The Sectional Struggle, Reborn: 1848-1854

APUSH Study Guide 17 The Sectional Struggle, Reborn, 1848-1854 Themes/Constructs: The sectional conflict over the expansion of slavery that erupted after the Mexican War was temporarily silenced by the Compromise of 1850, but Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 re-ignited the issue again. In the 1850s American expansion in the West and the Caribbean was extremely controversial because it was tied to the slavery question. The acquisition of territory from Mexico created acute new dilemmas concerning the expansion of slavery, especially for the two major parties, which had long tried to avoid the issue.

The antislavery Free Soil Party pushed the issue into the election of 1848. The application of gold-rich California for admission to the Union forced the controversy into the Senate, which engaged in stormy debate over slavery and the Union. After the untimely death of President Taylor, who had blocked a settlement, Congress resolved the crisis by passing the delicate Compromise of 1850. The compromise eased sectional tension for the moment, although the Fugitive Slave Law aroused opposition in the North. As the Whig Party died, the Democratic Pierce administration became the tool of proslavery expansionists.

Controversies over Nicaragua, Cuba, and the Gadsden Purchase showed that expansionism was closely linked to the slavery issue. The desire for a northern railroad route led Stephen Douglas to ram the Kansas-Nebraska Act through Congress in 1854. By repealing the Missouri Compromise and making new territory subject to “popular sovereignty” on slavery, this act aroused the fury of the North, sparked the rise of the Republican Party, and set the stage for the Civil War. Terms/names/topics: Gen. Lewis Cas ‘popular sovereignty’ Zachary Taylor Free Soil Party ‘conscious Whigs’ Martin Van Buren

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Election of 1848 ‘gold fever’ California Constitution (1849) Texas boundary dispute Underground Railroad‘stations’‘passengers’ ‘conductors’ Harriet Tubman ‘Immortal Trio’—Clay, Calhoun, Webster “Great Pacificator”“Great Nullifier” Millard Fillmore Nashville Convention Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Law (1850) Franklin Pierce—‘second dark horse’ Winfield Scott (Whig) Election of 1852 Jefferson Davis—Secretary of War ‘slavocrats’ William Walker Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850) Cuban “filibustering expeditions” Ostend Manifesto Crimean War Gadsden Purchase (1853) Stephen A.

Douglas Repeal of the Missouri Compromise Kansas-Nebraska Bill (1854) The new Republican Party Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study: 1. Although historically represented as distinct parties, the Federalists and Whigs, in fact, shared a common political ideology, represented many of the same interest groups, and proposed similar programs and policies. Assess the validity of this statement. (FRQ, 1991) 2. Discuss the impact of territorial expansion on national unity between 1800 and 1850. (FRQ, 1997) APUSH Study Guide 18 The Road to War, 1854-1861 Historian’s view:

James McPherson, from Ordeal By Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction (1992) “The social and political strains produced by rapid growth provoked repeated crises that threatened to destroy the republic. From the beginning, these strains were associated mainly with slavery. The geographical division of the country into free and slave states ensured that the crisis would take the form of sectional conflict. Each section evolved institutions and values based on its labor system. These values in turn generated ideologies that justified each section’s institutions and condemned those of the other. “For three-quarters of a century the two sections [North and South] coexisted under one flag because the centripetal forces of nationalism—the shared memories of a common struggle for nationhood—proved stronger than the centrifugal forces of sectionalism. But as early as 1787, conflict over slavery at the constitutional convention almost broke up the Union before it was fairly launched. ” Themes/Constructs: A series of major North-South crisis in the late 1850s culminated in the election of the antislavery Republican Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860.

His election caused seven southern states to secede from the Union and form the Confederate States of America. The 1850s were punctuated by successive confrontations that deepened sectional hostility until it broke out in the Civil War. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin fanned northern antislavery feelings. In Kansas, proslavery and antislavery forces fought a bloody little preview of the Civil War. Buchanan’s support of the proslavery Lecompton Constitution alienated moderate northern Democrats like Douglas. Congressman Brooks’ beating of Senator Sumner aroused passions on both sections.

The Democratic Party split along sectional lines, allowing Lincoln to win the four-way 1860 election. Seven southern states quickly seceded and organized the Confederate States of America. As southerners optimistically cast off their ties to the hated North, lame-duck President Buchanan proved unable to act. The last minute Crittenden Compromise failed because of Lincoln’s opposition. Terms/names/topics: Harriet Beecher StoweUncle Tom’s Cabin Hinton R. HelperImpending Crisis of the South New England Immigrant Aid Company “Beecher’s Bibles” Burning of Lawrence

John BrownPottawatomie Creek Lecompton Constitution “Bleeding Kansas” Charles SumnerPreston Brooks Election of 1856James Buchanan ‘Nativists’ American PartyKnow-Nothing Party John C. Fremont Dred Scott decision Panic of 1857 Abortive Homestead Act (1860) Tariff of 1857 Lincoln-Douglas debates Freeport Doctrine John BrownHarper’s Ferry Charleston Nominating Convention John C. Breckenridge Constitutional Union Party Republican Party platform (1860) Election of 1860 Secession of South Carolina Jefferson Davis “lame duck” interlude Crittenden Compromise

Self-determination Southern nationalism Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study: 1. To what extent was President-elect Abraham Lincoln responsible for the defeat of the Crittenden proposal on the territorial expansion of slavery? (DBQ, 1974—Mr. D has the documents) 2. John Brown’s raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in October 1859, involved only a handful of abolitionists, freed no slaves, and was over in two days. Although many Northerners condemned the raid, by 1863 John Brown had become a hero and martyr in the North.

To what extent and in what ways do the views about John Brown expressed in the documents illustrate changing North-South relations between 1859 and 1863? (DBQ, 1982—Mr. D has the documents) 3. Throughout our history, the Supreme Court has acted as a partisan political body rather than a neutral arbiter of constitutional principles. Assess the validity of this generalization for the period 1800-1860. (FRQ, 1984) 4. By the 1850s, the Constitution, originally framed as an instrument of national unity, had become a source of sectional discord and tension and ultimately contributed to the failure of the Union it had created.

Using the documents and your knowledge of the period 1850-1861, assess the validity of this statement. (DBQ, 1987—Mr. D has the documents) 5. “I am not, nor have ever been, in favor of bringing about in any way, the social and political equality of the white and black races. ” How can this 1858 statement of Abraham Lincoln be reconciled with his 1862 Emancipation Proclamation? (FRQ, 1988) 6. Analyze the ways in which supporters of slavery in the nineteenth century used legal, religious, and economic arguments to defend the institution of slavery. (FRQ, 1995) . Assess the moral arguments and political actions of those opposed to the spread of slavery in the context of TWO of the following: (FRQ, 2000) Missouri Compromise Mexican War Compromise of 1850 Kansas-Nebraska Act 8. Analyze the effectiveness of political compromise in reducing sectional tensions in the period 1820 to 1861. (FRQ, 2004) APUSH Study Guide 19 Building the War, Fighting the War, 1861-1865 Historian’s view: James McPherson, from Battle Cry of Freedom (1988)—A view of the Civil War as expanding national power and Northern economic dominance The old federal republic in which the national government had rarely touched the average citizen except through the post-office gave way to a more centralized polity that taxed the people directly and created an internal revenue bureau to collect taxes, drafted men into the army, expanded the jurisdiction of the federal courts, created a national currency and a national banking system, and established the first national agency for social welfare—the Freedmen’s Bureau…. These changes in the federal balance paralleled a radical shift of political power from South to North….

The accession to power of the Republican Party, with its ideology of competitive, egalitarian, free-labor capitalism, was a signal to the South that Union victory in the war destroyed the southern vision of America and ensured that the northern vision would become the American vision. ” Themes/Constructs: Building for War The North effectively brought to bear its long-term advantages of industrial might and human resources to wage a devastating total war against the South. The war helped organize and modernize northern society, while the South, despite heroic efforts, was economically and socially crushed.

Lincoln’s skillful political leadership helped keep the crucial Border States in the Union and maintain northern morale, while his effective diplomacy kept Britain and France from aiding the Confederacy. South Carolina’s firing on Fort Sumter aroused the North for war. Lincoln’s call for troops to suppress the rebellion drove four upper South states into the Confederacy. Lincoln used an effective combination of political persuasion and force to keep the deeply divided Border States in the Union The Confederacy enjoyed initial advantages of upper-class European support, military leadership, and a defensive position on its own soil.

The North enjoyed the advantages of lower-class European support, industrial and population resources, and political leadership. The British upper classes sympathized with the South and abetted Confederate naval efforts. But effective diplomacy and Union military success thwarted those efforts and kept Britain as well as France neutral in the war. Lincoln’s political leadership proved effective in mobilizing the North for war, despite political opposition and resistance to his infringement on civil liberties.

The North eventually mobilized its larger troop resources for war and ultimately turned to an unpopular and unfair draft system. Northern economic and financial strengths it to gain an advantage over the less-industrialized South. The changes in society opened new opportunities for women, who had contributed significantly to the war effort in both the North and the South. Since most of the war was waged on Southern soil, the South was left devastated by the war. Fighting the War The Civil War, begun as a limited struggle over the Union, eventually became a total war to end slavery and transform the nation.

After several years of seesaw struggle, the Union armies under U. S. Grant finally wore down the Southern forces under Robert E. Lee and defeated the Confederate bid for independence as well as the institution of slavery. The Union defeat at Bull Run ended Northern complacency about a quick victory. George McClellan and other early Union generals proved unable to defeat the tactically brilliant Confederate armies under Lee. The Union naval blockade put a slow but devastating noose around the South. The political and diplomatic dimensions of the war became critical.

In order to retain the border states, Lincoln first de-emphasized any intention to destroy slavery. But the Battle of Antietam in 1862 enabled Lincoln to prevent foreign intervention and turn the struggle into a war against slavery. Blacks and abolitionists joined enthusiastically in a war for emancipation, but white resentment in part of the North created political problems for Lincoln. The Union victories at Vicksburg in the West and Gettysburg in the East finally turned the military tide against the South.

Southern resistance remained strong, but the Union victories at Atlanta and Mobile assured Lincoln’s success in the election of 1864 and ended the last Confederate hopes. The war ended the issues of disunion and slavery, but at a tremendous cost to both North and South. Terms/names/topics: Building For War “Butternut region” “King Wheat and King Corn vs. King Cotton” Trent Affair (1861) CSS Alabama Charles Francis Adams Laird Rams Southern States’ Rights Lincoln’s arbitrary powerhabeas corpus Federal conscription power New York draft riots “bounty brokers” “rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight”

Income tax Morrill Tariff Act National Banking System Homestead Act (1862) Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell Clara Barton Dorothea Dix Sally Tompkins Fighting the War “On to Richmond” Bull Run (Manassas Junction) “Stonewall” Jackson Gen. George McClellan The Peninsula Campaign Shenandoah Valley “Jeb” Stuart Seven Days’ Battles “Total War” “Blockade running” 2nd Battle of Bull Run Gen. John Pope Antietam Emancipation Proclamation 13th Amendment Fort Pillow, Tenn. Gen. A. E. Burnside Fredericksburg, Va. “Fighting Joe” Hooker Chancellorsville, Va. Gen. George G. Meade Gettysburg, Penn.

Gen. George Pickett Ulysses S. Grant Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, Tenn. Battle of Shiloh David G. Garragut Port Hudson Vicksburg Chattanooga Gen. William T. Sherman Atlanta“March to Savannah” Election of 1864 Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War“Radical Republicans” Copperheads Union Party Andrew Johnson Battles in the Wilderness Hampton Roads, Va. Appomattox Courthouse John Wilkes Booth English Reform Bill (1867) Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study: There have been no DBQ or FRQ questions from this area of study. APUSH Study Guide 20

Reconstruction, 1865-1877 Historian’s view: William A Dunning, Reconstruction: Political and Economic (1907)—A view of Reconstruction as a national disgrace. Few episodes of recorded history more urgently invited thorough analysis than the struggle through which the southern whites, subjugated by adversaries of their own race, thwarted the scheme which threatened permanent subjection to another race…. The most rasping feature of the new situation to the old white element of the South was the large predominance of northerners and negroes in position of political power….

The most cunning and malignant enemy of the United States could not have timed differently this period of national ill-repute; for it came with the centennial of American independence… Kenneth Stamp, The Era of Reconstruction (1965)—A favorable view of Reconstruction. Finally, we come to the idealistic aim of the radicals to make southern society more democratic, especially to make the emancipation of Negroes something more than an empty gesture. In the short run this was their greatest failure….

Still, no one could quite forget that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were now part of the federal Constitution…. Thus, Negroes were no longer denied equality by the plain language of law, as they had been before radical reconstruction, but only by coercion, by subterfuge, by deceit, and by spurious legalisms…. The blunders of that era, tragic though they were, dwindle into insignificance. For it was worth four years of civil war to save the Union, it was worth a few years of radical reconstruction to give the American Negro the ultimate promise of equal civil and political rights.

Themes/Constructs: Johnson’s political blunders and southern white recalcitrance led to the imposition of Congressional military Reconstruction on the south. Reconstruction accomplished some good, such as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, but it left behind a legacy of racial and sectional bitterness. With the Civil War over, the nation faced the difficult problems of rebuilding the South, assisting the freed slaves, reintegrating the southern states into the Union, and deciding who would direct the Reconstruction process.

The South was economically devastated and socially revolutionized by emancipation. As slaveowners reluctantly confronted the end of slave labor, blacks took their first steps in freedom. Black churches and freedmen’s schools helped the former slaves begin to shape their own destiny. The new President Andrew Johnson was politically inept and personally contentious. His attempt to implement a moderate plan of Reconstruction, along the lines originally suggested by Lincoln, fell victim to Southern whites’ severe treatment of blacks and his own political blunders.

Republicans imposed harsh military Reconstruction on the south after their gains in the 1866 Congressional elections. The Southern states reentered the Union with new radical governments, which rested partly on the newly enfranchised blacks, but also had support from some sectors of southern society. These regimes were sometimes corrupt but also implemented important reforms. The divisions between moderate and Radical Republicans meant that Reconstruction’s aims were often limited and confused, despite the important Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

Embittered whites hated the radical governments and mobilized the Ku Klux Klan to restore white supremacy. Congress impeached Johnson but failed to convict him. In the end, the poorly conceived Reconstruction policy failed disastrously. Terms/names/topics: Exodusters Black Baptists churches African Missionary Association Freedmen’s Bureau 10% Plan—Lincoln Wade-Davis Bill Radicals Johnson’s Reconstruction plans Black Codes Sharecroppers “whitewashed rebels” Civil Rights Bill Fourteenth Amendment Congressional elections, 1866 Radicals in the Senate Thaddeus Stevens Moderate Republicans

Military Reconstruction Act Fifteenth Amendment Ex parte Milligan (1866) “scalawags” “carpetbaggers” KKK ‘literacy tests’ Tenure of Office Act Edwin M. Stanton Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study: 1. The unpopular ideas and causes of one period often gain popularity and support in another, but the ultimate price of success is usually the alteration or subversion of the original ideas and programs. For the period 1830-1877, discuss this statement with reference to both (a) the ideas and activities of abolitionism and (b) the policies of the Republican party. (FRQ, 1978). . How do you account for the failure of Reconstruction (1865-1877) to bring social and economic equality of opportunity to the former slaves? (FRQ, 1983) 3. Discuss the political, economic, and social reforms introduced in the South between 1864 and 1877. To what extent did these reforms survive the Compromise of 1877? (FRQ, 1992) 4. In what ways and to what extent did constitutional and social developments between 1860 and 1877 amount to a revolution? Use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1860 to 1877 to answer the question. (DBQ, 1996—Mr. D has the documents)

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