THE CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION

CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR Disagreement over future of Slavery States’ rights over centralized Federal

power Breakdown in party politics Cultural and economic differences b/w

North and South

THE SOUTH SECEDES Dec. 20, 1860-Feb. 1, 1861: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,

Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas February 1, 1861: Delegates from 7 seceded states meet in

Montgomery, AL and draft the Constitution of the Confederate States of America (CSA)

February 18, 1861: CSA elect Jefferson Davis of Miss. as president April-May 1861: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas

secede 7 of 8 American military colleges located in South, CSA assembles

army North has naval superiority April 1861: Confederate forces fire on U.S. Fort Sumter in S. Carolina Union sends ships to blockade southern ports on Atlantic Ocean,

gun boats down the Mississippi River to divide the South in two

KEY BATTLES Battle of Bull Run: USA begins well, but CSA pulls out win

Lincoln realizes USA needs a better trained army 1862: Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sends USA ships down Tennessee and

Cumberland rivers splitting Kentucky and W. Tenn. from rest of South Battle of Antietam: Union victory in Virginia, bloodiest day in US

history British decide to wait and see whether to recognize the CSA as a nation-state

Vicksburg: fighting lasted for two months, last CSA port on Miss. R. falls

Gettysburg: CSA Gen. Robert E. Lee moves into Pennsylvania after CSA victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville

Pickett’s Charge: 7,000 CSA troops die in half an hour, Union defenses hold British decide not to recognize the CSA

US Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman begins “March to the Sea” through GA

Pillages, scorched earth tactics, destroys railroads, warehouses, mills, and factories

EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION Before war, Democrats oppose ending

slavery, Republicans divided As death toll rises, North begins to

favor ending slavery to punish South September 22, 1862: Lincoln issues

proclamation saying all slaves in states at war with the Union to be freed after January 1, 1863

War now seen not as war to preserve Union, but as war of liberation

WAR ENDS April 9, 1865: CSA Gen. Lee surrenders Appomattox Court

House, VA U.S. Grant promises USA will not prosecute CSA soldiers Allows CSA soldiers to return home in peace

April 14, 1865: President Lincoln assassinated, shot by actor John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.

Civil War referred to as first modern war Civilian army fights majority of war, not professional soldiers Cone shaped bullets allow for more accuracy Trenches and barricades protect soldiers War of Attrition: wear down the other side Modern war + old tactics/strategies= much blood/death

RECONSTRUCTION Reconstruction: plan to readmit Southern states into the Union Lincoln Plan: general amnesty to Southerners who take loyalty

oath, some government officials and military officers not included Radical Republican Plan: divides South into five military districts,

gets rid of Lincoln Plan now favored by President Andrew Johnson When President Johnson removed Sec. of War without Senate

approval, the Senate shows its displeasure with Johnson by impeaching him

Reconstruction Amendments: Amendment XIII: Bans slavery in United States Amendment XIV: All people born in the USA are citizens Amendment XV: Male citizens of USA cannot be denied right to vote for

race, prior slavery

THE RECONSTRUCTION SOUTH 1870: All former CSA states readmitted to USA The Freedman’s Bureau helps former slaves Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to south to make money or run

gov. Scalawags: Southerners who worked with Northern Republicans in South Republicans elected across the South, many African-Americans elected 1869: U.S. Grant elected president 1870s: Democrats begin to regain power in South 1876 Presidential Election too close to call, some votes questioned

Compromise of 1877: Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes given victory in exchange for pull out of federal troops from South

After Reconstruction, extreme white supremacist groups terrorize the South trying to “restore racial order”, Democrats pass “Black Codes” to weaken rights of African-American citizens.