American Journey - Chapter 7

7. Civil War and Reconstruction

Beginning the Journey
The largest single source within the American Journey Online for information on this unit is of course the module "The Civil War."

That module contains a variety of sources on all aspects of the war itself, as well as information on its origins and conclusions (including Reconstruction). The "Key Topics" for the module provide a good outline of the different facets of the war, as well as some of the major issues that have emerged in the historiography. The "Regions" function for the module is largely organized by battle sites and is thus especially useful for locating information on particular battles and military campaigns of the war.

Other modules that contain relevant materials include "Civil Rights," "Women in America," "The Constitution and Supreme Court," "The African-American Experience," "The Native American Experience," and "Westward Expansion."

Utilizing the "Years" functions within these modules is, as in the past, a good way to conduct an initial search for materials.

Activity 1
The truce between North and South achieved through the Compromise of 1850 did not last long. Southerners chafed at restrictions on where slavery would be permitted in the unsettled lands of the Great Plains and west and worked diligently to expand their "peculiar institution" no matter what the cost. And as events played out in the mid-1850s, the cost would be very high indeed.

Kansas became the site of protracted violence and near all-out war during that period, as both free-soilers and pro-slave forces competed to organize a territorial government that would decide the slave question. The crisis in "Bleeding Kansas" presaged the bloodier conflicts that would come during the Civil War and made clear the impossibility of the continuing existence of both free and slave societies in the United States.

Within the module "The Civil War," go to:

"Excerpt of the Kansas-Nebraska Act" (one way to locate this document is to go to "Contents," then "Years," then "1854," then click on the title)
"Letter of a Kansas Settler" (you may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Documents," then "L," then click on the title)
"Civil War in Kansas" (one way to find this document is to search under "Civil War Kansas"; the document is the only item the search yields)
"Excerpt of The Crime Against Kansas" (this document may be located by going to "Contents," then "Authors," then "S," then "Sumner, Charles," then click on the title)
"Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Free-Soiler" (you may locate this image by going to "Contents," then "Images," then "F," then click on the title)
"Liberty the Fair Maid in the Hands of the Border Ruffians" (this image may be selected from the list of related items that appears at the top of the preceding image)

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

In allowing the people of the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide the slavery question for themselves, the first document employed a concept called "popular sovereignty." How did this concept supersede earlier compromises on the question of the expansion of slavery into the territories? How does this idea transfer power away from Congress and give it to the people?
Compare the accounts contained in the second and third documents. What similarities and differences do you note? Do you think the intended audiences affected the authors' tones or words? ("Letter from a Kansas Settler" was written for an American audience; "Civil War in Kansas" was for British eyes.) What was each letter designed to accomplish?
What similarities and differences do you note between the two personal letters and Charles Sumner's speech (contained in the fourth document)? What tactics does Sumner employ in presenting his case? How effective is his speech as a piece of propaganda? After reading it, can you understand why it proved so inflammatory at the time? (Sumner was caned on the floor of the Senate by a political opponent shortly after delivering it and did not return to work for three years.)
What do the two images add to the story of Bleeding Kansas? What do they say about the politics involved? About the passions the situation stirred up? Do they provide you with anything not contained in the other sources? If so, what?
Taken together, what do these sources tell scholars today about the idea of popular sovereignty? About the contemporary views of the authority of Congress? About the state of the union in the mid-1850s?

Activity 2
Southern supporters of slavery viewed Abraham Lincoln's election as a harbinger of doom for their way of life, and in December 1860 South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. Six others followed by inauguration day in March 1861. And the first shots of the Civil War were fired in April.

Studying southern secession ideology can yield insights into the deep differences that had developed in America by 1860 on the relative power of the federal government over the states.

Within the module "The Constitution and Supreme Court," go to "South Carolina's Declaration of Secession" and "The Confederate Constitution." (The first document may be located by going to "Contents," then "Regions," then "South Carolina," then click on the title. The second document may be selected from the list of related items that appears at the top of the first.)

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What complaints against the non-slaveholding states does the South Carolina Declaration make? Against the federal government?
What rights or principles does the South Carolina Declaration use to justify secession? What reference does the declaration make to the Constitution to justify secession? Is this argument logical? Does it persuade you? Why or why not?
In what ways is the Confederate Constitution similar to the U.S. Constitution explored in Activity 4 of the unit "Building a Republican Government"? How does it differ? (Hint: Think especially about how the former refers to the governments of the states.)
How does the Confederate Constitution make provision for the protection of slavery and slave owners? How can Article I, Sections 1 and 2 be explained? What does their inclusion say about the Confederates' view of their position vis-à-vis the Union?
Taken together, what type of government do these two documents advocate? Why was this type of government incompatible with the federal union outlined in the Constitution of 1789?

Activity 3
Although the issue of slavery was intimately bound up in the secession of the Southern states, ending slavery was not initially a goal of the Union war effort. Over time, however, Lincoln came to the conclusion that a forceful statement abolishing slavery was needed to bolster the Union cause and spell out clearly the issues at stake in the war.

Accordingly, after the Union victory at Antietam in September 1862, Lincoln called for the emancipation of all slaves held in bondage in the Confederate states. Historians have debated the concrete effects of the Emancipation Proclamation for more than a century. Whatever its actual accomplishments as far as slaves are concerned, the proclamation changed the nature of the war and made the Union cause a moral one from 1863 on.

Sources on the Emancipation Proclamation are contained in several modules within the American Journey Online database. Within "The African American Experience," go to "A Letter from Abraham Lincoln to Illinois Republican James Conkling." (One way to locate this document is to go to "Contents," then "Authors," then "L," then "Lincoln, Abraham," then select the title.) Within "The Civil War," go to "The Drafting of the Emancipation Proclamation," "The Emancipation Proclamation," and "An Address to the People of the Free States." (These documents may be located by going to the Key Topic "War Becomes Revolution" and clicking on the links "first drafted the Emancipation Proclamation," "Emancipation Proclamation," and "'Citizens of the Free States.'")

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

What reasons does Lincoln lay out in his letter to Conkling about why he issued the Emancipation Proclamation? About why he issued it when he did? How does he dismiss criticisms of his actions?
How does Lincoln's letter compare to the second document (Francis Carpenter's recollections)? Note similarities and differences.
What authority does Lincoln claim in the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves? Is his authority to do so in doubt? If so, what doubts exist?
What portion of the Emancipation Proclamation most enrages Davis? Why? How is his "Appeal" retaliation for it? How would the northern public likely have reacted to his proposals? Why?
In what ways was the Emancipation Proclamation a turning point in the war? How would it have affected the way other countries viewed the war? Why?

Activity 4
To ensure that the Union did all it could to support the war effort, President Abraham Lincoln took some extraordinary measures, some of which proved very controversial at the time. Although Lincoln defended his actions as necessary given the unprecedented conditions the Union was facing, his critics thought otherwise and lambasted him for trampling on civil liberties.

Exploring some of Lincoln's actions helps to illustrate both his thinking on the demands of total war and the determination of his critics to protect constitutional rights.

Two modules within the American Journey Online database are helpful for exploring these issues. Within "Civil Rights," go to "Order Suspending Habeas Corpus" and "Ex Parte Milligan." (These documents may be located by going to "Index," then "H," then "Habeas Corpus, Writ of," then the titles.) Within "The Civil War," go to "Excerpt of Report of New York City Draft Riots," "Anti-Draft Rioters, New York City," and "The Draft, or Conscription Reviewed by the People." (You may locate the first source by going to "Contents," then "Documents," then "E," then the title. The other two sources may be found by going to "Key Topics," then "Filling the Ranks: Volunteers and Conscription," then scroll down to "Resistance and Conflict," then click on the links "home front conflicts" and "violent rioting.")

Use these sources to answer the following questions.

The first document ("Order Suspending Habeas Corpus") outlines Lincoln's suspension during the war of the writ of habeas corpus. How important was this right? Why did Lincoln's suspension of it cause such a controversy throughout the nation?
The postwar decision that Lincoln acted improperly is outlined in the second document. What reasons does it give for ruling that Lincoln erred? Do these grounds seem sound to you? Why was this case important enough to be decided by the Supreme Court?
The first two sources from "The Civil War" concern the violent riots that occurred in New York City in 1863 in protest against the Union draft. How are the two sources (document and image) complementary? How are they different? What do the riots themselves say about public support for the war effort by 1863? About the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation on civilians?
What grounds does the next document use to condemn the Union draft in general terms? What rights does it supposedly violate? How is it discriminatory? Against whom does it discriminate?
Taken together, how can these sources, and the issues they involve, demonstrate to historians the lack of internal cohesion within northern society during the Civil War? Do issues such as these cast doubt on traditional visions of the Civil War? Be specific.

Activity 5
Civilian populations in both the North and the South were affected by the Civil War. But because of the Union's economic and industrial superiority and its distance from most of the battlefields (more battles took place in the South than in the North), conditions on the Confederate home front were worse than those experienced by the Union.

Exploring the Southern home front provides a window into the phenomenon called "total war," whereby all members of a society, even those not fighting, are affected.

Within the module "The Civil War," go to:

"Inquiry into Certain Outrages of the Enemy" (one way to locate this document is to go to "Contents," then "Documents," then "I," then scroll down to the title)
"Caves of Confederate Families, Vicksburg, Mississippi" (this image my be located by going to "Contents," then "Regions," then "Confederacy," then click on the title)
"Shell-Damaged Potter House, Atlanta, Georgia" (you may locate this image by going to "Contents," then "Images," then "S," then scroll down to the title)
"An Act for the Relief of the Families of Soldiers" (one way to locate this document is to go to "Contents," then "Authors," then "C," then "Congress, Confederate," then click on the title)
"Excerpt of The Evacuation and Fall of Richmond" (you may locate this document by going to "Index," then "R," then "Richmond," then click on the title).

Use these sources to answer the following questions.

What sorts of depredations does the first document spell out as having been perpetrated against the women of the South? What makes these "crimes" so troubling?
How do the two images (the second and third sources) make clear the hardships suffered by the Southern population? Which presents a more effective case for the war's effect on civilians?
The fourth source contains a Confederate relief measure to aid the families of soldiers. What is significant about this proposal? How was it unusual for its time? How realistic was it? Explain.
What image of the fall of Richmond does the last document paint? What emotions does this document conjure up?
Collectively, what do these sources tell you about the extreme hardships suffered by the Southern population? About their chances of recourse? About the all-consuming totality of the Civil War?

Activity 6
The Civil War was the first major confrontation to be photographed, a fact that had tremendous importance at the time and remains important today.

Battlefield photographers, the most famous of whom was Matthew Brady, recorded all sorts of images of the front. For contemporaries, these images provided a chance to see war up close for the first time. For historians and other scholars, these photos have been an invaluable source of first-hand information on the war.

"The Civil War" module contains a large number of Civil War photos. Within that module, go to:

"Confederate Dead Awaiting Burial"
"Dead at the Stone Wall, Fredericksburg, Virginia"
"Dead in the Devil's Den, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania"
"Wounded Soldiers Near Fredericksburg, Virginia"
"Ferry on Pamunkey River Turned into Gunboat"
"David, Torpedo Boat No. 4, Charleston, South Carolina"
"Inside of Soldier's Tent"
"Officer's Family Visiting Camp"
"Union Soldiers Bathe in Virginia's North Anna River"
"Ruins of Charleston, South Carolina"
"Contrabands Reburying Dead at Cold Harbor, Virginia."

These sources may be located by going to "Contents," then "Images," then the first letter of each title, then select each image individually.

Study the images and use them to answer the following questions.

What emotions do the first four images summon up? How would civilians likely have reacted upon seeing these photos? What might account for their reactions? Which of these images do you find most moving? Why?
How do the next two images report technological advances of the war? Why might these photographs be especially useful to historians?
The next three images focus on the off-duty activities of soldiers. Why might battlefield photographers have taken pictures like this? To whom would they have been directed?
How do the last two photos present the costs of war? How high a price has the nation paid, in the eyes of the photographers?
In what ways do these photographs add to your understanding of the Civil War? What can they provide that written sources cannot? Must historians exercise special care when using them? Explain.

Activity 7
Although the issues that brought about the Civil War did not concern them, Native Americans were nevertheless caught up in its maelstrom. Some native societies sided officially with the Union, some with the Confederacy. Other societies tried to remain neutral.

After the war, all Native Americans suffered at the hands of the federal government, which was determined to punish what it considered to be treacherous native alliances with the Confederacy and to take control of the native lands in the west for the resettlement of other native groups. The late 1860s and 1870s thus saw renewed violence against Native Americans as the Indian Wars got into full swing. The defeat of General George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in June 1876 was part of that conflict.

Within the module "The Native American Experience," go to "An Account of One of Custer's Scouts," "The Battle of the Little Big Horn, Narrated by an Indian Who Fought in It," "Custer with His Scouts," and "Custer's Last Stand." (One way to locate these sources is to go to "Contents," then "Regions," then "Great Plains," then click on the titles.)

Use the sources to answer the following questions.

What does the first document suggest about the relationship between the different Native American societies? About the reasons that some native groups allied with the United States and others didn't?
Compare the second document with the first. Consider things like point of view, details covered, tone, etc. How does the background of each author color his account? Does either author's background place limits on the usefulness of his account? If so, which and why? 3) How do the images complement the document? What points do they reinforce or contradict? Are the images, particularly the last one, more powerful than the written accounts? Why or why not?

Within the module "Westward Expansion," now go to "Custer's Orders Prior to Little Bighorn Battle," "Report to General Sheridan on Little Bighorn Battle," and "Findings of a Court of Inquiry." (These documents may be located by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1876," then select the titles individually.)

Use the documents, along with the sources above, to answer the following questions.

Compare the accounts of the Battle of Little Bighorn presented in the second group of documents with those contained in the first two documents above. Note both similarities and differences. Which accounts seem more credible? Why?
How does the last document in this group illustrate the mindset of American military officials after the battle? What does it suggest about their view of Native American strength?

Activity 8
The Union victory in the Civil War ushered in a period of Reconstruction during which the states of the former Confederacy had to be reconstructed economically, reformed politically, and reintegrated into the Union. The official period of Reconstruction took a dozen years; unofficially, the rebuilding of the South took much longer.

The Reconstruction period is one of the most controversial in American history. It revealed much animosity on the part of some northerners, as well as opportunism and greed. Reconstruction also made clear the deep racial divides that ran throughout Southern society. (Good introductions to many of the important issues involved with Reconstruction may be found in "The Civil War" module under the "Key Topics" "The South Struggles over Reconstruction" and "Moderates & Radicals: The Politics of Reconstruction.")

The American Journey Online contains many sources on Reconstruction, both written and visual. Because of the emotions that Reconstruction stirred up, examining the way editorial cartoons depicted it can be an interesting and revealing way of studying the period.

Within the above module, go to:

"The Verdict: Hang the D____ Yankee and Nigger"
"Louisiana Sacrificed on the Altar of Radicalism"
"The Solid South under the Carpet Bag and Bayonet Rule"
"The Union As It Was, KKK and Redeemer Shake Hands"
"Shall We Call Our Troops Home?"

These images may be located by going to "Contents," then "Images," then the first letter of each title, then the title itself.

Use the images to answer the following questions. (Be sure to read the comments that accompany each image.)

What does the first image suggest about Southern attitudes during the period before Congress took control of Reconstruction? About conditions in the South in general during that period? About the need for federal action?
To what sorts of indignities and abuses do the second and third images suggest the South has been subjected? Who is to blame? How do these cartoons maintain that the South can end its torture?
The fourth image suggests that conditions for African Americans in the South are "worse than slavery." How does the cartoon support this contention? Worse in what way(s)? Who has caused conditions in the region to deteriorate so significantly?
The last image addresses the question of whether it is time for federal Reconstruction to end in the South. How does it answer that question? How does it support that answer?
Taken together, how do these cartoons present the various challenges of the Reconstruction period? What do they identify as the salient issues? From whose point of view are they constructed? What care should historians take in using them?

Activity 9
Although the Civil War ended slavery in the United States it did not provide an immediate solution to questions of citizenship and other rights for blacks.

Formulating a national policy on African Americans would not be an easy task, considering the deep wounds caused by the war. It would also be hampered by profound racist sentiment throughout the country, even in the northern states, where African Americans may not have been enslaved but had still suffered discrimination.

To codify the position of blacks in American society, the federal government during the Reconstruction period utilized both legislation and constitutional amendments. The goal was explication of the legal rights of African Americans and the creation of mechanisms to protect those rights.

Within the "Civil Rights" module, go to:

"U.S. Constitution, Thirteenth Amendment" (this document may be located by going to "Index," then "C," then "Civil War," then the title)
"U.S. Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment" (one way to locate this document is to choose its title from the list of related items that appears at the top of the immediately preceding document)
"U.S. Constitution, Fifteenth Amendment" (you may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Years," then "1870," then choose the title).

Use the documents to answer the following questions.

Explain what each of these amendments did, in general terms. How were they outgrowths of the Civil War? Of long-standing patterns in American society?
How did the three Reconstruction Amendments change actual conditions for African Americans? Would the changes have been greater in the North or in the South? Why?
Which of three amendments do you believe is most revolutionary--that is, which departs most strongly from established norms? Defend your answer with evidence. How would conservatives (that is, those who defended established conditions) have reacted to these amendments?

Despite these measures, discrimination against African Americans continued apace, particularly in the states of the former Confederacy.

Within the module "The Civil War," go now to "Speech on Civil Rights Bill." (One way to locate this document is to go to "Contents," then "Documents," then "S," then scroll down to the title.)

Use this document, in conjunction with those above, to answer the following questions.

Do the events related in this document belie the rights supposedly granted in the documents above? If so, how? If not, why not? What do they reveal about the place of African Americans in society during the Reconstruction period? About the frustrations the situation generated?
Rapier's claim that public discrimination prevented African Americans from enjoying the rights of citizens granted them in the Reconstruction Amendments caused quite a stir at the time. Why do you think that would have been the case? If upheld, what would such a claim have necessitated in the way of redress?

Activity 10
The Fourteenth Amendment guaranteeing suffrage to African Americans angered women's rights groups in the United States because it introduced the word "male" into the Constitution for the very first time. Although women had been barred from voting in most parts of the country due to state laws, their explicit exclusion now caused an uproar, as well as a vocal campaign for women's suffrage.

Studying the early women's suffrage movement, particularly the arguments behind it, serves to explain the evolving nature of American democracy. It also reveals a great deal about changing notions of gender and equality in society.

Within "Women in America," go to:

"A Law Against Women" (you may locate this document by going to "Contents," then "Authors," then "N," then "New York Independent," then click on the title)
"A Cry from The Females" (one way to locate this document is to go to "Contents," then "Documents," then "C," then click on the title)
"How It Would Be, If Some Ladies Had Their Own Way" (this image may be located by going to "Contents," then "Images," then "H," then click on the title)
"Victoria C. Woodhull's Address to the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives (1871)" (you may locate this document by searching for "Victoria Woodhull" and selecting the second item the search returns)
"Minor v. Happersett (1875)" (this document may be located by going to Index," then "M," then "Minor v. Happersett," then click on the document title).

Use these sources to answer the following questions.

What does the first document lay out as flaws with the exclusion of women from voting rights? Why do women deserve suffrage, according to the document? Are the arguments presented here logical?
Study the second document and the image that follows it in the list above. What similarities do you note? How do these two sources represent contemporary stereotypes of women?
What arguments does Victoria Woodhull make in defense of women's suffrage. Is her evidence credible? Persuasive?
The last document relates the Supreme Court's decision in the case of one woman who attempted to register to vote in Missouri. What are the important issues of this case, as set forth in the Court's decision? What justifications does the decision use to reject women's voting rights? What do these justifications say about prevailing conceptions of women?
How can these sources add to historians' understanding of societal ideas during the post-Civil War period? About questions of race and gender?