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Abolition
Abolition, the movement to abolish slavery, became the most important of a series of reform movements in America. -
Missouri Compromise
Congress passed a series of agreements
in 1820–1821 known as the Missouri Compromise. Under these agreements,
Maine was admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. The rest of the
Louisiana Territory was split into two parts. The dividing line was set at 36°30´
north latitude. South of the line, slavery was legal. North of the line—except in
Missouri—slavery was banned
President was James Monroe -
Formation of the Confederacy
Mississippi soon followed South Carolina’s lead, as did
Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. In
February 1861, delegates from the secessionist states met in
Montgomery, Alabama, where they formed the Confederate
States of America, or Confederacy. The Confederates then unanimously elected former
senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as president. -
Sante Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail,
which stretched 780 miles from Independence, Missouri, to
Santa Fe in the Mexican province of New Mexico. (See map
on page 132.) Each spring from 1821 through the 1860s,
American traders loaded their covered wagons with goods
and set off toward Santa Fe. -
San Felipe de Austin
In 1821 he established a colony where “no drunkard, no gambler, no profane
swearer, and no idler” would be allowed.
The main settlement of the colony was named San Felipe de Austin, in
Stephen’s honor. . Each family received either 177 very
inexpensive acres of farmland, or 4,428 acres for stock grazing, as well as a 10-year
exemption from paying taxes. “I am convinced,” Austin said, “that I could take on
fifteen hundred families as easily as three hundred if permitted to do so.” -
Mexico Abolishes Slavery
Despite peaceful cooperation between Anglos and
Tejanos, differences over cultural issues intensified between Anglos and the
Mexican government. The overwhelmingly Protestant Anglo settlers spoke
English instead of Spanish. Furthermore, many of the settlers were Southerners,
who had brought slaves with them to Texas. Mexico, which had abolished slavery in 1829, insisted in vain that the Texans free their slaves. -
The Liberator
The most radical white abolitionist was a young
editor named William Lloyd Garrison. Active in religious reform movements
in Massachusetts, Garrison became the editor of an antislavery paper in 1828.
Three years later he established his own paper, The Liberator, to deliver an uncompromising demand: immediate emancipation. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Some slaves rebelled against their condition of
bondage. One of the most prominent rebellions was led by Virginia slave
Nat Turner. In August 1831, Turner and more than 50 followers attacked four
plantations and killed about 60 whites. Whites eventually captured and executed
many members of the group, including Turner -
Stephen F. Austin goes to jail
While
Austin was on his way home, Santa Anna had Austin imprisoned for inciting
revolution. -
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail stretched from Independence,
Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. It was blazed in 1836 by
two Methodist missionaries named Marcus and Narcissa
Whitman. By driving their wagon as far as Fort Boise (near
present-day Boise, Idaho), they proved that wagons could
travel on the Oregon Trail. -
Texas Revolution
the 1836 rebellion in which Texas gained its
independence from Mexico. -
Manifest Destiny
The phrase “manifest destiny”
expressed the belief that the United States was ordained to expand to the Pacific
Ocean and into Mexican and Native American territory. -
Texas Enters the United States
Most Texans hoped that the United States
would annex their republic, but U.S. opinion divided along sectional lines.
Southerners wanted Texas in order to extend slavery, Northerners feared that the annexation of more slave territory
would tip the uneasy balance in the Senate in favor of slave state and prompt war with Mexico.
The 1844 U.S. presidential campaign focused on westward expansion. The
winner, James K. Polk, a slaveholder, firmly favored the annexation of Texas. -
Mexican-American War
From 1846 to 1848, U.S. and Mexican troops fought against one another in the Mexican-American War. Ultimately, it was a battle for land where Mexico was fighting to keep what they thought was their property and the U.S. desired to retain the disputed land of Texas and obtain more of Mexico's northern lands. -
The North Star
Frederick
Douglass, Garrison heard
him speak and was so impressed that
he sponsored Douglass to speak for
various anti-slavery organizations.
Hoping that abolition could be
achieved without violence, Douglass
broke with Garrison, who believed
that abolition justified whatever
means were necessary to achieve it.
In 1847, Douglass began his own
antislavery newspaper. He named it
The North Star, after the star that
guided runaway slaves to freedom. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico and
ceded the New Mexico and California territories to the United States. The United
States agreed to pay $15 million for the Mexican cession, which included present day California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, most of Arizona, and parts of
Colorado and Wyoming. -
Harriet Tubman
One of the most famous conductors was Harriet Tubman,
born a slave in Maryland in 1820 or 1821. In 1849, after Tubman’s
owner died, she heard rumors that she was about to be sold. Fearing
this possibility, Tubman decided to make a break for freedom and succeeded in reaching Philadelphia. Shortly after passage of the Fugitive Slave
Act, Tubman became a conductor on the Underground
Railroad. In all, she made 19 trips back to the South and is said to have
helped 300 slaves flee to freedom. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Under the law,
alleged fugitive slaves were not entitled to a trial by jury. In addition, anyone convicted of helping a fugitive was liable for a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for
up to six months. Infuriated by the Fugitive Slave Act, some Northerners resisted
it by organizing “vigilance committees” to send endangered African Americans to
safety in Canada. Others resorted to violence to rescue fugitive slaves. Still others
worked to help slaves escape from slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay worked to shape a compromise that both the North
and the South could accept. After obtaining support of the powerful
Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster, Clay presented to the Senate a series of resolutions later called the Compromise of 1850.To please the North, the compromise provided that California be admitted to the Union as a free state. To please the South, the compromise proposed a new and more effective fugitive slave law. -
Underground Railroad
free African Americans and white abolitionists developed a
secret network of people who would, at great risk to themselves, hide fugitive
slaves. The system of escape routes known as the
Underground Railroad. “Conductors” on the routes hid fugitives Once fugitives
reached the North, many chose to remain there. Others journeyed to
Canada to be completely out of reach of their “owners.” -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet
Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which stressed
that slavery was not just a political contest, but also a great moral struggle. As a young girl, Stowe had watched boats filled with people on
their way to be sold at slave markets. Uncle Tom’s Cabin expressed her
lifetime hatred of slavery. The book stirred Northern abolitionists to
increase protests against the Fugitive Slave Act, while
Southerners criticized the book as an
attack on the South. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott, a slave whose owner took him from
the slave state of Missouri to free territory in Illinois and Wisconsin
and back to Missouri. Scott appealed for his
freedom on the grounds that living in a free state—Illinois—and
a free territory—Wisconsin— made him a free man. The court ruled against
him, and he appealed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not and could never be
citizens. Dred Scott had no right even to file a lawsuit and remained enslaved. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas and Nebraska territory lay
north of the Missouri Compromise
line of 36°30’ and therefore was legally
closed to slavery. Douglas introduced a
bill in Congress
divided the area into two: Nebraska in the north and
Kansas in the south. The bill
would repeal the Missouri Compromise
and establish popular sovereignty. Some Northern congressmen saw the bill to turn the territories into slave states.
Southerners strongly defended the legislation. After months,
the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law -
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas Debates
Lincoln challenged the man
to a series of debates on the issue
of slavery in the territories. Douglas accepted the challenge,
and the stage was set for some of the most celebrated debates
in U.S. history.
Neither wanted slavery in the territories,
but they disagreed on how to keep it out. Douglas believed in
popular sovereignty. Lincoln believed that slavery
was immoral. He did not expect individuals to give up
slavery unless Congress abolished slavery. Douglas won the Senate seat -
John Brown's Raid / Harpers Ferry
John Brown believed that it was time for uprisings in the
US. He led a band of 21 men into Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to seize the federal arsenal there and start a slave uprising. No uprising occurred. Troops put down the rebellion. Authorities tried Brown and put him to death. In the North, bells tolled, guns fired salutes, and huge crowds gathered to hear fiery speakers denounce the South. in the South, where mobs assaulted whites suspected of holding antislavery views. -
Abraham Lincoln becomes President
As the campaign developed, three major candidates besides Lincoln vied for
office. The Democratic Party finally split over slavery. Northern Democrats rallied
behind Douglas and his doctrine of popular sovereignty. Southern Democrats,
who supported the Dred Scott decision, lined up behind Vice-President John C.
Breckinridge of Kentucky. Lincoln emerged as the winner with less than half the popular
vote and with no electoral votes from the South. -
Income Tax
As the Northern economy grew,
Congress decided to help pay for the war by collecting the nation’s first income
tax, a tax that takes a specified percentage of an individual’s income -
Battle of Bull Run
The first bloodshed on the battlefield occurred about three months
after Fort Sumter fell, near the little creek of Bull Run, just 25 miles from
Washington, D.C. The battle was a seesaw affair. In the morning the Union army
gained the upper hand, but the Confederates held firm, inspired by General
Thomas J. Jackson. Confederate and Union war -
Attack on Fort Sumter
Months earlier, as soon as the Confederacy was formed, Confederate soldiers
in each secessionist state began seizing federal installations—especially forts. By
the time of Lincoln’s inauguration, only four Southern forts
remained in Union hands. The most important was Fort Sumter, an island
in Charleston harbor.
Lincoln decided to neither abandon Fort Sumter nor reinforce it. He would
merely send in “food for hungry men.” -
Battle of Antietam
McClellan ordered his men to pursue Lee, and the two
sides fought on September 17 near a creek called the
Antietam (Bn-tCPtEm). The clash proved to be the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with casualties
totaling more than 26,000. The next day, instead of pursuing the battered Confederate army into Virginia and possibly ending the war, McClellan did nothing. As a result,
Lincoln removed him from command. -
Emancipation of Proclamation
Lincoln did find a way to use his constitutional war powers to end slavery. The Confederacy used the labor of slaves to
build fortifications and grow food. Lincoln’s powers as commander in chief
allowed him to order his troops to seize enemy resources. He decided
that he could
also authorize the army to emancipate slaves. Emancipation was not just a moral
issue; it became a weapon of war.
Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. -
Gettysburg Address
According to some contemporary historians, Lincoln’s
Gettysburg Address “remade America.” Before Lincoln’s speech, people said,
“The United States are . . .” Afterward, they said, “The United States is . . .” In
other words, the speech helped the country to realize that it was not just a collection of individual states; it was one unified nation. -
Battle at VIcksburg
Confederate hopes in Gettysburg,
fought to take Vicksburg.
Their confidence growing with every victory, Grant and his troops rushed to
Vicksburg, hoping to take the city while the rebels were reeling from their losses.
Grant ordered two frontal attacks on Vicksburg, neither of which succeeded. Grant settled in for a siege.
After food supplies ran so low
mules, the Confederate command of Vicksburg asked Grant for terms of surrender. The city fell on July 4. -
Conscription
The war led to social upheaval and political unrest in both the North and the
South. As the fighting intensified, heavy casualties and widespread desertions led
each side to impose conscription, a draft that forced men to serve in the army.
In the North, conscription led to draft riots, the most violent of which took place
in New York City. Sweeping changes occurred in the wartime economies of both
sides as well as in the roles played by African Americans and women. -
Battle at Gettysburg
The Battle
of Gettysburg began when Confederate soldiers encountered several brigades of Union cavalry
Buford ordered his men to take defensive positions on the hills and ridges
surrounding the town. Hill’s troops marched toward the town from the
west, Buford’s men were waiting. The shooting attracted more troops and both
sides called for reinforcements. By the end of the day, 90000
Union troops under the command of General George Meade had taken the field
against 75000 Confederates -
Sherman's March
Sherman began his march southeast through Georgia to the sea, creating a wide path of destruction. His army burned almost every house in its path and destroyed live- stock and railroads. Sherman was determined to make Southerners “so sick of war that generations would pass away before they would again appeal to it.” By mid-November he had burned most of Atlanta. After reaching the ocean, Sherman’s forces—followed by 25,000 former slaves—turned north to help Grant “wipe out Lee. -
Surrender at Appomattox Court House
In a Virginia town called Appomattox. Court House, Lee and Grant met at a private home to arrange a Confederate surrender. At Lincoln’s request, the terms were generous. Grant paroled Lee’s soldiers and sent them home with their possessions and three days’ worth of rations. Officers were permitted to keep their side arms. Within a month all remaining Confederate resistance collapsed. After four long years, the Civil War was over. -
Assasination of Abraham Lincoln
five days after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, Lincoln and his wife went to Ford’s Theatre in Washington to see a British comedy. During its third act, a man crept up behind Lincoln and shot the president in the back of his head.
Lincoln, who never regained consciousness, died. After the shooting, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth—a 26-year-old actor and Southern sympathizer— then leaped down from the presidential box to the stage and escaped. -
Thirteenth Amendment
The government had to decide what to do about the border states, where slavery still existed. The president believed that the only solution was a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. After some political maneuvering, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified at the end of 1865. The U.S. Constitution now stated, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly con- victed, shall exist within the United States.”
