Shift of manufacturing from house to shop or factory: altered function of families from production to consumption; took men out of homes (created gender “spheres”); made families more child- and love-centered; opened doors for women through teaching, writing, etc.

Mexican War was mainly Democratic doctrine (as was Manifest Destiny); Whigs didn’t want to show example by force

Wilmot Proviso about no slavery in new Mexico, annexation first step leading to the conflict

Southern justifications for slavery: civilized African savages, provided security poor Europeans didn’t have, elevated white labor, eliminated class conflict, established upper class for whites

Free Soil Party of 1848 a coalition of anti-slavery Democrats and Conscience Whigs

Gold rush in California brought lots of people, helping to spark sectional crisis with California and slavery

Wilmot Proviso wouldn’t work as many wanted; California and New Mexico admitted as full and free states

Pres. Taylor once thought the Yankees the aggressors, but soon saw the southerners were “intolerant and revolutionary”

By 1850, Calhoun and other southerners already saw very little hope for avoiding disunion

Clay’s 1850 proposal – First pair: admit CA as state and organize remainder of Mexican cession without restriction on slavery. Second pair: settled Texas-NM boundary dispute and assumed Texas’ debts from time as independent republic. Third pair: abolish slave trade in D.C. but guaranteed slavery. Fourth pair: denied congressional power over slave trade and called for stronger fugitive slave laws (compromise)

Compromise of 1850 averted crisis but only postponed trauma

Calhoun’s case: equilibrium had been destroyed. North had grown faster in population, wealth, power. Discriminatory laws (NW Ordinance and Compromise of 1820) had favored the North (yet Calhoun had supported them).

Webster’s case: bury the hatchet. Nature would keep slavery out of New Mexico. Warned southerners disunion just couldn’t happen

Seward’s case: Condemned the compromise, saying slavery was unjust and backward. Appealed to Higher Law in God over Constitution.

Taylor dies in 1850 and Fillmore takes over and pushes through the Compromise in pieces, with help from Stephen Douglas; Most measures passed on sectional not party lines, which showed weight of slavery

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 – The only part of Compromise favored by the South. During 1850s, 332 slaves returned and only 11 freed. Northern resistance fueled southern resentment

South wanted U.S. to purchase Cuba to add another slave state but it didn’t work because of the 1848 Whig victories; Two different militia forces tried invading Cuba but failed

Gadsden Purchase initially was $50 million for 250,000 square miles of land by Santa Anna only gave up 46,000 for $15 million

William Walker eventually declared himself president of Nicaragua, losing support from Pierce, so he legalized slavery in a bid for Southern support

Navy stopped him from doing it again, angering South. On his fourth try, he was caught and hanged in Honduras

1852 election – Pierce, dark horse candidate, was the only one the South could agree on. He defended Fugitive Slave Law and opened rest of Louisiana Purchase north of 36”30’ to slavery

Kansas-Nebraska Act eventually finished off Whigs and birthed Republicans; South in no hurry to settle it because it was north of 36”30’

Northerners feared Dred Scott case as a Pandora’s Box that would allow slavery to spread into free states; Taney used it to justify slavery as a whole and defend it

Difference of social systems: North’s allowed for upward mobility and free labor while South’s didn’t; South survived Panic of 1857 with King Cotton but over-boasted

1860 election – Seward perceived as too radical and came from New York machine; Lincoln had fewest weaknesses and most strengths; he could win in lower North states; Old Whigs emerged in Constitutional Union party, unhappy with Lincoln but wasn’t taken seriously because it didn’t address slavery

Secession happened quickly because it was state by state; earlier attempts at consensus had led to caution and delay

“Cooperationists” wanted unity before secession but followed anyway, “Ultimatumists” wanted to send demands to Lincoln, but didn’t have support

Debate whether secession and/or revolution were Constitutional; the first was debatable, the latter not so

Secessionists rallied non-slaveholders with white supremacy arguments (the slaves will take over everything if we don’t fight, etc.)

Secession fit model of “preemptive counterrevolution,” where they exaggerate magnitude of threat and strike first

Fear of domino effect; talk of NYC secession

States didn’t exist outside of union, no state sovereignty wasn’t more powerful than federal; Couldn’t secede through laws, only through revolution

South didn’t have just cause; event that triggered it was legal election of president

Rather than immediate coercion, cooperation, or departing, the Union decided for “watchful waiting” to wait things out. Lincoln saw action as constitutional, while South saw it as act of war on foreign country

Crittenden Compromise gave South basically everything they wanted in repeal-proof constitutional amendments; Lincoln saw it as surrender to those who had lost election, and foresaw future like “compromises” in favor of bullying South

Confederate Constitution omitted the general welfare clause and “a more perfect Union”, forbade government aid for internal improvements

Jefferson Davis elected for his abilities and credentials; Alex Stephens, as a one-time Whig, to project moderate image

Major Anderson at Fort Sumter was a Southern sympathizer, but his duty was ultimately to flag and country

Seward told South independently that Sumter would be evacuated; wanted to be “premier” of Lincoln administration

Soldiers tried to burn Harpers Ferry and other armories before Confederacy took over but were salvaged

Lee was antislavery, learned of promotion to Union commander the day Virginia seceded

Maryland remained neutral due to its dual loyalties but Lincoln had many arrested for subversion; Taney denied Lincoln’s suspension of habeas corpus, but Lincoln ignored him

Andrew Johnson was only U.S. senator from seceding state who remained loyal to the Union

Lee and Sherman were sidelined early in the war due to initial failures

Had all eight border states seceded, South would have won, vice versa for North; about half of all Confederate soldiers came from there; 15% of Union troops

Lincoln saw three phases of experimental government: establishment, administration, and (now) maintenance against internal foe

Key point: South saw war as defense against invasion, North saw it as defense against rebellion

Slavery was a plaguing contradiction; Both sides shoved slavery under the rug initially to garner more war support

Non-slaveholding whites fought for South in spite of slavery; made defining aims to foreign governments difficult

James Bulloch built up CSA navy via ships from Britain

“Privateering” Southern ships were captured and treated as pirates; Lincoln backed down because of blockade that recognized conflict as war rather than domestic thing; “pirates” also became POWs

Davis threatened to kill a Northern POW for every Southerner hanged for piracy

Davis’ martial expertise helped speed South’s mobilization in 1861

Governors hoarded muskets seized from federal arsenals to the detriment of frontline soldiers

War secretary Cameron had lots of contracts through home state of Pennsylvania; soon shipped to Russia as foreign minister

U.S. war department overcomes initial stumbling and becomes very efficient at provision and production; Quartermaster general Montgomery Meigs unsung hero of War Dept.

Davis wanted to pursue strategy of attrition, but political pressure forced him to spread defenses; Politicians wanted to protect every inch of Confederacy

Bull Run: initial Union surge countered by Southern push. Both armies disorganized afterward; controversy over not taking D.C. afterward. Result led to cockiness in South and determination in North, plus more troops. Also gave South esprit de corps for further victories but maimed North with inferiority complex (McClellan)

After Bull Run, abolitionists spoke up about slavery question

Frederick Douglass: cannot fight slaveholders without fighting slavery

Arguments for emancipation as war aim changed from moral to martial: take away slaves to cripple South’s machine

South wasn’t protected by fugitive slave law because they claimed they weren’t in Union

Contraband law allowed slaves to be taken by Union; some border-state criticism

Lincoln wouldn’t allow them to be free simply by proclamation

Cameron published report asking for slave soldiers, gets fired; Lincoln distances himself from radical Republican wing

George McClellan: boy wonder. Never had experience despair of defeat or humiliation of failure, nor adversity nor humility; Napoleonic self-image. Democrat with lots of Southern friends (General Johnston).

Davis ranked Johnston and Beauregard lower than Lee, which insulted vet and winner Johnston

Davis wouldn’t forgive Johnston’s angry reaction; contrast with Lincoln

Union navy acquired seaports in North and South Carolina as bases for fleets; Started building ironclads three months later than South and finished two weeks before

Monitor and Merrimack (Virginia) fought to a draw

Blockade runners used Nassau, Bermuda, Havana as bases

Blockade failed to stop most ships, but did help stem military transports and overall number of ships and supplies into South

Britain and France debated intervening for cotton’s sake, but didn’t want to get involved and resented South’s economic blackmail; Britain didn’t want blockade-breaking to boomerang on them in a future war

Backfired on South too because Europe used reserve cotton instead and open market led to development in Egypt and India; other industries too. Eventually kept Britain neutral and they benefited from Northern crops, wool, etc.

By declaring neutrality, Britain automatically recognized CSA. Seward/Lincoln told C.F. Adams to break ties with Britain if they officially recognized CSA. Adams was cool about it

New CSA ministers arrested off British ship; geared up war. Crisis averted by letting CSA ministers go and acknowledging they’d been captured with instruction

Halleck and Buell more administrative than Grant, bickered out West while Grant wanted to act; didn’t complain or quarrel

Grant learned enemy was just as afraid of him as he of them

Probably didn’t drink much during the war (rumors probably from jealous gossipers)

Alcoholism a moral weakness at the time, gave Grant a quiet humility other generals didn’t have. Had no reputation to protect, so he could risk failure and act boldly

CSA enacted first conscription law in U.S. history in January 1862. Could buy a substitute, but practice was abused by poor men who sold themselves repeatedly and deserted.

Davis declared martial law in Richmond, suspended habeas corpus

Illustrated paradox: need for Hamiltonian means to achieve Jeffersonian ends

Seward had been in charge of internal security; by February 1862 the harsh methods of crackdown were eased and Stanton entered

During first year, CSA economy funded 75% by printed money, almost 25% by bonds, less than 2% on taxes

Finances primarily by paper dollars that were immediately depreciated. States, counties, cities, businesses printed their own money; counterfeit often better

CSA coming into being so quickly both good and bad. On one hand, it was ready to fight and unified. On the other, it had no time to develop self-sufficient economy or government. Blockade, invasion, paper money made agrarian economy unbalanced with shortages and inflation.

Economy in North floundering after Panic of 1857; dependent on loans and tariffs

Instituted first federal income tax in August 1861, which exempted most lower-income people (tariff hit them more)

New tax laws worked but forever changed national economy

Missouri had its own civil war, with CSA government in exile

Kentucky neutral at first, became shipping lane to Tennessee; Lincoln didn’t blockade out of respect for pro-Union forces and his own history. Also had provisional government accepted by CSA

Habeas corpus arrested changed from pro-Confederate Northerners to northern Democrats throughout the war

Emancipation (and Proclamation) was Lincoln’s means to victory, not yet an end itself in 1862. Advocated colonization in 1862 because it was politically expedient (elections)

Distrust between Britain and France helped delay diplomatic recognition of CSA; suspicious of each other’s designs. Antietam also pulled British back from brink of recognition

With Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln acted under war powers to seize enemy resources; to declare all slaves free would have been unconstitutional.

Use of black regiments turned war from preservation of Union to full-on revolution to overthrow old older

Burnside arrested former representative Vallandigham for treason on shady grounds; Lincoln ultimately banished him. Vallandigham negotiates with Southerners while in exile

Food shortages in South due to drought, breakdown in transportation, and Union conquest of prime agricultural regions

Success of Chancellorsville bread overconfidence in the Rebs and in Lee, who would overextend them at Gettysburg

Party politics helped in North as it channeled political activity into helpful action; Lack of it in South gave Davis few options for mobilizing party patronage or disciplining the other politicians

Lincoln’s “as little change as possible” concerning readmission equitable to McClellan’s “do as little damage as possible” strategy on battlefield

Lincoln almost surrendered abolition as a peace term in the summer of 1864, but thought against it

Democrats’ 1864 platform emphasized peace over union and probably would’ve won if not for Atlanta

Soldiers didn’t dislike McClellan as much as his company (Vallandigham) and the idea of peace without victory

Lincoln received about the same percentage vote in 1860 and 1864

War redistributed wealth greatly (generally) from South to North; 1860s least productive economic growth decade until 1930s

February 1865: secret conference between Seward and Lincoln and Confederate commissioners to iron out peace deal. CSA suggested armistice and convention to states but Lincoln demanded full surrender

Sherman considered his march through South Carolina more important than the one through Georgia

CSA sent an envoy to Europe in early 1865 to offer abolition for recognition; Britain refused for want of CSA military successes

Lincoln had three-fourths Republican majority in Congress after 1864 election

Seward lobbied lame-duck Democrats to vote for Thirteenth Amendment; it barely passed

Day after ratification, Chief Justice Chase swore in first black lawyer to practice before Court

Sherman issued Special Order to give captured slaveholder lands to freedmen for settlement

Lincoln tagged along with Grant’s army as they took Richmond and sat in Davis’ recently vacated chair

Owner of Appomattox surrender home previously lived in Manassas where the war had begun

Reasons for CSA defeat: internal conflict mostly; states’ rights conflict between governments and Richmond, opposition to necessary measures (conscription, etc.), lukewarm support of CSA by Whigs and Unionists

Changes to country because of Civil War: taxation, IRS, national banking, paper currency, draft, expanded federal jurisdiction, first 11 amendments limited government while next few expanded it; first social welfare system (Freedman’s Bureau)

[Before war, the North was the exception, pushing toward a radical future most of the world did not share. After the war, the tide turned the other way. The South, by seceding, launched a pre-emptive counterrevolution against what they saw as a Northern affront to the America that the Founders had made. But since the North won, it was the South that would become the Other of the two, and less dominant in politics and business thereafter.]