Manifest destiny expressed a popular belief that the US had a “divine” mission to expand the entire American continent.
Some saw it as an effort to expand slavery.
U.S. interest saw a large migration into Texas and Oregon
Texas
After Mexico won independence from Spain in 1823, many Anglo settlers went to Texas.
Lots of Tension: Mexico outlawed Slavery, and Mexico also forced catholicism.
Americans refused orders, which led to Mexico closing borders, but Settlers went anyway.
Texas revolted against Mexican dictator Santa Anna. Victory after his capture
The goal of Texas was statehood, which led to the Mexican American War, and more Slavery tensions.
Maine
Aroostook War
Conflict at the Canadian-Maine border.
The Webster-Ashburton treaty split the disputed lands and set the Minnesota border.
Oregon
The British claimed Oregon for the Hudson Bay Fur trade, and because they had over a thousand Settlers.
The US claimed Oregon because it first explored it and because of the fur trade.
Success in farming led to the Oregon Trail; many wanted to move to Oregon
Election of 1844
Annexing Texas to expand the Slavery split the Democratic Party (which supported Slavery)
Democrats (James Polk) were pro-expansion and were supporters of Andrew Jackson
Southern Whigs (John Calhoun) were pro slavery and pro-annexation
Whigs (Henry Clay) opposed and supported annexation at the same time (If it only benefited them)
54 40 or Fight (Democratic Slogan) promised territory to Alaska.
Polk backed down and accepted the 49th parallel
That's the big straight line between the US and Canada.
Vancouver and the Columbia River were given to the British.
Settlement
Mass migration to a new land through the American Desert
Fur Traders were the first to migrate to the far west.
Some dangers were winter, Disease, Native attacks, and extreme weather.
The California Gold Rush sparked internal and international migration
By the 1860s, ⅓ of miners in the West were Chinese
Moving west was not for the poor, only for the middle class.
San Francisco, Denver, and other cities arose due to rails/minerals/ and agriculture.
Commerce
Growth of manufacturing and agriculture = growth of imports and exports.
1) Demand for whale oil to light lamps led to large amounts of whaling.
2) Small ships sped up maritime travel
3) Trade expanded to Asia, as Matthew Perry demanded that Japan open its borders
The Kanagawa Treaty opened two ports to the US
5.3 The Mexican–American War
The Annexation of Texas led to problems with Mexico
Mexico refused to sell California to the US
Mexico also insisted the border was North at the Nueces River, not the Rio Grande.
After a Mexican patrol crossed the Rio Grande and killed 11, Polk declared war.
Northern Whigs opposed the war.
Winfield Scott captured Mexico City, and Mexico surrendered
Mexico was forced to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Rio Grande is now the true border.
The Mexican Cession led to the U.S. taking a whole bunch of more land.
The US paid 15 million and took responsibility for land claims
Northern Whigs saw it as an effort to expand slavery
Southern Democrats want the US to take all of Mexico and expand the Slave Territory
5.4 The Compromise of 1850
Expansion intensified the slavery debate:
Compromise after compromise would come to uphold the delicate North-South State Balance.
Southern Expansion
Many Southerners hoped to go South to expand Slavery
Ostend's manifesto was the US attempt to take Cuba (First economically and then militarily). Spain said “Nah” to both.
The Walker Expedition was a US attempt to take Baja, which failed, and then Nicaragua, which also failed.
The Clayton-Burton Treaty was the US's ambition to make the Panama Canal with the British.The
The Gadsden Purchase was bought from Mexico, encompassing Arizona and New Mexico. Mostly bought for railroad stuff.
Free Soil movement
Northern Democrats and Whigs supported the Wilmot Proviso
No slavery in the new territories from Mexico
Many Northerners only wanted Slavery in the South.
For the containment of Slavery, the North focused on internal improvements.
The South viewed the Free Soil movement and Abolitionists as a threat to their lives.
Many agreed with the Missouri Compromise.
Popular Sovereignty
Let people vote on whether new territory is Slave or Free (Bleeding Kansas soon!)
The 1848 election was between Lewis Cass (Democrats), Zachary Taylor (Whigs), and Martin Van Buren (Free Soil). Taylor became President.
Supported by Taylor, California entered as a free state, which sparked talks of succession with radicals.
Compromise of 1850:
1) California free state.
2) The Mexican Cession was divided into the Northwest and Utah, which would use popular sovereignty to decide slavery status.
3) Ban the Slave trade in Washington, DC.
4) Enforce Fugitive Slave Laws.
5.5 Sectional Conflict: Regional Differences
Immigration and regional differences furthered tensions and sectionalism
The Irish were mostly farmers due to the Potato Famine.
Discriminated due to Catholic Religion, and often joined Democrats
German economic hardships and failed democracy led to mass immigration.
Skilled farmers and artisans prospered in the Western states
Nativists
Anti-immigrant people who thought Immigrants took jobs (economy), diluted Anglo culture (Cultural), or were protestant and hated Catholicism (Religious)
Nativists formed an anti-foreign party called the Know-Nothing Party.
They wanted to extend citizenship requirements to 21 years and only allow native born people to hold office.
Grew power for a short bit in the 1850s when the Whigs melted down.
Native Americans and Mexican Americans faced discrimination for religious reasons in the Southwest.
Immigration was put on hold as Slavery took front page on issues
Economy
New factories in the North produced tons of goodies.
Rails emerged as the largest industry, which promoted Western Agriculture and linked Farmers together.
Gave the North a huge advantage in the Civil War
Panic of 1857
Down prices for western agriculture and increased Northern unemployment.
The South was unaffected, as panic did not affect Cotton.
Slavery Opposition
The Fugitive Slave Law
Allowed runaway slaves to be recaptured in the North.
Northerners would protect runaways or free Blacks who were taken.
Underground Railroad
A Network of activists who helped Slaves flee North or into Canada.
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin exposed Slavery and its horrors worldwide.
Effects
South condemned the truths of Uncle Tom's Cabin and banned the book
Many argued that Slavery benefited both parties and was permitted in both the Bible and the US Constitution.
Shift from Anti Slavery because of the economy to now Anti Slavery because of Morals.
5.6 Failure of Compromise
War was inevitable as tensions continued to rise
Election of 1852
Northern Whigs chose Winfield Scott.
He was a Mexican American War hero.
He also ignored Slavery as an issue and wanted Internal improvements.
Southern Democrats chose Franklin Pierce.
He was a compromise candidate as he supported the Fugitive Slave Law and was acceptable to the South.
Both Parties grew weak and divided over the issue of Slavery.
Franklin Pierce won in an electoral landslide.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Due to Stephen Douglas wanting a damn railroad through Kansas and Nebraska, tensions rose again.
He introduced a bill that split Nebraska territory into two states, decided by Popular Sovereignty.
This repealed the Missouri Compromise and led to bloodshed known as Bleeding Kansas.
John Brown
Led an attack on a proslavery Farm, killing 5
Brooks, a Southern Democrat, caned Sumner for attacking the Democratic Administration.
Slavery had broken Whigs apart and caused a rift in Northern and Southern Democrats.
The Republican Party formed out of those who opposed the spread of Slavery.
They called for the Repeal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Law.
Election of 1856
Democrat Buchanan won over Pierce and Stephen Douglas
This is because they were involved in the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Dred Scott vs Sanford (1857) had Scott argue that his residence on free soil made him a free citizen.
Chief Justice Roger Toney (A Southerner) ruled against Scott because
1) He couldn't sue in federal courts as the Constitution didn’t intend African Americans to be citizens
2) Since Slaves were property, Congress couldn’t deprive a person of their property in any state
Effect: Upheld Slavery in US territories, denied the legality of black citizenship in America, and declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional.
Lincoln-Douglas debates
Huge debates for the Illinois Senator put Abraham Lincoln on the map!
Freeport Doctrine
Stephen Douglas, a democrat, said Slavery couldn't exist in communities where citizens didn’t pass laws enforcing it
This alienated Southern Democrats
5.7 Election of 1860 and Secession
Republicans' good performance in the 1858 congressional elections alarmed southerners.
Harpers Ferry
Our good friend John Brown attempted to start a Slave revolt by breaking into the Armory and arming slaves.
Robert E Lee caught him, and Brown was hanged.
North saw him as a Martyr for Slavery,
Moderates condemned his violence,
Slaveowners thought it reflected all Northern Attributes and hated him.
Election of 1860
Democrats nominated Douglass, but southerners and Buchanan supporters did not like him.
In the Democratic convention, many Southern Democrats walked out and made their own nominee.
4 parties:
1) Lincoln (Republican) hoped to win over Divided Democrats. He hated slavery and Tariffs and wanted to focus on Internal improvements.
2) Douglas (Northern Democrat) popular Sovereignty and Fugitive Slave Law believer
3) Breckinridge (Southern Democrat) extension of Slavery and supported the annexation of Cuba
4) Bell (Constitutional Union) formed out of fear of Republican victory and a desire to preserve the country.
Lincoln won despite not even appearing on Southern Ballots.
Confederacy Time
By 1860, even though Republicans didn’t control the House or the Senate, Lincoln's Victory was enough to convince 7 Deep South states to secede.
Crittenden Compromise
Last ditch effort to preserve the Union to allow slavery south of the Missouri Compromise line.
Lincoln said Heck no.
Many thought Lincoln, like Buchanan, would permit secession without a fight. They were wrong.
4/12/1861
Southern armies attacked a Union base in South Carolina named Fort Sumter.
Kick-started the civil war, and 4 states in the Upper South seceded.
5.8 Military Conflict in the Civil War
Union
22.5 million people
Not including the Navy, African Americans, and Immigrants
Union mostly on the Offensive
A Dominated Economy with tons of factories, rails, and farms.
Wanted to preserve the Union
Strong Central government
Confederacy
5.5 million people ( not including 4 million slaves)
Defensive
Expert military generals (Better at fighting)
High Morale, but lacked war production
Relied heavily on foreign intervention from Europe
Wanted independence
Weak central government over debates about state rights.
The Confederate Constitution was based on the US Constitution.
Many Confederate generals used to be in the US army, felt more loyal to their state than the Union, so they joined their southern states.
Union Congress could not tariff, though the Slave trade was banned.
The State government resisted President Jefferson Davis's powers
South had a terrible Economy
High taxes, loans, and seizure of property were still not enough money.
High inflation didn’t help either.
The Civil War
Everyone thought it would be a short war. They were wrong.
Unions Anaconda plan:
1) Use the Navy to blockade Southern Ports.
2) Sever the confederacy into 2 by capturing the Mississippi River.
3) Raise a 500k army, march onto Richmond, end the war
1st Battle of Bull Run
Stonewall Jackson crushed the Union, which ended hopes of a short war.
George McClellan
General of the Potomac (Eastern Union Army to march on Richmond), an incompetent and timid Union General
Robert E Lee
Brilliant Confederate General.
Union lost battles:
The Peninsula campaign, and the 2nd battle of Bull Run
Major Battle of Antietam
Lee was on the offensive and pushed towards DC. A random soldier found Lee's war plans in a cigarette, which helped a lot.
Bloodiest day in US history with 22,000 dead, and it was a vital moral boost for the North.
On the contrary, this deterred European intervention in the South.
Fredericksburg
Aggressive Union General Burnside suffered huge losses and highlighted the brutality of war with recent technology and weapons.
Ulysses S Grant
The Union's Top General dominated the western frontier and took over much of Tennessee.
Grant knew the South could not replace losses, while the North could.
Threw his men at the enemy and eventually won the war.
Ironclads replaced Wooden ships, and the Confederates built the first submarine.
Foreign Affairs
Europe is heavily dependent on Southern Cotton
Trent Affair
Union captured Southern Democrats on a British Ship.
Brits allowed the South to buy Warships
The Confederate Alabama captured more than 60 Warships from the Union
Cotton failed to make a huge impact as
1) Europe sourced it elsewhere,
2) Lee's setback in Antietam dissuaded Europe,
3) The Emancipation Proclamation turned the war from one of internal affairs to a global issue of Slavery.
All these reasons made Europe hesitant to support the South.
Back to War
Vicksburg fell after a year's Siege, and the Union got control of the Mississippi River.
Gettysburg
Lee pushed into DC, and the Union victory marked a turning point in the war.
Lee would never take the offensive again.
Sherman's March to the Sea burned everything, and his troops lived off the land.
This crushed southern morale and the economy.
Lee finally surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse in April of 1865, ending the war.
The war claimed 698k lives.
5.9 Government Policies During the Civil War
Lincoln acted in unprecedented ways
1) He called for 75k volunteers to fight,
2) He authorized wartime spending,
3) He suspended habeas corpus (Right to a speedy trial and court)
Lincoln tried to keep the 4 middle states that were “Southern” but did not secede.
Without Habeas Corpus, 13k were arrested on suspicion without trial.
Lincoln also suspended many freedoms that were sympathetic to the South.
Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
Held off after Antietam because of border states.
Officially announced that all slaves were free.
Slaves are now allowed to enlist in the Union Army.
Northerners were split into 4 sections
1) Radical republicans who were pro-abolitionists.
2) Free soilers who wanted economic opportunities for whites.
3) Peace Dems (Copperheads) who were anti-war.
4) Democrats who were pro-war but against Lincoln's Conduct
Economics
Union funds saw the issue of greenbacks (Paper currency!), government bonds, and a national banking system.
Morrill Tariff increased the Tariff to increase Revenue
Homestead Act promoted Western Settlement with 160 acres of Land
Morrill Land Grant Act allowed States to use federal land for colleges
Pacific Railway Act authorized the building of the Northern Railroads
5.10 Reconstruction
Problems
Freed Slaves had no money and nowhere to go.
Also, in the south, everything was devastated by war.
Still lots of sectional tension, and states vs Federal power debate.
The plan
Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty & Reconstruction
1) Full presidential pardons to those in the South who took an oath to the Union and accepted emancipation.
2) States were re-established when 10% of the population took loyalty oaths.
Lincoln was lenient while Radical republicans sought retribution & punishment.
Wade Davis Bill
Required a 50% loyalty oath; only non-confederates could vote for the state constitution.
Lincoln vetoed this.
The Freedmen's Bureauacted as a welfare agency for African Americans after the war.
They provided Food, Shelter, and education.
In 1865, Lincoln was shot and killed. Andrew Johnson, his VP and a Democrat, took over.
The Johnson Plan
Disenfranchisement of former Confederate leaders, and those with over 20k in property.
Andrew Johnson vetoed so many bills (like one that strengthened freedmen, and one that promoted the Civil Rights Act of 1866)
With 11 states restored, 1st round of reconstruction ended.
Congressional Reconstruction
The 2nd round of reconstruction (1866) was in response to Johnson's policies.
Focused on Congress domination, Harsher South, and the Protection of Blacks.
Republicans were either Radical, who wanted Civil rights for Blacks
Or they were moderates, who wanted economic gains for the white middle class
After 1866, many Moderate republicans went radical, fearing Democratic dominance.
13th Amendment
Slaves are free now
14th Amendment
Anyone born in the US was now a citizen.
Also disqualified Confederate leaders from ever holding office, and rejected the debts of the Confederacy
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867
Placed the South under military rule of the Union, and divided the South into 5 military districts.
Impeachment
Congress wanted to impeach Johnson.
Here was the plan
1) Pass the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibits the President from removing federal officers without Senate approval
2) Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edward Stanton
3) Congress impeached Johnson but didn’t remove him from office.
Grant Presidency
Elected in 1868, and was very popular in the North
The 15th Amendment
Could not deny the right to vote based on race, color, or enslavement.
However, this did not prevent states from restricting black voting.
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Promised Equal accommodations in public.
However, it was poorly enforced as Republicans were tired of reforming an unwilling South.
South
During the 2nd reconstruction, the Confederate government was dominated by Republicans.
Freedman (Freed African American Slaves) gained office positions
Many sought literacy, reunification, and cities.
Black churches and Schools were established.
North
The North continued with industrialization during Reconstruction.
Lots of rampant corruption during Grant's Administration
Patronage was giving jobs and government favors to supporters
Jay Gould cornered the gold market for huge money.
Grants 2nd term began with the Panic of 1873.
Overspeculation + overbuilding = Depression and failure
Women were unhappy with the 14th and 15th amendments, as they didn’t address women's suffrage.
5.11 Failure of Reconstruction
Republican power was often the source of controversy
By Grant's 2nd term, Reconstruction entered phase 3
Radical republicans decreased,
Southern conservatives (Who liked states' rights, lower taxes, and social programs, and white supremacy) replaced them.
Accomplishments of Reconstruction
Liberalized state constitution.
Female prop rights.
Debt relief.
Infrastructure and education improvement
Failures
Wasteful spending,
Corruption
Eventual withdrawal.
Ku Klux Klan
A secret society of white supremacists is enacting violence against Black people.
Congress passed the Force Acts to try to stop them
Just 8 months after Johnson took office, all Southern States could enter the Union.
Many Confederates won power in Congress.
Black Codes
Blacks could not rent land or testify against whites.
Sharecropping
Slaves were bound to land in exchange for the return of crops.
Kept slaves on fields (New form of slavery)
Amnesty Act of 1872
Removed the last restrictions on Confederates.
Election of 1876
Rutherford Hayes (Republican) vs Samuel Tilden (Democratic).
The outcome was unclear, but the commission gave Hayes the win. Democrats outraged
Compromise of 1877
The North got Hayes elected, the South got Republicans removed from Reconstruction, and a southern railroad.
So, Reconstruction finally ended with the compromise of 1877.
Summary
Comparison
While most Republicans were in the North and opposed slavery for moral/economic reasons, most Democrats were in the South and defended slavery as a pillar for their way of life.
While the Missouri Compromise used latitude to settle slavery, the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act used popular sovereignty.
The North had a stronger industry and a larger population, whereas the South had a homeland advantage and expert military leaders.
While Abraham Lincoln prioritized mending relations but also through order, Andrew Johnson was much more lenient with the South, as a Southern Democrat himself.
Radical Republicans demanded harsh retribution and vengeance against the South during a time when cooperation was more necessary, while Democrats wanted less harsh penalties for the Civil War.
Continuity
As time went on, more compromises had to be passed to uphold the delicate balance of slave/free states.
Despite emancipation, African Americans continued to be oppressed by racism, violence, and Jim Crow segregation.
The sharecropping system continued to keep Freedmen in servitude.
Each new territory reawakened the slavery debate, each time extensions worsening.
Grant’s presidency was riddled with controversy and scandal, slightly reflective of the forthcoming Gilded Age.
Change
As a result of literature such as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, many Northerners began opposing slavery for moral reasons rather than economic reasons.
The Whigs morphed into the modern Republicans.
Causation
Slavery was so divisive that it broke the Whigs apart and split the Democrats into Northern and Southern.
In response to anti-slavery literature, many Southerners wrote counter-books defending slavery and calling the Northern wage system worse.
The Dred Scott case repealed the Missouri Compromise, which infuriated Northern Republicans and blew up tensions.
As a result of the not-loss at the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln changed the war’s cause from preservation to emancipation.