THE CRISIS OF THE UNION 1860-65
CHAPTER 9
Electoral college
Spoils system:
Plebiscite
Jayhawkers
Electoral college: a body of special voters that pledge to vote for the pres. And VP chosen by their state.
Spoils system: In the politics of the United States, a spoil system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the basis of some measure of merit independent of political activity.Plebiscite: a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a question of national importance
Jayhawkers: is a term that came to prominence just before the Civil War in Bleeding Kansas, where it was adopted by militant bands affiliated with the free-state cause. These bands, known as "Jayhawkers", were guerrilla fighters who often clashed with pro-slavery "Border Ruffians". After the Civil War, "Jayhawker" became synonymous with the people of Kansas. Today the term is a nickname for a native-born Kansan.[1]
1. This is false and can be easily proven. Lincoln would have won even if all the What made the electoral college different in the election of 1860 than in the past? MAPS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege1860-Large.png Split in the Dem. Party and a difference in ideology – slavery. Some writers blame the Democrats, and especially the Southern Democrats, for Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860. The split in the Democratic Party that summer is said to have opened the door for the new Republican Party. Because the divided Democrats could not agree on a candidate, this theory goes, the split in the party allowed Lincoln to capture the White House with a mere 39 percent of the popular vote.
non-Lincoln votes had gone to a single candidate. Yet the "divided Democrats" myth persists. So here's the math.
Lincoln got 180 electoral votes and 1,865,593 popular votes.
Breckenridge got 72 electoral votes and 848,356 popular votes.
Douglas got 12 electoral votes and 1,382,713 popular votes.
Bell got 39 electoral votes and 592,906 popular votes.
2. Even if you take all the Democratic electors into one pool, they only have 123 electoral votes. Lincoln still wins. But what about the popular vote? As Americans learned again in 2000, elections can hinge on the distribution of votes among the states, and a candidate can win without a majority of the popular vote, so long as he has majorities in key places. So the thing to do is look at the vote by states in 1860. Surely 39 percent of the popular vote couldn't have carried Lincoln into the White House. What made the electoral college different in the election of 1860 than in the past? MAPS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ElectoralCollege1860-Large.png Split in the Dem. Party and a difference in ideology – slavery. Some writers blame the Democrats, and especially the Southern Democrats, for Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860. The split in the Democratic Party that summer is said to have opened the door for the new Republican Party. Because the divided Democrats could not agree on a candidate, this theory goes, the split in the party allowed Lincoln to capture the White House with a mere 39 percent of the popular vote.
United States history, the term Fire-Eaters refers to a group of extremist pro-slavery politicians from the South who urged the separation of southern states into a new nation, which became known as the Confederate States of America. Radically promoted secessionism.
3. Who were the four candidates for president in the 1860 election? Why were there more than two? Steven A. Douglas – Northern Democrat, John Breckinridge – Southern Democrat, John Bell – Constitutional Union party (dying Whig), and Abraham Lincoln – Republican. Steven A. Douglas had the majority of the popular vote but party rules required two-thirds to nominate. Southern Dems came demanding that slavery would be protected by law, but Douglas wanted a “loose” interpretation – not guaranteeing protection, and that the Congress would have discretion over the territories. Southern delegates “walked out” as promised, and found their own candidate: John Breckenridge of Kentucky. Remaining Northern Dems gave Douglas the weak nomination. Both of these incidences diluted Douglas’s chances.
4. Describe the two simultaneous elections on November 6, 1860. Between Lincoln and Douglas in the North, and Bell and Breckinridge in the South. Lincoln carried all northern states except New Jersey – which he split with Douglas. Breckinridge carried the Deep South and Bell had only 39 electoral votes.
5. What last ditch efforts were made by Lincoln and others to compromise with the South and hopefully avoid secession? What was the South’s response? Proposed a constitutional amendment that would prohibit interference with slavery in states where it existed. 1) restore the Missouri Comp. line. 2) prohibit the abolition of slaveholding on federal property in the south, 3) establish compensation for owners of runaways, and 4) repeal “personal liberty” laws in the North (these laws attempted to nullify the “Fugitive Slave Act”. They would even add the word “slavery” to the constitution. The south would not compromise a bit. Thank heaven!
*NOTES: The market plunged at the south leaving the union.
6. Describe the political process in the south whereby secession “passed”. Sound familiar?? It barely passed. “697 wealthy men decided the destiny of over 9 million people, mostly poor, one-third enslaved. Most men fought for their “country” as a duty – not necessarily to promote slavery. They fought for states’ rights against a national government.
7. What was unusual about Jefferson Davis’ view of slavery? He treated his slaves well, and just figured that other masters did the same. Since he did not travel much, he thought that the horrors of slavery were “pure fantasy” and that anyone questioning his opinion was offensive and wrong. He was also an advocate for industrialism and manufacturing.
8. The south complained that the U.S. Constitution was “a failed experiment.” How was the CSA’s constitution different? They gave subsidies to slave owners while passing on the costs of enforcing slave laws on to non-slave owners. All appropriations bills must have 2/3 majority vote. There were virtually no checks and balances which gave Davis unchecked power. The document reflected southern weaknesses that lead to secession in the first place. Namely ideas of: white supremacy, a residual notion of “states rights”, the propaganda that “Cotton is King” and that a Southern republic would not only be freer, but economically superior to the North. (301)
9. Define Southern arrogance and the view of the “Negro” according to President Jefferson Davis.(302) war officially begins.
10. What happened at Fort Sumter? (302-303) VIDEO CLIP The war officially begins. Lincoln resists.
11. How did West Virginia come about? (305) Large pockets of Union support existed in the southern Appalachians. They were very much against slavery.
12. How did gangs like Jesse James’ and others use the “Rebel” cause to commit crime? (306) they pretended to be fighting for the Confederate cause in order to “plunder and pillage”. Only after several crimes committed were they then sworn into the Con. Army.
13. Compare and contrast the North’s and South’s strengths and weaknesses going into war. (306) NORTH: Controlled the navy, held the majority of factories that produced ammo, vital railroad tracks, clothing, food, backing of the Constitution. SOUTH: Determination that their cause was just, military expertise, cotton, which they felt was “King”, railroads running east and west bringing vital supplies down the Missouri River, which was choked off after the fall of New Orleans. BOTH: have met their match on the battle field having been trained in the exact same way by the same leaders, literally fighting “brother against brother”.
NOTES: Confederates berated the North as oppressing the rights of free men while ignoring the fact that the Confederacy forced more free whites under arms than the North. Both sides had huge numbers desert; 10% of Union forces, 12.5% for Confederates.
14. Describe the organization of the military on both sides. (308-309) NORTH: standing army able to draw from a population of over 20 million but over half had deserted to the south. Both sides, therefore, relied on militias that lacked critical military discipline and irregular training of men 15-50. Militia units had tough-sounding names. One big problem was that men were enlisting so quickly that they did not have the means to provide for them.
15. What was the “Conscription Act”? (310) Union issued to “all able-bodied men 18 to 35 to serve for three years.” Ages changed from 17-50. Exemptions granted to postal workers, CSA officials, railroad workers, religious ministry, and those employed in manufacturing plants. Draftees could also hire substitutes. 70,000 in the south compared with 118,000 in the north. Confederates felt that this violated the very cause they were fighting for.
16. Define the strategic “Anaconda Plan” What were its strengths and weaknesses? (312) General Winfield Scott’s strategy to subdue to South. Blockade of Southern ports and called for an advance down the Mississippi River and cut the south in two. Some argued that this was not aggressive enough.
17. How did the South misinterpret their “victory” at Bull Run? (314) They missed a great opportunity to follow the north and possibly end the war. They were very arrogant about this “win”.
18. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of Union generals: McClellan, Pope, Grant, Baell (320) McClellan was boastful but couldn’t quite “close the deal”. He was soft – a lot of talk. Pope was a braggart who was more humiliated than McClellan, Buell was soft and lacked aggressiveness, Grant had to prove himself as he had struggled with alcohol in the past. H was extremely aggressive and successful
19. Having a strong navy was critical to the outcome of the Civil War. Who was in control? Did the South have any advantage? (318) The North was definitely in control but the South had some ships namely the Merrimac that it had confiscated at the fall of Norfolk. It sank a few of the Union fleet.
20. Describe the importance of the battles of Shiloh and Vicksburg. (321-322) Shiloh ( a church) was the bloodiest battle. General Sherman was in command. Vicksburg sealed the South’s doom. Grant was able to isolate Vicksburg and prevent two of the CSA armies from uniting. He cut off all supplies and literally starved the troops and citizens.
21. Who was Salmon P. Chase? How did he attempt to pay for Union debt incurred from the war? (323-324) Head of U.S. Treasury who appointed many “party hacks who often could be relied upon for little else but their partisan loyalty” to fill positions in the department. Gov. increased from 383 in 1861 to 2,000 in 1864. Asked Congress for a tax on incomes over $300, requested new tariffs, expanded land sales, issued twenty-year bonds paying 7% interest.
22. How did “greenbacks” come about? (324) Banks did not want to buy bonds if they had to pay for them in gold, and in Dec. 1861 the Northern banks suspended specie payments on all notes. (South went off gold standard immediately after Fort Sumter). Concerned that soldiers would go unpaid, Chase advanced a paper money concept to Congress that would allow the Treasury to issue $100 million in notes that would circulate as “lawful money, and a legal tender of all debts public and private.” Enacted as the Legal Tender Act of February 1862, the proposal authorized the issue of more than Chase requested - $450 million of the new green-colored billed called greenbacks.
23. What was the disastrous result of the South’s financial strategy? (325) Confederate money attained a reputation for worthlessness – previously seen in the Revolutionary War and not again until the Weimar Republic of Germany which produced hyper-inflation in the 1920’s. A Confederate dollar worth $.82 in gold or silver in 1862, had plummeted to only $0.17 in 1865.
24. How did “free market” vs. “socialist” ideology determine the outcome of the Civil War? (326) Because of the South’s dire straits, it lacked an entrepreneurial base from which to thrive. The government literally confiscated property leaving the war and personal life in total control of the government. The Confederacy reached levels of government involvement unmatched until the totalitarian states of the twentieth century. Confederate officials eerily resembled King George’s agents that Jefferson warned about. “The Confederacy died of big government.” READ P 326 PARA 2: “Six specific….”
25. How did General McClellan get fired from his post? After he left, what events led to the Emancipation Proclamation? (327-328) He did not pursue General Lee after the Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln fired him and was so upset that he decided to free all the slaves and “rip the heart out of the rebellion”.
26. What were Lincoln’s four objectives of the Emancipation Proclamation? (330) Lincoln’s view of Emancipation was moral over military or political. 1) Save the Union by freeing the slaves 2) prove to Europe that the Confederates were “pariah” 3) freeing the slaves changed property into people which decimated their industry and physical assets 4) contributions of black troops
27. How did the war effort in the North change after the Emancipation? (331) Blacks fought in battle instead of just building and clearing land,
28. What happened to Southern General “Stonewall” Jackon? (334) Accidently shot by his own men.
29. What is the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg? How was General Meade different than other Union Generals? (337) Tremendous loss
30. Who was General William Tecumseh Sherman? What was his legacy to the war? (339)
31. Define “Copperheads” and “Radical Republicans”. (342) Copperheads, a name given by Republicans to a vocal group of Democrats in the North opposed to the war likening them to a poisonous snake, The Radical Republicans were a loose faction of American politicians within the Republican Party from about 1854 (before the American Civil War) until the end of Reconstruction in 1877.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_Republicans
32. Explain the emotional and complete surrender of Robert E. Lee. (346)
33. What happened to Jefferson Davis? (347) Fled to Richmond and plead with his people to send troops and help defend him. They didn’t. He was granted amnesty by Pres. Andrew Johnson and became an embarrassment to the Confederate cause.
34. What was the “Lost Cause Theory”? (350) Sought to prove the irrelevancy of slavery to the cause of the war. That economic issues and the immoral North and the honorable south
35. How did Marxism play into reconstruction? (351) Leftists complain that Lincoln was too conservative, and blocked genuinely radical(and to them, positive) redistribution of not only plantation owners’ wealth, but all wealth. America’s Civil War was ultimately and overwhelmingly about the idea of freedom: whether one group of people could restrict the God-given liberty of others. That the Republicans, in their zeal to free slaves, enacted numerous ill-advised taxes, railroad, and banking laws, was a minor consequence to the big picture. The South perverted classic libertarianism – libertarianism did not pervert the South.
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