Chapter 4 Part 2 – The creation of the Confederacy, the search for compromise and Fort Sumter Flashcards
What was the prevalent mood in the North at the beginning of 1861?
Few expected a war and believed that the seceded states were bluffing or thought that an extremist minority had seized power against the wishes of the majority.
What was the view in the South and border states?
Thought that the North would not fight to preserve the union. Americans in border states were confident that a compromise could be arranged which would bring back the seceded states into the Union.
Where and when was the Confederate government launched?
On 4 February 1861, 50 delegates of the seceded states met at Montgomery.
What was the make-up of the Confederate government?
- Most delegates were lawyers or well-to-do planters
- 49/50 owned slaves
- Thirty were democrats and remaining twenty were ex-Whigs
- Almost half the delegates were cooperationists
Who was the Confederacy trying to attract and what did they do in order to achieve
this?
The upper South. They tried to project a moderate and united image. On 8 february, it adopted a provisional constitution.
What is interesting about the Confederate constitution?
Closely modelled on the US constitution, the main differences were features that more closely protected slavery and guaranteed state rights.
Who was elected president of the Confederacy and what was his background?
Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi. Educated at West Point, he had served with distinction in the Mexican War and had been a successful secretary of war. Was for southern rights but not a fire-eater.
Who was vice president and what were his leanings?
Alexander Stephens from Georgia, a leading cooperationist.
What did Davis call for in his inaugural address? What was his main concern?
He asked the Confederacy to be left alone. His main concern was that no states from the upper South had yet joined the Confederacy.
What did the Confederacy do in its initial stages?
- Passed major pieces of financial legislation
- Adopted the Stars and Bars as the national flag
- Set about raising an army
How did the Upper South react to events? Why was this the case? What qualifiers
should be added here?
They were far less inclined than the lower South to secede. These states had smaller stakes in slavery than the lower South, many non slaveholders quistined how their interests would be served in a planter-dominated Confederacy and the upper South had close ties with the North. This wasn’t much of a surprise as the voters there had supported Bell and Douglas in 1860, not Breckenridge, but if it came to it, many people in the upper South would put their southern affiliations before their American loyalty.
How did Buchanan react up until March 1861?
Blamed the Republicans for the crisis and he took no action as federal institutions across the lower South were taken over by the Confederate states. However, he determined not to recall the federal garrisons at Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens.
Which seat of US government was more effective in terms of attempting a compromise?
Why do you think this was the case?
The Senate Committee of thirteen as they had fewer people and thus fewer disagreements.
What was the Crittenden Compromise?
- Missouri Compromise line should be extended to the Pacific. Slavery would be recognized south of the 36 30 in all present territories, as well as those required after.
- There would be no interference with slavery in those states where it already existed.
- Congress would be forbidden to abolish slavery in Washington, D.C
Why did Republicans reject the proposal?
The compromise seemed like more of a surrender.
