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A New birth of freedom: The Civil War Era

A New birth of freedom: The Civil War Era. History 244: Modern American History. The election of 1860.

kieran-shaffer
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A New birth of freedom: The Civil War Era

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  1. A New birth of freedom: The Civil War Era History 244: Modern American History

  2. 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?

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. And the war came • Any 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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.

  18. 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.

  19. 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.

  20. “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.

  21. 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.

  22. 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.

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