, and Lincoln. We conquered Mexico City with General Winfeild Scott and the US killed a lot of citizens specifically at Chapultepec b. Battle of Buena Vista i. General Zachary Taylor defeats Santa Anna with a much smaller force Results of the Mexican War: c. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo* i. Ended the war. The US got from Mexico the states of Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Colorado, utah 1. This land became known as the Mexican Cession of 1848 ii. America gave Mexico 15 million dollars d. BIGGEST RESULT OF WAR: The decision of whether or not slavery would be allowed in the Mexican cession. This greatly inflamed the slavery debate which had quieted down after the MIssouri compromise in 1820 i. Wilmont Proviso 1. Congressmen wrote a bill that outlawed slavery in the mexican cession that was debated for years but never passed e. Some Mexicans developed a resentment of America that we stole their land New Political Parties i. Free Soil Party 1840s (racist) 1. Called for all of the west to be slave-free 2. Were protecting white labor, not necessarily pro-Black ii. The American Party (the Know-Nothing Party) [anti-immigrant] 1. Dedicated to keeping all immigrants out (especially catholics) 2. In the 1830s + 1840s there was a wave of anti-catholic sentiments and pogroms mostly caused by the large scale immigration of Irish catholics due to potato famine + british oppression 3. Anti immigrant feelings was known as Nativism Civil War 1. Causes of the Civil War a. Forming of the new Republican Party i. In 1854, anti-slavery Whigs joined with the Free Soil party, and Know-Nothings and formed the Republican Party 1. Combined, they were a substantial second party ii. The majority policy was no expansion of slavery to the west 1. They were not abolitionists but just didn’t want slavery to spread out the south iii. They were also pro Henry Clay’s American System b. California Gold Rush i. Gold discovered in 1848 ii. Hundreds of thousands of people went west in 1849 (mass migration). First time government did not claim the gold iii. Not many people became rich 1. People who sold things to miners became rich iv. Ghost towns- abandoned settlements v. More men than women, so prostitution became wide-spread vi. Southern nationalism: the Southerners had a different way of life. They believed they were a unique people different from northerners and they deserved their own country 1. Most key ways they differed related directly to slavery 2. Other ways southerners were different a. More class conscious b. Slower agricultural lifestyle i. Hated factory work 1. That was “white slavery” 3. Most southerners couldn’t afford slaves but even white people with no slaves believed in the hierarchy because they dreamed of becoming rich landowners with slaves and they were able to say that they were better than blacks 4. Some white southerners opposed slavery bc it took away jobs 5. More into guns and horses 6. Emphasized chivalry, honoring women , doing your duty 7. Believed in state's rights more than the central government rights including nullification 8. Did not like tariffs and internal improvements 9. Most important: they were pro-slavery vii. Ultimately the southerners felt like like the Americans at the time of the revolution and were a unique nation being oppressed by a foreign power (the northerners) and they deserved c. RECIPES other causes i. Religion 1. While the south did have Jews and Catholics, the north had the big majority and that was a reason for racist and anti-semetic southerners to want to secede a. Most southerners were white protestants 2. There were fierce arguments about whether the bible sanctioned slavery a. Southerners said yes, northerners said no ii. Economics 1. Northerners favored industry, the southerners favored agriculture a. Southerners feared that too many laws favored industries i. Tariffs, banks, taxes, internal improvements b. There is only so much money to go around + more to industries = more from the farmers 2. southerners thought factories were demeaning and worse than slavery iii. Culture ( art and literature) 1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin** a. Most influential novel in American history b. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 i. Lincoln told her “you are the little woman who started the Civil War” c. Fictional book about a slave owner, Simon Legree, who beats Uncle Tom to death for not exposing the hiding spots of escaped slaves 2. Sociology of the South (George Fitzhugh, 1854) a. argued in favor of the southern way of life b. Black people are inferior, slavery is good for black people i. It civilizes them and gives them better food and shelter c. Said that the factories workers lives were worse than slaves Ideas/ Inventions: 3. Nationalism a. The southerners believed they had the right to throw off a tyrannical government (north) b. They were unique people who deserved their own country 4. Cotton Gin i. Invented Eli Whitney, made slavery more economically feasible iv. Politics 1. The new Republican party was staunchly anti-slavery and against the expansion of slavery into the Mexican Cession 2. There was also an argument over whether or not states could nullify laws an even secede 3. The Election of President Lincoln - 1860 a. No southern state voted for him i. The south couldn’t abide an anti-slavery president that no southern state supported, so that’s when the deep south seceded b. Lincoln was anti-slavery but not an abolitionists, so he said i. South called him a liar, they said he was a closet abolitionist c. There were multiple candidates running + Lincoln only got 39% of the popular vote 4. There was a general disrespect for the law a. People didn’t respect decisions and laws that came from the government b. Compromise of 1850 i. California wanted to be a free state ii. North refused to admit any new slave stats iii. CA did come in as a free state and the South got the Fugitive Slave Law which was already in the constitution but was beefed up in this compromise 1. Crime to not return escaped slaves 2. Bounty hunters invaded the north 3. The Underground Railroad criminally brought slaves to north and canada 4. South deeply resented this law breaking 5. Harriet tubman went to the south to bring dozens of slaves out c. Dred Scott Decision** i. Said that a slave was a piece of property with no rights and that slaves could happen anywhere because property rights are protected everywhere 1. The Missouri Compromise was invalid and by implication there could be no free states ii. Northerners ignored the ruling and south was furious 1. Kept being no slaves allowed in North d. Sumner Caning i. A southern congressman, in the Congress building, beat an abolitionist (Charles Sumner) into a coma, and sumner was in bed recovering for years ii. The congressman had to replace his cane because it broke against sumner’s skull 1. Southerner’s sent him thousands of new cains 5. Slavery a. Everything that caused the Civil War connects to slavery. In particular, southerners were obsessed with defending it. i. Their secession statements were filed with defenses of slavery b. Evils of slavery i. It wa racist 1. Jefferson argued that blacks were greatly inferior to whites on almost every level ii. Slave women were raped iii. Families (even children) were separated and sold, reading and writing was illegal, they had no hope for a better future c. Slaves and free blacks and abolitionists could not abide it but they were a minority of their country d. Resistance i. Singing, escaping, transforming christianity to Jesus siding with slaves, african culture such as banjo, work slow down. Sometimes violent resistance happened or was planned such as Nat Turner + Denmark Vescey e. Whites though they were doing black people a favor by civilizing them and christianize them i. They also thought they were helping white people by keeping black people at bay 1. Black people would kill them 2. Events Leading up to the Civil War a. Mexican American War i. Inflamed sectional divisions because of whether or not to have slavery in the MExican cession b. Compromise of 1850 i. California has applied to be a state from the gold rush + wanted to be a free state 1. Would've set up an imbalance between free + slave states 2. Other territories would be resolved by Popular Sovereignty a. Ment people would would vote for slavery or not in those states b. Stephen douglass was the champion of this ii. The slave trade was banned in the Distric of Columbia iii. A new stronger fugitive slave act was passed iv. At first glance the north won this compromise but the south really wanted this new law 1. Did not actually solve the problem of escaping slaves a. Underground railroad c. Kansas-Nebraska Act and BLeeding Kansas, 1854-1860 i. Initially, there was a big territory called the Nebraska Territory, the territory was ready to become states ii. Stephen douglas made a law to create two states, Nebraska and Kansas, which were granted popular sovereignty which means people in the states would vote on whether to have slaves or not iii. This broke the Missouri Compromise line 1. Suggested that slavery could be even above this line iv. Bleeding Kansas** 1. The radicals on both sides streamed into Kansas to influence the vote 2. Abolitionists and strong slave supporters began to kill each other in Kansas d. Lincoln-Douglas Debates i. Both ran for senate ii. Both brilliant speakers iii. Had a series of debates. Lincoln trapped Douglass into conceding that people could vote for the end of slavery (Freeport Doctrine) which upset the south iv. Lincoln was super anti-slavery but also said some racist things v. Douglas won the election but Lincoln became famous e. John Brown’s Raid at harpers ferry, Virginia, 1859 i. John Brown led a bunch of abolitionists “terrorists” (including 4 of his own sons) on an anti-slavery raid ii. His plan was to grab all the guns from the armory in Harpers Ferry 1. He captured some of the city but was trapped in the armory and all of his sons were killed a. Robert E. Lee led to troops who fought against him iii. John Brown and 6 of his followers were arrested and hanged iv. The north was split on judging: he was anti-slavery but murdered people 1. South said north was supporting terrorism f. Election of 1860 i. Lincoln’s election caused 7 states to secede (some didn’t yet) ii. South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas 1. Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky stayed with the union as slave states g. Crittenden Compromise (attempt at compromise) i. Reinforced the Missouri Compromise line and guaranteed with a constitutional amendment, slavery– Lincoln agreed! ii. The South accepted. Lincoln didn’t agree to slavery out west but DID agree to an amendment that protected slavery in the south iii. They couldn’t agree on slavery in the west 1. Therefore, it fell through Civil War Begins and Events of the War h. Civil war begins in Fort Sumter, in Charleston South Carolina in 1861 i. Deep south had seceded and they blockaded this Union fort on an island in the harbor ii. The south attacked Fort Sumter starting the war 1. This enraged Northerners a. Lincoln says the North must punish the rebels i. Results of the battle i. Lincoln announced an invasion of South Carolina ii. In response, several more southern states seceded 1. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas 2. Said he would march through Virginia to North Carolina to get to South Carolina so those states also seceded j. Thousands volunteered to fight for the North k. Lincoln ignored the bill of rights i. In times of insurrection, the president can chuck it in the fuckit bucket l. 4 slave states stayed with the union i. Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Delaware 3. Advantages North vs South a. North i. More railroads, industrialized, government more organized, more people (22 million vs 5 million), and more immigrants coming all the time ( they were often drafted immediately) b. South i. Fighting for freedom, defensive war (just outlast the North, not conquer the north) code of chivalry included better horsemanship and guns, better generals, homefield advantage 4. Battles a. In the east, the South won almost every battle between 1861-1863 and humiliated a series of northern generals– reputation of being a butcher of his men i. In the west, close to the mississippi river, the north did much better, mostly because of Ulysses S Grant b. Anaconda Plan - northern plan by Winfield Scott, blockade the south on the water, close all the ports on the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and capture the Mississippi River in order to choke the south from getting European or smuggled supplies [cartoon of snake wrapping around Southern States] c. Antietam - 1862 i. Bloodiest day in American History 1. 6000 died + 17000 wounded ii. Lee’s mistake was that Antietam in union state of Maryland was the first 2 losses because he thought 1 big victory would make north quit but he didnt success iii. Antietam was a tie 5. Emancipation Proclamation** a. Happened after Antietam b. Freed slaves only in confederate controlled territory. Passed as war tactics to give South a problem behind enemy lines + inspired abolitionists i. Didn’t free border states slaves ii. The south was doing well + the north was enable to dictate anything iii. Very few slaves were actually freed at that point 1. War tactic: encourage slaves to escape + disrupt the southern economy c. Gettysburg, July 2-4 1863- Turning Point Battle!** i. Turning point of the war ii. Lee tries to invade the North again iii. Three day battle iv. Day 1: confederates seized the town but not the high ground v. Day 2: Union won, South desperately fought up hill 1. Chamberlain and his Maine men repel vi. Lee basically wants to go to Harrisburg because its equal distance from 4 important cities (NYC, Philly, Baltimore, Washington) but new General Meade encounters Lee in Gettysburg 1. Problems for Lee a. Lee’s general fails to seize the high ground. Key moment is when a group from Maine hold an important hill called little round top i. The north gets the high ground b. Lee tried Pickett’s Charge, where the goes directly into the middle of the troops rather than surrounding them c. The boys are tired from having to run a mile for fighting the opposing troops d. Lincoln transformed the war from being just to repair the union to freeing slaves + protecting democracy i. People can’t just secede when they don’t want something ii. Officially the war become for freeing the slaves d. Gettysburg Address** (turning point of war) i. Lincoln said that the war was about freeing the slaves and proving democracy could endure 1. Lincoln slowly made the north more abolitionist 6. Last Stage of the war a. Lincoln wanted to win the war without crushing the south. He wanted unity, not destruction i. U Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman (Grant’s second in command) convinced Lincoln that they needed to be destructive and they had to destroy the southern armies and economy. This is the only way to defeat a people on its own territory, it takes away the defensive war advantage. b. Sherman’s March to the Sea i. Sherman burned Atlanta and then marched from Atlanta to Savannah, burning cities, farms, and raping women as they went 1. Sherman then went to Columbia, South Carolina and burned it down c. Petersburg- town Union is beseiging i. Meanwhile Grant was chasing Lee in VIrginia. Lee was trapped in a town called Petersburg. Grant besieged the city ii. Both sides dug trenches, making the battlefield look like WWI iii. Lee runs from Petersburg, but is caught by Grant at a town of Appomattox Court House (town name) where Lee Surrenders The Civil War as the First Modern War? d. New technology i. Machine guns 1. Gatling guns ii. The repeating rifle iii. Using the telegraph for communication iv. Widespread use of railroads v. Iron-clad ships vi. Submarines 1. Hunley a. First sub that ever sunk an enemy ship vii. Trench warfare 1. Petersburg viii. Photography- widely used and became influential of public opinion ix. Sanitation and Germ Control 1. Keeping the soldiers and barracks and hospitals clean became a major cause and helped spark germ theory of disease a. Clean facilities proved to have less death 2. Women like Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, played a big part e. *Civil liberties were degraded during the war* i. Freedom of speech was degraded 1. Couldn’t side with the south in the north a. Get expelled or arrested ii. You could be arrested without a warrant 1. Border state rebels were arrested without writs of habeas corpus - warrant to arrest someone iii. Lincoln accused of being a dictator because of abuse f. War Time Economy i. Inflation was 80% in the north but like 3000% in the south 1. Southerners printed Confederate money but it all became worthless ii. North continued to industrialize during the war but the southern economy was devastated (sets the stage for the Gilded Age) Reconstruction 1. 1865-1877 2. From the end of the war until the inauguration of Rutherford B Hayes 3. Reconstruction had to solve two big problems a. What to do with the freedmen - former enslaved people i. Make them equal or kick them out? Treat them as guests? Help them? Treat them as aliens? b. What do eo with the white southern rebels + confederate states i. Kiss and make up? Punish them? How to let states back into the union? Let confederate leaders back into congress? Terms associated with Reconstruction 1. Sharecropping** a. Most freedman didn’t have anywhere to go so they made deals with their former masters to work the land and give most of their crops to their masters and keep some as payment i. Kept the freedmen really poor and in some ways was worse than slavery 2. Crop-lien system a. Local stores were owned by whites and the black sharecroppers didn’t have any money to pay for supplies so they would give a portion of their crops 3. Exoduster a. A former slave who moved to kansas to be a farmer 4. Buffalo Soldiers a. Former slaves who joined the army and were sent to fight Indians in the west b. Ironic - oppressed people fighting other oppressed people c. Name comes from Indians calling their black’s hair Buffalo hair 5. Scalawag a. Southern curse for southerners who cooperated with Reconstruction i. Traitor to the south 6. Carpetbaggers a. Curse Word for northerners who went down to the south to participate in Reconstruction b. Southerners believed they came to steal from them and exploit southerners The Reconstruction “Duel”- Mr. Kirzner’s take on Reconstruction 1. There was a duel between pro-black northerners and Radical Republicans (congress who wanted to help the people) and white racists in the south known as southern redeemers (want to bring down the south) 2. First move a. Radical republicans passed the 13th Amendment i. Freed all the slaves ii. Pushed by lincoln 3. Response a. Black codes i. Enslaved people are free but they can’t buy property, can’t serve on juries, can’t be out after dark, can’t be witnesses, can’t travel ii. Southern whites could do this because blacks weren’t citizens 4. Response by radical republicans a. 14th amendment i. Made Blacks citizens said any person born in US are citizens 1. Blacks considered people ii. Also said that everyone in the country has equal protection under the law 1. Equality for all citizens 2. National law supersedes state law in all circumstance 3. No more nullification iii. Unintended consequence: foreign pregnant women come into the US to have their children in the US so that they become US citizens 5. Countermove by southern whites a. Jim Crow Laws** i. Segregated laws passed by the redeemers 1. “Separate but equal” laws a. In reality never equal always worse 2. Segregationist laws a. Separate schools, transportation, bathrooms, theater, water fountain 6. Radical Republican Response a. 15th amendment i. Gave Black men right to vote ii. Allowed blacks to pass laws to protect themselves or stop segregation 1. If they can vote on these laws, they can prevent them! b. For a brief period, many blacks were elected to both local and national offices. 16 congressman and 2 senators i. First black senator was Hiram Revels of Mississippi in 1870 7. Redeemer response a. Redeemer = southern whites called themselves b. Prevent Blacks from voting i. Poll taxes, literary taxes, intimidation and outright violence ii. Blacks voting or telling other to vote got them lynched in the thousands iii. Grandfather clause 1. Could vote only if your father could c. The way things stood until 1965, so the southern redeemers won for 90 years Congressional Reconstruction Laws 1. Civil Rights Act of 1866 a. Made blacks us citizens b. Issues to stop the black codes c. Law which later became the 14th amendment 2. Reconstruction Act of 1867 a. Divided the south into 5 military districts each led by a general b. Said southerner states had to vote to pass the 14th amendment in order to be readmitted into the Union. In other words, strict military control to protect Blacks and their citizenship rights 3. Civil Rights Act of 1875 a. Shockingly forward for its time: guaranteed equal accommodation in public places, including hotels, theaters, and railroads. No segregation! b. Prohibited juries from excluding Blacks c. BUT, it wasn’t enforced, and no penalties. It took almost 90 years to be re-enacted by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 4. Freedmen's Bureau** a. Welfare agency to help former slaves and some homeless white pp b. Gave black ppl in the south food + shelter c. Set up schools to teach former slaves to read and write i. Historians estimate that 200,000 former slaves were taught to read and write d. Led by general Oliver Howard i. General Sherman (racist) had said that every slaves should be given 40 acres and a mule→they never recieved the reparations 5. Lincoln’s 10% plan- showed he wanted to make up with the South, and end slavery Presidents of Reconstruction 1. Andrew Johnson a. Very conciliatory toward the south. Personally forgave and pardoned hundreds of Confederate office holders b. He vetoed all the civil rights legislation, but was overridden by the Radical Republicans c. Extremely racist d. Impeached for firing secretary of defense edwin stanton (a pro-black man) which violated the Tenure of Office Act i. Said he couldn't fire a member of his cabinet 1. Even though law was prob unconstitutional ii. Won his impeachment trial by one vote 2. Ulysses S Grant a. Was a poor shopkeeper and a low level soldier in the MExican War b. Rose to tip war general + president i. In retrospect, historians gave him credit for being military genius c. Grant had been considered a bad president because he surrounded himself with a corrupt cabinet and many corrupt officials though he was super honest i. In retrospect he deserves more credit for advocating pro black moves d. Grand made it a personal cause to stamp out the KKK. passed laws called the Force Act which sent troops to attack and arrest the KKK and the KKK was greatly weakened for a few years e. Grant Scandals- he was honest but surrounded by corrupt ppl. i. Credit Mobilier 1. Scheme where railroad owners were bribing members of Congress with railroad stock in order to avoid paying taxes ii. The Whiskey Ring 1. Tax agents were bribed by the liquor industry to avoid paying taxes Black Politicians 1. Briefly, after the 15th amendment, there were black Senators and Congressmen but they were slowly voted out or harassed out of office at the end of Reconstruction New South 1. Champion wans Henry Grady 2. Newspaper editor + politicians named nehru Grads coined this term a. He said that south needed to modernize, industrialized, join union 3. Because of his advocacy, a few textile mills + steel plants appeared in the South but for the most part the economy remained agricultural + lagged behind the north for 80 years 4. Sparked a long term debate in the south about the economy Election of 1876* 1. Closest in American history 2. 3 southern states were too close to call a. All eventually went to the Republican, Rutherford B Hayes 3. The south agreed to hand the election to Hayes if he would agree to the Compromise of 1877** a. Removed all troops from the south and promised to build a southern transcontinental railroad b. This ended reconstruction 4. Northerners tired of reconstruction, wanted to focus on industrialization and lost momentum towards helping black people Minstrel shows 1. Aka blackface 2. White actors and singers who dressed up as black people and sang black songs, used burnt cork to make their skin dark drew huge, exaggerated, racist features like huge lips. Became a big part of American entertainment. Even black people did it

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