1. The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, angering Northerners and leading to violence in "Bleeding Kansas" as both sides sought to control the territories.
2. The Lincoln-Douglas debates highlighted the differences between Republicans and Democrats on the issue of slavery and its expansion.
3. After Lincoln's election in 1860 on an anti-slavery platform, seven Southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America, led by Jefferson Davis.
This presentation covers the 1860 election, the secession winter, and the Firing on Fort Sumter to illuminate the history leading up to the beginning of the Civil War. It is the fifth in a series of textbook/lecture substitutes designed for students in a college seminar on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
This presentation covers the 1860 election, the secession winter, and the Firing on Fort Sumter to illuminate the history leading up to the beginning of the Civil War. It is the fifth in a series of textbook/lecture substitutes designed for students in a college seminar on the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Brief presentation about the coming of the Civil War from 1856 - 1860. Including Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Dred Scott, Harpers Ferry, and the Election of 1860.
Brief presentation about the coming of the Civil War from 1856 - 1860. Including Lincoln-Douglas Debates, Dred Scott, Harpers Ferry, and the Election of 1860.
1 Introduction African Americans And The Civil War MargaritoWhitt221
1
Introduction
African Americans And The Civil War
When the Civil War began in April 1861, President Abraham Lincoln’s paramount goal was the preservation of
the union not the abolition of slavery. Though Lincoln detested slavery, viewed it as a moral sin, and believed it
should not expand into new territories in the West, he, like many of his predecessors, hoped slavery would die a
slow, natural death in the future. He regarded immediate abolition as too radical and unconstitutional. During
the early years of the war, Lincoln also believed that any slaves freed as a consequence of the war, or by the
volition of their masters, should be resettled outside of the United States. Not only did Lincoln not endorse
abolition during the first year of the war, he did not believe freed black people could or should become citizens
of the United States.
During the war, African-Americans—slave and free, in the North and South—forced President Lincoln to
reconsider the meaning of the war. Black abolitionists like Frederick Douglass challenged Lincoln to fight not
just the Confederate Army but the lifeblood of the Confederate states – their slave system. At the same time,
slaves ran away from their masters into Union Army camps forcing the United States to develop policies that
led to their emancipation during the war. Close to 200,000 black men, both former slaves and people born free,
fought in all-black Union Army regiments during the war and distinguished themselves on and off the
battlefield. Their bravery and commitment also eventually forced Lincoln to recognize the necessity of ensuring
their freedom when the war ended as well as the freedom of all slaves.
Before his assassination in April 1865, Lincoln had dispensed with his proposal to colonize black people abroad
and began to make provisional plans for Reconstruction that included extending voting rights to some black
men, including Union Army veterans. African-Americans played a crucial role in shifting the meaning of the
Civil War. Rather than a war simply about union, their actions made it into a war about emancipation, freedom,
and citizenship. (1)
Learning Outcomes
This module addresses the following Course Learning Outcomes listed in the Syllabus for this course:
• To provide students with a general understanding of the history of African Americans within the context
of American History.
• To motivate students to become interested and active in African American history by comparing current
events with historical information.(1)
Additional learning outcomes associated with this module are:
• The student will be able to discuss the origins, evolution, and spread of racial slavery.
• The student will be able to describe the creation of a distinct African-American culture and how that
culture became part of the broader American culture.
• The student will be able to describe how African-American, during times of war, have forced ...
The Civil Rights Movement
Dr. James Patterson
Black Civil Rights Movement
Basic denial of civil rights (review)
Segregation in society
Inferior schools
Job discrimination
Political disenfranchisement
Over ½ lived below poverty level
Unemployment double national ave.
Ghettoes: gangs, drugs, substandard housing, crime
Early Victories
WWII egalitarianism and backlash against German racism
Jackie Robinson integrated professional baseball—1947
Desegregation of the armed forces ordered by president Truman—1948
Marian Anderson performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera House—1955
Increased interest in civil rights a result of Cold War propaganda
Brown v. Board of Education
1954 – Topeka, Kansas
Linda Brown: filed suit to attend a neighborhood school
“Separate educational institutions are inherently unequal.”
Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson
Court says: integrate "with all deliberate speed.”
What did this mean?
Linda Brown and Family
Circumvention of Brown v. Board of Education Ruling
White supremacist parents feared racial mixing and attempted to block black enrollment.
Ignored the integration issue
Token integration
Segregation through standardized placement tests
Segregation through private schools
Stalling through legal action
By 1964, 10 years after the Brown case, only 1% of black children attended truly integrated schools.
Little Rock High School
1957 courts order integration in Little Rock
9 black students enrolled.
Governor called out militia to block it.
Mobs replaced militia after recall.
Eisenhower ordered federal troops to protect the students.
Daily harassment
Courageous black students persevered.
Montgomery Bus Boycott
1955--Rosa Parks arrested for not giving up seat to white man
Boycott of bus system led by Martin Luther King, Jr.:
Walking, church busses, car pools, bicycles
Bus lines caught in the middle
Rosa Parks being Booked
Supreme Court ruled bus companies must integrate.
Inspired other protests:
Sit-ins, wade-ins, kneel-ins
Woolworth’s lunch counter
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Non-Violent
Influenced by Ghandi
“The blood may flow, but it must be our blood, not that of the white man.”
“Lord, we ain’t what we oughta be. We ain’t what we wanna be. We ain’t what we gonna be. But thank God, we ain’t what we was.”
Freedom Riders
Activists traveled from city to city to ignite the protest.
Bull Conner:
in Montgomery
Dogs
Whips
Water hoses
Cattle prods
Television
Public backlash
Civil Rights March (AL. 1965)
1963 - Washington, D.C. "I have a Dream“—200,000 Attended
Civil Rights Legislation
1964 - Civil Rights Act
1964 - 24th Amendment
Abolished Poll Tax
1965 Voting Rights Act
Affirmative action
Int ...
2. Stephen Douglas’s Railroad Proposal A transcontinental railroad would secure the union Removing the “Indian Barrier” was the only way to accomplish this He proposed to establish a government for the Nebraska Territory to establish a northern route for the railroad Southerner’s defeated the proposal They were upset because the route was in the north and the new Nebraska Territory was above the Missouri Compromise line
3. Kansas Nebraska Act Stephen Douglas’s reaction to the southern disagreement with his first proposal Splits the Nebraska territory in two : Kansas and Nebraska Establishes popular sovereignty in both territories This allows southerner’s to bring slaves into an area that formerly banned slaves
4. Kansas Nebraska Act Repeals the Missouri Compromise Anger’s politicians in the north “part and parcel of an atrocious plot” to make a free territory a “dreary region of despotism, inhabited by masters and slaves” Passes into law Douglas is hated in the north he says to an angry mob “It’s Sunday, I’m going to Church, and you can go to hell”
6. Bleeding Kansas Kansas has the right location and climate to support slavery Massive drive to bring settlers to Kansas from both North and South Politicians have strong words from both sides Missouri residents began to move west Antislavery organizations fund and arm migrants
7. Bleeding Kansas Fraudulent votes from Missouri residents allow proslavery people to elect a territorial government Pass laws making aiding a fugitive slave a capital crime Makes talking against slavery a felony Free-staters establish their own government in Topeka
8. Bleeding Kansas A small civil war errupts Dubbed “Bleeding Kansas” by journalists “The sack of Lawrence Pottawatomie Creek John Brown Killed 5 men with broadswords Senator Brooks hits Senator Sumner with his walking cane
9. Northern Political Re-alignment Northern Democrats, Northern Whigs, and Free-soilers Slavery was the main reason for the re-alignment Immigration and Religion Know-nothings Both anti-immigrant and anti-catholic Nationalist Want to ignore the slavery issue They support public health and education
10. Republican Party Formed from northern Know Nothings, Northern Whigs and Democrats Strong state and federal governments to promote economy and social reform Overriding bond in their opposition to the extension of slavery Anti-Southern Sectional in nature They directly Oppose the Democrats who are top heavy with Southerners
11. Election of 1856 Republicans and Know Nothings face a national election for the first time Democrats are divided James Buchanan – Pennsylvania Republicans and “North Americans” John C. Fremont Split Know Nothings “South Americans” – Millard Fillmore Buchanan Wins
12. The Dred Scott Case Dred Scott is a slave owned by an army surgeon in Missouri He traveled with his master to Illinois and Wisconsin While traveling his master dies He sues his widow for freedom based on the grounds that Illinois and Wisconsin territory barred slavery
13. The Dred Scott Case The case reaches the supreme court 5 of the 9 justices are from slave states Chief Justice Roger Taney They dismiss the suit for two reasons Black people are not citizens of the United States and therefore Dred Scott cannot sue Slaves are “beings of an inferior order…so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect”
14. The Dred Scott Case Black people are not citizens of the United States and therefore Dred Scott cannot sue Slaves are “beings of an inferior order…so far inferior that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect” Even if Dred Scott could sue, his residence in Wisconsin did not make him free because the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional The compromise deprived citizens of their property (slaves) without due process which violated the Fifth Amendment Essentially Taney rules that congress cannot bar slavery from the territories
15. Lecompton Constitution Free-staters in Kansas boycott the June election Fear that pro-slavery would make fraudulent votes They do vote in October and win, but there are some irregularities 20 voters had cast 1200 votes for proslavery candidates In one community of 6 houses 1600 names were at the polls – all in the same handwriting – all from the Cincinnati city directory
16. Lecompton Constitution Although free-staters controlled the territorial legislature, pro-slavery forces created a constitution that allowed slavery in Kansas Buchanan ignored official pleas to not allow the constitution – violates the Kansas Nebraska Act Popular sovereignty Passes the senate, but the house rejects it
17. Lincoln Douglas Debates Stephen Douglas – Northern Democrat Abraham Lincoln – Republican Kentucky Born Lawyer Married rich – Mary Todd Strongly opposed extension of slavery Excellent speaker Sense of Humor Demeanor fit well with his constituency Senate Race in Illinois
18. Lincoln Douglas Debate Lincoln was new to the senate race Douglas called him a radical “The United States, like ‘a house divided against itself,’ could not ‘endure permanently half slave and half free’” Lincoln responds by challenging Douglas to a series of debates in Illinois Douglas reluctantly agrees to 7 out of the 9 districts
19. Lincoln Douglas Debate The debates change the course of American politics People from all over would come with their families and picnic baskets to listen Put the issue into sharp focus and defined the difference between: Republican and Democrat North and south Lincoln and Douglas
20. Lincoln Douglas Debates Slavery issue Douglas Not a moral issue; if whites want slavery so be it, if they don’t so be it Lincoln Slavery is a moral issue “The real issue in this controversy is the sentiment on the part of one class that looks upon the institution of slavery as a wrong, and of another class that does not look upon it as a wrong. The Republican party look upon it as being a moral, social, and political wrong and one of the methods of treating it as a wrong is to make provision that it shall grow no larger. That is the real issue. It is the eternal struggle between these two principles, right and wrong, throughout the world.”
21. Lincoln Douglas Debates Lincoln balanced his ideas about slavery with practical politics He distanced himself from abolitionists He and the Republican party were anti-slavery but were not advocates of racial equality The debates brought Lincoln into the political scene but he lost the senate race
22. North and South Differences Economy North: Urban and Industrial South: Rural and Agricultural Social and Religious South: More violent Values of Courtesy, honor and courage Military service High Illiteracy North Education – Public Schools Evangelical Protestantism
23. Harper’s Ferry John Brown Fund Raising for violent frontier campaign He returns to Kansas to find peace He decides to attach a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia He hopes to spark a slave uprising He captures the arsenal and waits for slaves to rally The Virginia militia and Colonel Robert E. Lee quickly put down the Raid
24. Harper’s Ferry Lincoln – “It was not a slave insurrection. It was an attempt by white men to get up a revolt among slaves, in which the slaves refused to participate.” He is sentenced to Hang in Virginia Some regard him as a martyr This really freaks out the South
25. The Election of 1860 Democratic Party Charleston South Carolina convention Northern Democrats -Stephen Douglas – no 2/3 Extremists favor secession – want Republicans to win South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas walk out Reconvene in Baltimore in June
26. Election of 1860 The delegates from the upper south refuse to seat the delegates who walked out in Charleston They Nominate Stephen Douglas Lower South Democrats Nominate John C. Breckinridge Upper South Whigs create the Constitutional Union party and nominate John Bell
27. Election of 1860 The Republican convention saw two candidates: Lincoln and Seward Seward’s strong hate for slavery and slaveholders disadvantaged him Lincoln separated himself from abolitionists and Seward – Moderate Morality Lincoln wins the Republican Nomination
28. Election of 1860 Campaign in the south was Bell and Breckinridge Campaign in the north was Lincoln and Douglas Republicans won the state house in Indian and Pennsylvania and Lincoln’s election was inevitable Lincoln won with 40% of the vote – Becomes the 16th President
29. Secession Four days after Lincoln’s victory South Carolina calls a convention to consider secession December 20, 1860 It’s delegates vote unanimously to leave the Union February 1, 1861 – Six other states decide to leave The seven ceding states meet to form a country – Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis is Sworn in as President on February 18, 1861
30. Secession Interestingly: The people who decided on secession spoke highly of democratic freedom but did not put the decision of session to a popular vote They also, for many generations, claimed that secession was all about state’s rights, the most important of which was slavery
31. Secession CSA Vice President Alexander H. Stephens on the Confederate Constitution: “The new constitution has put at rest forever all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution, African slavery as it exists amongst us, the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Our new government’s foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition”
32. Secession Secession was least popular among small non-slaveholding farmers Secessionists create powerful propaganda Secession is a personal challenge to every southerner It’s cowardly to remain in the union Remaining in the union is submitting to despotism and enslavement Southerner’s were the true heirs of 1776 Northerners – Lincoln – meant to deprive Southerners the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness