The US Civil War began due to the tensions between the North and South which had not been solved by the Founding Fathers. In this topic we look at:

1. The Causes of the War
2. African Americans During the War
3. Reconstruction and the continuing oppression of African Americans.

Map

This map shows you (in red) the states which left The United States to try and form their own separate nation - The Confederate States.

In Light blue are states which had slavery but didn't try to leave the United States.

In Dark blue are the Free states which remained part of the US.

Causes of the Civil War 1850-1861

The North-South Divide

Although there was a difference between North and South many businesses in the North would have struggled without the benefits that slavery in the South bought them – this made Slavery a very complicated issue. It was known as the 'economic glue' which held the nation together. However by 1860 it had begun to tear the nation apart!

Abolitionists

· Had become more popular due to newspapers like ‘The Liberator’

· William Lloyd Garrison formed the National Anti-Slavery Society

· Escaped slaves like Frederick Douglass told their stories

· Freed slaves like Harriet Tubman ran an underground railroad to move slaves out of the South

· Many Christian Groups supported abolition

· The Popular Book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ was read by many

Compromise

· The South were losing political power as the population grew in the North

· New States were being created as free states

· President Clay made a compromise to try and appease both sides

o California should be a free state

o No slave trade in Washington

o Mexico and Utah could decide for themselves

o All escaped slaves should be returned to their owners

This pleased the Southerners far more as they hoped that slavery would still be able to expand Westwards

Political Differences

· Things got worse when the Kansas-Nebraska Act overturned the Missouri Compromise which said no slaves should be allowed in these territories

· In Congress 2 Southern politicians knocked a northern senator unconscious whilst debating slavery – the North and South were split into 2 Parties

Democrats (South)

· Supported plantations

· Strong state governments and weaker national government

Republicans (North)

· Set up after the Kansas-Nebraska Act

· Slave holders were too powerful

· Supported Modern Capitalist business, small businesses, small farmers, shopkeepers

· Abolitionists

James Buchanan became President – he was a Democrat

He supported the spread of slavery and supported pro-slavery policies His actions upset so many Northerners that most voted for the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln

When Lincoln won many states chose to leave the Union and set up their own Confederacy led by Jefferson Davis

Timeline to War

· 4^th March 1861 – Lincoln makes a speech saying it was illegal for the South to leave.

· 12^th April 1861 – Confederate soldiers opened fire on Union soldiers at Fort Sumter.

· 15^th April 1861 – Lincoln sends troops to bring the Southern Confederacy back to the Union – the start of Civil War.

The African American Experience of War

The war took place in 2 phases

1. Limited War 1861-2

2. Total War 1863-5

1. Limited War

No one attempted to end slavery at the beginning of the war- Life remained the same for most African Americans

Contrabands

· Free slaves in the North wanted to join up but were not allowed

· Lincoln didn’t want some of the slave states that supported the North to change sides

· When plantations were taken over by the Union soldiers, slaves chose to support the North

· Lincoln then used them to help in the Union Army but would still not let them be soldiers – these slaves became known as ‘Contrabands’

First signs of freedom

· In 1862 any land taken by Union soldiers became free

· In the Sea Islands slaves were allowed to keep the land and farm it

The Black Experience of the Civil War

1. Almost 200,000 African Americans serve in the Union Army and Navy

2. Segregated into all-black units, such as the Massachusetts 54th Regiment

3. Treated Badly by the white generals and other soldiers.

4. Proved to be vital members of the Army, fighting in every major battle they could.

5. President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation opened the door for blacks to become enlisted in the Union Army. Although they had wanted to participate in the war effort at earlier dates, they were prohibited by a federal law that dated back to 1792. Lincoln also feared that if their recruitment was authorized, the border states would secede from the Union.

6. Although African Americans proved their loyalty to the Union Army and proved their abilities in battle discrimination still occurred in pay and other areas. According to the Militia Act of 1862, soldiers of African descent were to receive $10.00 a month, plus a clothing deduction of $3.50. White soldiers in both the Union army and navy received $13.00 a month with no deduction for clothing.

7. African American divisions struggled with the discriminations including equal pay until June 15, 1864, when equal pay for all black soldiers was granted by Congress. Many African Americans refused money until this issuing of equality.

8. African American soldiers comprised about 10% of the entire Union Army. Losses among African Americans were high, and from all reported casualties, approximately one-third of all African Americans enrolled in the military lost their lives during the Civil War.

9. One division of the African American army became known as the “army of freemen,” in which 37,000 African Americans died.

2. Total War

Positive Experience

· Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1^st 1863 which declared that if the Union won all slaves would be freed

· 1862 – First Black Regiment formed and 70% of Northern Black men joined the Union Army

· Harriet Tubman acted as a spy and nurse

· Christian groups moved South and began to try and educate the freed slaves

· Northerners employed the slaves on the plantations so they still had jobs

· At the end of the war each slave that was being freed was given 40 acres of land

Negative Experience

· Troops were poorly treated, paid less and given heavy labour instead of being allowed to fight

· Although the slaves who worked on plantations were given pay they were not allowed to leave

· In New York there were riots by poor White Americans who did not want to fight a war for Black Americans. They burnt down Black homes, lynched, beat and drowned men for 4 days

Reconstruction (Rebuilding after the Civil War)

There were 3 phases of Reconstruction after the Civil war ended on April 9^th 1865

1. Lincoln’s Reconstruction

2. Johnson’s Reconstruction

3. Radical Reconstruction

Lincolns Reconstruction 1865

· 13^th Amendment – No Slavery

· Promised to rebuild the Nation without being horrible to the South

· Ended within a week of the War by his assassination

Johnson’s Reconstruction 1865

· He did 2 things that angered people

1. Was lenient to the South – allowed the states to immediately re-join with no consequences and full state power

2. Did not support the newly freed slaves – returned land given to slaves to plantation owners

· Reconstruction was over by December 1865

· As a result of southern states regaining power the Black Codes came into effect which limited the political and social standing of Black African Americans – Slavery was effectively reintroduced by not allowing workers to leave plantations for 2 years

· The Ku Klux Klan formed

Radical Reconstruction 1866-70

· Angered by Johnson’s failure punish the South Radicals in Congress undid Johnson’s actions and so introduced the following

o The Freedmen’s Bureau – gave land to slaves, education and healthcare

o Civil Rights Bill – illegal to deny a black person civil rights

o 14^th Amendment - all born in the US were citizens

o In Washington Black men could vote

o Reconstruction Acts – removed all state governments and Union generals ran different areas, made all states give Black men the right to vote

o 15^th Amendment – every US citizen has the right to vote

However, these successes did not last and Southern States soon started to protest

Failures of Reconstruction

· The South objected to ‘Scallawags’ (Southern Radical sympathisers) and ‘Carpetbaggers’ (Northerners who moved to the south to get rich quick)

· Some Radical Republicans died meaning the movement lost momentum

· The Freedmen’s Bureau was closed down in 1872

· The KKK were becoming more wide-spread and violent

· Most slaves were now ‘sharecroppers’ – this was essentially legal slavery - they farmed land they did not own for a share of the crops rather than pay. This meant many were worse off than when they had been slaves.

· President Grant sent no assistance to African Americans.

· The Supreme Court ruled that at state level laws could be put in place which targeted Black people.

· The Supreme Court also ruled that the National government could not intervene if voters were being stopped from voting - it was up to states themselves to set the rules for voter registration.

· The last Union soldiers left in 1877 and Black people were left to fend for themselves meaning the KKK became even more violent.