AKS 35
Antebellum
Civil War
Reconstruction
"We have a wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go."
Thomas Jefferson
AKS 35a
Rank and analyze the key issues and events that led to the Civil War
Rank and analyze the key issues and events that led to the Civil War
State Rights: Probably the simplest or at least the clearest difference between the North and South involved the concept of states' rights. States' rights is the belief that the state's rights. States' rights is the belief that the state's interest should take precedence over the interests of the national government. Northern states believed that, in order for the United States to function as one Union, political decisions should be made that would benefit the entire country. They believed that all states should abide by laws made by Congress, signed by the president, or decreed by the courts. Southern states, on the other hand, believed deeply in the idea of states' rights. They thought that states had the right to govern themselves and to decide what would be best for their own needs and situation. They believed that politicians from a state like Maine or New York could not possibly understand or care about South Carolina or Georgia.
Economic Considerations: In addition to slavery and sectional differences, there were striking economic contrasts between the North and the South, including the major sources of their wealth. Because of these vastly different sources, the North and the South also disagreed on trade policies and restraints.
Economic Considerations: In addition to slavery and sectional differences, there were striking economic contrasts between the North and the South, including the major sources of their wealth. Because of these vastly different sources, the North and the South also disagreed on trade policies and restraints.
Slavery: Slaves were about 4 million of the total black black population in the country in the 1860s. By far, the majority lived in the South, and by 1860, about 11.5 percent of the slaves lived in Georgia. In the 1820s, a second "Great Awakening" swept the country. One result of this religious revival was increased and interracial support for abolition. Abolition was the movement to do away with slavery. Many northern whites, some southern whites, and free blacks worked to get rid of slavery.
Compromise of 1850: After gold was discovered in California, people from all over the world traveled there dreaming of riches. By late 1849, the population of California was over 100,000, enough to ask for statehood. In 1850, there were fifteen slave states and fifteen free states. California's constitution did not allow slavery. If California became a state, the balance in the Senate between slave states and free states would change. The following compromise was decided on:
Benefits for the North
Benefits for the North
- California came into the Union as a free state
- Slave trading was ended in the District of Columbia
- Texas gave up its idea of annexing New Mexico, thus taking that territory away from a slave state
- The territories of New Mexico and Utah would determine whether wanted to be slave or free.
- The residents of the District of Columbia could keep the slaves they already had.
- Congress would pass a law (the Fugitive Slave Act) stating that slaves ran away to free states would be returned to their owners.
Dred Scott: In 1834, Dred Scott, a slave, was taken by his owner from the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois. Later they went to Wisconsin, another free state. When Scott and his master returned to Missouri, Scott filed a lawsuit claiming he was free since he had lived in a free state. Abolitionists from the North raised enough money to take the case to the US Supreme Court. In March 1857, the Supreme Court ruled on the case. The justices said Scott could not sue because he was a slaves, and slaves were not citizens. The court also said Congress had no right to stop slavery in territories. The Dred Scott Decision further divided the North and South and pushed them closer to war.
Georgia Platform: In the 1840s, the two major political parties were the Democrats and the Whigs. Democrats supported states' rights and took a strong stand for slavery. Whigs were mostly members of the upper social classes. They favored a moderate protective tariff and federal help for the South. The 1850s brought about change for both parties. Many Georgians did not like the Compromise of 1850; however, Democrat Cobb and Whigs Stephens and Toombs asked the citizens of Georgia to accept it. All three had strongly supported the measure in the US Congress. In part because of the persuasiveness of these congressmen, the "Georgia Platform" supporting the compromise was adopted at a convention in Milledgeville.
Georgia Platform: In the 1840s, the two major political parties were the Democrats and the Whigs. Democrats supported states' rights and took a strong stand for slavery. Whigs were mostly members of the upper social classes. They favored a moderate protective tariff and federal help for the South. The 1850s brought about change for both parties. Many Georgians did not like the Compromise of 1850; however, Democrat Cobb and Whigs Stephens and Toombs asked the citizens of Georgia to accept it. All three had strongly supported the measure in the US Congress. In part because of the persuasiveness of these congressmen, the "Georgia Platform" supporting the compromise was adopted at a convention in Milledgeville.
Election of 1860: When the Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina, for the national convention in 1860, a fight over the party platform brought matters to a head. The supporters of stephen A. Douglas of Illinois controlled the platform committee. They wanted to campaign on the issue of popular sovereignty. Southern Democrats did not agree and believed slavery should be allowed in all territories. The two groups split over the issue. Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas for president. Southern Democrats met separately in Baltimore and nominated Vice President John Breckenridge of Kentucky for president. Whigs from the border states also met in Baltimore to form the Constitutional Union Party. They supported the Union and named John Bell of Tennessee as their presidential candidate. At the same time, the Republicans met in Chicago, where they nominated Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. The Republican platform was not just against slavery, although the party said it would not try to end slavery in the slave states. It also supported a protective tariff, proposed a plan to give free western land to settlers, and called for the construction of a transcontinental railroad with one end in the North. None of these measure would benefit the South. The Republican Party and its presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln, appeared to be against everything southerners wanted. The election amounted to a revolution in politics. For the first time, and party getting votes from only one section of the nation won the election. Abraham Lincoln received 1.9 million votes (a minority of the votes cast) and was elected president.
AKS 35a
Debate over secession in Georgia
Debate over secession in Georgia
After Lincoln's election, talk of secession (the act of pulling out of the Union) and war swirled around every barbecue, quilting bee, and picnic. Wherever Georgians gathered in a group, passionate debates took place. For eighty-four years, the nation had lived with the concept of a union of all states. Now southerners had to deal with questions over the conflict between state' rights and Union rights. Could they believe in the concept of the Union while maintaining a state's right to pass laws for the good of that state rather than to accept laws forced on it by the federal government? There was no easy answer to the question. Georgians were, for the most part, for the Union; however, they were even more strongly for states' rights. Now they were suddenly forced to make a choice, and many households in Georgia found themselves in the midst of a bitter split. Immediately after Lincoln's election, Georgia's Democratic governor, Joseph E. Brown, called a legislative sessions to determine whether a special convention should be held to decide the question of secession. The special session could also suggest that Georgia bide its time and see what South Carolina did. The legislative chamber was buzzing with activity as arguments resounded off the walls and memos and notes were passed back and forth. Speakers rose in quick succession to argue their views. Alexander Stephens of Crawfordville was especially stirring with his arguments against seceding.
AKS 35b
Key events of Civil War
Key events of Civil War
Antietam: Antietam, Maryland Sept. 17, 1862
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee 51,844 men
Union Commander: George B. McCleelan 75,316 men
Union Victory
Casualties: 26,134 (12,410 Union; 13,724 Confederate)
Emancipation Proclamation: On September 22, 1862, five days after the Battle of Antietam, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a document in which ultimately Lincoln stated that unless the South surrendered by January 1, 1863, "all slaves in states or districts in rebellion against the United States will thenceforth and forever free." For three months and nine days after the Proclamation was issued, the South faced a choice. If it surrendered, slavery would continue in the South. If it did not surrendered, the institution of slavery would end. The Confederate leaders chose to continue to fight.
Gettysburg: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 1-3, 1863
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee 75,000 men
Union Commander: George G. Meade: 82,289 men
Union Victory
Casualties: 51,112 (23,048 Union; 28,064 Confederate)
Battle of Chickamauga: In late 1863, Union forces moved against the major railroad center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, just across the Georgia line. On September 19-20, Union General Rosecrans led his troops against Confederate General Braxton Bragg seven miles south of Chattanooga at Chickamauga Creek. Bragg's army defeated the Union forces and forced the Union Army back into Tennessee; however, Bragg did not follow the Union retreat.
Union blockade of Georgia's coast: Northern strategies during the war included a blockade of southern ports to prevent trade with other nations, the Anaconda Plan to squeeze the Confederacy in half, the capture of the Confederate capital, and the plan by Generals Grant and Sherman to destroy the Confederate armies while, at the same time, destroying the civilian areas to end civilian support for the war effort.
Sherman's Atlanta Campaign: Confederate General John Bell Hood concentrated his troops within the city of Atlanta. The main battle of Atlanta was on July 22. Hood hoped Sherman would follow him into the city so that he could attack Sherman's army on the left flank and rear guard. However, the attacks did not succeed. The two armies fought for the rest of July and August until Hood finally left the city on September 1 after the citizens evacuated Atlanta. The next day, the Union army moved into Atlanta and took over its railroads and factories. The soldiers stayed until November 15 when, about three o'clock in the afternoon, they set fire to the city. On November 16, Sherman's army left Atlanta in flames and began their infamous "March to the Sea."
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee 51,844 men
Union Commander: George B. McCleelan 75,316 men
Union Victory
Casualties: 26,134 (12,410 Union; 13,724 Confederate)
Emancipation Proclamation: On September 22, 1862, five days after the Battle of Antietam, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a document in which ultimately Lincoln stated that unless the South surrendered by January 1, 1863, "all slaves in states or districts in rebellion against the United States will thenceforth and forever free." For three months and nine days after the Proclamation was issued, the South faced a choice. If it surrendered, slavery would continue in the South. If it did not surrendered, the institution of slavery would end. The Confederate leaders chose to continue to fight.
Gettysburg: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania July 1-3, 1863
Confederate Commander: Robert E. Lee 75,000 men
Union Commander: George G. Meade: 82,289 men
Union Victory
Casualties: 51,112 (23,048 Union; 28,064 Confederate)
Battle of Chickamauga: In late 1863, Union forces moved against the major railroad center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, just across the Georgia line. On September 19-20, Union General Rosecrans led his troops against Confederate General Braxton Bragg seven miles south of Chattanooga at Chickamauga Creek. Bragg's army defeated the Union forces and forced the Union Army back into Tennessee; however, Bragg did not follow the Union retreat.
Union blockade of Georgia's coast: Northern strategies during the war included a blockade of southern ports to prevent trade with other nations, the Anaconda Plan to squeeze the Confederacy in half, the capture of the Confederate capital, and the plan by Generals Grant and Sherman to destroy the Confederate armies while, at the same time, destroying the civilian areas to end civilian support for the war effort.
Sherman's Atlanta Campaign: Confederate General John Bell Hood concentrated his troops within the city of Atlanta. The main battle of Atlanta was on July 22. Hood hoped Sherman would follow him into the city so that he could attack Sherman's army on the left flank and rear guard. However, the attacks did not succeed. The two armies fought for the rest of July and August until Hood finally left the city on September 1 after the citizens evacuated Atlanta. The next day, the Union army moved into Atlanta and took over its railroads and factories. The soldiers stayed until November 15 when, about three o'clock in the afternoon, they set fire to the city. On November 16, Sherman's army left Atlanta in flames and began their infamous "March to the Sea."
Sherman's March to the Sea: Sherman's army moved quickly through the state heading from Atlanta to Savannah, burning everything in a path sixty miles wide on the three hundred mile trek to the coast. On his way from Atlanta to Savannah, Sherman destroyed all military targets and the civilian economic system (farms, homes, towns, railroads, bridges, roads) that supported the Confederate military. The move took over two months and left a large area of the state totally destroyed. Estimates of the damage from Sherman's March to the Sea are as high as $100 million. He did not burn Savannah when he arrived.
Andersonville: At first, each side routinely exchanged prisoners. However, in 1864, after an incident in which northern black military prisoners were reported to have been killed by their Confederate captors, General Grant stopped exchanging prisoners with the South. One of the Confederate prisons for Union soldiers was in Andersonville, Georgia. The prison was dirty; they only available water was contaminated. The prison was always crowded beyond reason. During the fifteen months Andersonville operated, almost 13,000 Union prisoners died. Although records indicate Andersonville's commander, Captain Henry Wirz, tried to improve conditions at the prison, he was executed in 1865 for "excessive cruelty." Today, Andersonville is a national cemetery where 13,700 Union dead are buried.
Andersonville: At first, each side routinely exchanged prisoners. However, in 1864, after an incident in which northern black military prisoners were reported to have been killed by their Confederate captors, General Grant stopped exchanging prisoners with the South. One of the Confederate prisons for Union soldiers was in Andersonville, Georgia. The prison was dirty; they only available water was contaminated. The prison was always crowded beyond reason. During the fifteen months Andersonville operated, almost 13,000 Union prisoners died. Although records indicate Andersonville's commander, Captain Henry Wirz, tried to improve conditions at the prison, he was executed in 1865 for "excessive cruelty." Today, Andersonville is a national cemetery where 13,700 Union dead are buried.
AKS 36 Reconstruction