causes of the civil war

Question 1

what was Lincolns view on ending slavery?

Answer 1

Lincoln believed to end slavery in new states NOT in states where it already existed.

Question 2

what was Lincolns view on Black Americans equality?

Answer 2

he didn’t believe that black Americans were equal and believed them to be lesser people than whites.

Question 3

what did Lincoln say about equality?

Answer 3

he never campaigned for equality, stating he was never in favour of bringing about social or political equality.

Question 4

who was Stephen Douglas?

Answer 4

he was the democratic candidate for president who ran against Lincoln in 1860 and lost the election. he campaigned on maintaining slavery. he had also ran against Lincoln in a senate race.

Question 5

what did Douglas say in regard to the government and whites?

Answer 5

Douglas believed and stated that the government was made by white men for the benefit of white men.

Question 6

how did Douglas justify his position against abolition?

Answer 6

He referenced the declaration of independence as Thomas Jefferson Never had the slaves in mind when writing that all are created equal, he means white men

Question 7

what was the dredd Scott decision?

Answer 7

SC court decided that dredd Scott (escaped slave) was not a citizen in any free state. with the lead judge also saying that he had no right to be in the SC

Question 8

did all the judges on the Dredd Scott decision agree?

Answer 8

NO there were 3 dissenting judges

Question 9

why were slave holders becoming anxious?

Answer 9

southern slave holders feared slavery being abolished and became increasingly uncertain that it was safe within the union

Question 10

who was John brown? what did he do?

Answer 10

he was a radical abolitionist who led an attack on Harpers ferry hoping to trigger a slave rebellion.

Question 11

what happened to John brown?

Answer 11

his plan failed and he was caught and executed. seen as a martyr for the abolitionist cause.

Question 12

what was the extent of division in the US over slavery?

Answer 12

by 1860 even religious denominations had split into north and south along with most other organisations and movements. the only national group left being the democratic party.

Question 13

what was the split within the democratic party before the 1860 election?

Answer 13

split in the party between the northern Stephen Douglass and the southern current president Buchanan, Douglass had alienated the southern vote.

Question 14

which state is the first to succeed and when?

Answer 14

South Carolina, December 20th 1860

Question 15

what happened after South Carolina seceded?

Answer 15

a further six other states followed and created the confederate states of America with Jefferson Davis as president

Question 16

what was the opinion of those in the south towards war?

Answer 16

a war was going to be a difficult thought and many in the south did not want one as there were many who were still pro union.

Question 17

which states were the most supportive of secession?

Answer 17

those with strong slaveholder communities were more pro secession and those with fewer slave holders were against, mostly yeomen farmers and non slave holders

Question 18

where was the first strike of the civil war?

Answer 18

Fort Sumter 1861 in which union troops needed a resupply but southern forces blockaded the Fort and demanded their surrender

Question 19

why was slavery so important to the south?

Answer 19

the cotton industry ran the southern economy and made up 60% of worlds production. most of the cotton was farmed on slave plantations and relied on slave labour.

Question 20

what was the effect of the war on the south?

Answer 20

the war destroyed the southern economy and created mass poverty and most families had lost the breadwinner to the war.

Question 21

how did wealthy southerns avoid service?

Answer 21

the wealthy could pay to send someone in their place, over 50,000 southerners did this.

Question 22

what did South Carolina claim was the reason for secession?

Answer 22

officials claimed the federal govt had infringed on their right as a State and was justified within its withdrawal?

Question 23

how did South Carolina justify secession?

Answer 23

they invoked Thomas Jefferson’s words in that states have the right to abolish a govt they feel has become destructive.

Question 24

what did president Buchanan think of the idea of secession?

Answer 24

he denied the right of states to secede and blamed anti slavery sentiment for aggravating the north.

Question 25

what affect did Uncle Toms Cabin have?

Answer 25

the book sold over 1 million copies and had presented the brutality of slavery. it presented slavery in a popular negative light to those in the north, but appalled those in the south

Question 26

what was the fear by southerners if new states became free states?

Answer 26

that they could become bases from which they could spread abolitionism

Question 27

how did the pro slavery side try and use science?

Answer 27

they argued that the the skulls of black Americans proved that they were inferior

Question 28

How many slaves did the emancipation proclamation actually free according to David Blight?

Answer 28

500,000 were freed out of the 3.9 million the rest being freed by the 13th amendment

Question 29

where did Lincolns opposition to slavery lie according to Henry Louis Gates jr?

Answer 29

his opposition to slavery seems to be rooted in the economic injustice, with the inhumanity being a secondary motivation?

Question 30

why did Lincoln oppose slavery on economic grounds?

Answer 30

he saw it as theft of someone else’s labour both that of the slave and the white man who has to compete against the slave industry

Question 31

how does Lincoln justify freeing slaves for the economy?

Answer 31

he argues that black men are not equal in the constitution or declaration of independence but he is an equal agent in the economy.

Question 32

what did Lincoln argue the north went to war for?

Answer 32

he initially argued it was to persevere the union and he would have accepted any option that would gave preserved the union including maintaining slavery.

Question 33

what did the second confiscation act allow?

Answer 33

allowed black men to join the military and fight for the union, earn their freedom through service.

Question 34

how did Lincoln describe the black soldiers that fought for the union?

Answer 34

he praised them as “black warriors” and continued to praise them for their service

Question 35

how did Lincolns attitudes on allowing black men in the military change?

Answer 35

he initially didn’t support it as he doubted the skill of black men to fight against whites. But he changed his mind after the war began to go badly

Question 36

what did Lincoln propose in one of his final speeches?

Answer 36

he proposed giving the vote to “very intelligent blacks” this move is what led Booth to kill Lincoln

Question 37

why did Lincoln change his stance on race?

Answer 37

after the service they contributed to the war and meeting with fredrick Douglass and recognising there were intelligent black men.

Question 38

how could it be seen that Lincoln didnt change that much on race?

Answer 38

he still believed African Americans to be inferior to white men and he believed in voluntary colonisation to send the free slaves out of the US.

Question 39

what acts of Lincolns made Douglass question him?

Answer 39

Lincoln had supported the fugitive slave law 1850. Lincoln used derogatory and offensive terms to refer to African Americans even into his presidency.

Question 40

How did Lincoln use religion to radically justify emancipation?

Answer 40

he argued that black and white both worship the same god and the suffering of the civil war was a punishment for the horror of slavery. this was radical for a president to say, echoing John browns rhetoric

Question 41

what was Lincolns view on colonisation?

Answer 41

Lincoln was in favour of sending freed slaves to Liberia or Haiti as an effort to re home them

Question 42

how did Douglass view Lincoln?

Answer 42

Douglass thought of him as the black mans president and respected him as the statesman he was. but was still critical towards his views on race

Question 43

what does W.E.B. DuBois say about Lincoln?

Answer 43

when a great man dies we whitewash them to forget the unpleasant parts. but DuBois agreed with Douglass on him as a figure. but noted he was big enough to ignore inconsistencies

Question 44

what view do revisionists take on Lincoln?

Answer 44

they praise him as the great emancipator whilst sweeping some of his other views on race under the rug, such as his use of slurs