End

In 1864, President Lincoln placed a general, Ulysses S. Grant, in charge of all the Union armies.

Who was General Grant?

Ulysses S. Grant was born in Ohio. He served in the army during the Mexican-American War in the 1840s. When the Civil War started, Grant joined the army again.

During the war, Grant won several battles in the Western Theater. His most famous victory was the capture of Vicksburg in 1863. This victory gave the Union control of the entire Mississippi River. Grant's success led President Lincoln to put him in charge of all the Union armies.

In 1868, Grant was elected to be the 18th president of the United States.

In 1864, the United States held a presidential election. Lincoln ran for re-election. A couple months before the election, Lincoln wrote the following note to his advisors. Use it to answer the question below.

This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so cooperate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards.

exceedingly: extremely

Administration: the president and his team

inauguration: when a president takes office

Why did Lincoln think he might lose?

President Lincoln did not want to end the war until the Union won. But in 1864, many Northerners were growing frustrated with the war. More and more families were losing loved ones. The end of the war seemed nowhere in sight.

So, Lincoln thought the voters would replace him with a new president. They would expect the new president to end the war, even if it meant letting the Confederacy secede.

In January 1865, the United States Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment. Below is the first section of the amendment.

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States . . .

whereof: of which

What did the Thirteenth Amendment do? It banned slavery.

Who freed the enslaved people of the United States?

Historians still debate who is most responsible for ending slavery. Here are some of the people and groups historians argue were important to helping end slavery:

• enslaved people

• abolitionists

• Republican congressmen

• the Union army

• Abraham Lincoln

By April 1865, the Union Army of the Potomac had fought the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia for four years. General Ulysses S. Grant sent the following note to the Confederate general, Robert E. Lee. Use the note to answer the question below.

The result of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood, by asking of you the surrender [of] the Army of Northern Virginia.

effusion: loss

Grant is asking Lee to surrender, or give up

General Lee gives up the Confederate capital

In April 1865, General Lee decided his army was too weak to protect the Confederate capital of Richmond anymore. The Confederates left the city.

The picture below shows Richmond in April 1865. Retreating Confederate soldiers burnt military buildings so the Union could not use them. The fires got out of control. A large part of the city of Richmond burned down.

Soon after Appomattox, Abraham Lincoln was killed by actor John Wilkes Booth. Booth wanted to kill the president because he wanted the Confederacy to survive.

John Wilkes Booth was part of a group that planned to kill several high-level officials such as Vice President Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.

Seward was stabbed several times but survived. The attack on Johnson never happened. Only the shooting of Lincoln succeeded.

Booth came from a family of famous actors. In a strange coincidence, his brother Edwin once saved Lincoln's son Robert from getting hit by a train.

If a president is killed, the next president is the vice president.

Who was Andrew Johnson?

Andrew Johnson was a Southerner from Tennessee. During the war, Johnson had stayed loyal to the Union. President Lincoln chose Johnson as vice president to try to gain Southern support.

Johnson hated secessionists, but he also disliked African American people. After the war, he tried to prevent the Republican Congress from granting more rights to formerly enslaved people.

The United States faced many challenges after the Confederate armies surrendered. Some of the challenges were:

• Some white Southerners were attacking former enslaved people.

• Northerners disagreed about how to treat former Confederates.

• Many wounded veterans needed help after leaving the army.

What happened to the formerly enslaved people after the Civil War?

There were both successes and defeats for formerly enslaved people after the Civil War.

As this picture shows, African American men gained the right to vote with the Fifteenth Amendment. Some formerly enslaved people became sheriffs, governors and congressmen.

However, groups of white Southerners such as the Ku Klux Klan tried to take away the rights of formerly enslaved people. These groups attacked and killed many African American people. This cartoon was made by someone who was angry about what these groups were doing.

Historians disagree about how many people died in the Civil War. Some estimate that around 620,000 people died. Others think the number is closer to 750,000, or even higher.

How do historians know about the past?

Historians need pieces of evidence to study history. Often, these sources are full of mistakes or forgotten. People of the past would often lose or throw away documents that would have been useful to historians.

Think about all the pieces of paper you lose or throw away. If a historian wanted to write about your life, what sources could they use? What sources would be missing?