This course is designed around a single historical question: “What theme best defines the first half of American history” ?? This question has to be answered through the notes and it is the topic of your cumulative final paper and you will incorporate all that you have learned throughout the course to write it.
Creating a New World
In what ways did Europeans, Africans, and Indigenous Peoples create a New World?
Unit 2.1
What explains the similarity and differences of the English colonies in North America?
Chesapeake Colonies
Virginia and the South
Devoted merchants, middling planters -> upper class, leaders
Criminals, beggars, poor young men -> workforce, lower class
Indentured servants and slaves*
Migration Factors
Push
Enclosure of the commons- England’s transition to private property
Overpopulation- High competition for work
Pull
Abundance of land in America
Headright laws – 50 acres for every person settled on the lands
Success stories
*Divided by Class & Race
Cash Crops, Class, and Competition
Long growing seasons, damp climate, rich soils(but forests and swamps)
Class Division
Land ownership = Independence
Those who own vs Those who work
Land Scarcity increases, pushing former workers into interior
Political Hierarchy
King -> Provincial Gov’t -> County Court -> Little Commonwealths
Political Corruption
Social/Cultural Life
Strong Patriarchy (Coverture laws)
Men to Women, 4:1
Average lifespan: 45
Brute environment and work -> Violent society
Transition to slavery-> Stabilizes class conflicts, creation of race
“Ugly” frontier farms, bare necessities
New England
Religion and the Northern Colonies
Puritans, families, family servants
Farmers, artisans
Solid middle class, property owners
Migration Factors
Push
Religious Persecution + Desire to Reform
Societal Ills-> God’s Punishment
Pull
Capt. John Smith’s “ New England”
“City Upon a Hill”
*Highly Homogeneous
Family Farms and Costal Merchants
Short growing season, colder climates, stony soil, dense forests
No cash crops, English staple crops
Family Farms and Local Productions
Focused on subsistence, but surpluses led to marketplace trade
Diverse, locally- based economy
Coastal communities
Ship- building: New England and England merchants
Fishing: transatlantic
Social/ Culture Life
“Balanced: Patriarchy
Men to women, 6:4
Average lifespan: 70
Middle class, closed communities
Puritans vs non believers and Coastal merchant/labor
Profits from Caribbean slavery
Less prone to boom-and-bust* cycle
The Middle Colonies
Between Two Worlds
Dutch west indian company -> fur trade
Families, merchants, farmers, artisan -> support system
1/5 dissident Purtians, 1/10 African Slaves
Migration Factors
Pull
Economic opportunity
Merchantism
Push
Non-Existent
Few Dutch, mostly German,Jewish, Scotch-Irish, French, and Sweden
*Ethic, Religious, Class Diversity
Seizing New Netherlands
Fertile soil, plenty of waterways
Emphasis on trade, not agriculture
Business oriented
Merchantilist purpose -> no elected assembly (run by DWI company)
Positive Euro-Indigenous relations
Social/ Cultural Life
1660, population:5k
Relative Gender Equality
Multi-lingual/ethnic/religious
1626, Slavery introduced
English Invasion
King Charles II’s Motives
Dutch shipping competition
Valuable fur trade
Intimate New England
Split British America
1664, New Amsterdam taken, no resistance
Coverture laws and Military
1711, Wall street and slave market
Monday, March 13, 2017
Unit 2.3
How did the introduction of english women into North America affect colonial society and culture?
Early Colonial Life
Population
1660 : NE (33k) , Mid (5k)
Chesapeake (25k)
Low reproduction rates, high mortality (especially infants)
Most early female settlers were indentured servants
Labor
Low population = labor scarcity
No division of labor
Family
Non-traditional family structure
Weakened Patriarchal power; “Widow-archy”
Community > Family Kinship
Politics
Unwed mean lacked political (and general) power
Volatile environment/hotbed for revolt (Bacon’s Rebellion)
Population Booms
Fixing the Gender Imbalance
Population in 1760
New England, 390k; Middle Colonies, 370K; Chesapeake, 336K
Combination of natural births, immigration, and lower mortality rates
Women averaged seven children
Building immunities, but disease still a problem
Midwives
Women experience in childbirth (usually older)
Culture of labor (groaning beer and growing cake)
Medical treatment for the community (holistic)
Few male doctors, unreliable to care-taking
Women’s Work
Gender and Labor
Chesapeake
Increase in European females + expansion of slavery = divisions of labor
*Except for non-slaveowners
Women manufactured home goods -> increase in material wealth
Increasily domestic creatures
New England
Town women manufactured home goods for use and market trade, took them out of the home
Frontier women manufactured home goods for use and worked in the fields.
Crucial to economic development
Creating Kinships
Family and Community in the Colonies
Chesapeake
Transition to traditional family structures; wives getting younger, especially native born colonists ( average 16/17 years old)
Community still central force
New England
Large family networks; parental oversight/guidance in marriages
Connects larger community through familial relations
Increase in family -> territorial expansion -> wars with Indigenous Peoples
War equalization, women and captivity narratives
Constructing Power in the Colonies
The Rise of the Patriarchy
Formation of little commonwealths- > class and political stability
Radicalized Patriarchy in Chesapeake
Black women on the bottom of the hierarchy -> all white women become respectable
White men become father figures in the home, fields, and community
New England women as Helpmeets and notable housewives
Identity as loyal housewives, differing to husband’s authority
Husbands were expected to respect wives in return
Liberties Among Women
Gossip culture in New England was a form of social policing; female approval of minister invaluable
Moral superiority gave them privileges as witnesses in court
Widow-archy in Chesapeake continued
Younger wives given access to power, positive and negative results
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Unit 2.4
What is the importance of religion to the development of the North American colonies
Puritans and New England
Reforming the church of England
Too much like Catholicism
English societal ills
Persecution
City Upon a Hill
Create a New England (AKA Mayflower)
Infuse society with Puritan religion, Purify the Church
Most prominent leaders were devoted to the cause
New colonies
Puritan Dissenters -> Connect, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine
Religious Trials & Controversies
Anne Hutchinson
1634, John Cotton’s flock to Mass. Bay
Congregations should choose minister
Secret bible meetings; Women’s only bible study
1637, Put on trial by Winthrop
Why was she controversial?
Antinomianism – no mediator between God and Individual
Challenge to gender hierarchy -> social stability
Merchants against Winthrop government
Salem Witch Trials
Feb. 1692- May 1693, Massachusetts
200 put on trial, 20 killed
Spectral evidence (touch test, witch cake, paraphernalia)
Accusers and the Accused
Young, unmarried men and women
Widows, menopause-aged and infertile
Theories
Ergot fungus poisoning
Sexual repression
Local power dynamics (economic/ religion)
Puritans at Play
Reading and Intellectualism
Teaching literacy- primer, psalter(book of psalms), Bible
Boston, MA- Bookselling center
Family fun and “non-religious” literature
Captivity Tales – test of faith -> racy tales of sexuality and torture
Confessional Tales – religious tracts -> horror stories
Sabbath Life
Strict Sabbath Laws – no sex, traveling, frivolity, hunting; harsher punishment
But… Sabbath Socializing embraced
Traveling to church
Between morning and afternoon mass
Mid eighteenth Century, Sabbath less strict and more social
Engagement, Not Conversion
Indigenous peoples and Christianity
1700- 1730s, Renewal in English Evangelism
Appeal of Christianity
Education – Beneficials to indigenous children
Inter-tribal conflicts
Negotiation of Land Loss
Assimilation
General interest
Indigenous Experience
Indigenous Leaders more likely to engage
Younger generations more likely to engage
Disputed throughout families and communities
The Indigenous Great Awakening
An extension of earlier affiliation
Appeal of Christianity
Same as before
Revivalism
Anti-authoritarian; Individualistic
Passion for religion
Affiliation Techniques
Attending Church
Baptism, “partial” memberships
Owning the covenant
Baptize children
Marry in Anglo- Christian fashion
Conversion Success
Simple source of colonial survival
Low levels of affiliation, short- term adherence
Most remained loyal to traditional beliefs
Tangibles and long lasting
Post-Awakening & Indigenous Christianity
Reasons for Rejection
End of revivalism
Disillusionment with European motive
Culture Incompatibility with Christianity; forced out
Indigenous Separatism
IncorporatedChristianity into Indigenous practices
Bible as one of many sources of revelation
Communal religious experience and authority
Control over education
Pan- tribal effects
Traditional African Religion & Early Conversion
Traditional Beliefs
Supreme being
Pre-missionary contact
Controller of the universe not creator
Multiple Gods
Some more important than Supreme being
Cults, priests, societies, cultural centers
Personal rhythms and ceremonial behavior
Emphasis on cause and effects of evil not origin
Gender equality in participation and leadership
Funeral ceremonies
Catholic Missionaries
West and West Central Africa
Largely failures- converted individuals not African society
Colonial Conversion of African and African Americans
Practice and Resistance
Coping mechanism
Challenged power of slave owners
Continued marriage and funeral practices
Turned to priests, witches , witches, witchdoctors as authority figures
Physical and Spiritual healing
Conflict mediation; guidance
Art of poison
Attempting Conversion
Anglicans wanted conversion. Planters attempted suppression
Planters feared retaliation (Stono Rebellion, 1739)
The Converted were reminded of their lowly status
African people were unmoved by christianity
The Great Awakening & Afro-Christianity
Appeal of Christianity
Baptist/ Methodist -> racial and gender spiritual equality
Shared belief in millennialism
Biracial revivalism
Dominated by women
1774- 1776, Blacks spread religious enthusiasm
Formation of Black Churches
Pre-Revolutionary war and beyond
Black religious leadership
Williamsburg, Moses and Gowan Pamphlet
Black religious empowerment & African- American identity
Monday, March 20, 2017
Unit 2.5
How does Tituba represent the religious, gendered, and racial evolutions occurring in the American colonies?
Black Witch of Salem?
Tituba’s Origin
Arawakan Religion
Music and dancing
Multiple Gods and Guardian spirits
Worship human/animal effigies
Kenaima
Community outsider/stranger
Supernatural powers for evil
Protected by birds
Piaiman
Protector against Kenaima
Exposure to African Religion
Worked as domestic slave; Indigenous slaves more Europeans
African culture in slave quarters; little European influence
Music and Dancing ->rituals/celebrations
Ashanti magic and Obeah man/woman
Euro-Afro exchanges of witch lures
A New World in Massachusetts
New England Demographics
3% of the population was black
Wars.conflict->Indigenous People were suspect
EXCEPT Tituba-> individual, isolated, enslaved
New England Slavery
Taught to read; attend church -> Christian conversion
Part of the family; subjected to Patriarchy
Tituba used her knowledge of Europeans to hide her Indigenous identity
Political Transformations
Complaints about Mass. Government+ James II + Colonies’ economic value -> Increased English control over empire
European Witchcraft Lure
Perception
Folklore -> good and bad; Puritan -> all evil
The Accused
Women; lower-class; community rejects
Night-flying, cannibalism, erotic orgies
The Trails
Way of maintaining communities standards; air-out existing animosities
Strength community
Use of spectral evidence
Magistrates upheld judicial integrity against community pressures
Salem Witchcraft and Tituba’s Confession
Betty Parris and Witchcraft
Betty internalized Protestant guilt (?)
Indigenous Peoples associated with sympathetic magic
Parris tried to beat confession out; puts Titubaon trial
March 1st 1692, Trial Begins
Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn denied charges
Tituba confessed
European camouflage gone
Truth would not save her; giving the magistrates what they wanted
Challenged power structured
White man dressed in black -> clergy
Woman in silk clothes -> upper class, ‘respectable’
Strangers, an outside threat
Witches from Boston, not Salem
Larger conspiracy
Witches coven and Devil’s pact
Devil’s book -> indentured servitude; written language
Repentance as a form of resistances
Mimicked Protestant confessionals
Details made her valuable witness
Why was she believed?
Used Puritan ideas regarding witchcraft
Language, metaphors -> Protestant confessional
*She Started The WITCH HUNT
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Great Adaptation
The Upper class and Men
Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse
Giles Corey, Rev. George Burroughs
Strangers and Distant Villages
Witch hunt extended to Boston and Andover
Trials more English (Christianity, local)
Inversion of Christianity
Unfamiliar aspects of Tituba’s Testimony
Diabolic baptism; blood and flesh sacrament
Confessions of Guilt and Expanding Conspiracy
Conclusion & Aftermath
Colonial Gov. Edmund Andros’ wife accused; ordered the trials to end
Many of the accused retracted their statements; released from Boston jail
Last time witchcraft would be punished by execution in Massachusetts
Spectral evidence banned
Tituba recanted her testimony, blaming Parris
Parris did not pay Tituba’s bail; someone paid for her (possibly John); never heard of again.
Unit 3
How transformative was the Revolutionary era?
Unit 3.1
In what ways did political and economic issue cause the American revolution?
Consumer Revolution
Materialism in the American colonies
18th century
English empire built on economic ties, not military control
Mercantilist economy – consumer colonies
British through consumption
Social standard, etiquette, connection to the empire
Identify as British, not American
Freedom of choice, pursuit of material happiness
Accessible by all colonist
Significance of American colonies to England
American consumption -> English wealth
Age of Enlightenment
1600s to 1700s
Locke – rejected divine right, rule through consent; gov’t protection of life, liberty, and property; natural equality
Montesquieu- rule of law; separation of powers
Rousseu- submit to the general will not individual rights
Voltaire- freedom of speech, enlightenment monarchies
1689, english bill of rights incorporates these ideas
Unit 3
How transformative was the Revolutionary era?
Unit 3.1
In what ways did political and economic issue cause the American revolution?
Consumer Revolution
Materialism in the American colonies
18th century
English empire built on economic ties, not military control
Mercantilist economy – consumer colonies
British through consumption
Social standard, etiquette, connection to the empire
Identify as British, not American
Freedom of choice, pursuit of material happiness
Accessible by all colonist
Significance of American colonies to England
American consumption -> English wealth
Age of Enlightenment
1600s to 1700s
Locke – rejected divine right, rule through consent; gov’t protection of life, liberty, and property; natural equality
Montesquieu- rule of law; separation of powers
Rousseu- submit to the general will not individual rights
Voltaire- freedom of speech, enlightenment monarchies
1689, english bill of rights incorporates these ideas
October 1714, Samuel Johnson received Enlightenment literature on behave of Yale university library; years later new curriculum
French and Indian War
The First World War(1754-1763)
The Seven Years War
1750s, French expansion into Ohio valley -> conflicts with the American colonist
Major gen. George Washington accidentally killed French Ambassador
English conquest of Quebec won the war and remove French from continent
Aftermath
European misconception of American Wealth
American colonists settle the new land -> war with indigenous peoples
Land Proclamation of 1763, bans American settlement west of Appalachians
British army remained in colonies
*War debt must be paid
Conflicts Over International Taxation
English taxes were on imported goods (mercantilism)
Tariffs increasingly enforced after war; convicted by courts without juries
1765, Stamp Act and Colonial Response
Tax on printed goods ( wills, books, etc); minimal economic impact
Stamp Act Congress meets to challenge the tax
Anything sent to Britain was a gift
Non-importation movement
Ben Franklin visited England, advocated the economic importance consumption
1766, Parliaments repeals the act
Statistics shows that colonial merchants did not stop importation
Organizing Resistance
Sons of liberty
1765, Organized in response to stamp act
Led by Samuel Adams of Boston
No taxation without representation
Most Activism centered in New England
Disbanded after repeal of stamp act
Patriots
Continued the work of sons of liberties
Spread activism throughout colonies
Colonial Activisms
Pamphlets and publications
Boston Gazette, featured Samuel Adams
Reprinting Franklins’s join or die
Political activism
Petitioning
Policing importation bans
Violent Coercion
1766, Capt. William smith in Norfolk, VA
1774, Boston Commissioners of customs John Malcom
Violence Erupts
The Boston “Massacre”
Oct. 1768 – British troops arrive in Boston to maintain order, enforce taxation
Tensions between Redcoats and civilians; Bostonians saw them as invaders, taunted/resisted military control
March 5, 1770
Mob organizations outside the customs House
Military called to keep peace; previous incidence of violence
Cant. Preston ordered his men not to open fire
Mobs throws snowballs, officer accidentally fired his gun
5 men died in total
Trial
John Adams and other Patriots represented the defense
Cant. Preston accused soldiers acquitted on the ground of self- defense, only 2 found guilty
Paul Revere’s Engraving
Propaganda; widely sold and spread throughout colonies
Incited anti-British sentiment
Monday, March 27, 2017
Somerset vs Stewart
Background on the case
James superset purchased by Charles Stewart in Boston, Mass.
1769, Stewart returned to England
Stewart recaptured him, attempted to sell him to Jamaica
Somerset brought Stewart to court
Trial & Ruling
No laws recognizing the institution of slavery in England
Slaves brought to England could not be forcible removed
Did not address morality of slavery or free slaves upon entering England
American Reaction
Slaveholders saw this as an attack on economic freedom
Feared the abolition of slavery in the colonies
Convinced many southerners to side with Patriots
Backlash and Boycott
Coercive Act
Assortment of laws to punish Boston, illustrates crown’s power
AKA intolerable acts
Boston Harbor shut down; tea reimbursement
British soldiers quartered in Boston
MA. Gov’t officials appointed, no longer elected
Colonial- Wide Consumer Boycott
Revolutionary form of political protest
Unlike non-importation, boycott gave individual consumers power
Granted political power to politically powerless
Daughters of Liberty
Unified colonists against Britain
No long-lasting changes in consumption
Final Attempts at Diplomacy
The First Continental Congress
September 5, 1774
In response to the coercive acts
56 delegates from 12 colonies meet in Philadelphia
Declaration of American Rights
Asserted British Identity
Upheld claims to representation
Promoted colonial-wide boycott
King Response
Boston in rebellion; order harsher treatment/control
Military advisors claimed superiority
Refused to acknowledge the continental congress’ authority
*Lexington & Concord
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Warfare between American colonists and British military second half of 1775
January 10, 1776
Accessible to the larger public
Used simple language, allusions to the Bible
Challenged notions of reconciliation with England
England did not respect the colonies
Advocated for independence, separation
Suggested that America was better suited for a republic, not a monarchy
America was no longer British
Diverse society made up of various Europeans and their culture
Unit 3.2
What events and people make up the revolutionary war and what kind of narrative does this create?
The Leading Men and Their Armies
George Washington
General of the continental Army
Virginian; Tobacco/wheat grower
Experience in seven Year war
Nathanael Greene
General of the continental Army
from pacific rhode island
Benedict Arnold
General of the continental Army
1780, traitor
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
The Leading Men and Their Armies
Continental Army
Militia, untrained men with guns
Drafted or provided substitute
Little funding for pay, food, supplies
French Allies
Provided much- needed funds
Trained soldiers
Powerful navy
William Howe
Commander-in-chief of British Army
No clear purpose on war
Resigned in 1778
John Burgoyne
Lieutenant of Irish Army
Gain control of Hudson River
Charles Cornwallis
Lieutenant of British Army
Surrendered in “last” battle
The Redcoats
Well funded, fully supplied
Professional military
NOT tricked into service
Hessian Soliders
From Hesse (Modern Germany)
Mercenaries; for hire
No personal motivation
The War Begins!
Lexington and Concord
British army ordered to confiscate weapons and munition in the towns of Lexington and Concord; rebels building a stockade
April 19, 1775
700 British soldiers split into two groups
Along the way to Concord, militiamen picked-off British soldiers
Militia outnumbered in Concord and retreat
Casualties
73 British
49 Americans
Revealed weakness of American militia
Crossing the Delaware & the Battle of Trenton
Continental Army driven out of New York
2000 American soldiers captive
Washington’s army running low on supplies; defensive strategy working not winning
December 25, 1776
2,400 men crossed the Delaware River at midnight
Confront Hessian forces before dawn; victory in 1 hour
Retreated and returned on the 30th
Continued to protect Philadelphia
First major victory; morale boost for army and citizens
Battle of Brandywine
The Fall of Philadelphia
Howe wanted to capture Philadelphia (American capital)
September 11, 1777
Washington had high ground, unprepared for Howe’s attack
Retreat by nightfall; remained between Howe and Philadelphia
Keep morale high; protect the capital
Blamed unfamiliar territory
September 26, 1777
British takes Philadelphia, Washington gave the city enough time to evacuate
Washington’s force dwindled from 15,000 to 6,000 (abandonment)
Battle of Saratoga
Burgoyne-> Hudson River was key
Plan: Burgoyne comes from the North, Howe from the South
Howe distracted by Washington
September 19 and October 7, 1777
Burgoyne’s 7,500 men vs Gate’s 8,500 men
Tug-of-war progress between the two armies
Major American Victory
Demonstrated capacity to defeat the British
Convinced French to support America
About Face
Britain’s Southern Campaign
British disillusioned with victory in the North
Southern colonies perceived as Loyalist
Winning Battles, Losing the War
British presence divided southerners
British raided plantations, violent chaos
Southerns became increasingly rebellious
Backcountry militia skirmishes
Mel Gibson’s The Patriot
British failed to gain southern support
*Battle of Yorktown
Considering the Institutional Narrative
What kind of story is being told? How do certain people and events support that narrative?
Why isn’t Brandywine a turning point?
Allegiance to the Crown
Loyalists During the Revolution
Roughly 20% remained loyal
Most located in Middle colonies: too diverse and too disconnected to unite
Wartime Experience
Targets of military and civilian violence
Property confiscated
Men fled/went into hiding; left wives in charge of property
Provided assistance to British Army
American victory-> approx. 80,000 sought refuge in England, Canada, the West Indies, and Nova Scotia
Women
Unsung Heroes of the Revolution
Homefront Transformation
Opportunities for new roles
Took over businesses, managed family farms
Vitals to economic stability of a nation at war
Policed consumer habits; collected war materials
Raised funds for army; home manufacturers for war
Wartime Rape
Women of all ages and class
Reluctant to come forward
Reputation
Often Pointless
On the Front Line
Camp followers
Too vulnerable
Not welcomed in American armies
Maintained camps (Laundry, cooking, cleaning)
“Molly Pitchers”
Witnessed widowhood and took-up arms
July 3, 1782- Deborah Gannett (aka Robert Shurtleff)
Female Spies
Both sides
Opportunistic; spy rings
Age kept them invisible
African American
Fighting for Freedom
Chance of freedom, but at the cost of disrupting family stability
November 7, 1775, Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation
800 blacks served the British army; most did not fight -> disease
300 survived, returned to England in December 1776
African American “Patriots”
Bounty, freedom, land, and substitution
5,000 blacks served; found in most Continental armies
Varied region to region
Feb 14, 1778 1st Rhode Island Regiment
Slave Owners compensated
Under command of Greene (until 1781)
Choosing Sides
Indigenous peoples and the American Revolution
Most attempted neutrality -> Loyalist
Patriot dominated areas -> Patriot by default
Iroquois Confederacy Divided
Joseph Brant, Mohawk chief
Mohawk, onondaga, seneca, and Cayuga remained Loyalists
Fall 1779, Washington ordered the destruction of Iroquois settlements
After the Revolution
Paris Peace Treaty 1783, no Indigenous Peoples present; Britain recognized American sovereignty over the continent
Iroquois Confederacy destroyed: settled in Canada
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Unit 3.4
How did the competing ideologies of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton shape the new nation?
Silver and Pewter Spoons
Early lives of Jefferson and Hamilton
Thomas Jefferson
Shadwell, VA on April 13, 1743
Son of a self made man; planter class
Father died in 1757, Jefferson “ raised himself”
Started school at age 9; William and Mary at 17
Early education exposed him to European Enlightenment
Lawyer’s apprentice
Socially awkward
His education + admiration for his father = highly ambitious; more than just a planter
Alexander Hamilton
British West Indies on January 11, 1755
Born out of wedlock; mother abandoned her first family
Father leaves in 1766; mother died in 1768
Mother’s first husband took everything
Private tutor for a few years; worked as clerk for trading firm
Industrious, hard worker -> impressed older , established men
Funded his education in America in 1773 (enrolled in King’s College, Royalist bent)
Actively fought against the hand he was dealt.
Washington’s Cabinet
Washington’s Presidency shaped the new nation
Jefferson
Secretary of state( resigned Dec. 31, 1793)
As ambassador, Jefferson became pro- France
Hamilton
Military buddy of Washington
Secretary of the Treasury
Pro- Britain, envious of the British political-economic model
Jefferson’s Yeoman Farmer
Power of the individual
White men should own property
Land ownership -> Economic independence -> political independence
Feared monopolies of power
Trade with Britain
Manufactured goods imported
Maintain America’s natural beauty
No waged labor in America
Hamilton’s Reports to congress
Bring America into the 19th century
Report on Public Credit (1790)
American Debt
Debt held mostly by Northern Financiers
Many states already paid debt
Hamilton proposed federal gov’t would take on state debt
Unify the states through the federal gov’t
Legitimize new nation
Criticisms
Northeastern financiers would profit
Expand federal gov’t power
Report on Banking (1790)
Centralized banking
Store funds in bank, print country’s money supply
Managed by private directors representing investors
Largest loan provider
Encourage investment in the new nation
Criticism
Jefferson argued 10th Amend.
Too much feral power over economy
Roughly 30% of congress were investors -> political corruption
Report on Manufactures (1791)
Self- sufficient nation
Subsidize and promote manufacturing companies
Protect domestic industry through protective tariffs
Encourage economic independence from Britain
Criticism
Too much gov’t interference with economy
Benefit the North, hurt Southern planters
No need to industrialize
Constitutional Interpretation and political Parties
Jefferson
10th Amendment – power not assigned to the feudal gov’t are exercised by states
National Bank not in the Constitution -> state decision
Established the democratic Republicans -> expanding voting
Hamilton
The Necessary and Proper Clause – aka the Elastic Clause
National Bank necessary -> state inadequate
Established the Federalists -> oligarchy
The Death of a Generation
The Final Days of Hamilton and Jefferson
Hamilton’s Duel with Aaron Burr
Organized political block
July 11, 1804
Same guns/location as son’s duel
Usually got out of duels
Conflicting stories
Painful death at age 49
Jefferson
Lived a long life in comfort
July 4, 1
Unit 3
How transformative was the Revolutionary era?
Unit 3.1
In what ways did political and economic issue cause the American revolution?
Consumer Revolution
Materialism in the American colonies
18th century
English empire built on economic ties, not military control
Mercantilist economy – consumer colonies
British through consumption
Social standard, etiquette, connection to the empire
Identify as British, not American
Freedom of choice, pursuit of material happiness
Accessible by all colonist
Significance of American colonies to England
American consumption -> English wealth
Age of Enlightenment
1600s to 1700s
Locke – rejected divine right, rule through consent; gov’t protection of life, liberty, and property; natural equality
Montesquieu- rule of law; separation of powers
Rousseu- submit to the general will not individual rights
Voltaire- freedom of speech, enlightenment monarchies
1689, english bill of rights incorporates these ideas
October 1714, Samuel Johnson received Enlightenment literature on behave of Yale university library; years later new curriculum
French and Indian War
The First World War(1754-1763)
The Seven Years War
1750s, French expansion into Ohio valley -> conflicts with the American colonist
Major gen. George Washington accidentally killed French Ambassador
English conquest of Quebec won the war and remove French from continent
Aftermath
European misconception of American Wealth
American colonists settle the new land -> war with indigenous peoples
Land Proclamation of 1763, bans American settlement west of Appalachians
British army remained in colonies
*War debt must be paid
Conflicts Over International Taxation
English taxes were on imported goods (mercantilism)
Tariffs increasingly enforced after war; convicted by courts without juries
1765, Stamp Act and Colonial Response
Tax on printed goods ( wills, books, etc); minimal economic impact
Stamp Act Congress meets to challenge the tax
Anything sent to Britain was a gift
Non-importation movement
Ben Franklin visited England, advocated the economic importance consumption
1766, Parliaments repeals the act
Statistics shows that colonial merchants did not stop importation
Organizing Resistance
Sons of liberty
1765, Organized in response to stamp act
Led by Samuel Adams of Boston
No taxation without representation
Most Activism centered in New England
Disbanded after repeal of stamp act
Patriots
Continued the work of sons of liberties
Spread activism throughout colonies
Colonial Activisms
Pamphlets and publications
Boston Gazette, featured Samuel Adams
Reprinting Franklins’s join or die
Political activism
Petitioning
Policing importation bans
Violent Coercion
1766, Capt. William smith in Norfolk, VA
1774, Boston Commissioners of customs John Malcom
Violence Erupts
The Boston “Massacre”
Oct. 1768 – British troops arrive in Boston to maintain order, enforce taxation
Tensions between Redcoats and civilians; Bostonians saw them as invaders, taunted/resisted military control
March 5, 1770
Mob organizations outside the customs House
Military called to keep peace; previous incidence of violence
Cant. Preston ordered his men not to open fire
Mobs throws snowballs, officer accidentally fired his gun
5 men died in total
Trial
John Adams and other Patriots represented the defense
Cant. Preston accused soldiers acquitted on the ground of self- defense, only 2 found guilty
Paul Revere’s Engraving
Propaganda; widely sold and spread throughout colonies
Incited anti-British sentiment
Monday, March 27, 2017
Somerset vs Stewart
Background on the case
James superset purchased by Charles Stewart in Boston, Mass.
1769, Stewart returned to England
Stewart recaptured him, attempted to sell him to Jamaica
Somerset brought Stewart to court
Trial & Ruling
No laws recognizing the institution of slavery in England
Slaves brought to England could not be forcible removed
Did not address morality of slavery or free slaves upon entering England
American Reaction
Slaveholders saw this as an attack on economic freedom
Feared the abolition of slavery in the colonies
Convinced many southerners to side with Patriots
Backlash and Boycott
Coercive Act
Assortment of laws to punish Boston, illustrates crown’s power
AKA intolerable acts
Boston Harbor shut down; tea reimbursement
British soldiers quartered in Boston
MA. Gov’t officials appointed, no longer elected
Colonial- Wide Consumer Boycott
Revolutionary form of political protest
Unlike non-importation, boycott gave individual consumers power
Granted political power to politically powerless
Daughters of Liberty
Unified colonists against Britain
No long-lasting changes in consumption
Final Attempts at Diplomacy
The First Continental Congress
September 5, 1774
In response to the coercive acts
56 delegates from 12 colonies meet in Philadelphia
Declaration of American Rights
Asserted British Identity
Upheld claims to representation
Promoted colonial-wide boycott
King Response
Boston in rebellion; order harsher treatment/control
Military advisors claimed superiority
Refused to acknowledge the continental congress’ authority
*Lexington & Concord
Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Warfare between American colonists and British military second half of 1775
January 10, 1776
Accessible to the larger public
Used simple language, allusions to the Bible
Challenged notions of reconciliation with England
England did not respect the colonies
Advocated for independence, separation
Suggested that America was better suited for a republic, not a monarchy
America was no longer British
Diverse society made up of various Europeans and their culture
Unit 3.2
What events and people make up the revolutionary war and what kind of narrative does this create?
The Leading Men and Their Armies
George Washington
General of the continental Army
Virginian; Tobacco/wheat grower
Experience in seven Year war
Nathanael Greene
General of the continental Army
from pacific rhode island
Benedict Arnold
General of the continental Army
1780, traitor
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
The Leading Men and Their Armies
Continental Army
Militia, untrained men with guns
Drafted or provided substitute
Little funding for pay, food, supplies
French Allies
Provided much- needed funds
Trained soldiers
Powerful navy
William Howe
Commander-in-chief of British Army
No clear purpose on war
Resigned in 1778
John Burgoyne
Lieutenant of Irish Army
Gain control of Hudson River
Charles Cornwallis
Lieutenant of British Army
Surrendered in “last” battle
The Redcoats
Well funded, fully supplied
Professional military
NOT tricked into service
Hessian Soliders
From Hesse (Modern Germany)
Mercenaries; for hire
No personal motivation
The War Begins!
Lexington and Concord
British army ordered to confiscate weapons and munition in the towns of Lexington and Concord; rebels building a stockade
April 19, 1775
700 British soldiers split into two groups
Along the way to Concord, militiamen picked-off British soldiers
Militia outnumbered in Concord and retreat
Casualties
73 British
49 Americans
Revealed weakness of American militia
Crossing the Delaware & the Battle of Trenton
Continental Army driven out of New York
2000 American soldiers captive
Washington’s army running low on supplies; defensive strategy working not winning
December 25, 1776
2,400 men crossed the Delaware River at midnight
Confront Hessian forces before dawn; victory in 1 hour
Retreated and returned on the 30th
Continued to protect Philadelphia
First major victory; morale boost for army and citizens
Battle of Brandywine
The Fall of Philadelphia
Howe wanted to capture Philadelphia (American capital)
September 11, 1777
Washington had high ground, unprepared for Howe’s attack
Retreat by nightfall; remained between Howe and Philadelphia
Keep morale high; protect the capital
Blamed unfamiliar territory
September 26, 1777
British takes Philadelphia, Washington gave the city enough time to evacuate
Washington’s force dwindled from 15,000 to 6,000 (abandonment)
Battle of Saratoga
Burgoyne-> Hudson River was key
Plan: Burgoyne comes from the North, Howe from the South
Howe distracted by Washington
September 19 and October 7, 1777
Burgoyne’s 7,500 men vs Gate’s 8,500 men
Tug-of-war progress between the two armies
Major American Victory
Demonstrated capacity to defeat the British
Convinced French to support America
About Face
Britain’s Southern Campaign
British disillusioned with victory in the North
Southern colonies perceived as Loyalist
Winning Battles, Losing the War
British presence divided southerners
British raided plantations, violent chaos
Southerns became increasingly rebellious
Backcountry militia skirmishes
Mel Gibson’s The Patriot
British failed to gain southern support
*Battle of Yorktown
Considering the Institutional Narrative
What kind of story is being told? How do certain people and events support that narrative?
Why isn’t Brandywine a turning point?
Allegiance to the Crown
Loyalists During the Revolution
Roughly 20% remained loyal
Most located in Middle colonies: too diverse and too disconnected to unite
Wartime Experience
Targets of military and civilian violence
Property confiscated
Men fled/went into hiding; left wives in charge of property
Provided assistance to British Army
American victory-> approx. 80,000 sought refuge in England, Canada, the West Indies, and Nova Scotia
Women
Unsung Heroes of the Revolution
Homefront Transformation
Opportunities for new roles
Took over businesses, managed family farms
Vitals to economic stability of a nation at war
Policed consumer habits; collected war materials
Raised funds for army; home manufacturers for war
Wartime Rape
Women of all ages and class
Reluctant to come forward
Reputation
Often Pointless
On the Front Line
Camp followers
Too vulnerable
Not welcomed in American armies
Maintained camps (Laundry, cooking, cleaning)
“Molly Pitchers”
Witnessed widowhood and took-up arms
July 3, 1782- Deborah Gannett (aka Robert Shurtleff)
Female Spies
Both sides
Opportunistic; spy rings
Age kept them invisible
African American
Fighting for Freedom
Chance of freedom, but at the cost of disrupting family stability
November 7, 1775, Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation
800 blacks served the British army; most did not fight -> disease
300 survived, returned to England in December 1776
African American “Patriots”
Bounty, freedom, land, and substitution
5,000 blacks served; found in most Continental armies
Varied region to region
Feb 14, 1778 1st Rhode Island Regiment
Slave Owners compensated
Under command of Greene (until 1781)
Choosing Sides
Indigenous peoples and the American Revolution
Most attempted neutrality -> Loyalist
Patriot dominated areas -> Patriot by default
Iroquois Confederacy Divided
Joseph Brant, Mohawk chief
Mohawk, onondaga, seneca, and Cayuga remained Loyalists
Fall 1779, Washington ordered the destruction of Iroquois settlements
After the Revolution
Paris Peace Treaty 1783, no Indigenous Peoples present; Britain recognized American sovereignty over the continent
Iroquois Confederacy destroyed: settled in Canada
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Unit 3.4
How did the competing ideologies of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton shape the new nation?
Silver and Pewter Spoons
Early lives of Jefferson and Hamilton
Thomas Jefferson
Shadwell, VA on April 13, 1743
Son of a self made man; planter class
Father died in 1757, Jefferson “ raised himself”
Started school at age 9; William and Mary at 17
Early education exposed him to European Enlightenment
Lawyer’s apprentice
Socially awkward
His education + admiration for his father = highly ambitious; more than just a planter
Alexander Hamilton
British West Indies on January 11, 1755
Born out of wedlock; mother abandoned her first family
Father leaves in 1766; mother died in 1768
Mother’s first husband took everything
Private tutor for a few years; worked as clerk for trading firm
Industrious, hard worker -> impressed older , established men
Funded his education in America in 1773 (enrolled in King’s College, Royalist bent)
Actively fought against the hand he was dealt.
Washington’s Cabinet
Washington’s Presidency shaped the new nation
Jefferson
Secretary of state( resigned Dec. 31, 1793)
As ambassador, Jefferson became pro- France
Hamilton
Military buddy of Washington
Secretary of the Treasury
Pro- Britain, envious of the British political-economic model
Jefferson’s Yeoman Farmer
Power of the individual
White men should own property
Land ownership -> Economic independence -> political independence
Feared monopolies of power
Trade with Britain
Manufactured goods imported
Maintain America’s natural beauty
No waged labor in America
Hamilton’s Reports to congress
Bring America into the 19th century
Report on Public Credit (1790)
American Debt
Debt held mostly by Northern Financiers
Many states already paid debt
Hamilton proposed federal gov’t would take on state debt
Unify the states through the federal gov’t
Legitimize new nation
Criticisms
Northeastern financiers would profit
Expand federal gov’t power
Report on Banking (1790)
Centralized banking
Store funds in bank, print country’s money supply
Managed by private directors representing investors
Largest loan provider
Encourage investment in the new nation
Criticism
Jefferson argued 10th Amend.
Too much feral power over economy
Roughly 30% of congress were investors -> political corruption
Report on Manufactures (1791)
Self- sufficient nation
Subsidize and promote manufacturing companies
Protect domestic industry through protective tariffs
Encourage economic independence from Britain
Criticism
Too much gov’t interference with economy
Benefit the North, hurt Southern planters
No need to industrialize
Constitutional Interpretation and political Parties
Jefferson
10th Amendment – power not assigned to the feudal gov’t are exercised by states
National Bank not in the Constitution -> state decision
Established the democratic Republicans -> expanding voting
Hamilton
The Necessary and Proper Clause – aka the Elastic Clause
National Bank necessary -> state inadequate
Established the Federalists -> oligarchy
The Death of a Generation
The Final Days of Hamilton and Jefferson
Hamilton’s Duel with Aaron Burr
Organized political block
July 11, 1804
Same guns/location as son’s duel
Usually got out of duels
Conflicting stories
Painful death at age 49
Jefferson
Lived a long life in comfort
July 4, 1826 at age 83( same day as John Adams)
Came to realize fallacy of his ideal America
826 at age 83( same day as John Adams)
Came to realize fallacy of his ideal America
Ice Breaker: What comes to mind when the topic of the civil war is brought up?
Unit 5.2 – Examining the various peoples and events connected to the military campaigns, what narratives are created about the Civil War?
The Leading Men
The Union
Abraham Lincoln, President
No military experience
Peace through victory – North and South reunited under one government
George B. McClellan, General-in-Chief
Mexican American War (MA War)
Limited war and compromise peace
Ulysses S. Grant, Commanding General*
MA War
Devoted to victory as determined by the President
The Confederacy
Jefferson Davis, President
Volunteer during MA War
Peace through victory – South remains independent
Robert E. Lee, General-in-Chief
MA War
Devoted to victory, but willing to surrender
Thomas Jackson, Lieutenant General
Ma War
“Stonewall” Jackson – Battle of Bull Run
The Armies
The Union
Slower to raise an army
Lincoln → Draft
700,000 “volunteers”
Companies less diverse
Preserve the union
Support through industry
Factories for weapons production (technology)
Agriculture organized railroads (canals)
The Confederacy
South mobilized quickly
As soon as succession
500,000 volunteers
Mostly poor and working class whites
Arming slaves?
Defend the Confederacy
Support through Cotton
Financially support war effort
Create alliances w/Europeans
Strategies:
North: Invade, beat the South into submission
South: Fend off invading forces, refuse to surrender
South had the upper hand
Both Armies:
Believed the war would end quickly
New York Times estimated 30 days
Believed their side represented the goals of the 1776 Revolution
North: Save the nation the Founding Fathers built (Democracy)
South: Gain independence from the tyrannical government (Rightfully freedom and independence/ Constitutional Right)
III. How does an emphasis on people affect the story of the Civil War?
Responsibility for the war’s outcome
Military leaders
Political leaders
The armies
Character traits of different leaders
Grant “The Butcher” vs. Lee “The Gentleman”
Lincoln (reasonable) vs. Davis (prideful)
Who gets left out of the narrative?
Those who don’t fit or challenge the lesson – Indigenous Peoples/African Americans
Those who shouldn’t get credit for participating – Women/African Americans
The Civil War at Sea: Northern Blockade (Turning Point?)
April 1861
Lincoln declares a naval blockade of Southern ports
Cotton main source of revenue → shut down economy
Cotton Diplomacy
British intervention → international recognition of statehood
South reduced its shipment of cotton → threatening big mistake
1861, 4.5 bales of cotton exported → 1863, less than 1 million
A Sunday Excursion: The First Battle of Bull Run (Turning Point?)
Sunday, July 21, 1861
Virginia, just south of Washington
Spectators made a day of the event (“That is splendid, Oh my!… I guess we will be in Richmond tomorrow.”)
Confederate forces, under Col. Thomas Jackson, tried to hold back Union
Confederates gaines reinforcements and pushed Union army back
Did not proceed into the North
Outcome
Winner: Confederacy
Union Loses: 2,896 (28,450) Confederacy Loss: 1,982 (32,230)
Significance
Influenced morale
Destroyed the idea of a short war
Shiloh: The bloodiest Battle… So Far
April 6-7, 1862
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee (Western Theatre of War)
Grant’s army recovering from earlier battles
Confederates ambush Grant’s army in the early morning
It was falsely reported that Grant was drunk when the attack happened
By nightfall, Confederates lose their general to a mortal wound
Union hold their position and soon outnumber Confederate forces
Outcome
Winner: Union
Union loss: 13,047 (65,085) Confederate Loss: 10,669 (44,968)
Further secured Northern control of the West
Question: Why does coverage of the battles jump from Bull Run to Shiloh?
Question: What story is created by looking at the battles together?
VII. Showdown at Antietam: McClellan vs. Lee (Is it a Turning Point?)
Make or Break Battle
Northerners frustrates with the war (and the Republican Party), Lincoln frustrated with McClellan’s lackluster performance
Lee wanted the Confederacy to be more offensive and Davis hoped such a victory would lead to an alliance with Britain
September 16-18, 1862
McClellan’s Army of the Potomac confronted Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia (THE Confederate Army)
17th the bloodiest day in American military history
Union army outnumbered Confederate army two-to-one, but McClellan refrained from committing his entire force
By the 18th, Lee slowly withdrew his army, tending to wounded soldiers
Outcome
Winner: Contested by historians
McClellan failed to stop Lee
Lincoln considered it a victory
Union Loss: 12,401 (87,000) Confederate Loss: 10,316 (45,000)
Significance
No alliance with Britain
Lincoln fired McClellan (symbol of limited war for a limited ends)
Boosted Northern morale → Republican Party maintained political power
Most importantly, it convinced Lincoln to issue an important decree…
VIII. EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION: Toward the Sacred Truth of Human Liberty
May 23, 1861
Frank Baker, James Townsend, and Shepard Mallory escaped to the North; became the first three contrabands of the Civil War
End of 1861, thousands of slaves escaped to the North
December 4, 1861
The House of Representatives denied a resolution disavowing an antislavery purpose for the war
September 22, 1862
James McPherson claims, Lincoln revealed to his cabinet that he made a covenant with God
If God gave the Union a victory, Lincoln would free the slaves
January 1, 1863
All slaves in rebelling states freed
425,000 African Americans remained enslaved in the border states
Claimed power as Commander in Chief, slaves → resource of the enemy
Enabled all African Americans to join the military
Antislavery supporters in Britain → endorsed the Union effort
Significance
Freed the slaves
Most importantly, it shifted the purpose of the way
No longer solely focused on unifying North and South
ARE FREEMEN LESS BRAVE THAN SLAVES: Black Soldiers and the 54th Massachusetts
ALL-BLACK REGIMENTS
200,000 African Americans enlisted; 40,000 died fighting for freedom
Increased Northern military power
Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Mass.
Mistreatment of Black Regiments
Under supplied
Lack of pay
Douglass responds
Discrimination and social abuses continues
Questions
How does the inclusion of the Emancipation Proclamation and Black Regiments alter the Civil War Narrative?
How do discussions of Lincoln and Robert Gould Shaw shape this narrative?
Why might someone leave out these events in their coverage of the Civil War?
SHERMAN’S MARCH TO THE SEA & THE CAPTURE OF ATLANTA
May 7 – September 2, 1864
Throughout Georgia (Western Theatre of War)
Sherman obsessed with capturing Atlanta -> strategic value
Ammunition for anti-war Democrats in the North
Southern narratives about the war and Northern success
Total Warfare
Sherman, a southerner and believer in slavery, -> war would not change the minds of Southerners; Victory required total warfare
Ordered his men to destroy anything the Confederate army could use
Hoped to crush Southern morale, convincing them the war needed to end
OUTCOME
Winner: Union
Union Loss: 3,722 (34,863) Confederate Loss: 5,500 (40,438)
SIGNIFICANCE
Union control of a vital Confederate city
Increased Northern support of the war, ensuring Lincoln’s reelection
Convinced Lincoln he had the support of the people to end slavery
With such success, Sherman, and to some degree Grant, became vicious villains that Southerners could cite as the reason for Northern victory; The North was bigger and without remorse
SURRENDER AT APPOMATTOX: Myth and the Ending of the Civil War
April 9, 1865
Lee failed to outmaneuver Grant’s army
Evening of April 8th, Lee sent a request for surrender to Grant
Grant under direct orders from Lincoln -> only accept military surrenders; Lincoln and Davis in charge of ending the war
Nevertheless, Lee’s surrender to Grant signified the end of the war for citizens (and most historians)
Much of this has to do with the symbolism and myths surrounding the surrender
*Lincoln assassinated April 14, 1865*
Myth/Symbolism
Reminisced about their service during the Mexican American War
The two worked together to determine the surrendering of Lee’s Army
Armies came together like brothers reuniting as a nation
Fact
Lee did not specifically remember meeting Grant. The interaction suggests that Grant was trying to make the situation less awkward
Each General had his own interpretation of and plans for the surrender
Grant – victory as righteous: encourage Southern acceptance of surrender
Lee – victory as might over right; surrender was a negotiation
Confederate soldiers left quietly, and went “home”
Myth of the Gentlemen’s Agreement
Unit 5.3 – “How Did Lincoln Become the Great Emancipator?”
Question: Do you think we choose to be born? Or are we fitted to the times we are born into?
Born and Raised in a Log Cabin: Lincoln’s Youth
Born in 1809 in Kentucky
Kentucky was a Border State
Slaves ⅕ of the population
1808, Kentucky banned the migration of free blacks
1816, Family Moves to Indiana and then Illinois in 1830
Most settlers in Indiana and Illinois disliked slavery on economic grounds
Southern countries developed moderate politics on slavery
Slaveowners tried to introduce slavery into Illinois
Lincoln learned the importance of politics
*Almost no contact with African Americans
Lincoln’s Parents were against Slavery
Pro-destinationists, however, they did not become reformers
Relationships with Slaveowners
Some of Lincoln’s family owned slaves
The Speed Family
Mary Todd
Trips to the South
1841, New Orleans
They were being separated forever from the scenes of their childhood, their friends, their fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters… from their wives and children…
My Beau Ideal of a Statesman: Politics of the Early 19th Century
Age of Expanding Democracy (Think Jackson)
Whig Politics
Industrial economic development
Moral Improvement
National Unity
Henry Clay
Condemned slavery
African Americans as humans
Gradual and Compensated emancipation
III. AM I NOT A MAN AND A BROTHER?: The Early Antislavery Movement
Abolitionists
Immediate
Interracial
No compensation
Biracial Nation
“The most radical aspect of their program”
Colonizationists
Abolitionist would lead to civil war
Stepping stone
Free blacks profound their Americanness in opposition
Illinois (Love Joy)
Colonization was more popular
Abolitionists challenged the political possibilities, changing public conversations on slavery
*All of these ideas would influence Lincoln’s early politics and antislavery*
LINCOLN, THE STATESMAN 1830s – 1840s
Political Ideology (Whig)
Grew up during and embraced American modernization
Infrastructure – His political obsession (expanding illinois transportation!!!)
Importance of federal intervention (Ex. Transcontinental Railroad – South and North must cooperate
Interregional cooperation
Stance on Slavery
Unwise and unjust
Gradual -> Compensation -> Colonization
*Distracting Question*
Constitution restricted Congress
Lincoln’s Politics in Action
Cases focused mainly on economic and domestic
34 out of 5,000 involved African Americans
He emphasized logic and reason
Matson Case, October 1847
Lincoln asked to represent a slaveowner
Lincoln argues that these slaves were in transit and state law did not apply
Opposition argues that MAtson had brought the slaves in for an extended period of time, making them free
Lincoln lost the case
*Lincoln had yet to formulate his thoughts on abolishing slavery* (he wasn’t used to do cases and slavery was not on his mind)
Politics as Usual?
Mexican American War
Whigs claimed the war was started over slavery
Lincoln argues against the future of the Mexican Territory. NOT the cause of the war
Politics in 1848
Lincoln helped campaign against Polk in Massachusetts
Stayed in the same hotel as abolitionist politicians
Liberty Party won 15% of the Northern vote
Abolishing Slavery in Washington, D.C.
Lincoln’s bill advocated gradual, compensated abolition and the returning of fugitive slaves to owners
*Lincoln left politics as slavery became a focal point*
VII. Lincoln, the Republican: American Politics in the 1850’s
The Birth of the Republicans
1854, Nebraska Act – created outrage throughout the North
Lincoln became more prominent than he had as a Whig
Lincoln finally had a chance to address slavery
Slavery was now the glue that held the Republicans together
Lincoln crafted and promoted a moderate antislavery stance for the Republicans
Illustration
Left: Conservatives (Ex-Whigs) -> Opposed to the expansion of slavery
Middle: Abraham Lincoln -> Emphasized the intentions of the Founding Fathers, Focused on the Declaration’s principles, Advocated non-expansion
Right: Radicals (Abolitionists) -> Demanded more than just non-expansion
VIII. The Dred Scott Decision: Lincoln and the Issue of Race
Most attacked Taney’s opinion on Congressional power, Lincoln addressed African American citizenship
Race was not directly related to the slavery issue and there was no consensus among Republics on racial equality
Lincoln maintained many racist ideas of his time and place, but his personal interactions with African Americans does not show prejudice
His continued support of colonization shows his inability to see blacks as American
At the same time more northern blacks were embracing the idea of colonization
Springfield Speech, June 26, 1857
Equality should be understood as an open-ended process, not an idea fixed at a single moment in time…
I think the authors of that notable instrument intended to include all men, but they did not intend to declare all men equal in all respects… They defined with tolerable distinctness, in which respects they did consider all men created equal — equal in ‘certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’
*Interracial activism convinced whites to give up colonization and racists ideas*
*Lincoln lacked exposure to prominent African Americans*
Commander-In-Chief: African Americans and The Union Army
May 23, 1861
Frank Baker, Townsend, and Shepard Mallory escaped to the North and became the first three contrabands of the Civil War
Set a precedent for military commanders, rather than Congress or Lincoln, deal with runaway slaves
Confiscation Acts (1861 and 1862)
By 1864, 400,000 slaves would make it to Union lines, emancipating themselves
During the War
Most northern officers were fighting for the Union, not abolition
Exposure to slavery’s cruelty affected soldiers’ political stance on slavery
African Americans worked as laborers in the camp
African Americans provided military intelligence for the Union
All Black regiments
200,000 African Americans enlisted; 40,000 died fighting for freedom
Increased Northern military power
Shows Lincoln’s changing view of African Americans
By 1863, Lincoln had becomes a huge supported of African American troops
Prompted questions over black citizenship
These men are fighting for their country and their rights as citizen
African American participation in the army, whether fighting or supporting the war effort, put pressure on the government and white Americans to view them differently and to extend freedom to all blacks
Limiting Lincoln: The Border States and Constitution
Border States
Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri
Lincoln worked to maintain their loyalty throughout the war
August 1861, Fremont declared martial law in MIssouri and emancipated all slaves
Lincoln revoked the order and fired Fremont
Lincoln approached emancipation in the Border States in his typical fashion
Constitution
The South was still a part of the Union -> Maintained their rights to slavery
Enabled Congress to limit slavery’s expansion, but did not outline nationwide abolition
President lacked the power to act
Any action would be scrutinized by a hostile Supreme court (Remember Taner)
If slavery was not abolished perfectly, anyone freed by Lincoln could face re-enslavement
*Battle of Antietam Sept. 16-19, 1862* -> Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln’s Antislavery Policy
Gradual Compensation Colonization
Emancipation Proclamation
Immediate No compensation No Colonization
Advocating Emancipation: Lincoln’s Evolution During The War
Gradual -> Immediate
As commander-in-chief, Lincoln could abolish slavery in the Confederacy as a military tactic
The only way he could begin the process of ending slavery
This demanded a swift, immediate abolition of slavery
Compensation -> No Compensation
Lincoln became increasingly angry with Southerners who claimed loyalty to the Union but wanted slavery
Relying on the military tactic approach, compensation was counterintuitive (spoils of war)
Colonization -> No Colonization
Lincoln only supported voluntary colonization
August 14,1862 Speech to Black Delegation
Failure to colonization schemes
Arming of black men and African American contribution to the war
Unit 5.4 How did the Civil War and the Constitutional Amendments impact the lives of women? Gender on The Eve of the Civil War (Victorian Era)
The Importance of the War’s Geography to Women
The Confederacy -> its way of life (preserve the union)
Homes (and the women in them) to be protected
Carnage in Southern women’s backyards
Smaller white male population, wide range of men enlisted
The North -> save the Union (defend their family)
The home (and women) took a backseat
Women were far removed from battlefront
Larger male population, young men enlisted
Work Calls in the Time of War
Southern Women
Lower-class white women immediate hardship (no slaves)
Middle and Upper class white women less willing to work
Plantation wives had difficulty managing slaves
of Betsy Witherspoon
Relied on local men to help maintain order
Sold slaves instead
Paid and Gov’t work
Teachers and light industry
Middle and Upper class women did so out of necessity, not patriotic duty
Privileged women worked in War Department, Post Office, Treasury Department
Northern Women
“Too Domestic”
Mostly still rural
New farm tasks, more physically demanding labor
Traded goods and labor for male assistance
Selling to market
“Too moral” to handle the marketplace
Women internalized these ideas and struggled
Paid work
Teachers -> Permanent after the war
Worked in manufacturing -> Temporary
Southern women entered the workforce out of necessity, struggled to manage without them
Northern women entered the workforce out of necessity and social pressures. They struggled with these new duties slightly less
Nursing: A Woman’s Natural Inclination
The Medical Field
Males doctors vs. Female Nurses
Nursing at home; doctors made house calls
Hospitals -> the poor and dying
Physicians threatened by female staff
Military relied on detailed or injured soldiers to work as nurses, NOT women
Florence Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing (1860): Her discussion about why women should work as nurses during the war. (They are caring by nature so they are fit for the job)
Southern Experience: does all the dirty work
Unorganized, local response
Low mortality rates
Social hierarchy in nursing
Elite women vs. Lower class and African women
Norther Experience: looked down on the south
United States Sanitary Commission
Raised funds, made clothing and other necessities
Women advocated professionalization
Dorothea Dix
Clara Barton and The Red Cross
Increasingly accepted pay
Shared Experiences
Extension of domestic duties (nursing – natural healers and caretakers)
Elite women emphasized volunteerism
Appearance were highly criticized, fear of romancing patients
Became part of the military hierarchy, came to respect the authority of men
III. Political Affairs Absorb All Our Interests: Women Get Political
South
Women politicized through religion
Religion was part of women’s world
The Confederacy turned to religion for justification and comfort during the war
Churches closed and women took over prayer groups, gaining social influence
North
Suffrage Movement put on hold
Women reported on local politics for soldiers
Traditional forms of women’s politicking (petitions, activism) proved fruitless
Women were discouraged from challenging party politics
Women and Warfare: Fighting and Spying During the Civil War
Frances Clalin Clayton
Union Soldier
Alias, Jack Williams
Mother of three
Enlisted with her husband
Continued to serve after his death in December 1862
Smoke, drank, gambled, and swore to fit in
Sarah Pritchard
Confederate Soldier
Alias, Samuel “Sammy” Blalock
Enlisted with her husband
Identity revealed after she was injured
Immediately discharged and forced to return her $50 enlistment reward
She and her husband switched sides soon after
Jennie Hodgers
Union Soldier
Alias, Albert Cashier
Escaped Capture
Served in 40 battles
Continued living as a man after the war
Received a pension and voted
1911, moved to a Soldier and Sailors home
Maria “Bella” Boyd
Confederate Spy
Exploits known throughout the North by 1862
Known as “La Belle Rebelle” and “the Siren of the Shenandoah”
Infiltrated Union camps, eavesdropped, and gathered info through “flirtation”
Arrested 6-7 times and eventually exiled to the South
*Females soldiers challenged gender roles by demonstrating their ability to be masculine BUT…
*Their actions underscored the patriarchy by suggesting that taking on masculine traits was the most powerful way to contribute to the war effort*
Return to Normalcy?: Women’s Lives After War
Southern Women
South had lost the war -> internalized their failures to take on men’s duties
Structures of power (slavery) dismantled
Women embraced the Southern patriarchy to gain stability
Elite women worked to distinguish themselves from lower-class women
Nurses adapted their wartime healing for national healing
Women’s Associations
Memorial Day Celebrations
Memoirs
United Daughters of the Confederacy (1894)
All geared towards promoting The Lost Cause narrative
* Rather than challenging the patriarchy in the South, Southern women entered the public sphere and allied themselves with Southern men in order to re-establish a racial hierarchy *
Northern Women
Union victory boosted women’s self-confidence
July 1862, Pension Act
Gov’t aid to widows and orphans
Gov’t intrusion into women’s private lives
February 3, 1870, 15th Amendment
Right to vote NOT extended to women
Women’s political participation during the war highlighted lack of influence
Suffrage Movement reinvigorated; activist view the federal government as key
*Recognizing the importance of the public sphere, women increasingly resented their domestic status and advocated for their empowerment*
Unit 5.5 – What effects did Reconstruction have on Civil War Memory?
Reconstruction Process and Historical Period – Historical Process in American History
Ways of Remembering
Reconciliationist -> Find a way to deal with the countless dead and heal the pains of the war
Emancipationist -> Civil war as a Second Revolution; black liberation, citizenship, equality
White Supremacist -> African Americans fueled unnecessary conflict between whites; Reconstruction destroying the South
Constitutional Amendments
13th Amendment
Passed on January 31, 1865
Abolished Slavery in the U.S.
14th Amendment
Passed on July 9, 1868
Anyone born in the US is a citizen
Protected against state laws
15th Amendment
Passed on February 26, 1869
Granted black men the right to vote
Transformed the South
Lands returned to southern elite useless -> sharecropping
Right to vote taken away from Ex-Confederate soldiers/military
Freedmen exercising newfound rights, holding public office
Freedmen organizing Union Leagues
Republican considered Reconstruction completed with 15th
III. Freedmen’s Bureau
Established by Congress on March 3, 1865
Temporary; designed to assist former slaves and poor whites
Under authority of War Department
Success and Failure
Provided food, housing, medical aid to freedmen/women, marriage licenses
Established schools, Freedmen’s Bank
Offered legal assistance (veteran’s pension)
Land redistribution -> Sharecropping
Opposed by southern whites and Johnson
Lacked sufficient funds
*SHUT DOWN BY CONGRESS IN 1872*
Honoring the Dead: Memorial Day
Decoration Day
Women of Savannah, GA in 1862
May 1,1865 African Americans in NC after Lincoln’s death
May 30, 1868, Northern adoption and official recognition
Three divergent and overlapping visions of memorials
In the North (Preservation of Union)
Whites -> preservation of the Union
Blacks and abolitionists -> Black freedom
Competed for space in memorial events and monuments
In the South (Protecting Southern way of Life)
Whites -> noble sacrifice, resistance to Reconstruction
Used memorials to promote a Confederate history of the Civil War
Increasingly compatible with northern whites’ memorialization
*Harper’s Weekly, 1873 the peace between North and South did not include Blacks*
General Turned President: Ulysses S. Grant
Election of 1868
Republican Party nominated Grant
Hero of the Union Army; peace-maker
Grant supported Congressional-driven Reconstruction
Party of stability and order; keepers of the status quo
African American Empowerment
Advocate of Black enlistment during the war
Supported 14th amendment
Weary of 15th amendment -> later regretted black voting rights
Took on Ku Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan: A history of Violence
Social, political, and economic world of the white South completely transformed + military defeat = need for empowerment
Blacks faced a new levels of violence and terror
The Lore of the Clansman
Saviors of the South; protected against Republican encroachment; challenged black power; ensured chastity of white women
1996, Thomas Dixon’s Jr.’s The Clansman -> 1915, Birth of a Nation
Organization and Purpose
Local and rural; no national/regional organization
Thrived in balanced communities
Maintain political, economic, and social superiority of white race
1867-68, 10% of black politicians became victims; Republican party weakened
Targeted politicized blacks, schools, churches, businesses, whites
Congressional investigation, Republicans vs. Democrats
1870-71, Enforcement Acts – Federal effort to protect black citizens
VII. Liberal Republicans vs. Radical Reconstruction
Grant’s victory and the 15th Amendment -? Reconstruction succeeded?
African Americans had “an ample shield” to protect them
Rise of Liberal Republicans
Middle class, well educated; promoted tradition and progress; feared universal suffrage
Focused on looming class conflict and business/economic issues
Reconstruction was dangerous and radical
Extended political rights
Too much change
Angered the South -> Poor business relations
“Natural leaders” of the region should be in charge; amnesty for ex-Confederates
Opposed federal intervention against the KKK
*Rise of the New Order in the South (return to the old south -> social, economical, and political superiority of Whites*
VIII. Panic of 1873
Railroad boom after the Civil War; supported through gov’t land grants
Incredibly speculative, high risk; industry over-extended itself
Jay Cooke and Company closes bank doors, sends ripple effect through US
High rates of unemployment; unprecedented labor and class conflicts
Political Impact
Focus shifts towards economics and business
Peace between North and South key to economic success
Race issues irrelevant, a distraction
Backdoor Political Deals
Republicans weakened in South, Reconstruction falling out of favor
Congressional Election 1874, Southern Democrats regain power
Election of 1876
Rutherford B. Hayes ® vs. Samuel J Tilden (D)
Tilden wins popular vote; Tilden’s 184 electoral to Hayes’s 165 (20 votes left)
Hayes becomes president ???
Compromise of 1877
Dems gives Hayes 20 remaining votes -> Federal troops leave the South
Motivations: keep interregional peace, promote good business practices, conclude Reconstruction
Frederick Douglass: Slave, Fugitive, Abolitionist, Freedman, Politician
Reconstruction -> political and moral challenge to uphold emancipation
Those who controlled the war’s memory, shaped the future of the nation’s race relations
Experience and Participation
Appointed Ambassador to Haiti by Grant
Appointed President of Freedman’s Savings and Trust
Critical of Republican weariness; supported party line
All his children relied on his gov’t connections -> economic difficulties facing African Americans
Promoted black self-reliance, critical of black failures
*If war among the whites brought peace and liberty to blacks, what will peace among the whites bring?* (Frederick Douglass July 5,1875)
http://writerslabs.com/file?alias=History%2010.pdf&file=688189044_support_History_10_FYJeWyeUaccFL07.pdf