The Civil War (in a day)

Beginnings

• Abolition movement became strong in the North

• Republican Party grows stronger; nominates Abraham Lincoln in 1860

• Southern states say if Lincoln is elected, they will leave the U.S.

• Mar. 1860: Lincoln elected

Reasons for war

• 1. Slavery: South wanted it. North didn’t.• 2. Politics: North said it was impossible for

states to leave the Union. They could only be in rebellion

• 3. Economics: The South needed slavery not b/c of racism, but because of money. Their economy was completely backwards!!!

• By mid-1861, all states south of Kentucky have seceded from the U.S.

• U.S. Gen. Winfield Scott proposes “Anaconda Plan”

• ? Snakes can kill in two ways. What are they? • Anaconda Plan says we’ll surround and

squeeze the Confederates.• It’s not as fast as venom, but works better

• 1862: CSA attacks toward D.C.; we begin seizing their ports.

• 1863: CSA attacks to PA before we turn them back. We gain control of MS River

• 1864: CSA defeated W. of MS River. Snake squeezes them out of all states but NC, SC, and VA.

• 1865: By April, Confederates control only parts of central VA– April 8: CSA surrender at Appomattox– April 14: Lincoln shot by J.W. Booth in DC

Aftermath

• Most of war fought in South– Southern cities & existing factories destroyed– Political systems dead b/c politicians were loyal to

CSA

• 600K Americans killed; 400K injured• 4M African Americans freed without jobs,

education, health care, etc.• Nation needs to be Reconstructed, and

healed.

New Economy

• Not enough jobs for blacks or whites

• Landowners break plantations into plots

• Poor folks farm plots, keep a share, (sharecropping)

• Some northerners open small factories in Charleston, New Orleans, Memphis, Norfolk.

Integrating Blacks

• 13th Amendment: Bans slavery

• 14th Amendment: Gives everyone “equal protection” under the law. Black citizenship.

• 15th Amendment: Race can’t keep you from voting

• “Historically Black” Colleges– Formed by churches with $$ from the Fr.

Bureau.– Include Fisk, Atlanta, Howard, Hampton,

Grambling– Provided excellent education in liberal arts,

agriculture, tech & scientific fields

Rebuilding governments

• At 1st, fmr Confederates were barred from gov’t office

• Black, Repub candidates elected in overwhelming numbers

• 16 elected to Congress. 400+ elected to state legislatures.

The BIG sell-out

• 1876 election pits GOP Hayes against Dem Tilden

• Tilden wins S, Hayes N. Nearly tied

• Dems offer: If GOP ends Reconstruction, Hayes gets presidency

• Hayes takes the deal; the ‘Jim Crow’ era begins

Rise of Hate Groups• Fmr S. officers form Ku Klux Klan• Goals: Destroy Repubs, help the

“planters,” threaten Blacks, Jews, & Catholics

• End up getting members elected & appointed into many offices after Reconstruction

• Use this power to begin ‘legal’ discrimination against Black folks