The Union Preserved and A New
Birth of Freedom
Hyperlinked materials are considered part of each lecture
and should be reviewed.
The Civil War resulted in the loss of over 620,000
American lives, the assassination of President Lincoln (read
the
Harpers Weekly
)
and the devastation of the South. At the same time, over
four million people were freed from slavery. The South was
economically devastated and socially revolutionized by
emancipation. The North was transformed by the rapid
industrialization developed to fuel the war effort. The
Civil War resolved several problems which had plagued the
United States. The theory of secession had failed and the
Union was perpetual. The Constitution was the supreme law of
the land, although states rights continued as expressed and
implied by the Founding Fathers. Slavery was destroyed and
the aristocratic plantation economy was no longer viable in
its original design. Although some problems had been
resolved, new challenges/problems had been created:
*How would the South rebuild its
society and economy?
*What rights did former slaves have
in American society?
*How should these rights be
protected?
*Should the former states of the
Confederacy be treated as states that had never left the
Union or as conquered territory subject to military
occupation?
*What were the conditions for a
state to be restored as a member of the Union?
*What punishment should be given to
Confederate leaders?
*Who had the authority to lead
Reconstruction--the Congress or the President?
*What changes had taken place and
were taking place in the new United States: Politically,
Economically, Socially?
The answer to most of these
questions will be covered in HIS 154. However, three
amendments to the Constitution were necessary to formalize
some specific components of post Civil War society. Key
points are cited below:
13th Amendment - Abolished Slavery
in the United States and any place subject to their
jurisdiction.
14th Amendment - "All persons born
or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and
of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or
immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any
State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property
without due process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law."
15th Amendment - "The right of
citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by any State on account of
race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
Although all these amendments were
necessary and crucial after the Civil War, what is the
impact of the Fourteenth Amendment today? Think of the
numerous applications of "equal protection under the law".
Consider the relationship of the first sentence of this
amendment as related to immigration today.
Another Civil War issue, what about women
who had encumbered non-traditional gender roles in industry
and business, farms and plantations, and served as military
nurses? Would equal social, economic and political rights be
granted? Although the extension of voting rights was
discussed, we know that fifty years would pass before it
would be added to the Constitution.
In many ways, the Civil War was a
"revolutionary war". The evolution of democracy, individual
rights and a modern social, economic, political and
technological systems had escalated at a rapid pace. The
future was unclear--but it would be a different and
hopefully better United States of America-- expanding the
phrase "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among
these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
The war profoundly changed the
nation, altering its political institutions, its economy,
and its values. Secession was dead, and power was
concentrated in the Federal Government at the expense of the
states. Slavery had been abolished, the South's wealth
destroyed. Industry was stimulated and, with the
pro-business Republican Party dominant, the government now
played a much more active role in the economy. But the war
had a high spiritual cost: sectional bitterness, a greater
tolerance of corruption, moral complacency, and a loss of
much of the idealism that had characterized the United
States before the war.
What problems of equality continue
to be an issue for our society and for you as an individual?
What legacies of the Civil War
continues to plague the United States?
Was the Civil War inevitable?
Was sectionalism, slavery or states
rights the primary cause of the Civil War?
Was this a Civil War or The
Southern War of Independence or The War of Northern
Aggression?
Consider Civil Wars raging in the
world today--where are they and what are the causes?
As we complete this course, you
might be very interested in how historians and the general
public have evaluated the Presidents of the United States
The
Ranking of the Presidents.
(C-Span
1999)
In closing, please apply the theory
of Multiple Factors of Continuity and Change in
History as you assess any of these questions asked,
historical topics addressed
or current events. Seldom are there "single causes" of
anything is history--you must examine "multiple causes" and
factors of continuity and change including:
Geography and Natural Environment
Economic Systems
Political Systems
Social Class Systems
Religious/Moral/Philosophical
Beliefs
Technology
Human Choice
Many Others
KNOW THE FACTS, SEEK THE TRUTH!!
Our textbook offers a very comprehensive Online Student
Learning Center. Click on the link below, Select the
appropriate chapter and you will have access to: Chapter
Objectives, Chapter in Perspective, Chapter Overview, numerous
Interactive Activities, Primary Source documents and my
favorite--Internet Exercises/Recommended Sites Related to the
Specific Topics
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072417722/student_view0/
Folk Music of American History: Music and Lyrics
(highly recommended music before, during or after reading
cyberlectures!)
Additional
Folk Music and Lyrics