Secession, Civil War, and Reconstruction

Question 1

Whig and Democratic Parties in the 1850s:

Answer 1

The Whig Party, which had been a major political force, collapsed due to internal divisions, particularly over the issue of slavery. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, was also divided along sectional lines but managed to survive.

Question 2

Republican Party:

Answer 2

The Republican Party emerged in the 1850s as a coalition opposed to the expansion of slavery into the western territories. It attracted various groups, including anti-slavery activists, Free Soilers, and former Whigs.

Question 3

Election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln:

Answer 3

Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won the election of 1860. His victory was due in part to a split in the Democratic Party and the fact that he was not even on the ballot in several southern states.

Question 4

Secession, and the Ordinances of Secession:

Answer 4

Southern states, feeling threatened by Lincoln’s election and the Republican Party’s anti-slavery platform, began to secede from the Union. They issued ordinances of secession, declaring their independence from the United States.

Question 5

Alexander Stephens, Cornerstone Speech:

Answer 5

Alexander Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America (CSA), delivered the Cornerstone Speech, in which he articulated the belief that the cornerstone of the Confederacy was the principle of white supremacy and the institution of slavery.

Question 6

Official political goals of US and CSA:

Answer 6

The official political goal of the United States was to preserve the Union. Initially, the Confederacy’s primary goal was to secure independence from the Union, but as the war progressed, the preservation of slavery became increasingly central to their cause.

Question 7

Contraband policy, military recruitment of African Americans:

Answer 7

The Union implemented a contraband policy, declaring escaped slaves as contraband of war and offering them protection. Later in the war, the Union began recruiting African Americans into the military, initially with limited roles but eventually allowing for full participation.

Question 8

Emancipation Proclamation:

Answer 8

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Lincoln in 1863, declared that all slaves in Confederate-controlled territory were to be set free. While it did not immediately free all slaves, it signaled a significant shift in the war’s goals, aligning the Union with the cause of abolition.

Question 9

Border states, divisions, and southern unionists:

Answer 9

The border states were slave states that remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. Divisions within these states were significant, with some residents supporting the Confederacy and others remaining loyal to the Union.

Question 10

Advantages and Disadvantages of each side:

Answer 10

The Union had advantages in terms of population, industry, and resources, while the Confederacy had advantages in terms of military leadership and fighting spirit. However, the Union’s blockade and eventual control of key Confederate territory weakened the South over time.

Question 11

Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction

Answer 11

: Presidential Reconstruction, led by Lincoln and later Andrew Johnson, aimed for a relatively lenient approach towards the South. Congressional Reconstruction, however, was more stringent, focusing on civil rights for freed slaves and punishing former Confederates.

Question 11

Major questions & challenges after war:

Answer 11

After the war, major questions revolved around how to reintegrate the former Confederate states into the Union, ensure civil rights for freed slaves, and rebuild the southern economy.

Question 12

Andrew Johnson:

Answer 12

Johnson’s policies during Presidential Reconstruction were marked by his attempts to quickly restore the former Confederate states to the Union with minimal federal intervention. He granted pardons to many former Confederates and allowed the enactment of Black Codes, which restricted the rights of freed slaves.

Question 13

Impeachment of Johnson:

Answer 13

Johnson’s lenient approach and conflicts with Congress led to his impeachment, though he ultimately remained in office by one vote.

Question 14

13th, 14th, 15th Amendments:

Answer 14

These amendments abolished slavery, granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to all citizens, and ensured voting rights regardless of race, respectively.

Question 15

Military Reconstruction Acts:

Answer 15

These acts, passed by Congress, divided the former Confederate states into military districts and required them to draft new constitutions granting civil rights to freed slaves before being readmitted to the Union.

Question 16

Freedman’s Bureau:

Answer 16

The Freedmen’s Bureau was a federal agency established to assist newly freed slaves in the transition to freedom by providing food, housing, education, and employment assistance.

Question 17

Sharecropping:

Answer 17

Sharecropping emerged as a labor system in the South after the Civil War, in which freed slaves and poor whites rented land from landowners in exchange for a share of the crops produced. However, it often resulted in a cycle of debt and poverty for sharecroppers.

Question 17

African American goals:

Answer 17

African Americans sought freedom, equality, and economic independence during Reconstruction. They actively participated in politics, established churches and schools, and sought land ownership.

Question 18

White southerners’/former Confederates’ goals:

Answer 18

Many white southerners sought to maintain white supremacy, control over labor, and the social and economic status quo of the antebellum South.

Question 19

Violence, fraud, “Redemption”:

Answer 19

White supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan used violence and intimidation to undermine Reconstruction efforts and suppress African American civil rights. “Redemption” refers to the eventual overthrow of Reconstruction governments in the South and the reassertion of white Democratic control.

Question 20

End of Reconstruction, Compromise of 1877:

Answer 20

The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the South in exchange for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes being declared the winner of the disputed 1876 presidential election. This led to the withdrawal of federal oversight and the beginning of the Jim Crow era of racial segregation and disenfranchisement in the South.