SS8H6 The student will analyze the impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on Georgia
a. Explain the importance of key issues and events that led to the Civil War; include slavery, states’ rights, nullification, Missouri Compromise,Compromise of 1850 and the Georgia Platform, Kansas-Nebraska Act, DredScott case, election of 1860, the debate over secession in Georgia, and the role of Alexander Stephens.
a. Explain the importance of key issues and events that led to the Civil War; include slavery, states’ rights, nullification, Missouri Compromise,Compromise of 1850 and the Georgia Platform, Kansas-Nebraska Act, DredScott case, election of 1860, the debate over secession in Georgia, and the role of Alexander Stephens.
American Civil War
• Civil War refers to the fighting that occurs between opposing sides in the same country
• American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865
• Fighting was between the Union (Northern part of the United States) and the Confederacy (Southern part of United States)
• Was over issues of State’s Rights and Slavery and Economics
States’ Rights
• This is the belief that the power of the Federal government is given to them by the Individual States (In other words the Federal Government can only do that which the States allow them to do.)
• If the Federal Gov’t tries to overstep its authority and enact laws contrary to what the States agree to, then the States can declare that law Null and Void (Nullification) and do not have to obey it
• This causes problems because then some states agree to new laws and some do not.
• Civil War refers to the fighting that occurs between opposing sides in the same country
• American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865
• Fighting was between the Union (Northern part of the United States) and the Confederacy (Southern part of United States)
• Was over issues of State’s Rights and Slavery and Economics
States’ Rights
• This is the belief that the power of the Federal government is given to them by the Individual States (In other words the Federal Government can only do that which the States allow them to do.)
• If the Federal Gov’t tries to overstep its authority and enact laws contrary to what the States agree to, then the States can declare that law Null and Void (Nullification) and do not have to obey it
• This causes problems because then some states agree to new laws and some do not.
Slavery
• First Slaves arrived in United States in 1619
• Both North and South used slaves but the South used many more than the north for agricultural purposes.
• Slavery was NOT illegal in the U.S. but slave trade or importation of slaves from other countries had been made illegal by this time period.
• Most northern States began to oppose slavery while the South saw it as a “necessary evil”
• Questions arose over how to count slaves for representation in Congress (3/5 Compromise)
• More Questions were raised on whether to allow slavery to spread to new U.S. territories as they were acquired.
• In answer to these questions, several more compromises were written, voted upon, and passed by Congress
• First Slaves arrived in United States in 1619
• Both North and South used slaves but the South used many more than the north for agricultural purposes.
• Slavery was NOT illegal in the U.S. but slave trade or importation of slaves from other countries had been made illegal by this time period.
• Most northern States began to oppose slavery while the South saw it as a “necessary evil”
• Questions arose over how to count slaves for representation in Congress (3/5 Compromise)
• More Questions were raised on whether to allow slavery to spread to new U.S. territories as they were acquired.
• In answer to these questions, several more compromises were written, voted upon, and passed by Congress
Missouri Compromise
• In 1819, there 11 Free States ( ones that did not allow slavery) and 11 Slave States (ones that did allow slavery) so the votes in the Senate were equal 22-22 between slave and free states.
• 1820 Missouri applied for statehood which would upset the balance in the Senate. In a compromise, Congress agreed to allow Missouri in as a Slave state while admitting Maine as a Free State. Also, all new territory above the 36 20 latitude line could NOT have slavery.
• This compromise ended the slave state verses free state issue BUT only for a short time.
• In 1819, there 11 Free States ( ones that did not allow slavery) and 11 Slave States (ones that did allow slavery) so the votes in the Senate were equal 22-22 between slave and free states.
• 1820 Missouri applied for statehood which would upset the balance in the Senate. In a compromise, Congress agreed to allow Missouri in as a Slave state while admitting Maine as a Free State. Also, all new territory above the 36 20 latitude line could NOT have slavery.
• This compromise ended the slave state verses free state issue BUT only for a short time.
Dred Scott Decision
• In1834, a slave by the name of Dred Scott was taken from the slave state of Missouri into the the free state of Illinois then to Wisconsin which was another free State before they returned to Missouri.
• Dred Scot maintained that he had lived in a Free State and therefore must be considered free. He filed a lawsuit with the help of Northern Abolitionists (people against slavery) and the case was heard by the Supreme Court.
• The Court decided that since he was a slave and NOT a citizen, then he NO legal rights to even bring a lawsuit against his owner.
• The Court also ruled that Congress COULD NOT stop slavery within the territories which upset the earlier Missouri Compromise.
• In1834, a slave by the name of Dred Scott was taken from the slave state of Missouri into the the free state of Illinois then to Wisconsin which was another free State before they returned to Missouri.
• Dred Scot maintained that he had lived in a Free State and therefore must be considered free. He filed a lawsuit with the help of Northern Abolitionists (people against slavery) and the case was heard by the Supreme Court.
• The Court decided that since he was a slave and NOT a citizen, then he NO legal rights to even bring a lawsuit against his owner.
• The Court also ruled that Congress COULD NOT stop slavery within the territories which upset the earlier Missouri Compromise.
Compromise of 1850
• Gold was discovered in the U.S. territory of California in 1849. Immediately people moved to California and the population grew enough for California to ask for admittance as a state.
• There were 15 free States and 15 Free states at this time and California’s constitution did not allow slavery. If California became a state, then the balance in the Senate would again be upset.
• These following compromises were made (Compromise of 1850)
– California became a free state and territories of New Mexico and Utah could decide on their own if they wanted slavery or not.
– Slave trading in the District of Columbia stopped but people living there could keep their slaves.
– Fugitive Slave Law passed which said slaves that ran away to free states MUST be returned to the owners.
• Gold was discovered in the U.S. territory of California in 1849. Immediately people moved to California and the population grew enough for California to ask for admittance as a state.
• There were 15 free States and 15 Free states at this time and California’s constitution did not allow slavery. If California became a state, then the balance in the Senate would again be upset.
• These following compromises were made (Compromise of 1850)
– California became a free state and territories of New Mexico and Utah could decide on their own if they wanted slavery or not.
– Slave trading in the District of Columbia stopped but people living there could keep their slaves.
– Fugitive Slave Law passed which said slaves that ran away to free states MUST be returned to the owners.
Georgia Platform
• Many Georgians did not like the Compromise of 1850 and were not not to cast votes to approve its passage but 3 men, Cobb, Stephens, and Toombs, asked Georgians to accept it. Their alliance was called the Georgia platform and they campaigned for passage of the Compromise of 1850 as the ONLY way to save the United States and keep from tearing it apart into two countries. North and South
• Many Georgians did not like the Compromise of 1850 and were not not to cast votes to approve its passage but 3 men, Cobb, Stephens, and Toombs, asked Georgians to accept it. Their alliance was called the Georgia platform and they campaigned for passage of the Compromise of 1850 as the ONLY way to save the United States and keep from tearing it apart into two countries. North and South
Kansas Nebraska Act
• The Slavery issue just would not die and as new territories opened up there was a bitter argument over where they should be Free or Slave.
• Stephen Douglas proposed that Kansas and Nebraska both be admitted as states and instead of going with previous compromises, he suggested that the people living in the territories should just vote on what they wanted to be. The majority vote would decide. ( This idea is known as Popular Sovereignty.)
• Both sides (anti slavery and proslavery) shipped people in by trainloads in order to win the votes. There were bitter fights between sides in which sometimes entire towns were burnt and the people killed. It was so bad that Kansas became known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
• When Kansas applied for statehood, they were going to allow slavery but the Northern Senators voted against admittance as a state.
• There was an uneven number of votes in the Senate at this time with more Northern states that were against slavery and fewer southern states that were proslavery.
• Therefore when it came time to vote on slavery issues, the North was always going to win.
• This really made the Southern states mad.
Political Problems
• Tensions grew over the slavery issue as well as over northern industry against southern agriculture. The North was always voting for things to go their way and the South hated it.
• The South felt like they had to do something so they started talking about seceding (breaking away) from the U.S. and forming their own country.
• In the election of 1860 there was a man by the name of Abe Lincoln running for president. Since he was backed by Radical Republicans (who opposed slavery), they believed he would make slavery illegal if he were elected.
• Many states saw this as the end to slavery and their way of life so they decided that if he were elected they would secede and form the Confederate States of America.
• Lincoln won the election and the country split in half into Northern (antislavery) and Southern (proslavery) regions
• The Slavery issue just would not die and as new territories opened up there was a bitter argument over where they should be Free or Slave.
• Stephen Douglas proposed that Kansas and Nebraska both be admitted as states and instead of going with previous compromises, he suggested that the people living in the territories should just vote on what they wanted to be. The majority vote would decide. ( This idea is known as Popular Sovereignty.)
• Both sides (anti slavery and proslavery) shipped people in by trainloads in order to win the votes. There were bitter fights between sides in which sometimes entire towns were burnt and the people killed. It was so bad that Kansas became known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
• When Kansas applied for statehood, they were going to allow slavery but the Northern Senators voted against admittance as a state.
• There was an uneven number of votes in the Senate at this time with more Northern states that were against slavery and fewer southern states that were proslavery.
• Therefore when it came time to vote on slavery issues, the North was always going to win.
• This really made the Southern states mad.
Political Problems
• Tensions grew over the slavery issue as well as over northern industry against southern agriculture. The North was always voting for things to go their way and the South hated it.
• The South felt like they had to do something so they started talking about seceding (breaking away) from the U.S. and forming their own country.
• In the election of 1860 there was a man by the name of Abe Lincoln running for president. Since he was backed by Radical Republicans (who opposed slavery), they believed he would make slavery illegal if he were elected.
• Many states saw this as the end to slavery and their way of life so they decided that if he were elected they would secede and form the Confederate States of America.
• Lincoln won the election and the country split in half into Northern (antislavery) and Southern (proslavery) regions
Georgia
• Georgia was sharply divided over the issue of secession. While most believed in preserving the Union, they also believed that the Federal gov’t obtained its power FROM the State ( States’ Rights)
• Alexander Stephens strongly opposed secession and gave stirring speeches against it.
• Many Georgians wanted to see what South Carolina would do 1st.
• On Nov 21st 1860, Gov Joe Brown along with Cobb and Toombs called for a secessionist convention.
• On Jan 19, 1861, after seeing South Carolina secede Ga followed and voted for secession also
b. State the importance of key events of the Civil War; include Antietam, Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, the Union blockade of Georgia’s coast,Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Andersonville
• Georgia was sharply divided over the issue of secession. While most believed in preserving the Union, they also believed that the Federal gov’t obtained its power FROM the State ( States’ Rights)
• Alexander Stephens strongly opposed secession and gave stirring speeches against it.
• Many Georgians wanted to see what South Carolina would do 1st.
• On Nov 21st 1860, Gov Joe Brown along with Cobb and Toombs called for a secessionist convention.
• On Jan 19, 1861, after seeing South Carolina secede Ga followed and voted for secession also
b. State the importance of key events of the Civil War; include Antietam, Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, the Union blockade of Georgia’s coast,Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Andersonville
Civil War
• Lasted from April 1861 until April 1865
• Was between Union (North) and Confederate (South)
• Underlying causes were States Rights, Slavery and Economic differences between the North and South
• Immediate causes were John Browns Raid and the Election of Abraham Lincoln
• Important Battles:
– War Started at Ft Sumter South Carolina in April 1861
– Antietam – Sept 1862-Union victory Bloodiest one day battle of War, almost 25,000 killed
– Gettysburg- July 1863-Union Victory, turning point the war, South did not win another Major battle afterwards
• Lasted from April 1861 until April 1865
• Was between Union (North) and Confederate (South)
• Underlying causes were States Rights, Slavery and Economic differences between the North and South
• Immediate causes were John Browns Raid and the Election of Abraham Lincoln
• Important Battles:
– War Started at Ft Sumter South Carolina in April 1861
– Antietam – Sept 1862-Union victory Bloodiest one day battle of War, almost 25,000 killed
– Gettysburg- July 1863-Union Victory, turning point the war, South did not win another Major battle afterwards
- Chickamauga - Sept. 1863 - fought in Ga to stop Shermans advance. It was a Confederate Victory But Sherman still advanced to take Kennesaw Mtn and Atlanta
– War Ended at Appomattox Courthouse with surrender of Lee (Confederate) to Grant (Union)
– War Ended at Appomattox Courthouse with surrender of Lee (Confederate) to Grant (Union)
War in Ga
• Union General Sherman left Chattanooga Tennessee and attacked Ga headed for Atlanta.
• Ga was the stronghold of the Confederacy supplying the MOST supplies of Confederate State. Ga had the Most factories and better Railroads. Sherman knew that if he could break GA than the war would be over.
• Sherman laid siege (surrounded) to Atlanta, captured it, and eventually burned it to the ground. At this time the population of Atlanta was about 15,000 people.
• Sherman then marched to Savannah, captured the city and “gave it to Lincoln as a Christmas present.”
• Andersonville was the most famous civil war prison in the South. It held Union prisoners of war and had extremely horrible conditions in which many soldiers died.(Compare to Camp Douglas in North)
• Union General Sherman left Chattanooga Tennessee and attacked Ga headed for Atlanta.
• Ga was the stronghold of the Confederacy supplying the MOST supplies of Confederate State. Ga had the Most factories and better Railroads. Sherman knew that if he could break GA than the war would be over.
• Sherman laid siege (surrounded) to Atlanta, captured it, and eventually burned it to the ground. At this time the population of Atlanta was about 15,000 people.
• Sherman then marched to Savannah, captured the city and “gave it to Lincoln as a Christmas present.”
• Andersonville was the most famous civil war prison in the South. It held Union prisoners of war and had extremely horrible conditions in which many soldiers died.(Compare to Camp Douglas in North)
Emancipation Proclamation
• The war was NOT going well for the North and Many northerners wanted to let the South GO AWAY.
• Lincoln, in an effort to “rally” the north, turned the war into a MORAL war to End slavery.
• Although Lincoln was NOT against slavery, shortly after the Battle of Antietam, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared “ALL slaves in the Rebelling States are declared FREE.” He did not declare slavery illegal in the United States.
c. Analyze the impact of Reconstruction on Georgia and other southern states, emphasizing Freedmen’s Bureau; sharecropping and tenant farming; Reconstruction plans; 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution; Henry McNeal Turner and black legislators, and the Ku Klux Klan
Reconstruction Period
• The period immediately after the War is known as Reconstruction (a period of rebuilding the South after the war)
• Times were tough for Freed Slaves. There were no jobs available in the North or the South for them.
• The Freedmen's Bureau was an organization to help both blacks and whites get “back on their feet” though most whites were too proud to use the service.
• Many ex-slaves chose to Tenant Farm or Sharecrop the land usually owned by their former master. They provided the labor by working the fields while the owner supplied them a place to live and all tools necessary for the job. Most often went into debt to their former master and worked the farm for life trying to pay off the debt.
• The biggest difference between sharecropping and slavery was that the people were NOT Owned and could not be traded or sold. They had the freedom to choose to work there but mush of the life was the same as the Plantation Life
• The war was NOT going well for the North and Many northerners wanted to let the South GO AWAY.
• Lincoln, in an effort to “rally” the north, turned the war into a MORAL war to End slavery.
• Although Lincoln was NOT against slavery, shortly after the Battle of Antietam, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared “ALL slaves in the Rebelling States are declared FREE.” He did not declare slavery illegal in the United States.
c. Analyze the impact of Reconstruction on Georgia and other southern states, emphasizing Freedmen’s Bureau; sharecropping and tenant farming; Reconstruction plans; 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the constitution; Henry McNeal Turner and black legislators, and the Ku Klux Klan
Reconstruction Period
• The period immediately after the War is known as Reconstruction (a period of rebuilding the South after the war)
• Times were tough for Freed Slaves. There were no jobs available in the North or the South for them.
• The Freedmen's Bureau was an organization to help both blacks and whites get “back on their feet” though most whites were too proud to use the service.
• Many ex-slaves chose to Tenant Farm or Sharecrop the land usually owned by their former master. They provided the labor by working the fields while the owner supplied them a place to live and all tools necessary for the job. Most often went into debt to their former master and worked the farm for life trying to pay off the debt.
• The biggest difference between sharecropping and slavery was that the people were NOT Owned and could not be traded or sold. They had the freedom to choose to work there but mush of the life was the same as the Plantation Life
Reconstruction Plans
• Lincoln wanted to allow the South EASY Re-entry into the Union But many of the Northern Congressmen wanted to Punish the South and have a HARD Re-entry program
• Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth (a Northern actor with Southern sympathies) before he could start his plans
• Vice President Johnson, from Tennessee, took over and wanted to follow Lincolns plans but the Northern Congressmen accused him of being too easy on the South since he was from Tennessee, a Southern State
• Reconstruction was a ROUGH period with TOUGH re-entry plans for Southern States who were opposed to many of the changes
• Lincoln wanted to allow the South EASY Re-entry into the Union But many of the Northern Congressmen wanted to Punish the South and have a HARD Re-entry program
• Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth (a Northern actor with Southern sympathies) before he could start his plans
• Vice President Johnson, from Tennessee, took over and wanted to follow Lincolns plans but the Northern Congressmen accused him of being too easy on the South since he was from Tennessee, a Southern State
• Reconstruction was a ROUGH period with TOUGH re-entry plans for Southern States who were opposed to many of the changes
Constitution Changes
• As a result of the Civil War and the resistance of the South to change and accept the facts that slavery was over, several Constitutional Amendments were Passed
• 13th Amendment – Made Slavery illegal in all U.S. States and Territories
• 14th Amendment – All citizens have SAME rights and Privileges of All other Citizens
( Blacks were EQUAL to Whites under the Law)
• 15th Amendment – No citizen can be denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude
• As a result of the Civil War and the resistance of the South to change and accept the facts that slavery was over, several Constitutional Amendments were Passed
• 13th Amendment – Made Slavery illegal in all U.S. States and Territories
• 14th Amendment – All citizens have SAME rights and Privileges of All other Citizens
( Blacks were EQUAL to Whites under the Law)
• 15th Amendment – No citizen can be denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude
Political Change
• After the Civil War, blacks were elected to the General assembly of GA for the 1st time. Henry McNeal Turner was one of the 1st African-Americans to take office.
• Milledgeville was the capital of GA at this time and the General Assembly refused to let the black legislators take office and the hotels in the area would not allow them to stay there. They said the Constitutional Amendments may allow blacks to be citizens but does NOT guarantee them a place in the Assembly
• The U.S. government made the General assembly except them and the Capital moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta where the climate was more favorable to blacks.White Organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan began to spring up as white advocate groups and to oppose the equality of blacks
• After the Civil War, blacks were elected to the General assembly of GA for the 1st time. Henry McNeal Turner was one of the 1st African-Americans to take office.
• Milledgeville was the capital of GA at this time and the General Assembly refused to let the black legislators take office and the hotels in the area would not allow them to stay there. They said the Constitutional Amendments may allow blacks to be citizens but does NOT guarantee them a place in the Assembly
• The U.S. government made the General assembly except them and the Capital moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta where the climate was more favorable to blacks.White Organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan began to spring up as white advocate groups and to oppose the equality of blacks
