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Compare/contrast President Jackson's response to the Nullification Crisis to President Lincoln's response to Southern succession.
Compare/contrast President Jackson's response to the Nullification Crisis to President Lincoln's response to Southern succession.
Explain the significance of the battles of
Antietam and Vicksburg. Which generals were involved and why were these battles
seen as pivotal?
The period of Reconstruction was a time of major
political upheaval in both the North and the South. Compare/contrast
Presidential Reconstruction with Radical Republican Reconstruction (why was
this plan considered "radical" and by whom?).
Explain the Black Codes, KKK, and other forms of
resistance to racial equality during Reconstruction.
What role did each of the following play in the congressional
assumption of control over Reconstruction: Black Codes, Southern election of
former Confederates, President Johnson's personality and actions?
How did freedom affect the economic, social, and political life
of former slaves? In what ways was their freedom still incomplete?
Some historians have argued that Reconstruction was a total
failure, while others have seen it as laying the foundation for future American
progress in race relations and civil rights. What arguments can be made for
each position? Which is more persuasive?
How did freedom affect the economic, social, and political life of former slaves?
ReplyDeleteFreedom affected the economic, social, and political life of former slaves in positive and negative ways. Economically they were worse off because no one would hire them, so they had to go work on plantations that paid little. Also if they did not find a job, they could be thrown in jail. Socially they had more educational opportunities and built their own churches. Politically they gained the right to vote by the fifteenth amendment.
Also, the freed slaves were not necessarily freed because of the black codes. The codes were put into place in order for citizenship to be restricted to mainly whites. Southern whites did not want African Americans to have the same rights as them. Even with Reconstruction laws in place, the black codes kept the "freed" slaves from being able to succeed in the economic and society.
DeleteAlso, after the slaves were granted their freedom, they were still put down by the Black codes in the South. Their social standings weren't the best either. After being freed, many of the slaves were still look upon as inferior and people would shun them out of their establishments. Since they had been in slavery for so long, most of them had little to no education so it was hard for them to find jobs. Some former slaves also had nowhere to go so they would stay on the plantations with their former owners and continue working.
DeleteAlso, after the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, former slaveowners began a new kind of servitude for blacks to suffer. The sharecropping system was a new way for whites to get their crops harvested by blacks, but the conditions experienced by blacks in these programs were often as poor as those in the slavery system. Although they were free, the conditions for working blacks did not necessarily improve.
DeleteThey lost the right to vote due to Jim Crow laws and literacy tests at the polls
DeleteExplain the Black Codes:
ReplyDeleteThe black codes came from old slave codes that had been used before and during the Civil War. The black codes were put in place after Reconstruction in order to get around Reconstruction laws that protected blacks in the south. Southerners did not want freed slaves to have any economic success.
EXAMPLES:
Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the police jury of the parish of St. Landry, That no negro shall be allowed to pass within the limits of said parish without special permit in writing from his employer. Whoever shall violate this provision shall pay a fine of two dollars and fifty cents, or in default thereof shall be forced to work four days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as provided hereinafter….
Sec. 7… No negro who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry firearms, or any kind of weapons, within the parish, without the special written permission of his employers, approved and indorsed by the nearest and most convenient chief id patrol….
Sec. 11… It shall be the duty of every citizen to act as a police officer for the detection of offences and the apprehensions of offenders, who shall be immediately handed over to the proper captain or chief of patrol...
Explain the KKK.
ReplyDeleteThe ku Klux Klan (KKK for short) was an extremist group of white americans who advocated white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigrating. The first KKK was founded in 1865 at Pulaski, Tennessee, by former soldiers of the confederate army. As this Klan grew, others sprang up in the South as a reaction to the Reconstruction. Through acts of terror, threats, and violence, the Klans sought to restore the former white supremacy.
Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as the first leader of the clan.
DeleteKlan activities were especially successful in Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina, where many Republicans were driven from office and blacks were discouraged from voting.
DeleteThe KKK made a come back after Colonel William Joseph Simmons, revived the Klan after seeing D. W. Griffith's film Birth of A Nation, which portrayed the Klansmen as great heroes. They targeted their hate beyond simply blacks and also included include Catholics, Jews and foreigners.
DeleteThe KKK was founded in Stone Mountain Georgia.
DeleteThe period of Reconstruction was a time of major political upheaval in both the North and the South. Compare/contrast Presidential Reconstruction with Radical Republican Reconstruction (why was this plan considered "radical" and by whom?).
ReplyDeleteThe plan for reconstruction proposed by the Radical Republicans after the end of the Civil War was one of harsh castigations for the Southern states and immediately instated racial equality between blacks and whites. The Radicals that were at that time in control of the legislature, such as Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner sought to eradicate racial injustices by creating such institutions as the proposed 1866 Freedmen's Bureau, and a voting rights bill that would have reduced a southern state's congressional representation if it were to disenfranchise blacks.
However, the Presidential plan for Reconstruction was almost entirely disparate from the ideas of the Radical Republicans. On April 11, 1865, two days after General Robert E. Lee’s surrender at the Appottomax Court House, President Lincoln delivered his final public address, in which he illustrated a generous policy of Reconstruction and urged compassion and open-mindedness during the process. He argued that the rebel states had never truly left the union, an opinion which was completely contrary to the beliefs of the Radical Republicans. After Lincoln's assassination, President Johnson took the reins of Reconstruction. On May 29, 1865, Johnson announced that he was in agreement with Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction including he 10 percent pa, which required that 10 percent of the white males take an oath of loyalty to the US before the state could be re-admitted to the union.
These plans represented the very different ideas regarding the culpability of the South and the consequences of the Civil War.
The generals and significance of the Battle of Antietam:
ReplyDeleteThe generals present were Generals Robert E. Lee and George McClellan. The significance of the battle was that it gave Abraham Lincoln the political cover he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. It was also the bloodiest day in American history.
The battle ended on September 17, 1862 due to intelligence in the form of Lee's battle plans, which was found by two Union soldiers wrapped around some cigars dropped by a Confederate officer. It was also important because the loss at the hands of the Union had probably robbed the Confederacy of potential assistance by France and Britain
DeleteHow did freedom affect the economic, social, and political life of former slaves? In what ways was their freedom still incomplete?
ReplyDeleteWhen the former slaves were freed they were not met with welcome arms by the public, the United States Government still continued to discriminate against them. Laws like the "Jim Crow Laws" and the "Grandfather Clause" kept freed slaves from really being free, economically they were in worse situation than before because contrary to common belief they could not find jobs just anywhere, they had to go work in places where they were accepted, mainly plantations or small farms, and if they could not find jobs then they were sent to jail. Socially, there was the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, and politically more or less they were back where they started because of the Grandfather Clause, which kept them from voting, (this was a way to get around the 15th amendment) the clause basically said you could vote only if your grandfather could vote. Along with these laws, there were also literacy tests and poll taxes that former slaves had to pass and pay for in order to vote.
Prior to the battles of Antietam and Vicksburg, it was obviously apparehent that the Union had been losing to the Confederacy in the Civil War. The Union had not been able to gain any major footholds in southern territory and had low moral about fighting a war....
ReplyDeleteThe battle of Vicksburg in which the Union besieged and conquered the town of Vicksburg on the vital territory of the Mississippi which cut off confederate trade and resources to the west. The battle of Anteitam, the single bloodiest day in American warfare with death tolls so high they've never been fully recorded, was a fight waged between General Robert E. Lee and General George McClellan. McClellan forces outnumbered Lee's 2 to 1 and were able to route them to the South after many well placed attacks to his open flanks and a final attack to the core of his forces. This victory was vital to the Unions success as it gave the Union forces the will to fight "a war worth fighting for."
DeleteIf I had been present during Reconstruction I would have favored the Radical Republican's plan due to its punishment of Southern leaders but acceptance of blacks into society. Radical Republicans believed in the extension of the Freedmen's Bureau, a agency that provided services to thousands of former slaves and even poor whites. Although this agency would have continued to insure the success of blacks after their oppression in the South, President Andrew Johnson vetoed the legislation. I would have supported this legislation. Johnson was also against the Civil Rights Bill, refusing to accept that blacks should have the same civil and property rights as whites. The Civil Rights Bill was legislation pushed through Congress by the Radical Republicans in 1866. Overall, Radical Republicans believed in the rights of blacks after freedom from slavery. Their beliefs coincide with mine, while Johnson's prompt more oppression of blacks. Johnson's plan only allowed blacks to face 100 more years of maltreatment, leading to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteLincoln did not except the fact that the south wanted to suceed from the U.S. due ti the following causes 1) Physically the states cannot separate. 2) Secession is unlawful. 3) A government that allows secession will disintegrate into anarchy. 4) That Americans are not enemies, but friends. 5) Secession would destroy the world's only existing democracy, and prove for all time, to future Americans and to the world, that a government of the people cannot survive.
ReplyDeleteExplain the Black Codes.
ReplyDeleteAfter the emancipation of the slaves the Cotton Kingdom was crushed and needed a way for an economic turn around. Sanctioned by Johnson, the Black Codes were laws designed to regulate the affairs of the emancipated blacks. Aimed to ensure a stable and subservient labor force since white southerners needed people to plow the fields and harvest the crops. The Black Codes were passed throughout the south to restrict the rights of emancipated blacks. particularly with respect to negotiating labor contracts.
Explain the significance of the battle of Antietam?
ReplyDeleteNo other single day of American history before or since has been so deadly. Nearly one of every four soldiers engaged was a casualty: killed, wounded, or captured. It also halted Lee's invasion to the north. By representing the battle as a Union victory Lincoln was able to issue his Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which pretended the war was being fought to end slavery rather than to force the Confederacy back into the Union by any means.
The Emancipation Proclamation was a presidential proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, as a war measure during the American Civil War, directed to all areas in rebellion and all segments of the Executive branch (including the Army and Navy) of the United States. It proclaimed the freedom of slaves in the ten states that were still in rebellion, which applied to 3.1 million of the 4 million slaves in the U.S. at the time. The Proclamation was based on the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief of the armed forces; it was not a law passed by Congress.
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ReplyDeleteExplain the Battle of Vicksburg.
ReplyDeleteThe battle of Vicksburg included Generals Ulysses S. Grant and John C. Pemberton. With Grant's victory(as Pemberton surrendered on July 4, 1863) and Pemberton's loss of controlling the Mississippi River the Confederacy would be split into two, and with such a victory from Grant his boost and reputation would have him named General-in-Chief of Union armies.
This battle was extremely important as mentioned here, because both supreme leaders, Lincoln and Davis saw Vicksburg as "the key" to the confederacy.
DeleteWhat role did each of the following play in the congressional assumption of control over Reconstruction: Southern election of former Confederates. The Southern election of former Confederates played the role in congressional assumption of control over Reconstruction in that when the southern elections elected former Confederates they would approve legislation that would inadvertently make lives for freed slaves in essence not free. Yes, by law they were free but state laws would make it almost impossible to build themselves up or even give them a chance to make a name for themselves.Because of this it forced them to become Tenant farmers most of the time to their former masters before the Civil War. Another reason was that Congress, had been under a period of very little opposition to any legislation in the House and Senate and thus feared the possibility of extreme opposition upon readmission of Southern Democracts in both sides of Congress, to civil rights legislation and or anything that didn't benefit or hurt the South.
ReplyDeleteThe South's implementing the Black Codes aided in helping Congress assume Reconstruction under its own terms by tarnishing the South's appearance. Goals of the Black Codes was to ensure a stable labor force and restore as much of the pre-emancipation system of race relations back into the South. Freedom would be recognized, but certain privileges such as serving on a jury were banned to blacks. These laws made a mockery of the idea of freedom that had been bought with blood during the Civil War. This mockery led to Congress taking a tighter hold on Reconstruction, limiting Lincoln's original 10 percent proposal and introducing a more militant Reconstruction.
ReplyDeleteUnder this more militant Reconstruction, which lasted until 1877, blacks were given a level of equality that would not be experienced by African Americans until the 1960s. Included in these freedoms was the right to vote, the right to be elected to high level public office (which blacks were), and equality under the law (at least in comparison to their Northern counter parts).
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DeleteWhy was the Battle of Antietam seen as pivotal?
ReplyDeleteThe Battle of Antietam was seen as pivotal because this battle allowed the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln wanted to pass Emancipation Proclamation without causing any revolts from the North or the South. Lincoln saw this battle as an opportunity to pass the Emancipation Proclamation as pro-slavery.
The Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day in American history, ending in a draw. The Army of the Potomac, under the command of George McClellan, was battling against his peer Robert E. Lee near Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17, 1862. The battle allowed Lincoln the "victory" needed to pass the Emancipation Proclamation.
DeleteWhy was this an opportunity to pass the Emancipation Proclamation?
ReplyDeleteCompare/contrast President Jackson's response to the Nullification Crisis to President Lincoln's response to Southern succession.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jackson responded to the Nullification Crisis in 1832, he did so absolutely, as was his personal style of handling matters. South Carolina, led by Jackson's VP John C. Calhoun, had, in a demonstration of states' rights, declared the Tariff of 1828 and 1832 null and void on the grounds that they were overly beneficial to Northern manufacturing. In response, Jackson had Congress pass the Force Bill, which authorized the use of military forces to collect tariff funds. Eventually Henry Clay mediated the situation, resulting the the Compromise Tariff of 1833.... To be continued
By contrast, Lincoln handled Southern quite calmly. First and foremost, the initial states that seceded did so during Lincoln's Lame Duck period, meaning that even in the event that Lincoln wanted to handle the matter in a Jacksonian manner, he could not. That choice was left up to Buchanan, who quite obviously did nothing. When Lincoln did finally get inaugurated, on March 4, 1861 he maintained his stance of the secession being illegal, but specified that his administration posed no threat to slavery. In other words, he was trying to prevent fighting, which happened for nearly five weeks. And once the fighting started he did not shy away from the situation, rather, he embraced it and fought it until his dying breath exactly one hundred fifty years ago today
DeletePresidential Reconstruction with Radical Republican Reconstruction?
ReplyDeleteThey believed that his reconstruction plan, the 10% Plan, was too lenient on the former Confederate States. His plan concluded that only 10% of a state's population had to pledge allegiance with the U.S. to gain statehood again. They believed that the Freedmen population, who would gain their right to vote, would fill the 10% needed to gain statehood and the original seceders would not be the ones pledging.