Lincoln's Plan for Reconstruction

    Following his reelection in 1864,  President Lincoln had begun planning for Reconstruction or rebuilding of the United States.  He wanted to reunite the nation as quickly as possible and to have the people of the South treated as equals.
    The fate of slavery in the border states and the legal status of African Americans were two important questions that needed to be answered. Lincoln understood that only by changing the Constitution could slavery be eliminated once and for all.  During Lincoln's last few months in office he saw the passage  of the 13th Amendment which made slavery unconstitutional and the creation of the Freedmen's Bureau to assist former slaves.
      To allow for Southern states to rejoin the Union in a speedy manor, Lincoln's advocated a plan known as the 10% plan for Reconstruction.   Since 1860 was the last national election that all the states in the Union took part in, the plan called for 10% of the population of 1860 to take a loyalty oath to the Union.  Once that 10% was established, a former Confederate state could establish a new state constitution and be readmitted into the Union. Lincoln also believed that it was essential to offer amnesty or an official pardon to southerners for participating in a rebellion.
    Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan was not well received by Congress.  They accused the President of overreaching his authority, claiming that he did not have the power to readmit Southern states but that only Congress could.  Many northerners felt that Lincoln was being to lenient on the South and wanted the President to enact harsher penalties on Southern states and former members of the Confederacy.

  Homework for tonight:

   1. Finish today's classwork on the different plans for Reconstruction.

   2. "O Captain My Captain" creative assignment is due on Thursday, May 2nd.

   

Gettysburg Assessment

Tomorrow's in class writing assignment is asking you to explain why the Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War and then to explain how the Gettysburg Address reignited the Union's push to victory.
    A turning point is a moment when the course of events are altered, a point where there is a significant  change.  Here is an example,  a  turning point in my life was becoming a dad, I now look at situations from a different perspective than before I became a parent.

   In addition to reviewing your notes and handouts about the Battle of Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address I am going to post some links that may be useful to you in your preparation.

Battle of Gettysburg from the Civil War documentary by Ken Burns

Gettysburg Address from the Civil War documentary by Ken Burns

An accessible Gettysburg Address explanation.

Before your Test Tomorrow

  Tomorrow is your exam on the Civil War, your last Social Studies test of your Middle School career.  In order to properly mark this occasion I think it is important that you take the following steps in order to have a successful day tomorrow.

   1. Eat Breakfast!  Even if you are not hungry in the morning, bring something to eat in the morning.  It will help fuel you for the day and help you think clearer.

2. Bring a Snack for the Test.  Having a healthy snack will help you focus and clear your head during the exam.  Think about it, we ask you to bring a snack for MCAS why not all of your exams?

3. Read over the Exam before starting it.  Think about what questions you may want to answer and organize your thoughts.

Pre-Test Questions

   Below are some practice questions that you may want to work on prior to tomorrow's review session.


1. Which of the following fought for the Confederacy?

   A. General George Mead                                                 B. General George Pickett
   C. George Armstrong Custer                                            D. George Ryan


2. Which of the following was a Confederate victory?

     A. Gettysburg                                             B. Siege of Atlanta
     C. Bull Run                                                D.  Shiloh


3. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee met with Ulysses S. Grant to discuss his terms of surrender.   Give two reasons why Lee decided to surrender.



4. In the election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln did not win a majority of the popular vote but still won the election.  Explain how this happened.



5. What slave states  did not leave the Union?


6. Why did Lincoln fire McClellan?


7.  The Emancipation Proclamation asked for African Americans to enlist in the Union military.  What else did President Lincoln ask former slaves to do?



8. What were two results of "Sherman's March to the Sea"?



9.  How did the Gettysburg Address help motivate the North to win the Civil War?



10. Define Secede:


Here is a link to the notes on General Sherman and the Surrender at Appomattox 

Civil War Study Guide

     

   Welcome Back from April Vacation.  I have been looking forward to the first day back for a few days and I was very happy to see you guys and begin our final push towards the end of the school year.

  The rest of the school week is going to be very compact and I want you to have an opportunity to get a heads start with the work. On Thursday we are going to have our Civil War Exam and on Friday we are going to have an in class writing assignment.  Both of these grades will count towards the fourth quarter.

    To help get prepared for the test on Thursday here are some practice questions.


Strengths/Weaknesses/and Strategies

1.  What were two of the strengths the North had?


2.  What was the Southern strategy for the war?


3. What was the Northern strategy to win the war?  Who designed the plan?


4. What were two strengths the Confederacy had?


Union and Confederates 

   Using only your notes from class explain the significance of the following Civil War leaders.  In your answer include important victories or defeats that they were apart of.  


General Irvin McDowell:  Union commander at the Battle of Bull Run.  Was fired by Lincoln shortly after the Union defeat.


General John Pope:  


General George McClellan:



General George Meade:


General Ulysses S. Grant:


General William Tecumseh Sherman:


General Robert E. Lee:



General George Pickett:



General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson:



Jefferson Davis:

Grant in Virginia

         In March of 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant arrived in Virginia.  Grant was one of the Union's most   successful generals winning important battles at Shiloh, Tennessee (1862), Vicksburg Mississippi (July, 1863), and Chattanooga, Tennessee (November,1863).  His reputation as being an aggressive as well as innovator fighter caught Lincoln's attention and the President appointed Grant to be the highest ranking general in the U.S. army since George Washington.   Grant's goal was to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond and he was prepared to take the city at all costs.
      From May to June of 1864, Grant slowly fought his way across Virginia towards Richmond in some of the bloodiest battles of the war.  At Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Battle of the Wilderness, the Union army suffered greater casualties than the Confederacy but made progress slowly towards Richmond.  After suffering over 18,000 casualties at the Battle of Spotsylvania, Grant proclaimed, "I propose to fight it out along this line all summer", unlike previous Union commanders Grant was prepared to keep his army moving forward no matter the cost.
       The costly battles against the Union army took a heavy toll on the Confederacy.  Robert E. Lee's army was rapidly becoming depleted of both men and supplies. Each battle brought thousands of casualties that the Confederacy could not replace. Many of Lee's men were poorly equipped and many were suffering from disease and malnutrition.
    On June 9, 1864, Grant's army began the siege of Petersburg which would last until March of 1865.  Petersburg was nicknamed the "Breadbasket of Richmond" because of the city's commercial importance to the Confederacy.  In order to take Richmond, the Union army had to capture Petersburg.

Link for notes

The Gettysburg Address

      "The ultimate expression of the majesty of Shakespeare's language."
                      ~ Winston Churchill on the Gettysburg Address





         
        There is not one Gettysburg Address, today there are five versions of the speech that are persevered. We do not know what version of the speech the President gave or the exact spot where gave his address.  Whatever version he delivered, Lincoln's words had a profound impact on the Civil War and impacted people across the world.
       They November 19, 1863, was the dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery in Gettysburg Pennsylvania only four and a half months after the battle.  The commission in charge of the cemetery invited pastor and statesman Edward Everett to give a speech at the dedication and asked President Lincoln to deliver "a few appropriate remarks" at the ceremony.
        During the train ride from Washington D.C. Lincoln remarked that he was feeling dizzy and felt weak. Some historians believe that Lincoln was suffering from a fever the day he arrived at Gettysburg.  Lincoln arrived at the ceremony with his assistants John Nicolay and John Hay as well as members of his Cabinet.  During the speech Hay noted that Lincoln's face looked haggard and had a "ghastly color".  After the speech on the train home Lincoln appeared feverish and weak and developed a rash.  He may have developed a mild case of smallpox that lingered for a few weeks following his visit.
     Lincoln's speech lasted under three minutes and when the President finished the audience is said to have given the President some "polite applause."  Lincoln felt that his speech was a failure and that he had let the American people down.

Your h.w. tonight is to read and markup the Gettysburg Address.

   To help with this very important document here is a link to a site that analyzes the speech. 

Here is a link to the video that we watched on the Gettysburg Address if it will be of some help to you to hear it again.
     
Link to the Ken Burns Civil War chapter on the Gettysburg Address
                   and for Cam

Johnny Cash reading the Gettysburg Address

The Battle of Gettysburg

   Following his success against Union General Hooker in Chancellorsville Virginia, Robert E. Lee prepared for an invasion of the Union.  Lee hoped that a summer campaign in the North would influence the 1863 fall  elections and put pressure on Lincoln to ask for a ceasefire or hopefully a truce. The  Confederate Government hoped that if Lee's forces threatened either Philadelphia or Harrisburg Northern citizens would turn against Lincoln and the Republican Party and demand peace. Lee hoped that he would be able to destroy Union supply depots and warehouses in Maryland and Pennsylvania  during the campaign while the majority of the Union army remained behind to protect Washington D.C.
    On June 3, 1863 Robert E. Lee ordered his generals to move the entire Army of Virginia, over 60,000 men towards the Pennsylvania border.  On July 1st, he hears reports that a skirmish has occurred between Confederate and Union calvary units near the small town of Gettysburg.  After hearing false reports of a Union army camped nearby that would overrun the trapped Confederate calvary, Lee ordered his entire army to march to Gettysburg.
      3,000 Union troops fought desperately to hold back the Confederate forces and setup a defense perimeter on McPherson Ridge.  After one day of fighting and aware that reinforcements were miles away in Washington D.C. , the Union forces withdrew to the more easily defendable Cemetery Ridge. Now using Cemetery Ridge, the Union held a clear advantage in the battle. Lee made several attempts to remove Union troops from the ridge but his men could not break through the Union lines.
    More Union troops arrived and helped bolster Union defenses and prepared for a third day of fighting. General Longstreet tried to convince Lee that the battle was lost, and that the Confederate forces should attempt to go around the Union lines and give the appearance that they were planning on attacking Washington D.C.  Lee believed that to head back would be disrespectful to his men who had fought so hard and sacrificed so much.  He ordered one more attack on the Union lines hoping he would finally break through.
     The final Confederate attack is led by General George Pickett.  Pickett's Division numbered 12,500 men and began their assault following a two hour Confederate bombardment of Union lines.  Stretched across 1 mile of open field, Pickett's Division began the slow march in the 80 degree heat towards the Union lines.  Confederates had to march  3/4 of a mile and were easy targets for Union artillery and rifle fire.  Suffering a 50% casualty rate some Confederates were able to break through the Union lined but quickly realized they would not be able to hold the hill and were forced to retreat.
     Watching the failed attack nearby, General Lee looked on in shock.  It became clear that the battle was over.

The Battle of Antietam

        By September of 1862, General Robert E. Lee had successfully thwarted the Union army's attempts of capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond. His tactics had proven to be unbeatable and his victories had left Abraham Lincoln frustrated with the Union commanders. Confederate President Jefferson Davis encouraged Lee to gain a victory in Union controlled territory to further weaken Northern morale and have the North agree to a ceasefire. Davis believed that a major Confederate victory would guarantee French or British military support for the Confederacy.

   Two Union soldiers discovered Robert E. Lee's battle plans wrapped in cigars and presented the plans to the Union commander General McClellan.  Lee's "Special Order 191" contained detailed information of the Confederate army's plan to divide its division and proceed through Maryland.  McClellan waited 18 hours before acting on this information and lost the opportunity to decisively defeat Lee's forces.

      McClellan's forces consisted of 75,000 men and were opposing Robert E. Lee's 38,000 man army.  Fighting at  Antietam Creek began shortly before dawn on September 17, 1862 and lasted the entire day.  9/17/1863 became the single bloodiest day in U.S. History, with over 23,000 men killed.  By the end of the day, Lee's army was forced to retreat and the Union army had a much needed victory. The victory at Antietam bolstered Northern morale and gave Abraham Lincoln a decisive victory over the Confederacy.  

      Since the beginning of the war Lincoln struggled over the issue of slavery.  Not wanting to cause any more states to leave the Union he promised to uphold the Fugitive Slave Act in his first Inaugural Address.  Cabinet members, abolitionists, and politicians had been pressuring Lincoln since the beginning of the war to free the slaves in the Confederacy for political and military reasons. 

     

       Freeing slaves in the South would weaken the Confederate economy and helped bring the war to an end faster.  By calling for an end to slavery in the South it would also speed up the process of ending slavery all together.  Lincoln understood that to issue such a proclamation it would have to come after an important victory not a defeat so he would not look like he was negotiating out of weakness. 

For Homework Tonight:

Finish Reading the Handout on the Emancipation Proclamation and please answer the following questions:

1. According to the Emancipation Proclamation who is now free? (Be specific)

2. What is Abraham Lincoln hoping the newly freed slaves would do?

3. What did Abraham Lincoln ask the freed slaves to do? What could they join?

Here are the notes for the past week.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Strategies

    Looking back on the Civil War it is important to keep in mind the strengths and weakness that the Union and the Confederacy had.  Many on both sides believed that the war would be over in a short amount of time, when Lincoln asked for volunteers their enlistments were over after 90 days.

Union Strengths:
          Heavily industrialized, majority of factories, weapons, railroads, more money, more farm land for crops, larger population, and the leadership of Abraham Lincoln.

Union Weaknesses:
            The North was divided over the war, many Northerners did not want to fight a war to keep the country together some felt that the war was unjust.  Major cities such as Philadelphia and New York experienced riots when residents protested against the draft.  The Union army suffered leadership issues  as Lincoln struggled to find a commanding general to combat the Confederacy.

Confederate Strengths:
         Southerners were fiercely loyal to the Confederacy and many were fighting to protect their families and for their future.   With a majority of the battles fought in the South, Confederate forces had an advantage of being familiar with the terrain.  Confederate generals Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Thomas Jackson and Patrick Clereburne were excellent military leaders that were a clear advantage for the Confederacy.

Confederate Weaknesses:
       With the Southern economy based on agriculture the South never developed a strong industrial center.  Southern troops lacked weapons and technology that was available to the Union troops. With a smaller population Confederate casualties were harder to replace than Union ones.

        General Winfield Scott was the commander of the Union army at the onset of the Civil War. Although from Virginia, Scott believed that his loyalties were with his country not his home state.  Scott devised a strategy that would defeat the Confederacy but his plan had it's critics.  Scott's plan called for an embargo around all Southern ports, cutting off the South from European markets. Unable to sell cotton and other cash crops the Southern economy would collapse and weaken the Confederate war effort.  The second part of his plan was to divide the Confederacy in half by taking control of the Mississippi River.  Once this was completed, the Union would be able to conquer a now divided South.
Scott knew that many Americans would find this plan unappealing because it would take a long time to work but he felt confident that the embargo and division of the South were essential to a Union victory.

     Facing an enemy that was greater in numbers and better equipped, the Confederate's war plans relied more on defense.  If the advance of the Union army could be halted long enough, the South believed that the North would eventually give in to the Confederates and ask for peace.  With the North divided over the war, Confederates believed that President Lincoln would be forced to let the South go if enough people protested the war.  Some people in the Confederate government hoped that if they won enough battles then Great Britain would come to their assistance. The "Cotton Diplomacy" was based on the belief that the British needed American cotton for their economy.

    After the fall of Fort Sumter, many American demanded that the army attack the Confederate capital of Richmond.  As the spring of 1861 became summer Lincoln and his top generals began to feel the pressure from the public mount.  In July, an inexperienced and untrained army left Washington D.C. to take Richmond.

Fort Sumter

        Two days after South Carolina voted to secede from the Union, Colonel Robert Anderson relocated hundreds of U.S. troops to Fort Sumter.  Anderson understood that the growing hostilities between South Carolina and the U.S. government were endangering the lives of his men. Anderson believed that relocating Fort Sumter would keep his men from harm and guarantee Union control of Charleston Harbor.  Following Anderson's removal to the fort, all federal property was seized in South Carolina by local militia.
        Anderson's men endured a rough winter at Fort Sumter.  Both food and fuel were rationed, and Anderson was unable to get supplies from the mainland.  Communication with the government was almost completely cutoff, Anderson was able to have messages smuggled to Washington D.C. asking for supplies.  On January 9th, a supply ship approached the fort it was fired upon by Confederate forces on the shore and forced to return back to the North.
       Lincoln sent a message to the governor of South Carolina Francis Pickens, stating that he intended on sending several supply ships to relieve the men stationed at Fort Sumter.  Lincoln explained that these soldiers were his responsibility and were not threatening the people of South Carolina in any way. His plan was met with some opposition,  Secretary of State William Seward argued that the fort should be abandoned as a gesture of good will to the Confederates.
      Lincoln's letter made Governor Pickens nervous.  He knew that his forces would be able to bombard Fort Sumter safely from the coast but did not want to take action without approval from the Confederate government.  Jefferson Davis ordered Pickens to issue Colonel Anderson an ultimatum, if Union forces fail to abandon the fort they will be attacked. Many in the Confederacy believed that if South Carolina could successfully take over Fort Sumter that Virginia would join them and once Virginia joined, other states would follow.
    On April 12th 43 mortars cannons from coastal batteries began a 48 hour bombardment of Fort Sumter.   Anderson's men had been deprived of ammunition, food, and sleep and the commander understood that this fight was over before it began.  After enduring over 3,000 rounds of artillery, Anderson raised a white flag calling for surrender.

1860 Map

Here is a copy of a map of the U.S. in 1860 for tonight's h.w.