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Learning objectives
In this chapter you will:

learn why the Civil War lasted four years, including the military and political strategies, and the strengths and weaknesses
of the two sides
examine the immediate impact of the Civil War on American society, economy, politics and culture
study both the intentions of Reconstruction and its actual outcomes
consider how successful Reconstruction was, weighing up its achievements, comparing th~m with the initial aims and
setting both in the context of time and place.

Timeline
Apr 1861 Civil War begins Jul 1863 Battle of Apr 1865 Robert E. Lee's army nsettl6
Jan 1877 Compromise of JS . f .• ui
at Fort Sumter, SC Gettysburg- the bloodiest
of North Virginia surrenders to Spring 1868 Impeachment the 1876 presidential electio. nIn a,,
in American history iructit>'
General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant of Andrew Johnson of Rutherford B. Hayes; Recons th
Nov 1862 Lincoln relieves is effectively over across the sou
General Mclellan of command May 1864 Lincoln vetoes
Radical Wade- Davis Bill Dec 1865 Ratification of the 13th Feb 1870 Ratification of the
of the Union army
Amendment, banning slavery 15th Amendment, asserting
voting rights for all

Nov 1864 Lincoln defeats his

Jan 1863 Emancipation Jan 1867• Beg·in . . · p1angoe1
former general George Mclellan • nIng
Proclamation comes into force in the presidential election of the period of Radical 1875 Mississippi d' g
Reconstruction by C unchallenged, le_a n',"of
ongress to the 'Redennptio
Sep 1862 Battle of Antietam causes Apr_ 1865 Assassination
Lee to retreat from Marylan_d t_o Mar 1864 Repeal of the Fugitive Mississippi
of Lincoln brings
Virginia; Lincoln issues Pr_el1m1nary Slave Act Andrew Johnson to the Jut 1868 Ratification of the
Emancipation Proclamation presidency 14th Amendment, extending fu 11
constitutional rights to all
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

Before you start

Understanding the events of the Civil War requires a grasp of its context. Consider these seven aspects:

1 Warfare: military training and strategies, the weaponry

2 Economics and finance: who was going to pay for the war and how it would be funded
3 Geography: the huge land area involved, plus the struggle to control the coast, the sea and trade
4 Politics: democratic processes including elections, freedom of speech and the press
S Law: the power of the president, the balance between central and state government, the argument as to whether this was a
rebellion or a war of independence
6 Slavery: whether Southern slaves would rise up, whether the North would declare a general emancipation, or even whether
the Fugitive Slave Act still applied
7 Leadership: a lawyer with little experience of leadership and politics, and none of government or war, was facing a man with
more experience of all four.

Introduction located in the Deep South, where secession came

early. The convention met there to draft a constitution.
Forty years of growing political conflict turned into four Montgomery was not, however, large or well-served with
years of increasingly violent physical conflict, far worse amenities, and visitors, including the (London) Times' W.
than anyone had expected. In these four years more than H. Russell and South Carolina's Mary Boykin Chesnut, a
600 000 young American men were killed. notable Confederate diarist, both recorded their dislike
The subseq uent 12 years is known as the era of of staying there. Once Virginia had voted to secede, the
Reconstruction. This neatly continues the housebuilding decision was taken to move the seat of government to
theme which formed the basis of Lincoln's pre-war 'house that state's capital, Richmond, a larger, better-served
divided' speech: four yea rs of demolition, 12 to rebuild - or city, with an ironworks and railway connections. It
to start to rebuild. was also, however, much closer to enemy lines. Each
side now had a capital within striking distance of the
other's army.
ACTIVITY 2.1

Research and write a short paragraph developing each ACTIVITY 2.2

of the seven points in Before you start. Which side seems
to you to have a decisive advantage at the beginning of
Our national troubles have been productive of at
the war?
least one good result. The spirit of patriotism has
The American Civil War and Reconstruction continue to been rekindled in the breasts of the people of the
affect economic, political, social and cultural events and free state and their souls have been knit together as
debate. What knowledge, preconceptions or prejudices one man in defence of our flag, our government and
do you bring to the study of the war or of the way in constitution. Everywhere from Maine to California
which the USA was reconstructed after the Civil War? such a determination is manifested to sustain the
authority of the government and maintain the
integrity of the Union as must strike terror into
the hearts of traitors ... The call of the President
2.1 Why did the Civil War last for 75,000 volunteers has been responded to by
four years?
The process of secession ran from 1860 to 1861.
Alabama's Montgomery was the first provisional
seat of the Confederate government. It was centrally
Cambridge International AS Level History - The history of the USA ' 1820-1941

The border states: Maryland, Delaware

more than 250 000
We do not b 1-' men - and still they come'
. '
e ieve that thi £ .
Kentucky and Missouri
can resist the mi ht
i s con ederate state ...
pour down upongit torrent which is soon to
have immense s ~om our northern hills. We
Both sides wanted to win the support of the four slav
states which had not yet de_ c lared their intentions an;
upenority i l . which all had divided loyalties.
food and man c n popu ation, wealth
' u1acturin d ' Maryland's decision was finely balanced as shown b
having bravery and d g an naval power and,
en urance · l geography and demographics. Half of Maryland'sAfy
can demonstrate s c m equa quantities, rican
math . uccess ior our cause with American population were f ree and half were slave S.
ematical precision.
Also, Maryland surrounded the federal capital on thre
From the Lans · St . sides, while being itself largely surrounded by North e
24 April 1861 mg ate [Michigan] Republican, ern
states or the sea.
Four soldiers and 12 civilians were killed in the
Baltimore Riot of April 1861, when a pro-secessionist
Was there ever in the history of an enlightened
mob attacked Northern troops on their way through th
country, such a piteous spectacle seen as
state's largest city to defend Washington DC. Lincoln e
presente~ by Mr Lincoln and his swarm of
made another controversial decision in his first few
demoralised subordinates? A President in
anta~onism with the captain of his armies - a weeks in office, to keep control of such an important
Cabinet a~used by its own party supporters strategic route. (He had already chosen to resupply
- ~roops disorganised, unpaid, unofficered, Fort Sumter and called for 75 000 volunteers .) This
with n~thing but their valour to rely on _ and, time, he used his power as commander-in-chief to
more disgusting than all, a horde of Abolition su~pend habeas corpus along key routes in Maryland
scribb_lers . . . prevaricating, exaggerating, This enabled the North to imprison key politicians and
moaning over disaster, or inventing ridiculous newspaper editors.
theories to prove defeat a victory - agreeing
Maryland's choice of side was made not by
upon no one point except that all-absorbing
one, the slavery question. Out of this Marylanders, but by the federal government. In
conglomerated mass of discordant elements practic_al terms, the South could do little to help
Mr Lincoln would reconstruct the Union . With secess1on1sts in Maryland.
such materials he would subjugate six million
Americans - determined, well organised,
confident, placing implicit reliance upon OannMr C
themselves and their commanders. He will Cabinet:
. The gro up o f senior
• government ministers, all
sooner accomplish the ruin of his country and his appointed by t he president.
own disgrace. Habeas corpus·• A lega1prov1s1on..
which limits the ti me
someone can be held b h .
From the Richmond [Virginia] Daily Dispatch, . Y t e authorities
c harged It 1s a ke · d. • 1
w ithout be ing
· YJU 1c1a defence aga inst arbitra ry arrest.
7 August 1861

Compare and contrast the accounts given by the Lansing Delaware, which was a state to the east of Maryland, was
Republican and the Richmond Doily Dispatch. Consider smaller and coa st al, and lacked Maryland's strategic
content, style and arguments. What is the 'president's s1fgnh1f1cance. It had not abolished slavery but about 90%
call' which the Michigan newspaper refers to? (Look back o . t. e black pop u Iat·ion of the state were ' free. As ·it was
.
into Chapter 1 if you need to.) d1v1ded 1n its su pport, ·1t narrowly voted to stay int he
. .
Research the figure the Virginian newspaper gives for the Un1on in January 186 1.
population of the South, the Confederate states. What
do the statistics and choice of words tell you about the
beliefs of the journalist writing the article?
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

Changing military strategies

Davis was chosen as The civil war was fought in three different theatres:
the Confederacy's first • east of the Appalachian mountains
and only president. He • west of the Appalachian mountains
was a Democratic party
• at sea.
congressman and senator
for Mississippi who served
as secretary for war in the
1850s under Franklin Pierce, Theatre: A general military term for the different areas in
His family was wealthy from which a war might be fought.
farming and owned a large cotton plantation
with a slave workforce. He was a graduate of West The best-known battles of the civil war were fought in the
Point military academy, he fought in the war with eastern theatre, where the capital cities of the two sides were
Mexico in the 1840s. He argued against secession only 160 km apart. Each side tried to take the other's capital,
but supported the states' right to leave the Union. knowing it would be a huge political as well as military victory.
Davis was disappointed to be offered the political
leadership of the newly formed Confederacy as The campaign at sea: the blockade, trade and
he had hoped for a military command. Historians foreign powers
have tended to judge him a poor war leader and Lincoln needed to stop the Confederate States of
sympathisers with the South tend to favour General America's international trade, especially with Britain, the
Lee over Davis. main market for Southern cotton; the question was how.
Closing CSA ports would be effective but provocative;
it would be an action under US, not international, law.
Further west, Kentucky, where both Lincoln and Blockading CSA ports would be less effective but less
provocative, and acceptable under international law.
Jefferson Davis had been born, tried to declare
neutrality. In September 1861, writing from Washington However, could the North adopt a blockade without
DC, Lincoln explained: 'I think to lose Kentucky is nearly seeming to recognise the CSA as a sovereign state?
the same as to lose the whole game. Kentucky gone,
we cannot hold Missouri, nor I think Maryland. These all
against us, and the job on our hands [becomes) too big
for us. We would as well consent to separation at once, Blockade: A concentrated effort to cut off trade and supplies
from a particular state or, in this case, area, in order to damage
including the surrender of this capitol.' its economy and perhaps deplete its resources so much that it
There was an attempt to set up a Confederate government is fori:ed into submission.
of Kentucky. Despite this, the unionist government in the
capital Frankfort regained control of the state.
Lincoln decided that the situation was both a rebellion and
West of Kentucky lay Illinois' neighbour Missouri, the a war. Therefore he decided he could choose the rules and
subject of so much political strife earlier in the century. Its processes that best suited Northern interests from national
state legislature voted decisely to stay in the USA. or international law. In this case, it was better to blockade.
A key reason for these four slave states of the border not Jefferson Davis's officials failed to persuade Britain to
joining the Confederacy was the presence there of US recognise the CSA as a sovereign state and provide
armed forces. Also, Lincoln had moved more quickly and financial and diplomatic support. Britain:
decisively than Davis did.
, recognised CSA as belligerent under international law,
giving the South some rights, but not as a state; it wouldn't
ACTIVITY 2.3 sign any treaties with the CSA, and wouldn't send or accept
ambassadors
Consider the approach Lincoln took to the border states.
, accepted the US blockade
Do you think some of his measures might have been
unconstitutional? How would you justify them? , remained neutral throughout the war: UK citizens could not
join the fight and UK companies would not provide ships.
 C b - is20-1941
am n"d ge International
. .
AS Level History - The history of the USA,

lied the 'offensive-defensive' strategy_

This was a Northern success, as the South lost more than what was later ca din against US attacks and taking the
the North from Britain's neutrality. With the blockade This meant defen g .ble
in place, 90% of the CSA's trade with Britain stopped . offensive wherev er poss1 •
A significant economic defeat. (See 'Impact of foreign . t ategy was named the. Anaconda
influences', below, for more detail.) A, rig1na 1 s r .
The US so . d by the USA's general-in-chief, Winfield
Plan . It was devise rs old ill and too overweight to rid
Lincoln 's interpretation of domestic and international Scott who was 74 yea ' ea
law had helped the North's case. So, in relations with the horse. It included:
border states and in negotiations with other countries,
Lincoln had outmanoeuvred Davis. • A naval bloc kade was to be set up. to damage f . the South's
revent it resupplying. In act, 1t proved
economy an d P • · h
.1mposs1'bl e to prevent some ships getting t rough.
Earlier strategies and campaigns, 1861-63 .
. . d
L1m1te m11 •i·tary action was to be taken to gain control of
The CSA adopted a 'perimeter' or 'cordon' strategy,
to defend its boundaries. As its own resources were the [Link]
· ·pp·1r·iver, the key north-south route, cutting
insufficient to maintain this, it was soon abandoned for the South in two. This eventually worked.

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Figure 2.1: A contemporary cartoon of the Union's Anaconda Pia -~

What does the use of a snake suggest about the cartoonist's attitudn, created by J.B. Elliott c·--- . _,.;,,,, '.1 ,t: '
e towards th ' 1nc1nnat1 1861
e Pan?
1 ' ·
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

The background idea was that, with casualties minimised, Th e following year, US forces aga in advanced on
post-war reconciliation would be easier. Richmond. However, in April and May they were defeated
at Chancellorsville, though the South lost one of its key
In the eastern theatre, the Northern strategy in 1861-62
commanders with the death of 'Stonewall' Jackson. The
was similar to the South's: defend when necessary, attack
CSA army under Lee then seized the offensive, moving
when possible. However, the leader of Northern forces in
northwards through Maryland into Penn sylva nia. After
Virginia, George McClellan, became notorious for rarely
suffering a clear defeat at Gettysburg, the Confederate
thinking attack was possible.
army retreated. Gettysburg was the war's bloodiest battle,
with about 50 000 casualties over three days.
The eastern theatre 1861-63 saw a great deal of fighting
General Lee was one of in a small area, but the war was deadlocked. Attempts to
Winfield Scott's chief aides seize the opponent's capital was defeated.
in the Mexican War 1846-48,
In the western theatre, the Anaconda Plan worked better.
working alongside future
The North gained control of the Tennessee River following
president Ulysses S. Grant.
victory at Fort Henry in February 1862, and then the
He was loyal to the USA
Cumberland river following victory at Fort Donelson. New
in countering the Raid
Orleans fell to US forces in April 1862. These successes
on Harpers Ferry and the
took them towards the goal of controlling the Mississippee
secession of Texas. At the
and Ohio rivers.
outbreak of war, Lee was
offered commands by both sides. His views are While the North's commander in the east was the
the object of considerable dispute, but he seems cautious McClellan, in the west it was the aggressive,
to have been unenthusiastic about slavery. decisive and successful Ulysses s. Grant. At the start
However, when Virginia seceded he accepted the of 1862, the battle of Shiloh was going the South's way
command of the CSA's army of Northern Virginia before Grant succeeded in achieving victory in a two-
from 1862 to 1865. At the end of the war he was day battle with heavy casualties. Grant later wrote in his
the South's supreme military commander. He had memoirs that he had believed winning one battle would
a good record of winn ing battles against superior cause the CSA to collapse. However the battle of Shiloh
forces, but neither of his offences into Union convinced him that the only way to win the war was
territory was a success. through 'complete conquest'.

Such a 'complete conquest' of the South implied a different

style of warfare, with consequences for Southern civilians.
Northern newspapers such as the abolitionist New
York Herold Tribune demanded immed iate attack
and rapi d victory. In the 1862 Peninsular Campaign, Grant was a US general
McClellan cautiously advanced into Virginia. Union and later president
forces reached the outskirts of Richmond in June and (1869-77). When the
were opposed by an equally cautious Joseph Johnson. Civil War broke out,
When Johnson was injured, command passed to Robert he had retired from
E. Lee, who wo n the Seven Days Battles and led his the army but rejoined
men into Maryland only to be stopped at Antietam. and experienced
This September day was the bloodiest of the whole rapid promotion and
war, with a total of over 20 000 casualties. Lacking the battlefield success.
resources to continue to fight at Antietam, Lee retreated Lincoln gave Grant overall command of the Union
to Virginia. McClellan failed to follow up this success by armies, despite the fact that his victories came
advancing and then, a frustrated Lincoln replaced him at the price of heavy casualties. In the end, he
as field commander in November. defeated Lee's remaining Southern forces and
accepted his surrender at Appomattox in April 1865.
 Later strategies k's rest and recuperation, Sherman's arm
After a few wee through south and North Carolina y
In the western theatre, by 1864, US forces had pushed rth-east . ,
hea ded no hed earth tactics.
deep into the South. Lee's forces were defending continuing the score
Petersburg, Virginia . In July, Lee sent a force across the Washington DC to become general+,,.
Wh Grant wen t to
Potomac into Maryland and Pennsylvania again, but this en 64 Sherman became commander in the
chief in March 18 ,
time just 9 000 men had the job of drawing Union troops
western theatre.
away to defend Washington. The small force won the
battle of Monocacy and pressed to attack the capital at Th ed of Sherm an 's advance contrasted
. . markedly
.
e spe . ch warfare in Virginia. In April 1865,
the battle of Fort Stevens. During this, Lincoln came under with the static tren . k
direct enemy fire, and was forced to retreat South. Petersburg feII , decisively' and the war qu1c ly ended.
. h d lasted longer and cost more lives than
In the western theatre, Northern forces fought from The conflict a hh d
December 1862 to July 1863 to capture the CSA fortress almost anyone had expected. The Sout a made.
at Vicksburg on the Mississippee. A CSA victory at .
maximum use o f ·ts
1 more limited resources and in Lee had
Chickamauga on the Georgia-Tennessee border was a a skrl_f u 1 m1. 11
.tary leader in the eastern theatre. The North
setback. Union victory at Chattanooga in November 1863 had been poorly served initially by Scott and McClellan,
gave the North control of Tennessee. The offensive moved and was slow to:
to Georgia in May 1864.
mobilise its resources
In August 1864, Grant ordered his commander in the find its best military leaders
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, Phillip Sheridan: 'Give the • appreciate the potential contribution of slaves (or former
enemy no rest. Do all the damage to railroads and crops slaves) to the war effort as labourers and soldiers.
you can. Carry off stock of all descriptions, and negroes, so
as to prevent further planting. If the war is to last another
ACTIVITY 2.4
year, we want the Shenandoah valley to remain a barren
waste' (H. W. Brands, The Mon Who Saved the Union) . Where do you think the war was won: the western
theatre, the eastern theatre or the sea? Explain your
Sheridan's troops adopted the tactic of scorched earth,
conclusion, setting out why one was more significant,
destroying farm buildings, equipment, crops and animals
but also why the other two were less significant.
in what became know n as 'The Burning'. Supplies to the
CSA armies dwindled.

Changing approaches of political and

military leadership
Scorched earth: A military policy of destroying, often by
fi re, all resources that could be used by an opp_osing force'. . In the North, Lincoln was formally commander-in-chief of
.inc Iu d.,ng fo od and shelter, in order to undermine the,r
h ·ability
l the federal army as well as head of government. Although
to fight. It can have devastating conseque nces for t e c,v, ,an he was a lawyer, with no formal military experience, he
pop ulation in the area. began to study the history of war whenever he could. After
Southern forces shelled Fort Sumter Lincoln immediately
called for a blockade of the coastlin~ of the seceded states
William Tecumseh Sherman, Grant's commander in
. an d South Carolina , also pursued the idea of and requested 75 000 volunteer soldiers to enlist for three
Georg1a
months. He was only partially successful in this recruitment
total war.
(see Chapter 1.4), but the naval blockade continued for the
Halleck led an army from the Tennessee border through duration of the war.
Georgia . t o Atlanta , burning much of the state capital,
.
d then went on to coastal Savannah. The rapid Initially, Lincoln appointed Winfield Scott hero of the
adn depended on seizing supplies from enemy War of l812 and the US-Mexican War as his general-in·
a vance h'I t· · chief._ Scott was one of the few who d,id expect a long
.
territory an d avo1'd'ng
I
pitched battles, w I e prac 1s1ng a
conflict. He started to create a formidable Union arrnY
policy of scorched earth.
and designed the long-term plan that would ultimately
th
win e war for the North. In 1861, however, Scott was
74 years old and he retired, handing over command to
General George McClellan.
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

In the South, Davis was also both president and among the anti -war sections of th e North, as people were
com mander-in-chief. As he had led forces in battle, he could grea tly angered by any Northern loss of life. Lincoln had to
justify his role as a military leader more easily than Lincoln. be wary of public opinion as he needed public support for
Several hundred officers of the US army joined the CSA continuing the war and for winning re-election.
forces, which helped strengthen th eir military leadership. In
This is why the initial Northern strategy, devised by Scott
March 1861, the Confederates' Congress initially approved
with the support of Lincoln, aimed to strangle the South by
an army of 100 000. This rose to over 350 000 by January
surrounding it on all sides: the Anaconda Plan. Scott believed
1862 and reached a peak of just over 480 000 in January
that the South might win if the North directly invaded the
1864, before dropping to 445 000 in January 1865. Northern
South. This was another reason for the North to take an
army figures for January 1862 were 575 000 and in January
indirect approach to victory by using the Anaconda Plan.
1865 were 959 000. All the generals on the two sides had
been educated at the same military college, West Point, A year of conventional, limited war had brought little
where they had learned the same - now outdated - success. By the summer of 1862, the South was dominant
principles and strategies of warfare. However, the two sides' on the eastern front and providing determined opposition
military tactics did begin to vary as their respective leaders on the western front.
faced different situations. Thus, the North decided it would go to war with the
Southern people rather than their armies. It would wear
The South down resistance by occupying more and more Southern
The master of th ese strategies was Robert E. Lee, the land, controlling the CSA's economy and undermining its
greatest of the Southern general s. He believed that th e resistance. The North believed that this would win the war
only way to achieve victory wa s to defeat the enemy in without the risk of fighting too many major battles.
direct battle. Therefore in both 1862 and 1863, therefore,
Therefore, after the summer of 1862, the North began
he concentrated Sou thern fo rces on the eastern fro nt and
fighting a different type of war. It refined its military
marched them into Northern territory. There was also an
strategy by prioritising its main campaigns. Resources
important logistica l benefit as the troops lived off Northern
went to the campaign to gain control of the Mississippi
farms and therefore used up Northern resou rces. Southern
River. The troops on the Virginian front to the east
farmers were able to harvest the crops, leaving more food
were instructed only to hold their position rather than
for the Southern people. The 1862 attack into the North led
advancing any further. The North's main priority was the
to the Battle of Antietam, the first Northern victory on the
western front. This was a reflection of two factors: Lee's
eastern front and the bloodiest battle of the wa r. The 1863
dominance of the eastern front, and the relative success
incursion ended in the Northern victory at Gettysburg in
achieved by Northern forces west of the Appalachian
Pennsylvania. This was the fu rthest the South adva nced
Mountains under the leadership of Ulysses S. Grant and
into the North. There were te rrible causalities: over 20 ODO
William T. Sherman in 1862-63.
on ea ch side at th e Battle of Gettysburg. The North,
however, with its larger population, could absorb these Lincoln appointed Grant as the commander of the federal
losses more easily. forces in March 1864. Grant made sure that the Northern
military effort was unrelenting, keeping Southern forces
After Gettysburg, despite Lee's best efforts, the South
fully stretched. Sherman, a close colleague of Grant,
was forced onto the defensive. The Confederates rarely
took his place as leader on the western front and also
risked large-scale battles, mainly because they lacked
proved an effective military leader. Together, Grant and
th e necessary resources. At this stage of the Civil War, the
Sherman developed a new type of warfare that many saw
North also tended to avoid direct conflict, but this was for
as unconventional, and much more ruthless. Sherman's
co mpletely different reasons.
advance towards Atlanta in the spring of 1864 was
coordinated with Grant's offensive on the eastern front.
The North
Here, Grant decided on continuous warfare against Lee's
When the North won battles and its armies advanced,
army. For 44 days in the summer of 1864, the armies of
it had to maintain lengthening lines of communication
Grant and Lee engaged in a series of non-stop battles.
through hostile Southern territory. The high number of
After this both sides settled for trench warfare around
casualties resulting from the battles also created tension
Petersburg, south of Richmond. The constant fighting
 ember that North and South Wer
resulted in many casualties. In less than seven weeks the h Id also rem e
Wes ou d societies. The Confederacy Was
North's army of th e Potomac (the major Union force i~ ly contraste ..
strong db ·nternal div1s1on than the North Mo
the east) suffered 65 000 casualties, which roughly equalled trouble y I • fl' b . st
more a systemic con 1ct etween stat
the size of Lee's army. Such figures caused Grant to be seen b · sly there wa 5 ea"'
o v1ou , nments. An aspect of this was that th .,
as a callous leader, indifferent to the wellbeing of his men. C federate gover e
on I yalty but no patriotism around CSA
Throughout the autumn of 1864, the South experienced South had state o . hh db as 1
such unlike. the concept of USA wh1c . a een allowed
a rapid decline. Food was running short. By December, ' for ove r a century. This created the military
to develop
Sherman had taken both Savannah and Atlanta and cut . h t the southern forces were state armies
the Confederacy in two. On Sherman's infamous 'March hindrance t a . f . ,,,01
0

. their primary aim was de ending the ho

through Georgia' his men destroyed buildings and crops, CSA armies, so , . . . Ille
and the terror they inspired demoralised the South. A state, as can be Seen in Lees . mot1vat1on for accepting the
CSA commission over a Union one.
few months later, after some final attempts to break
the Northern stranglehold, Lee surrendered to Grant at Therewere d1 ·sruptive personal differences between
Appomattox. His capital, Richmond, had been abandoned - members of Davis's cabinet, as well as between President
and torched - a few days before. The war was over. Davis and almost everyone else - 1nclud1ng generals,
senators and his own vice president. Afterwards,
The contrast between Northern and Southern unsurprisingly, beaten generals Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard
approaches to the war both blamed Davis for defeat. (Beauregard later became
Charles W. Ramsdell, in a classic analysis of the Civil War an advocate of black voting rights.) Some historians agree
from 1944 (Behind the Lines in the Southern Confederacy), that these divisions existed, but note that the North too
pointed to the Southern political leaders' failure to faced internal conflicts and that, at points, Southern
understand the centrality of economy and finance to military policy came close to winning.

I success in war. The CSA suffered shortages of supplies,

inflation, transport breakdowns and corruption - the
latter always seeming to grow up in situations where the
We should remember too that the two sides had very
different aims for the war, and this difference affected their
attitudes to its conduct:
economic infrastructure does not deliver.
, The USA was committed to the maintenance of the
These deficiencies undermined the armies, but they also Union. This meant an aggressive course of action to
lowered morale on the home front, something which is retake the South and crush its forces.
essential to maintaining support for a conflict and also has a
The CSA was committed to secession, so really only
material effect on the fighting spirit of the armies in the field.
wanted to prevent invasion. Its forces crossed into the
William Freehling, in The South Vs. the South suggests North only to knock out the USA. Therefore, occupying
that a key weakness was that, whatever their views on enemy territory was not as significant a success to the
slavery, states' rights and so on, half of all Southerners South as it was for the North.
nevertheless opposed secession and the creation of Several historians contrast the personalities of Davis and
the Confederacy. He argues that these anti-Confederate Lincoln. Lincoln was skilled in both defining policy and
Southerners fatally undermined the Confederacy. White coping with defeats and criticism, and Davis was less able
men in border states such as Missouri, Kentucky, and to do this.
Maryland (which remained outside the CSA), had divided
loyalties: fewer joined the Confederate army than joined Leadership, economics, strategy, contrasting aims,
Union forces or stayed home. If these Upper South men morale, social and political division and, failed diplomacy
were all significant.
had enlisted in the way that Deep South white men did
there would have been a smaller number of Confederate
casualties, with a significant effect on fighting ability and
Resources available
The USA had a grea t advantage .1n resources overt hecsA
morale.
from_the start. As the Lansing Republican from the state ol,
The border states remaining in the Union also meant
M1ch1gan put it in April 1861: 'We have immense supenori~
that much of the South's urban population and industrial 111
population, wealth, food, and manufacturing and
capacity also remained there. In addition, escaping or
naval power and, having bravery and endurance in equal
liberated Southern blacks meant additional labour and quant1t1es can d ·th
'. emonstrate success for our cause wi
troops for the North. mathematical precision.'
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

Superiority in population Superiority of manufacturing and naval power

The Nort h had a hu ge advantage in population, as Table The slave states produ ced ju st 5% of American iron
2.1 shows. accord ing to th e 1860 Census. All 470 locomotive engines
produced in 1859- 60 were manufa ctured in free or border
US population 1860 (millions) states. The 1860 Census identified 239 establi shments
which made the firearm s needed to fight the war. Nearly
half were produced by just nine factories in the state of
Connecticut. No Southern states were listed as producing
Free 19 18.l 0.2 - 18.3 a significant number of firearms . So, the industrial sector
of the US economy was based in the towns and cities of
Slave 15 8.0 0.2 4 12.2 the North. As for naval power, the US navy was an almost
entirely Northern institution. At the start of the war, all 42
Table 2.1: Population breakdown of free and slave states ships of the US navy stayed in the Union, as did most of its
in 1860 officers. The Confederacy had to rely on its own ingenuity
or look to other countries to supply ships to challenge the
This advantage was also increasing with time. The total US navy and its tightening blockade.
population of the USA was growing rapid ly, by around
one-third eve ry ten years. In 1850 the population was Superiority of railways
22.3 million. As the 1860 census exp lained, th is growth
By 1860, the USA had 48 000 km of rail track . 34 000 km
was helped by 'a large imm igra tio n from Europe with an
of this were in the North. These new tracks and trains had
influx of considerabl e magnitude from Asia to California'.
many limitations. The most obvious one was the different
The Census later wen t on to explain tha t 'for each white
width of the rail racks of different railway companies
immigrant located in the slaveholding states, eight have
(there were said to be 11 different gauges in the North).
settled in the free states'. Neve rtheless, the railways revolutionised warfare
So, the population of the free states was growing at around because they enabled large numbers of infantry and large
40% per decade, while the slave states were growing at amounts of supplies to travel quickly.
some 25%. Demographic changes had great consequences
In January 1862, the North formed the United
for the sectional balance of US government and therefore
States Military Rail Road (USM RR) to coordinate the
the composition of the US House of Representatives. In organisation of railways in the interests of Northern
the Civil War, the imbalance was even greater as the four campaigns. Southern efforts to do something similar
border (slave) states decided not to leave the USA: their ran up against the reluctance of individual states to
combined population was around 2 million . concede power over their railways to the CSA. States'
rights here worked against the Confederacy which
Superiority of wealth had been formed to protect the idea. The USM RR
Cotton grown in the South w as extremely important organised the best example of the strategic benefits
because it generated sig nificant wealth for the US of the railways. In September 1863, after the setback
economy as well as fo r slave-owners themselves. The of losing at Chickamauga, the North used the USM RR
growing industrial economy of the North appeared to to move 25 000 troops 1900 kilometres from Virginia
be more prosperous than the seemingly static society to northern Alabama in just 11 days. This helped to
of the South. However, but the evidence does not ensure that the North kept hold of Chattanooga, 'the
always support the assertion. The pioneering work gateway to the South'. The military value of railways
of Rob ert Fogel and Stanley Engerman in Time on is further indicated by the fact that armies put time
the Cross: The Economics of American Negro Slavery, and effort into destroying their opponents' rail lines.
published to great controversy in 1974, provides much During Sherman's march through Georgia, his troops
data to show that the Southern economy was much tore up several hundred kilometres of Southern
more productive and dynamic than previously thought. railway track.
In addition, the South argued there was little difference
between the living standards of their slaves and those
of the North's working class, who lived in slums and
suffered harsh working conditions.
Cambridge Int ,
'.. .
1820-1941
ernational AS Level History - The history of the USA,

ect all domestic taxes, direct and ind·

Superiority of war finance Revenue t o Coll . 1ri
The American Civil w Soon some 4000 federal taxmen were assessing incon
• . ar w as extremely expensive The war
Is estimated to h . · Thi s development was only acceptable _because of the
. ave COS t 1.5 tim es th e country's Gross
N at1onal Product in 1860 _ f war. The south introduced an income tax O 1
nee d so , . h n
April 1863 as the tradition of states rig ts was so stron
Direct costs of the US Civil War, 1860 ($ millions) that there was no CSA equivalent of the Internal Reven
Bureau. As a result, the North raised much more in taxi
North South Total than the south. One estimate says that direct taxes
Government expenditure provided just 8% of CSA income co_mpared with 24%o
2302 1032 3334
Union income. So, in 1863 the CSA introduced a tax-in.
Physical destruction 1487 1487 kind on farm produce in an unorthodox attempt to fee,
Loss of human capital armies, but this created its own problems. Collection fr
1064 767 1831
resentful producers (often women whose husbands we
Total cost 3366 3286 6652 in uniform) was challenging and sometimes left farmin!
Cost per head of families a step closer to starvation themselves. Storage
population($) 148 376 212 distribution turned out to be too complex for the state',
infrastructure. The Confederacy became the owner of
Table 2.2: The financial costs of the Civil War in 1860. (The warehouses full of perishable supplies which it was ofte
monetary value placed on those soldiers who died or were unable to transport before they rotted.
injured during the war - human capital - is based on loss
of subsequent earnings.)
Onliw
The figures in Table 2.2 must be treated with great caution, Income tax: Tax taken as a particular percentage of the income
especially those for the South, as their record-keeping of workers. In the modern world it is the most important source
during the war was often minimal. The most reliable figure of governmental revenue, but, in the 19th century, it was a
controversial addition to the more normal property taxes. In the
is government expenditure, which reveals a significant
USA and CSA alike, there were serious legal questions as to whell
difference between North and South.
the central government, rather than the states, could collect it
In the 19th century, Americans were lightly taxed by both
state and federal governments. During the war the rival Both sides borrowed more. Here again the North was
governments took three steps, all with potential problems much more successful. The purchase of US bonds was
or disadvantages. They: much greater than investment in CSA bonds. In 1862, th
1 imposed new taxes; but taxes could not be raised too North employed a banker, Jay Cooke, to sell its bonds.
high or people would protest and/or avoid paying As part of his sales strategy, Cooke appealed to popular
2 sold bonds on which interest was paid' but the debt patriotic support for the war. The sales of bonds was so
might get so great that the government spent too much sig_nificant that, at the end of the war, in July 1865, the
of its current income on debt interest and lenders might Philadelphia Press commented: 'This nation owes a deb
believe the government was unable to fund new debts to Jay Cooke that it cannot soon discharge ... No one
3 circulated paper money which was not backed by gold who appreciates the genius and patriotism which led us
th rough the fiery ordeal would hesitiate to place the gre,
or silver coins; but the more notes a government prints,
the more the value falls, creating inflation. financier of war alongside its greatest generals.'

Both sides tried all three methods of funding, but in different Nor th ern bonds could be bought with bank notes and
proportions at different times and with varying effects. redeemed in gold or silver. The North's credit was better
th an th e South's, which lacked the tax base and resource
At the start of the war, while facing exceptional costs, needed to support its borrowing.
neither side had much money.
Bo th sides printed money. The South was first to do so,
The North first introduced income tax in 1861, but this
at th e st art of th e war, mainly because it had less tax
was only done effectively with the 1862 Revenue Act. This revenue. But using the Southern 'greybacks' was not n,ade
was because the act created a federal Bureau of Internal
compulsory as that was thought too controversial. This
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

was a major differen ce from the North, whose 'greenbac ks' was so important to the British eco nomy that th e South
beca me the lega l ten der. Many Southerners chose not to pay misjudged its position and power.
their bills with greybacks. At the sa me time, individual states
printed their own paper currency (and indeed within them The British journalist W. H. Russell reported in his
some counties and banks). While there was some inflation in published diary for 18 April 1861 a meeting with
the North, in the South, inflation was soon out of control. Southern businessmen:

KEV CONCEPT These worthy gentlemen regarded her [England]

as a sort of appanage [dependency) of their cotton
Causation kingdom. 'Why, sir, we have only to shut off your
This section has been about the many advantages which the supply of cotton for a few weeks and we can create
USA had over the CSA, which might make it seem that the CSA revolution in Great Britain. There are four millions of
never had a chance, and that the USA's victory was inevitable. your people depending on us for their bread, not to
How far do you accept that this is so? Do you agree that these speak of many millions of dollars. No, sir, we know
advantages were significant? If so, were economic reasons the
that England must recognise us.'
key factor underlying the USA's victory?
From My Diary North and South,
W.H Russell, 1862
Impact of foreign influences (Britain and
France)
Given the immigrant nature of US society, Europ ea n In May 1861, cotton producers in the South burned bales
countries and their governments were closely involved in of raw cotton as part of an embargo on its export. This
the America n Civil War. Both North and South hoped for 'cotton diplomacy' was an attempt to influence Britain to
support from other states, particularly Britain. support the CSA in order to regain cotton supplies. Britain
Britain was important because it was: simply looked elsewhere for replacement supplies and so
the tactic was abandoned.
the leading industrial power of the time
The South had expected Britain to recognise the CSA
the main market for America's most valuable product,
raw cotton and even go to war on its behalf. Britain did neither.
Supporting the South, particularly as an ally, could drive
home of many emigrants to America (at th is time the UK
the North to attack British Canada. In the same month as
included Ireland).
Southerners began burning cotton, Britain announced
the world's leading naval power
its neutrality 'during the existing hostilities between
the only great power with a land border with the USA -
between the United States of America and the states
Canada, a destination for many fugitive slaves.
calling themselves the Confederate States of America',
As such, its response to the outbreak of wa r could greatly recognising the CSA as a belligerent but not as a state. The
affect the outcome. South's only comfort was that this awarded it belligerent
rights to stop and search neutral shipping.
At the start of the war, Britain saw t he conflict as being
about tariffs. Lincoln's inauguration speech showed his Such was British power at the time that all other major
main concern was to preserve the Union, not abolish powers followed suit in not recognising the CSA as a
slavery. state. A continuing issue for almost the rest of the war was
The North wanted to protect their infant manufacturing whether Britain would abandon neutrality in favour of
industries against British competititon by raising tariffs. recognising the CSA and so tip the balance in favour of the
South.
The South wa nted to encourage trade and commerce,
especially in their staple product, cotton, by keeping tariffs Neutrality also limited the scope for British shipyards
low. The British misread the passage of the Morrill Tariff to build warships for belligerents. Again, other powers
Act in March 1862, which increased tariffs on all imports followed suit. British shipbuilders and CSA diplomats
from around 14% to around 26%, as a cause of the conflict did find ways around some of the laws of neutrality.
rather than a consequence.
Some ships were built without armaments, which were
The trade in raw cotton between the South and the UK then added once the ship had left the UK. This was
was of great importance to both economies. 'King Cotton' the case with perhaps the best-known example, the
 , '
Cambridge Int ,
ernat,onal AS Level History - The history of the USA, 1820 - 1941

CSS Alabama w hi c h I ft . As t he war dragged on into 1862, th e impact on British

1862 und er tl~e e L_,ve rpoo l in t he sum m er of
co mm e rc .d name Enrico before bein g armed. As a cotto n workers became grea ter, so Britain and Fra nce
US e ra_, er, ,t we nt o n to infli ct great damage on consi dered po li t icial in tervention in th e wa r by offerin
t co mm erc ial shippin g. At t he o utbrea k of wa r on ly med iate between th e two sid es. Th e closest they carngto
. . e½
~tate- own ed shipya rd s (in Fl o rid a an d Virgi ~i a) lay in doing t his was 1n t he autumn of 1862. Frances Emperor
e rntory. Th ere we re alrea dy som e priva tely owned Napo leon suppo rted the id ea and suggested drawingin
on es but. th
. e re w as as h o rtage of ex perti se. Fro m an Russia. Russia had fough t the Crim ea n Wa r of 1854_56
u~_prom1 s1ng st ar t, the CSA navy expanded to ove r 100 aga in st Britain and France and was not fri endly with eith
s ip s. Nin e of t hese we re buil t in Euro pe. Many ot hers country, and so re fused to intervene. Brita in and Franceer
we re vesse ls t hat had joi ned as, for exa mple blockade could not agree. Bri tain stu ck to it s poli cy of neutrality
runn ers or priva t ee rs. Th e war saw t he fir st-~ver battle
of
_ i ron ship s, at H am p t on Ro ad s. V1rg1n
. . 1 .a, ove r two days
,n Marc h 1862 .
Blockade runner: A fast sea-worthy steamship used to evade
The North ern USS Monitor, built in a New York shipya rd, the naval blockade undetected, usually by sai ling at night.
fou ght the So uthern CSS Virginia, w hich ha d been rebuilt They would bring in vital im ports, including munitions. They
from a US w arship skuttled a few weeks previously. The tended to be privately owned vessels, many bu ilt in Britain.
If spotted, a blockade runner would attempt to outrun and
Battle o f Hampton Roads was ca used by t he CSA's need to
outmanoeuvre the blockade patrol ships, often successfully.
break the US b lockad e. Tho ugh it fa iled to do so. it showed
the potential of iron -clad sh ips.

Th e CSA comm issioned British sh ipbu ilders to build t wo ACTIVITY 2.5

iron -clad hybrid steam and sailing ships ca lled 'ra ms'. At
t heir bow w as a seven-foot iron spike w hich wou ld ensure Do you think mediation by Britain and France was ever

I the destruc tion of any wood en ships w hich got in the way. a reali stic option? Would Lincoln have accepted any
The ships we re d esigned to perform in coastal waters as intervention which implied international reco gnition of
w ell as the ocean in o rder to disrupt Northern tra de and the CSA?
t o ch allen ge it s blockade. Bot h were seized by t he British
aut ho rities in Octob er 1863. In 1863, Napol eon proposed Anglo - French intervention
Neut rality was also the cause of the most serious dispute in the war on the sid e of the South , but could not
bet w een Brit ain an d th e North - t he so-called Trent Affai r persuade Bri tai n to abandon neutrality. Then, in the
of la te 1861. US naval fo rces seized two Confederate autumn of 1863, Ru ssia unexpectedly sent its Ba ltic Sea
diplo mats saili ng o n a British sh ip, the RMS Trent, and fl eet to New Yo rk and its Pacific fleet to San Fran cisco.
t ook them to the USA. The Northern press was delighted, Both stayed for several months. The North welcomed
the Bri tish press outraged an d th e legal situation was th e Ru ssian s as an implied warning to France and Britair
d is p uted . An intense, if sho rt-lived diplom ati c and finan cial not to intervene.
crisis fo llow ed . Britain sent 10 000 t roops to sta nd by in
Ca nada . Lincoln relea sed th e diplomats. The war ends
While all th is diplomacy w as being worked out, the
Southern blockade runners did their best to break
fighting continued. Eventually, Robert E. Lee's armyol
t he eve rmor e effecti ve blockade with ships such
North Virginia surrendered to General-in-Chi ef Ulysses
as the CSS Alabama. Measuring the effectiven ess of
Grant at Appomatto x Court House on 9 April 1865.
the us blockade of CSA ports is hard to do, if only
The war w as effectivel y ove r, though it to ok another
be cause the criteria for doing so can vary greatly.
month for all CSA armies to follow Lee's acti on, and
we know that some blockade runners got through,
sporadic gu errilla action continued for months and
but as the war progressed , the number of safe
eve n years .
Co~fedrate ports became fewer and the ships' work
became harder.

J
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

ACTIVITY 2 .6

Figure 2.2: Robert E. Lee makes the official surrender to Ulysses S. Grant to end the Civil War, 9 April 186S

This painting is one of many made to commemorate the surrender at Appomattox, in what was apparently a meeting
between an embarrassed Grant and an ashamed Lee. In what ways is this painting interesting as a historical interpretation?

Just five days after Lee's surrender, President Lincoln was ACTIVITY 2 .7
assassinated by a CSA supporter. He was replaced by his
vice president, Andrew Johnson, whose leadership was so Re-read your response to Activity 2.1, regarding the
controversial that, in 1868, he was impeached. advantages at the beginning of the war. Comment on
how you think those advantages turned out and how
Jefferson Davis lived for another 24 years. He was captured
they were used in the war itself.
and imprisoned for two years and then he was pardoned
by Johnson in 1868. Davis eventually wrote his memoirs
wh ile becoming a focus for what became known as the
Lost Cause. This was an umbrella term fo r all those who Reflection: Would you change your original response
believed that the South was not as wicked and ineffective to Activity 2.1? What has confirmed your opinion or
as it was portrayed, the North not so worthy and successful, changed your mind7
and that the main cause of the great conflict was states'
rights, not slavery. Nonetheless, after a wa r lasting longer
than expected, battles causing more casualties, the South 2.2 How great was the immediate
proving more resili ent and the North acting more slowly,
legal slavery had gone.
impact of the Civil War (1861- 65)?
Both sides in the American Civil War believed themselves
to be democratic. Women could not yet vote, but nor
could they in many other 19th-century democracies.
Slaves could not either, but that was typical too, nor
 Cambridge International AS Level History - The history of the USA, 1820-1941 ,

could the native population . . . t' n was not universa l. Only white men ag
empires. The North .. s in the developing European conscrIp 10 . h. ect1a
South to m a· t .. was, 1n1t1ally, as comm itted as the to 35 were incl ud ed, and ehven int is age gro_up certain
in a1ning slave ry in the USA. occupations, such as teac 1ng, gave exemption. In
Bothh sid es had cod ifi ed constitutions which were hard add ·t·on
11 ,
if drafted, men cou ld nominate
. .
a su bstitutet
0
t 0 c ange and hard to i . join in the ir place or pay $300 not to Jo in.
the pow f gnore. Both co nst itution s limited
er o government d d f' In October l862, the Con federate Con~ress introduced
individu al Th f d an e in ed the rights of the
. · . e oun ers of th e Confederacy used th e another exemption. The 'twenty slave law excused th
USh Const1tut1on wherever th ey could, amending it only owner or overseer of any plantation with 20 or more e
w ere necessa ry The us C . . slaves. This was said to be in response to Linco ln's
. · onstitut1on did not mention
slavery, but it specified limits on the powe rs of its federal Provisional Eman cipation Proclam ation and the fear th.
government, strengthening the rights of states. would encourage slave rebellions. Others believed the~:
Both the CSA and th US h . simply preserved the interests of slave owners.
. . e A eld elections during the war. The
186
4 pres1dent1al election in the North is remembered for However, historians estimate that only 20% of Confecterc",
the re-election of Linc I I h .
o n. n t e 1861 presidential election in soldiers were conscripts. •
the South, Jefferson Davis was the only candidate.
The Union introduces conscription
Limitations on civil liberties during the war The Union passed the Enrolment Act in March 1863. Sim',
As th e Nor th treated secession as a rebellion, not a war, to the Confederates' 1862 Act, it too included exemption,
individuals fighting for the South were rebels, not soldiers. and substitution. The law quickly provoked intense
If captured, they were traitors, not prisoners of war, and opposition: New York saw five days of rioting in Ju ne.
thus subject to the laws of the Constitution. Civilians These Draft Riots initially focused on the introductionol
were divided in their attitudes to the war. A minority of conscription, but then became an expression of white
Northerners, mostly Democrats (na med Copperheads workers' fea rs about emancipated slaves taking their
after a North American snake), opposed the wa r. A jobs. An estimated 120 deaths occurred, and Lincoln
minority of Southerners supported the Union, opposing sent army units to restore order. Howeve r, oppositionto
secession and the wa r: the creation of West Virginia the draft was less widespread than in the South. For one
stem med from ju st suc h a division of opinion. Many thing, the pressure on the Union forces was red uced by io
Southern men joined Union forces. willingness to recruit freed slaves, formalised in the Militia
Act of 1862 and Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
What freedoms did these groups have? In a time of war,
how far could they criticise their sec tion's policies? Like the South, the North introduced conscription
using Congress. Historians estimate that only 2% in the
The Confederacy introduces conscription Northern army were co nscripts.
In the first yea r of the Civil War, both sides had more
than enough vo lunteers; more indeed than th e armies Steps to limit liberty in the Union
could cope w ith. However, as the wa r went on, both sides American au th0 rities were unable to detain a ci tizen
needed to conscript. This had rarely occurred in the USA's wi th0 ut following legal processes. If they did not follow
history. The Constitution gave the federal government no legal processes the indivi dual could ask a judge to issue
explicit powe r for thi s. a writ of 'habea ,
.. s corpus. If the w rit was granted, the
authoriti es had to I
The Confed eracy was the first to introduce conscription. . re ease the prisoner. Secti on 9 of
Article l of the us c . .
This was due to its much smaller population and so more onstItut1on, referring to Congress,
f urthermore states· 'Th ..
urgent demand to maximise recruitment. In April 1862, the · e privilege of the writ of Habeas
Corpus sha ll not b ,
Confederate Congress passed a Conscription Act. Further . e suspended unless when in caseso,
re b eII ion or invasi bt· ,
laws, and modifications, followed between 1862 and on pu Ic safety may require it.
1865. The acts attracted considerable opposition. In the Faced with rebel!' -
. ion, and following the Baltim ore Riots
summer of 1862, Georgia's governor Joseph Brown said o f April 1861 L' I e
' inco n suspended habeas corpus in sorri
he considered the 1862 Conscription Act to be 'a bold and parts of four strat • .
1
egica ly important states.
dangerous usurpation [taken illegally] by Congress of the
Lincoln was wo · d
reserved rights of the States and a rapid stride towards rrie about losing Maryland thereby
Pe rm anent Iy is0 I t· '
military despotism'. a ing Washington DC. Maryland ers
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

had attacked US troops, and destroyed railroad tracks 'Copperhead ' Clemen t Vallandigham's experiences of
and telegraph wires in an attempt to defend their rights 1863-64 illustrate the complex issues raised by having
against the federal government. to fight a prolonged civil war while also continuing with
Under Lincoln's latest orders, in the spring of 1861, a democratic politics under the US Constitution.
number of leading Marylanders seen as supporters of Vallandigham led the Peace Democrats in the House
the Confederate cause were imprisoned. In Maryland, or of Representatives. He became increasingly critical of
Baltimore at least, habeas corpus was suspended and the Lincoln's strategies. He did not advocate the use of force to
town was under martial law.
stop the war effort, but urged people to use their political
One man challenged this. John Merryman, a Maryland powers at the ballot box. However, his language became
farmer and militia officer was arrested for training militia heated and inflammatory. In one speech at a political rally
men who went on to destroy railroad tracks. He applied of about 10 000 people, he was alleged to have urged the
to a US court for a writ of habeas corpus. The judge was crowd to 'hurl King Lincoln from his throne'. In May 1863,
Chief Justice Taney, who had led the Dred Scott judgement he was arrested in the middle of the night by a troop of 100
four years before, here sitting as a District judge. Taney US soldiers who broke into his house. Their authority came
duly issued a writ of habeas corpus, forcing th e army not from a judge but from General Burnside, the military
either to release Merryman or bring him to court. The army commander for the region. Va llandigham was charged with
refused, saying that it had suspended habeas corpus on the breaching General Order 38, wh ich Burnside had issued a
president's orders. Taney ruled that, under the Constitution, few weeks earlier with the aim of subduing local opposition
suspending habeas corpus was Congress's right, but not the to the war. Vallan digham was accused of expressing
president's. Lincoln disagreed, arguing that the Constitution 'disloyal sentiments and opinions'.
did not specify who was responsible for any suspension. Vallandigham didn't face a court but instead faced th e
He ignored Taney's court order. Merryman stayed in jail eight army officers of a military commission. He refused to

I
for several months before being released without trial. recognise it because it was not properly constituted under
In the summer and autumn, further Maryland politicians US law and because civil courts were still sitting in Ohio.
and newspaper editors were imprisoned. Lincoln asked Aher a two-day trial, the commission found him guilty and
Congress to approve his suspension of habeas corpus, but sentenced him to imprisonment for the rest of the war. An
they didn't do this until March 1863. Until then, Lincoln application was made to a civil court for a writ of habeas
continued to act against prisoners' rights. corpus, but the judge ruled that in times of war military
In September 1862, he extended his suspensory action authority was needed to ensure vic tory. The US Supreme
across the whole of the USA. Court subsequently refused to consider Vallandigham's case
because it had no authority to consider cases decided in
The reason he gave was: 'Disloyal persons are not military courts.
adequately restrained by the ordinary processes of law
from hindering this measure [the drah).' In the North, Burnside's actions against Vallandigham
became perhaps the biggest political issue of the war.
Expanding the suspension of habeas corpus to cover all
Rallies were held to protest. The first that Lincoln knew
Northern areas, whether a theatre of war or not, created
of it all, however, was when he read newspaper reports.
the military commission. These military courts tried
Republicans as well as Democrats opposed Burnside's
soldiers and civilians for supporting th e Confederacy,
actions, including all of Linco ln's cabinet. Burnside
without the constitutiona l protections of the Bill of Rights.
offered his resignation. Lincoln refused to accept it: he
An estimated 4000 military commissions were held during
had to publicly support his military leaders. Instead, he
the war. These were mainly in border states and mainly to
ordered that Vallandigham be exiled to the Confederacy,
hear charges such as being a Confederate spy.
thus removing him from being the focus of protests in
By 1863, more people in the North were critical of Lincoln's the North. The story did not end there for Vallandigham
war policies. Some said he had changed the aim of the and Burnside. Vallandigham boarded a blockade runner
wa r from maintaining the Union to abolishing slavery. to Bermuda, reac hed Canada and re-entered the North,
Some opposed the introduction of conscription and the where he drahed the Democrats' 1864 party election
suspension of habeas corpus. The Peace Democrats, or platform. The authorities ignored him. Burnside sent
Copperheads, wanted an early end to the war and some troops to close down the pro-peace Chicago Times in June
kind of settlement with the South. 1863. This time, Lincoln ordered the decision be reversed.
 considerable resentment across the Sou th, even though
When Lincoln received details of a New York state meeting there was little obvious oppos1t1on.
cr1_t1 c1smg th e_government 's record on civil liberties, he
Like the North, the South issued in ternal passports-
sk1~fully use~ it [Link] a detailed reply justifying the
go ernment s actions, which he th en published. The best- travel passes - to those travell ing between the two. Unl,f~
kn:wn extract from this vigorous, carefull y argued reply the North, it also introdu ced documents for travelling
is is rhe tori cal question: 'Must I shoot a simple-minded within its own territory. Issued by an army officer, each
soldier boy who deserts while I must not touch a hair of a pass validated a particular journef Few requests for a
wrl ey agitator who induces him to desert'' travel pass appear to have been reiected. If introducing
the pass was intended to limit the [Link] of enemies
5t eps to limit liberty in the Confederacy of the Confederacy, its implementation seems to have
In 1861, the South was not as vulnerable as the North had little effect, apart from inconveniencing people who
had apply for one or whose journey was interrupted
:as with regard to Mary land, so there was not another 10
em man. In 1863, there were no Southern Unionists because they didn't have one.
arguing that Jefferson Davis had changed the goal and The !863 Impressment Act gave Confederate armiesthe
methods of war, so there was no Vallandigham. power to seize what they needed in terms of supplies,
Nevertheless, like Lincoln , Davis argued that the special whether of food, fuel or slaves. Local Impressment
needs of wa r meant limiting civil liberties. The South Boards fixed the prices of supplies for people to buy,
had ,ts critics. Many people were subject to martial law, almost always at levels lower than the market prices.
which was first passed in February 1862, then extended In addition, the 1863 Tax- In-Kind Act enabled state officia:;
in va rious parts of th e South thereafter, with growing to collect JO% of certain crops, such as corn and wheat,00
oppos1t1on as th e war progressed. There were no help the war effort Tax-in -Kind Assessors - soon dubbed
Sou thern military commissions, but there were Habeas TIK men - visited family properties, decid ing what they

I
Corpus Commissioners employed to decide whether would take as their one-tenth tax. The two acts caused
civilian prisoners in military prisons should be freed, much resentment. A state-regulated economy was the last
sent for civilian trial or detained indefinitely. However, thing expected of a Confederacy based on the rights of
Confederacy court and prison records were often states and individuals. This legislation helped to provoke
incomplete, however, and the topic of civil liberties in the
the Richmond Bread Riot of April 1863, even if the rnain
South has, until recently, been relatively neglected. As a
causes were economic rather than political. The headline
resu lt, it is more difficult to get a clear and accurate picture
in the New York Doily Tribune outlined the essential
of the imposition of military rule in the South.
features of the riot:
If there were similarities of process between North and
South, there were also some distinctions. In part, this BREAD RIOT IN RICHMOND
was because of a big difference between Northern and
THREE THOUSAND WOMEN IN REVOLT
Southern attitudes towards each other:
They are Armed with Guns, Clubs and Stones
The North saw the South as part of the United States,
thus all Southerners rema ined US citizens. GOVERNMENT AN D PRVATE STORES BROKEN OPEN
The South, claiming independence, saw the North as a The Militia Fail to Check the Rioters
separate state and its citizens as foreigners.
Jeff Davis Makes an Address and Restores Order
In this context the CSA took two notable steps:
Headlines from The New York Doily Tribune, April 1863
The Alien Enemies Act of 1861 required all Southerners to
declare themselves to be Confederacy citizens or leave or
[Link] one of a series of bread riots across the South.
fa ce arrest
Its srze suggeSts it had been planned. Its leader was Mary
The Sequestration Act of 1861 allowed the seizure of the
Jackson, a meat seller. She organised the march through
property of absentee Unionists, or property which might
the
. capital ' a woma n [Link] a lead in political pro test at a
be tran sferred to absentee Unionists, such as via the wills
trme when men dominated public life. The Tribune's repon
of the deceased. The implementation of this act led to
omits to mention the arrest of some of the riote rs.
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

Reasons for and responses to the

Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 I, Abraham Lincoln , President of the United States
of America, and Com mander-in -Chief of the
Reasons behind the proclamation
Army and Navy thereof, do hereby proclaim and
Since the beginning of the war, the institution of slavery
declare that hereafter, as heretofore, the war will be
had star ted to crum ble. Northern armies were advancing prosecuted for the object of practically restoring the
into slave territory. Slavery was abolished in Washington constitutional relation between the United States,
DC. Fugi tive slaves headed for the capital and fo r Northern and each of the States, and the people thereof, in
army camps, where they ohen worked for the army. which States that relation is, or may be, suspended
By the summer of 1863, Lincoln had argued publicly for or disturbed.
the offer of freedom to slaves in slave states controlled That it is my purpose, upon the next meeting of
by the rebel s. No offer of freedom was made to slaves in Congress to again recommend the adoption of
the four border slave states which had joined the North in a practical measure tendering pecuniary aid to
1861. Like the blockade, the proclamation was an attack the free acceptance or rejection of all slave States,
on the South's economy: if they knew they would be freed, so called, the people whereof may not then be in
rebellion against the United States and which States
more slaves would run away and the CSA's war effort
may then have voluntarily adopted, or thereafter
would be underm ined.
may voluntarily adopt, immediate or gradual
Lincoln's co lleagues persuaded him to delay announcing abolishment of slavery within their respective limits;
such a radical change of policy until there was some and that the effort to colonize persons of African
good news fo r the North. On 22 September 1862, a week descent, with their consent, upon this continent, or
aher the relatively successful battle of Antietam, Lincoln elsewhere, with the previously obtained consent of
issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation: slaves the Governments existing there, will be continued.

I
in rebel states would be set free on 1 Jan ua ry 1863. The From the Emancipation Proclamation,
delay gave slave states the chance to end their rebellion 1 January 1863
and commit themselves to emancipation. None did so.
Like Davis, Lincoln had declared the war to be about the
union. The Emancipation Proclamation meant Northern ACTIVITY 2.8
war aims were no longer to return to the position of 1861.
Read the beginning of the Preliminary Ema ncipation
Abolition was now the central issue of the fighting. The USA
Proclamation below. Construct an argument that
recognised the freedom of slaves in the Southern states
Lincoln's wish was to free slaves. Now think about the
which were still in rebellion and slaves 'of suitable condition'
situation from the Confederate states' points of vi ew.
would be accepted to serve in the US armed forces. Other than winning the wa r, what might they have done
The proclamation excluded the border states and West to keep control of their slaves'
Virginia, which had stayed in the Union , and Tennessee
and parts of Louisiana which Union troops had occupied . That on the first day of January in the year ofour
These limits to emancipation reflected Lincoln's fear that Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-
the Supreme Court would overturn the proclamation, three, all persons held as slaves within any State,
or designated part of a State, the people whereof
deeming it unconstitutional.
shall then be in rebellion against the United States
Lincoln justified the change of policy by stressing that the shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and
Proclamation was 'a fit and necessary war measure' to the executive government of the United States,
suppress the rebellion in the specified states. He justified including the military and naval authority thereof,
its constitu tionality by arguing that it was an order of the will recognize and maintain the freedom of such
president in his role as commander-in-chief of the armed persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such
forces. However, Lincoln did take care to discourage any persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may
slave uprising, urging slaves 'to abstain from violence, make for their actual freedom .
unless in necessa ry self-defence'. From the Preliminarily Emancipation
Proclamation, 22 September 1862
The Emancipation Proclamation
Now seen as a key civil rights document, Lincoln 's
proclamation can also be seen in a different light.
 USA at least on the subject of slavery
Responses to the Emancipation Proclamation beca me law. The , .. '
For the North, the proclamation meant that a war for was no longer a house d1v1ded.
unity was now also a war for emancipation. The mixed
feelings about this may have been indicated in the 1862
mid-term elections (see 'The nature of democracy in the ., . Th us Constitution is the supreme law of the
North and the South', below). For th e South a war for Amendment. e h db
land It can only be permanently c ange y a process known
indepe_ndence_was now a war in defence of ~lavery. As ~endment. In the case of the Reconstruction amendmen~
the_ Union armies advanced, the freeing of slaves meant as a . ed thirds of the House of Representatives and
this requir two- h d
their owners' were deprived of a substantial part of their two-thirds of the Senate to propose t e amen ment, and
property. In addition, as news spread, the number of three-quarters of the state legislatures to ratify them.
escaping slaves increased, making the already acute
labour problem even worse.
Life in the Confederate States
A few leaders in the South argued that, to counter
Labelling the 11 rebel states and their 11 million
Lincoln's proclamation, the CSA armies should start
inhabitants as 'the south' or 'the Confederacy'
recruiting black soldiers. The proposal never gained
suggests a unity which did not exist in practice. In
support and only tiny numbers were ever put in uniform
in the South. addition, by 1864, the enthusiasm with which most
white Southerners had welcomed the wa r was long
At first, the proclamation could change nothing for most gone. Life in the South had become hard for many,
southern slaves. A large minority, however - an estimated especially for those who sat directly in t he path of
500 000 to 700 000 - headed for Northern camps and Union armies. Even for those communities not directly
freedom.
involved in the fighting, the Civil Wa r affected every

I
Northern forces moving in to Southern territory in aspect of life in the South.
1863 freed further slaves as they went. Some 10 000
black men served in t he US navy, and 180 000 in the Social divisions, including slavery
US army, most famously the 54th Massachusetts The biggest, most obvious division was a social one
Regiment. Their contribution to the Northern war effort - the fact that 3.5 million people in the South, one
stimulated discussion of their fu ture. Thus, in the later in every th ree, were slaves. Accord ing to the 1860
1860s, they were granted US ci tizensh ip and the ri ght Census, there were also some 130 000 free blacks in the
to vote. Meanwhile, as Northern armies advanced , the Confederacy. Once the Civil War began, many whites
issue of the post-war position of slavery became an expected slave rebellions. At the same time, many slaves
urgent issue. began to hope that the war might lead to their freedom,
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued as a war even though in the first 18 months of the war the North's
measure and its legality under the Constitution was declared aim was to restore the Union and not to end
unsettled at first. The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was repealed slav_ery. The slaves began to act in a variety of ways
in March 1864, but until the Constitution was changed, against slavery, from resisting their owners' actions on
th e_plantations to wa lking to enemy lines and seeking
slavery was still legal. Finally, in 1864-65, the Republican-
controlled Congress passed the 13th Amendment, mil ita ry protection.
which abolished slavery in al l states: 'Neither slavery Jefferson Davis's l000 -acre, 200-slave plantation, close
nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for
to his bro th er's, was located in an important theatre of
crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted,
war, th e Mississippi Valley. In May 1862, New Orlean s,
shall exist in the United States, or any place subject to its
down-river from Davis, fell to the Union ists.
jurisdiction ... Congress shall have the power to enforce
eir orces could th en be expected to advance
this article by appropriate legislation.' northwards to ga i
. . . . . n control of the strategically important
Passed by Congress in early 1865, three-quarters of M1ss1ss1pp1River D ·
. · avis ordered his brother to move
the states approved the change, as the Constitution important possess· .
f h . ions, mclud ing some slaves away
required, and, in December 1865, the 13th Amendment nd
rom t e river a into the interior of the state: Slave
overseers remained b .
, ut their authority was overthrown
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

by the slaves who had rema ined. Th e remaining slaves Th e 1862 Consc ript ion Act added to t he resentme nt
took control of both estate s. They des troyed th e felt by the poorer majority of peopl e tow ards the
broth er 's home and his crops and refu sed to work. They rich er minority. The act gave an owner of at least 20
looked for help from Un ionist forces to the north, who slaves exemption from military serv ice, and , until 1864,
were involved in trying to capture Vicksburg, but initially substitutes for the drah were allowed for t hose who
received little, while Davis brought in Confederate could afford to pay for th em. Thou gh th e motive for this
soldiers. In the continuing struggle, th ere were losses on was security against sla ve unrest on th e planation s -
both sides, before Union troops were sent to liberate the itself an important indication of Southern fea rs - some
remaining slaves. critici sed it as simply the rich looking aher their own . In
late 1863, the exemption was withdrawn , so great was
ACTIVITY 2 ,9 the shortage of military manpower.

Do the events on Jefferson Davis's plantation deserve to Political divisions

be described as a rebellion? What justifies defining it that The people of the Confederacy were also divided in
wa y and what suggests a different interpretation? their loyalty to the Confederacy, as a new, slave-based
social, political and economic system. There were
many Southern Unionists, and every Southern state
The sla ves' actions on the Davis plantations highlight except South Carolina raised at least one unit in the
t he extremel y deep division s between slaves and their Northern army. Most just kept quiet for the duration of
masters. Divisions also exi sted within in the white the war. However, some did act against the Confederac y.
majority, for exa mp le bet ween the plantation owners of Sometimes this was secretly, which makes providing
th e Deep South and the mo re independent farmers of reliable evidence of their activities difficult. Sometimes,
t he Up per South. At the star t of t he Ci vil War, most white Southern blacks fighting for freedom and Southern
So ut herners suppo rted t he move to ind ependence. whites, wanting to maintain the Union, worked together
The pla nta tion owners were th e foc us of t he North's to weaken the CSA's war effort. This seems to have been
o pposition to slave power, and were prob ably keenest the case with what became known as the Richmond
to break away in order to maintain t he slavery wh ich Underground. With echoes of the Underground Railroad,
th eir wealth was based on . They ten ded to dominate this was a small group of blacks and whites who used their
Confed erate politics, even though t hey fo rm ed a positions in Confederate government departments to
re latively smal l p roportion of t he tot al pop ulat ion. provide information to Unionist armies. Two of the group
Most whi tes were not pla ntati o n owners. Some had were women. The white woman was Elizabeth Van Lew
only one o r two slaves , many had no slaves and were and the black woman was one of her slaves, to whom Van
fa rm ing alone o r in small rural comm un it ies. Hence Lew gave her freedom, Mary Bowser.
the phrase now used to ill ustrate th is soc io-eco nomic
Another division emerged during the course of the war
division during t he civi l wa r: 'a ric h man's war but a poor
between those parts of the Con federacy occupied
man's figh t '
by Northern forces and those which escaped military
occupation. This became especially clear once Unionist
ACTIVITY 2 . 10 forces moved deep into the South in 1864-65, and aimed
their 'scorched earth' policy as much agai nst the people
Do you think that t he phrase 'A rich man's war but a
as against Confederate forces. States hardest hit included
poor man's fight' applies more to the South or to the
Virginia, a major theatre of war from start to finish, and, in
North? What evidence wou ld you regard as decisive for
the latter stages, Georgia and South Carolina.
answering this question?
•att@iii!MiMIMthrrr;wr::r:rwwtl':flr'tvm·srn
The Confederate economy tOok con tra1of the railroads for mil itary
gove rnm ent d f rther food shortages.
In 1861, the Southern economy was based almost .. hich cause u
ac t,v,ty, w .d inflation affected the
exclusively on agriculture. Plantations typically produced ort and rap,
sugar, tobacco and cotton for sa le in the North and The lack of transp f00 d prices increased. In 1863, riots
I tion as db
Europe. At this time, the South produced two thirds of the urban popu a s the south, le Ywomen in
. towns acros . d
world's cotton. So, plantations were the mai n source of broke out ,n testing. aga,·nst high food prices an a lack of
wealth in the South. However, the majority of the while particular pro . 1863 in Richmond (the Confederate
population lived in small rural communities, farming basic goods. In April 1
~ looted shops in the city for food
capital), over ooo peop to stand on a cart and personally ' -
5
cattle, pigs and crops which were traded locally.
causing President Davis
Although a similar percentage of the population lived on plead with the women to stop.
farms in the North as in the South, there were few factor ies read ,nflat,on and food shortages,
in the South compared with the North. In 1861, there were Despite w,desp t mes f,nd the resources to defy their
ople could some ,
approximately 110 000 factories in the North, compared pe brate a special occasion, as a diary
nd I
with 20 000 in the South. Before the war, most of the d1ff1cult1es a ce e Day 1863 ,n Richmond shows 'We
try for Christmas
South's manufactured goods, including munitions and en
had for dinner oys ter soup besides roast mutton, ham '
clothing, were imported from the North and from Europe.
boned turkey, w, Id Partridge ' plum pudding, I f sauterne,
h
Following the outbreak of war, the people of the South burgundy sherry and Madeira There ,s , e int e old
soon experienced economic hardship. The naval blockade ,.'H
land yet owev ' er the entry makes ,t clear that th,s meal
by the North quickly had a devastating effect, as the was exceptional The meal and the diary entry itself were
South's cash crop of ra w cotton could not be exported to both calculated acts of defiance and shows a refusal lo
Britain and manufactured goods could not be imported . be intimidated.
Basic foodstuffs such as salt, essential as a preservative,

I were soon in short supply. By December 1861, a few

months into the war, the price of salt in one city in Georgia
had risen fro m 50 cents per sack to $10, a 20-fold increase.
The introd uction of a 10% tax on all farm products in
1863 did not seem to greatly affect the lifesty les of the
wealthy. Conversely, poor farmers struggled as they found
themselves bei ng forced to hand over 10% of their produce.
The naval blockade caused exports of cotton to almost
completely stop. Only small amounts carried by blockade However, by the end of the Civil War even the rich
runners could be exported. The CSA had planned to Southerners were feeling the negative effects. The diary
finance the war through tariffs on imports and taxes on entry of Mary Boykin Chesnut, on 23 April 1865, gives an
exports, but it was unable to do this because of the naval example of this. Her family lost its 1000 slaves. 'My silver
blockade. Instead of raising taxes, the CSA government wedding day and I am sure the unhappiest day of my life.
printed money and issued bonds. This led to rapid One year ago we left Richmond. The Confederacy has
inflation and price rises for basic goods such as flour, double-quicked downhill since then. Now we have burned
shoes and cotton yarn. By 1863, 10 Confederate dollars towns, deserted plantations, deserted villages .. . poverty
had the same value as 1 Confederate dollar had in 1861. with no futu re and no hope.'

Before the outbreak of war, the South relied on a large Everyone in the South suffered, if in va rying degrees,
network of ri vers and coastal ports to transport food from the effects of inflation, dislocation of trade and the
and crops. The railway had developed as an addition to destruction brought about by the wa r. White fami lies lost
the river network, with many railroads connecting ports sons, brothers and fathers in the continuing death toll of the
with inland plantations and cities, or connecting two battlefield, not to mention the sickness that followed every
towns which were not connected by river. Many of the army at this time. In general, slaves benefited fro m moves
railroads were short and did not connect key areas. In towards emancipation, especially after 1863. However,
1862, the Union navy gained control of the rive rs in the except for those who escaped, the period of wartime itself
South and blockaded the major coastal ports. The rai l did nothing to improve their situation in the short term.
network struggled to transport food and goods without The Unionist victory provided a few years of freedom
access to rivers and ports, which caused food shortages and advance, but even that ended as Unionist soldiers
in many areas in the South. In 1863, the Confederate and politicians left the South to government by its white
maiority.
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

ACTIVITY 2.11 Southern politics

As a new political structure, the South was still developing
How far do social divisions prevent us from generalising its institutions. There were no Confederacy-wide political
about life in the South during the Civil War? What key parties. For the 1861 presidential elec tions, there were no
differences do we need to draw attention to in order to party conventions. The first Congress, separately elected
develop a more precise understanding?
in 1861, was broadly supportive of Davis's government,
at least at first. The second Congress, in 1863, contained
more who were critical of Confederate po licies, but they
Reflection: What evidence did you use in answer to did not group themselves into a political party.
these two questions? How dependable do you think
that kind of evidence is7 Did other students reach the Northern politics
same conclusions as you? In the North, candidates fought as Republicans,
Democrats and smaller parties. In 1861-62, after Southern
Democrats had left Washington DC, Republicans quickly
The nature of democracy in the North and passed three acts which strengthened their interests in
the South the North and the West:
One important feature of the American Civil War was
The Morrill Tariff, 1861
th at it was fought between two democracies. Both had
The Homestead Act, 1862
con stitutions to limit their government; the Confederate
Constitution closely followed the Union one, but with The Transcontinental Railroad Act, 1862.
several small but significant changes. The fi rst ten However, in the 1862 mid-term elections, when the war
Amendments of the US Constitution, more usually was not going well for the North, the Democrats gained
called the Bill of Righ ts, were incorporated into the some 25 seats in the House of Representatives, while the
CSA Constitution. Both sides allowed open elections Republicans lost the same number.
during the war. The contest was more vigorous in the
The Republicans only kept control of the House because
North. Lincoln faced a challenge that meant that until a
they allied with a smaller party composed mainly of
few weeks before the election, he thought he wou ld be
'War Democrats' who supported the war but disliked
defeated. The CSA held ju st one presidential election,
Republican economic policies and Lincoln's wartime
in November 1861, but, as Davis was unopposed, he
violations of civil rights.
inevitably won .
In 1864, Lincoln faced a challenge from the Democratic
However, politics involves more than just elec tions. By
candidate George Mclellan. Mindful of this, General Lee
the summer of 1863, people on both sides were prepared
maintained continual fighting on the eastern front in the
to challenge government policies, usi ng vio lence to
spring of 1864, hoping that heavy casualties would harm
get their message across if necessary. In Richmond,
Lincoln's chances of getting re-elected. In July, CSA troops
women rioted for bread . In New York, men rioted
were within 8 km of Washington. Events such as the New
against conscription. In both cases, the governments
York riots were a further cause of concern. Meanwhile,
were compelled to respond. Davis even took himself
relations between Lincoln and the Republican Congress
away from leading the war effort in order to address the
were strained, especially when the president vetoed a bill
demonstrators in Richmond.
that would have imposed harsher terms on the CSA at the
Peaceful political debate, however, needed political end of the war.
parties for effective expression. The difference between
The Republican Party needed to respond to increasing
North and South in this respect was significant, and this
unpopularity and war-weariness, and to avoid party
difference was a result of the different origins of the two
loyalties by distinguishing Lincoln from the party in the
sections. The North was the older of the two, with well-
1864 presidential election. Lincoln thus stood for
established institutions attempting to defeat a breakaway
re-election as the 'National Union Party' candidate
by a minority of its people. The South was brand-new,
to allow the War Democrats and supporters of smaller
self-proclaimed but unrecogn ised by any other nation-
parties to vote for him, as the calculation was that they
state and was fighting for its freedom.
would not vote Republican.
 . SA 1820-1941
Cambridge International AS Level History - The history of th e U '

A LITTLE GAM [ OF BAGATEll[,BITWEEN OLD ABETHERAILSPLITTER & LITTLE MAC THE GUNBOAT GENERAL .
-•A r--"""'"-•" n.,1,.,1•
. .,w•~ •• a11...,_ ..

Figure 2.3: An 1864 cartoon by John L. Magee, showing the major candidates in the presidential election,
watched over by Clement Vallandigham (see 'Limitations on civil liberties during the war', earlier in this
chapter). How does this source reflect the opinion of the cartoonist?

0 KEV TERM

National Union Party: A pa rty created by non-radical

Re-elected and successfu lly ina ugurated, in April 1865
Lincoln heard the news that Lee, wi th his capital taken and
his army su rrounded, had surrendered to Genera l Grant.
Republicans at their party conven tion in 1864. They did this in
ord er to ensure that Li ncoln could stand for re-election on a
However, Lincoln had little time to enjoy the victory and
moderate conservative platfo rm, and to enable War Democrats, plan for peace as, withi n days, he had been assassinated.
such as Li ncoln's vi ce-president ial candidate And rew Johnson,
to vote for Lincoln witho ut having to vote Republican .
2.3 What were the aims and
Then th ings began to change with the fa ll of Atlanta on outcomes of Reconstruction?
3 September, just two months before the election. In The period from the end of the Civil War in 1865 to the
the campaign, Mclellan made problems for himsel f by inauguration of Rutherford Hayes as president in the spring of
disassociating himself with the Democrats' policy of a 1877 is usually referred to as the period of Reconstruction
negotiated settlement with the South. In reality, Reconstruction began before the end of the Civil
nd
Lincoln won in the popular vo te (55% on a 74% turnout) War a had effectively ended before Hayes took office.
and in states won by 22 to 12, giving him a massive victory
in the electoral college (94%).
Just as significant for the future was the Republican triumph Recon5truction: The contemporary name and the one
in the congressiona l elections of 1864, where 136 of the generally used by h. t . ·
5 h is onans. for the process by which the
193 congressmen were now Republicans (and a 137th ou t ern.s~ates were rea dmitted into the Union and slavery
was an Independent Republican from Missouri). These was prohibited, in the ahermath of the USCivil War.
representatives were to play a great part in addressing the
problems of the country's transition to peace.
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

The stal,es were high after th e devastation of th e war. socia l system? What was, or should be, th e social status of
Of the states which seceded, o nly Texas was relatively th e freed slaves7
unscathed by th e fightin g. Virginia had been alm ost
Th ird came practical politics. Who had actually led in
entirely destroyed. Major cities such as Atl anta, Georgia
this wa r? Who had won and who had lost? Had the whole
and Charleston lay in ruins. The South had a debt of
South lost , or just the rich planter (and slaveholding)
$250 000, few businesses, little infrastru cture (in terms
ari stocracy, dragging the silent majority of poor white
:if railways, for example) and an ill-educated workforce.
conservatives along with them? Would the North be
Southerners who had invested in CSA war bonds faced
entitled to claim the 'spoils of wa r'7 If elements from the
·inancia l ru in, as the bonds became worthless once t he
Sou th resisted Recons truction, how much force might
: SA ceased to exist. The abolition of slavery wiped out
the Union (the North) use in imposing its will 7
11ost of the assets of the South. The North, meanwhile,
1ad used the Civil War to industrialise and become nearly
;elf-sufficient in agriculture. Any reconstruction process
Who would lead Reconstruction?
:ou ld not be carried out on equal terms. There was a final question, one almost hardwired into
th e America n system of government. Who would lead the
r he reintegrat ion of the defeated southern states into the Reconstruction? Northerners or Southerners? The federal
Jnion was a contentious process for a number of reasons. government or the individual states? If it was the federal
' irst, w hat had actually happened legally during th e Civil government, would the president, the courts or Congress
Nar? Had the rebellio us states left t he Union? In this case, be in charge?
hey might be readmit ted as they were. Or they might During the Civil Wa r, the president was in charge of the
Je deemed to have committed what Charles Sumner army, and the war effort, using his power as commander-
Jubbed 'state suicide' in leaving the Union, returning . in-chief. Congress, though, remained in charge of th e
o th e status of territories whic h could be reorganised country. Congressmen and senators were also becoming
nto different states at t he will of Congress. (See 'Radical
concerned about the expansion in presidential powers
l econstruction from Congress' for more on Sumner's whi ch war had prompted. Congress tried to make their
nterpretation.) Alternatively, had secession been so own opinions heard to help to gain victory in the peace.
Jeeply unconstitutional that it could not be seen as having
egally happened? In this case, the question was simply However, Lincoln's initial efforts at Reconstruction were
ine of re-establishing southern state governm ents which part of the war, and it was wi nning the war which rem ained
vou ld not attempt to act illegally. his priori ty. He wanted to encourage his opponents
to surrender, meaning that the South would have to
·he second point was a causal question, which seemed be treated favourab ly. He also wished to promote the
,conomic. What had caused the states to secede, and electoral cha nces of his particular wing of the Republic an
I0w could further problems be prevented 7 It seemed clear Party, ensuring that the war was won in the correct w ay.
hat slavery had been the issue, but would simply banning
Lincoln's difficulty was that he preferred the middle of three
lavery be enough to ensure that no further conflict could
options which seemed to be available, and was therefore at
,ccu r? Would t he South need to have its economic system
risk of criticism and electoral challenge from both sides.
eshaped, and if so, who would do this? What about its

Radical Conservative Copperhead

Republican Republican/ National Un ity Northern 'Peace' Democrats

The war should be won by the The war should be won by the The war should be ended
Union (North). Union (North). immed iately.
Slavery should be ended and Slavery should be ended. Slavery should continue.
civil rights sought for black The South shou ld be re- Th e war is a conspiracy by
people. integrated and normality northerners to enslave poor
The South should be altered restored. southern whites, and is
so it does not rebel again. damaging the cotton trade.

able 2.3: Northern views of the war and Reconstruction in the early to mid 1860s
 rn er election s. They did thi s wit hout ..
Reconstru c tion b ega n in 1862- 63 with th e appointmen t state gove g,v,ng
d to th e Radicals. In 1864, Linco ln wo h
by Lincoln of prov isional governo rs in newly defeated any gro u n . . nt e
. t·on for the pres ident,a election of thi s y
1
stat es such as Tenn essee. Here, the first governor was nomin a ' f . ear b
Republic an Party; or th e National Un· ' 01
Andrew Johnson, a politi cian who immediately became not for the ion p
w ith Andrew Johnson, a War Democ rat, as his runnin a,11
a genera l, for thi s was a military governorship under
Lincoln 's control. m~' L·ncoln made sure that the Radical p latforrn g
.
t the nomi nating convention. He ran for re.
h eard a . d ) e1ec,
During 1863, Lincoln le t it be known that he intended
(the first president ,n 30 years to o so on the grounds 0
mercy in victory. Southern states should , in his view, be
that it was 'best not to swap horses when crossing
rea dmitte d to the union when 10% o f their citizens had
streams'.
swo rn loyalty, and w hen th ey had an ed ucation system
which would b e able to cope w ith th e new freed slaves
and constitutions which banned slavery. Beyond that, the Presidential Reconstruction: Abraham Lincoln
states would retain their old powers and status. Lincoln and Andrew Johnson
did not w ish to appear spiteful in the victory w hich, by th e With his renomination for president assured in early Jun,
middle of 1863, seemed to be sure to come. Congressional 1864, Li ncoln felt able to take two actions against the '
Radical s, meanwhile, refused to seat the Ho use and Radical s of his own party. He dismissed Trea sury Secretar,
Senate delegation s from newly defeated Tennessee, Salmon P. Chase, who was clearly su rprised to have been·
Louisiana and Arkansas, thus denying them parity with the fired despite having spent a yea r ca using trouble trying to
northern states.
replace Lincoln as president. Chase objected to Lincoln's
In 1863, t o Lincoln 's great reli ef, Conservative Republicans, decision to offer not to emancipate slaves from states
and the now-allied War Democrats, saw off a series of which surrendered. Later in the yea r, Lincol n madeChaSi
challenges from Copperheads in congressiona l and chief justice, partly to keep the Radicals onsid e.

II

~-1i;;~~~1l,
THE [Link] PAUTY.-IX FAVOR OF -1 r1aoaous PROSECUT/Olv OF PEACE!

Figure 2.4: Named by their enemies after a species of venomous snake C

appellation themselves and use d ·it wit· h pr,·d e. Th"1s cartoon appeared.' opperheads
H adopted the
117
28th, 1863. Can this image be cons,·d ere d a use fuI h"1storical source? arper's week/"
,, February

.I
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

In 1864, Lincoln was faced by th e Wade- Davis Bill. This 14 Apri l 1865, he wa s shot by a Confederate sympathiser
was the first Reconstruction Act written by Congress. It whi le attending the theatre. He died the next day, and Vice
provided for the readmission of states only when 50% President Andrew Johnson became president.
of their citizens had sworn an oath to the Union (rath er
than Lincoln's preference of 10%), and would have forced Reconstruction under President Johnson
Southerners to prove that they did not fight willingly
against the North (both sides were using conscription to
fill their armies). In July, Lincoln was keen to lay the ground Johnson was a
for post-war reconciliation. He agreed to an analysis War Democrat who
that the CSA states had never legally left the Union and became Lincoln's
opposed the bill. When both Houses passed it, he simply running mate on the
took no action, a tactic known as a 'pocket veto': without National Unity ticket
his signature, the bill could not become law. for the presidency in
1864. A Tennessean,
Once inaugurated for his second term in 1865, Lincoln and the only Southern
began to promote the Radical policy of amending the senator not to follow
Constitution to abolish slavery. He made it clea r that he his state in seceding in 1861, he then became
saw this as the extent of the compu lsion which wou ld the first military governor appointed under
be necessary for the moment. States might choose their Reconstruction. When he suddenly became
own means of assuring their citizens' loyalty: the federal president, many Republican Congressmen put
government would only intervene if something was going aside their doubts about his background as a
wrong. The Radical objection to Lincoln, as expressed by Southern Democrat, and about his apparent
Chase - that Linco ln had not thought things through - alcoholism and consequently bad behaviour,
bega n to look hollow. Perhaps he had, and was simply to look forward to working with someone who
playi ng politics - and was playing well. would continue Lincoln's work. After all, in the
In March 1865, Lincoln and Congress jointly estab lished presidential election campaign, he had declared
the Freedmen's Bureau to provide for the immediate that 'traitors should be punished'.
needs of those who had been freed from slavery, or would
be, upon the surrend er of their states. In the short term,
For Johnson, it was the South's defeat in the Civil War
this mea nt providing food and shelter. In the medi um
which showed that, constitutionally, it had been wrong
term, it meant negotiati ng jo bs for the freed men. Because
to secede. The poor quality of the democratic process
of the situ ation, these jobs were not very different from the
in the South showed that it now needed attention. This
agricultu ral labou r they had performed as slaves.
would mean completing the work of emancipation and
re-equipping southern governments to engage in the

0 KEV TERM

The Freedmen's Bureau: The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen

politics of the USA. For Johnson the problem was that the
Southern planter aristocracy had effectively taken control of
and Abandoned Lands was established in March 1865 as part of Southern governance. They ran the South to the detriment
the Department of War to care for freedmen in the immediate of the majority of the white men there, who were yeomen
aftermath of their emancipation. Initially established for one smallholders. Johnson himself came from such stock. All that
year, the bureau's continued operation was then vetoed by
Andrew Johnson on the grounds that it was an agency of war was required, then, was to bring the states of the South back
and therefore inappropriate for peacetime. With Congressonal into the Union, with the power of the planters diminished.
support, the bureau continued its work until 1869. Congress was not in session and was not due to be until
December 1865, but that was not a problem as Johnson did
One of the great 'what if' questions of history is: What if not need their assistance. The two stories of his attempts at
Lincoln had completed Reconstruction? Would he have presidential Reconstruction are the way his relationship with
don e it well? Historians usually conclude that he could, Congress became hostile, and the way he changed his mind
at least, hardly have been worse than his successor. On about whom he should support in the South.
 •• j •

Cambridge International AS Level History - The history of the USA, 1820 -

1941

In May 1865, Johnson: . R publicans immediately refus ed

Co ngressIona 1 e
the newly-elected senators and
to ac knowled ge .
pardoned ex-Conrederate soldiers and civi lians with . from the South. This was a surprise t
represe ntat ives . o
exceptions such as major politica l and military ;Hice-
the Southern politicians as they had believed Johnson's
hold ers and those with property, which now meant land
s
rather than slaves, worth over 20 000 assu ran ces th a
t they would be accepted as par t of Wh
, to rat ion' rath er than Reco nstruction
at
he terme d re s . · 0ve,
did not change voting rights, instead suggesting that
the next few m onths ' congress prepared , legislation to /
Southern states enfranchise their freedmen (but without extend the mandate of the Freedmen s Bureau_. This Was
him enforcing it as that would be an unconstitutional . February 1866 but Johnson vetoed It. This»
abuse of his power) passe d in ' . . . ,1as
on t he grou nds that the bureau was a military Institution
where possible, returned land to its pardoned owners. d th t the military should not be able to overrule the
In a genera l atmosphere of reconciliation, only one ~s~a;e r~n) civil courts, as would have been necessary
Confederate was executed - the brutal Henry Wirz, the to enabl e the bureau to function despite Southern
commander of a prison camp. The former Confederate opposI·t·on
1 . In March , Johnson ve toed Congress's. Civil
president Jefferson Davis was imprisoned for two years, Rights Bill, which aimed to protect and enfranchise
without much judicial process. This was only aher Johnson freedmen, this time on the grounds that it could not be
considered having him executed but was told that he could constitutional to change the law so fundamentally when -
not. There were no treason trials. To prove that the rebels the South, the target of the legislation, had not even been
were traitors would have been to define the legal status allowed to sit in the Congress which had passed it.
of the war as a defeated rebellion, rather than as a war of
reconquest of the part of the USA. Johnson responded by
issuing as many pardons as he cou ld. The Southern states
!II""" overriding a veto: This describes the si tuation when a bill
then accepted that they, rather than the country as whole
becomes law even when the president has vetoed it, because
(the economy and tax base of which was dominated by the two-thirds of each house of Congress has voted to pass it
North) wou ld have to pay the Confederacy's war debt. They despite his objections. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 represen~
also accepted the 13th Amendment and banned slavery. the first time that this had happened on an important bill.
In the elections of November 1865, it became clear that
the old Southern planter aristocracy rema ined. The former This time, Congress was able to override the veto and,
Confederate vice-president Alexander Stephens was in April 1866, the bill became law. Johnson, however, still
released from prison and only a month later was nominated controlled the federa l government and the army, and
for the US Senate by the new legislature in Georgia (senators was able to frustrate any attempt to enforce the new
were not then directly elected). A series of similar results act. When the leaders of Congress attempted instead to
suggested that the South was unrepentant and the planters have the Constitution amended, Johnson embarked ona
were st ill in control. Johnson seems not to have been speaking tour of the country, called the 'Swing around the
entirely happy with this: he had hoped that poorer whi tes circle', in which he forcefully and sometimes incoherently
might take control in the South, but it is difficult to trace (some suspected drunkenly) campaigned against the
Johnson's views, as, by the middle of 1866, he was firm ly on ratification of the amendment, and against the re-election
the side of the Southern aristocracy. in November 1866 of his congressional enemies in the
This was because of his rih with Congress. Until December Republican Party he supposedly led.
1865, Congress could do nothing official unless Johnson What did Johnson seek to achieve? Some historians
reca lled t hem. The Northern Republ icans who dominated
have judged that he simply did not want to lose. Others
Congress increasingly regarded Johnson as ju st a
believe that when he failed to advance the cause of poor
Southern Democrat who had only become president by
white Southerners against the rich Southern planters, he
accident. Co ngress had expressed its views in the Wade-
took the part of the rich Southerners instead, pe rha ps
Davis Bi ll. Johnson enacted various measures against
because they alone could control the demands of black
their intentions, acting without the political skills that had
:ou_therners. Others have judged that he did not wish
allowed Lincoln to su rvive vetoing Wade-Davis. While 0
give congressional leaders the satisfaction of vic tory.
wa iting to be recalled, Congressmen considered what to
Wh_atever th e truth, presidential Reconstruction had
do when they reassembled.
seriously st alled by the middle of 1866, and was in ruins
 Chapter 2: civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

by the end or it. The 14th Amendment was adopted in

July, and the Congress which emerged from the mid -term
elections was radica lly opposed to the president .
.-
, _ Radical Reconstruction: The name given to the form of
Reconstruction which broadly aimed to change the South
fundamentally after the Civil War, without seeking consensus
ACTIVITY 2 .12 from former Confederates. It was led mainly by Republican
Radicals in Congress, notably Representative Stevens,
Using the information in this chapter, make some notes Senator Sumner and later Senator Wade, although others,
about the aims of Reconstruction. Construct a case for such as Lincoln's treasury secretary and then chief justice
the argument that Johnson performed well and was Salmon Chase were also Radicals. In the sense of Radical
unfai rly blocked by Congress. Reconstruction from Congress, the term refers to the actions of
the 40th Congress in 1867 and 1868.

Congre ssmen had been attempting to lead

Reflection: How easy did you find it to make a case for
Reconstruction for some time. The Congress which
Johnson's success? Wou ld you have found making a
first met in 1867 was different from earlier ones for four
case for his failure easier? Why?
reasons:
It had a clear Rad ical majority, sufficient to override
Radical Reconstruction from Congress presidential vetoes. It could therefore pass whatever laws
Even in Lincoln's time, Charles Sumner, the Massachusetts it liked, whether Johnson approved or not.
senator who had survived a famous 'caning' (see 1.2-'The Benjamin Wade who was the Senate's new leader gained
caning of Senator Sumner, 1856'), suggested that in leaving his position largely because he was seen as a champion
the Union the Southern states had lost their identities. He of the 14th Amendment, and therefore as a Radical.
called this 'state suicide'. They should be treated as not- Thaddeus Stevens, was the powerful chairman of the
yet-organised territories, and be readmitted to the Union Ways and Means Committee and effectively led the
with different boundaries and under different names. He House. This meant that both chambers of Congress had
argued that the South needed to be radically changed Radical leadership.
in order to prevent it from rebelling again. Arguably, this Johnson's campaign tour prior to the 1866 elections, and
attitude began life as a negotiating point, rather than a the thumping defeat of his candidates and positions,
genuine analysis intended to be final. made it clear that the new Congress had a mandate to
In the House, the leading voice for radica l change was oppose him.
the Pen nsylvan ia n Thaddeus Stevens. His politics were Johnson was now firmly identified with the Southern
similar to Sum ner's, although Stevens concentra ted aristocracy and the former Confederate leaders.
more on the issue of slavery and seemed to his The Military Reconstruction Act of March 1867 divided
contemporaries to be more vindictive than Sum ner. the South into five districts. Each had a military governor,
Stevens was unusual as a Radic al as he had a gen uine in which Radical Reconstruction could be carried out.
belief in equal ri ghts for Africa n Americans. Under This meant that the terms of the Wade-Davis Bill were
Lincol n, Sum ner and Stevens had viewed their politics effectively implemented. It meant too that there was
as rad ical in opposition to Lincoln's conservatism, and real pressure for full civil rights, including the right to
they wanted to use the outcome of the wa r as a way of vote, for African Americans. When Southern states
drivi ng deep-seated change; a Radical Reconstruction. appealed to the United States Supreme Court for relief
Under Johnson, it became clear that their views were so
from the rule of the military governors, Radicals raised
different from the president's that they were not really in
doubts about whether states which had 'suicided' had
the same party. access to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court (now
led by Salmon Chase, himself a Radical) insisted that
 Colorado
Territory
Kansas
Missouri

New Mexico
Territory

Military district,
and commanding
generals
I . Schofield
5 2. Sickles
Texas 3. Pope
1§I0/1873 4. Ord
5. Sheridan

I
Figure 2.5: The military districts of the South, 1867

they did. Congressmen then openly began to wonder

could also be removed by the Senate. Edwin Stanton,
w hether they might have t he votes for a consti tu t ional
the secretary of war, was the target of this Act, and he
amendment to abolish the Supreme Court. Joh nson,
was immediately fired. Grant was sent to ensure that
meanwhile, was expected to use his power as
he complied. There were problems with the plan: it was
commander-in-chief of the army to order the military
governors to back down . probably unconstitutional and it was so badly worded
that it misfired. It applied to those appointed to the
Congress was ready for this. Two other laws were passed cabinet by the sitting president. Stanton was Lincoln's
at the same time. All th ree were vetoed, and then the appointee, not Johnson's. Grant therefore refused to
vetoes were overridden. The most directly relevan t was the follow the instructions of Congress, and allowed Stanton
Command of the Army Act. This aimed to lim it Johnson's to barricade himself into his office.
power as Commander-in-Chief by allowing him to issue
mi litary orders only through the leading general, Ulysses ACTIVITY 2 . 13
S. Grant. Grant was not allowed to leave Washington
except w ith the express permission of th e Senate. The th
Look at e three acts passed in early March 1867.
military governors - congressiona l appointees - could not Make a liS t of what Congressmen wanted to ach ieve by
therefore be command ed by anyone. They had licence to th
em. _Share your ideas With others so that you have as
ignore Jo hnson's orders. many ideas written down as possible, and then try to
th
Finally, Congress passed the Tenu re of Office Act. Cabinet arrange em all in a mind map showing the re lationship
members appointed by the president already had to be b_etween Congressmen's aims, and their relati ve
s1gn,f1cance.
approved by the Senate. This new act meant that th ey
 " ' .

Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

So, what was Congress trying to do? Historians' opinions it was working, and states were even being readmitted to
vary. Some argue that Congress was trying to secure the Union at a reasonable pace, and with solidly Radical
Reconstruction, with the 13th and 14th Amendments governments in place. Thirdly, Stanton remained: both
being implemented in the South, and with no further literally and metaphorically barricaded into his office.
aims to return to the previous situation from the
defeated Southern aristocrats. Others claim that Johnson's term as president was due to expire in March
Congressmen were seeking personal revenge upon 1869. In February and March 1868, a committee of the
Johnson, who they wanted to humiliate. The fact that House led by Stevens voted to impeach him. In the Senate,
the Tenure of Office Act could not apply to Stanton Chief Justice Chase presided over the trial. A two-thirds
suggests one of two situations: either the drafters of the vote against Johnson (36 senators) would be enough to
act were unbelievably careless or, that they did not care remove him from office. But what was the point of trying
to remove him? Why not simply wait?
about legal details. The second situation is more likely
as they had plenty of time to plan what they would do. A show of Radical strength might have had an effect on
Another interpretation is that Congressmen intended the 1868 elections, ensuring that a Radical received the
in this act to reassert the superiority of the legislature Republican nomination and also that Radical candidates
(Congress) over the executive (the president). This were elected to Congress.
had been the pre-war norm, and also restricted the Johnson would be humiliated.
president's military role.
Congress could devote its time to finishing the job in the
In terms of Reconstruction itself, it is worth noting that South, with a cooperative president not disrupting the
this is the period during which the legal systems of the role of the military governors.
Southern states were reshaped to reflect the priorities In the absence of a vice president, Senator Wade would
of Northern-style economics. So, it became easier assume the presidency.
for companies, including railroad corporations, to do
The trial cited 11 articles of impeachment, most about
business in the South. Industrial capital took precedence
the Tenure of Office Act, but also including disgracing
over agricultural capital (or human capital), and property
the presidency and ridiculing Congress. Legally, Johnson
taxes were raised in order to pay for infrastructure and
could be dismissed for 'high crimes and misdemeanours'
education. These were both priorities for an industrial, (even if, for example, the Tenure of Office Act had actually
rather than agricultural, economy.
applied to Stanton, most American legal experts thought it
The Radical Republicans had a majority in Congress, but unconstitutional). In reality, he would be dismissed if, and
their unity was by no means guaranteed. In the House, only if, 36 senators decided both that they wished to be rid
some thought that Representati ve Stevens was going of him and, crucially perhaps, that the overbearing Wade
too far, both in his general behaviour and in his pushing would be a better choice of president. He would almost
of rights for African Americans. Many Republicans certainly be nominated by the Republicans to run in the
were uncomfortable with this. Lincoln himself, they 1868 election, and would almost certainly win. Perhaps he
remembered, considered the idea of sending as many was thinking about the Constitution, and perhaps he was
African Americans as possible back to Africa. Meanwhile, thinking about his own ambition to be nominated for the
in the Senate, Wade seemed overbearing, and, while the presidency. Moderate Republican senators decided that
Radica ls clearly had no love for Johnson, some did not the status quo was preferable to President Wade. Johnson
much like Wade either. was acquitted by one vote (with 35 against him) and the
trial was abandoned in May.
The impeachment of President Johnson All this happened with great press and public excitement.
As 1867 came to a close, three things were clear. Firstly, After his trial, Johnson realised he would not be nominated
Johnson, who Sumner called a tyrant and a representative as presidential candidate by the Republicans. He was not
of the slavers, was not going to give in and would frustrate able to convince the Democrats, including his new allies in
the Radicals whenever he could. Secondly, the Radicals the South, to nominate him either. He served out his term
were getting their way in the South. It was true that without providing much further resistance. The death of
Congress had needed to frame legislation to do this, but Thaddeus Stevens in August 1868 served further to calm
 •• 1,

Figure 2.6: A ticket for the gallery of the Senate, a week into Johnson's trial. What does this suggest abo ut Johnson's
trial and how it was viewed'

things down. General Grant became a popular Republican amendments are still part of the Constitution, and
president. The Radica ls won reasonably well in Congress. therefore are principal to the law of the USA.
And Senator Wade lost his seat.
The 13th Amendment
The three Reconstruction Amendments were, and are,
significant for different reasons. The 13th, which banned
Many historians thi nk tha t the im peachment of President
Johnson was more about personal poli tics than the slavery throughout the United States, was proposed in
Constituti on, or his 'high crimes and misdemeanours'. Congress in 1864. Although Lincoln had published the
Wh at exa mples of recent leaders can you find who ha ve Emancipation Proclamation, its legal status was uncertain
been, or are being, investigated for political reasons which because it was felt that he had possibly exceded his
a,e presented legally or consti tutionally' powers. A change to the Co nstitutio n was essential to
prevent ind ividual states passing their own laws. Following
hrs re-election, President Li ncoln was able to pe rsuade
Reasons for and passage of Constitutional those House Democ ra ts who had held up its passage
Amendments 13, 14 and 15 to vote for it on the groun dst hat .rt was going to happen
The second half of the 1860s is particularly notable for the eventually- and so the sooner the better. There is strong
adoption of three changes to the US Constitution. These evidence that representatrves. were promised the best jobs
.
were the first three amendments which were not either and, indeed money • .
, . · , rn return for the ir overcomi ng therr
part of a political deal (the first ten) or the recognition of
s:ates rights objections to the amendment. There is less
a system which had not worked as intended. Collectively 5 rong evidence that L.
. rnco 1n was personally directing the
known as the Reconstruction Amendments, the 13th, 14th operation although so f h.
and 15th made fundamental changes to the way in which thou ht h, me O rs contemporaries certarnY1
the United States was governed. All three Reconstruction certa~nly r:;as. In th e early months of 1865 he was
ponSrb le for securing the final few votes.
 Chapter 2: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-77

At the ti me of his death, Lincoln was beginning to wo rry

ACTIVITY 2.14
about whether the three- quarters of the states required
to ra tify the amendment should, or shou ld not, include
those currently suspended from the Un ion. The issue was The 14th Amendment
ultimately resolved under Andrew Joh nson, who accepted Section I All persons born or naturalized in the
congressional demands that ratification of the 13th United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
Amendment needed to be a part of the deal for states thereof, are citizens of the United States and
wi shing to return to the Union. By the en d of 1865, the of the State wherein they reside. No State
amendment had become law. shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens
The 14th Amendment of the United States; nor shall any State
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,
The lengthy 14th Amend ment was intended to give black
without due process of law; nor deny to
people equality under the law with white people. It goes any person within its jurisdiction the equal
beyond anything envisaged in the 13th Amendment and protection of the laws.
came from the frustration of congressional Radicals at
Section 2 gives the vote to all citizens of the United
President Johnson's support for the Southern court s. These States except those who have rebelled against the
cou rts allowed discriminatory laws - the Black Codes- United States, or committed a crime.
to be enforced in the South. This amendment wou ld destroy
Section 3 bans senior ex-Confederates from being
the possibility of the entire Civil Rights Act of 1866 being elected to the US Congress.
found unconstitutional and therefore thrown out. More
Section 4 makes clear that the South must pay
basically, there were Republican concern s about the new Confederate war debts, and that there must be no
status of African Americans in the South. compensation paid for the loss of a former slave.
Wi th emancipation , the number of citizens (as opposed to From the Fourteenth Amendment to the United
people) in the Southern states rose, meani ng that, under States Constitution, adopted on 9 July 1868
the Constitution, they needed additional representatives
in Congress. Now that they were no longer slaves, they List the issues which the 14th Amendment appears
counted as whole persons: with 4 million freed slaves, to address. (You could look up the full text to see how
the population of the South, and therefore its right to carefully language was chosen.) How do the elements
representation in Congress, went up by 1.6 million . This of the 14th Amendment fit into the overall story
meant that Southern voters would gain 15 seats in Congress of Reconstruction? Do they tell us more about the
at the expense of Northern voters. Part of the point of the con flict between the North and the South, or about
14th Amendment was to ensure that those Southern voters that between the different branches of the federal
included the (presumably sufficiently grateful) freedmen. government? Do you agree with others in your class?
The 14th Amendment add ressed the short-term problems
faced by African Americans in the South and radical
congressmen in Washington. It is therefore good evidence
Reflection: Review your list. What evidence in the
of the nature of those problems: if it was in the 14th
source was important in leading you to list the issues?
Amendment, it must have seemed to matter.
What additional evidence might you need to further
There were, and are, unintended consequences of Section 1 of support the issues you have listed?
the 14th Amendment. Citizenship rights for African Americans,
for example, was extended to Chinese Americans and Native
Americans. More controversially, the 'equal protection' clause The 15th Amendment
was extended in the 1880s to corporations - which are The purpose of the 15th Amendment is short and simple:
therefore legally classed as 'people' in the United States. race, colour, or having been a slave are not adequate