Racism and the KKK

Even with the Freedmen's Bureau, many blacks were uneducated and considered the equivalent of dumb beasts. However, contrary to popular white belief, many blacks were well-educated and influential. One of these blacks was Henry McNeal Turner, a preacher. He was elected to the Georgia General Assembly along with a few other blacks. They were removed soon after by the mostly Democratic Legislature. The federal government protested and they were reinstated, but these black representatives held little power. Progress like this was frowned upon by many whites but to some it was an outrage, and some people with harsh views towards African Americans formed a secret  society called the Klu Klux Klan, or KKK. The KKK's initial goal was to keep blacks from voting but when that failed they attempted to minimize the rights of blacks in the south. Their methods are often violent, in a more famous story the KKK was responsible for the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama. Four young black girls were killed, this action prompted President Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act. Thankfully, their acts of terror have experienced a severe decline in recent times since the crimes they could formerly commit with no fear of retribution now carry the death penalty. 

After the War

Bringing the two halves of the nation back together after the war was no small task, especially after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's plan for reconstruction was simple: 

• Execute a quick return to the Union
• Pardon the Southerners if they took an oath of allegiance 
• After 10% of voters in a state had taken the oath, the state could rejoin and form a state government.

When Johnson took over the presidency he agreed with Lincoln's plan but he also wanted states to ratify the 13th amendment, making slavery illegal (see full text here), and nullify the ordinances of secession. Congress was unhappy with this "soft" reconstruction and wanted the states under military rule and they wanted them to ratify the 14th amendment as well. This stated that all people born or naturalized on US soil were citizens, regardless of race, also that no state would be allowed to deny the "privileges and immunities" of citizens, deprive a person of life, liberty,or property without "due process of law," or deny a person "equal protection of the laws." The 14th was not the last of the "Reconstruction Amendments," there was a 15th as well. This amendment stated that all men of any race, color, or previous condition of servitude were allowed to vote. Even with these amendments to the constitution, blacks were not equal to whites and many whites treated them as if they were still their servants. They considered blacks violent, dirty, and uneducated. The Freedmen's bureau was founded to help blacks get out of these stereotypes. With the help of Northern schoolteachers the Bureau set up many primary and technical schools for blacks across the nation. It also helped create schools for blacks to learn how to teach. The bureau was the main reason African Americans progressed at all.

Significant Battles

Of the more than 10,000 battles that were fought in the Civil war, many were historically insignificant. In fact, only about nine battles are considered "well-known." Among them are the battles of Gettysburg and Chickamauga and the Atlanta Campaign. Gettysburg was the first of these battles, it was also the bloodiest. Actually, it was the bloodiest battle of the Civil war. General Lee, cocky from a recent win, decided to lead an attack into Union territory in order to replenish supplies for his troops. Looking back, this was a very rash decision, the Confederacy's loss crippled their troops, exhausted the remainder of their supplies, and greatly increased Union morale. It also created the platform for the Gettysburg Address, another morale lifter. After the Battle of Gettysburg came Chickamauga. This battle was technically a Confederate victory, but Braggs' refusal to pursue the Union allowed them to escape safely to Chattanooga. The Atlanta campaign - which led to Sherman's March to Sea - was possibly the most significant series of battles in the war. Sherman's siege of Atlanta was a major morale crusher to the south, and it wiped out their supply lines. But this was not nearly as bad as what was about to come: The March to the Sea. This was the first occurrence of "total war." Sherman's army swept through Georgia on a path of destruction from Atlanta to Savannah. In their wake they left farms stripped of their crops and terrified civilians. Word of "Sherman's Devils" swept through the countryside, the entire south was petrified that Sherman was on his way to their farms next. This march and the Union's blockade (A naval wall blocking outside ships from coming to the south's aid with rations, clothes, and weapons) were the final straws. Weeks later, the Confederacy surrendered. However, this war's horrors weren't over yet, the Confederacy's treatment of their prisoners came as the final demonstration of the Civil war's brutality. One prison in particular, Andersonville, stood out. As a prison designed for 10,000 it held 30,000! Prisoners inside were subject to awful treatment, swarms of insects, contaminated water, malnutrition, and diseases. Because of the desperate state of the war the infantry stationed to guard the prisoners were called away and replaced by local militia. The militia's way of controlling the prisoners was the "Dead Line." This was a line they were not allowed to cross. If they did attempt to get to the other side there was a second wall, cannons, guard towers, and packs of dogs. In all, 45000 prisoners died of malnutrition alone.

Antietam and its results

Shortly after the secession of the southern states, the Civil war began. Many battles were fought in this war, in fact the Civil War is considered the bloodiest war in history! But out of all the casualties in this war, (about 1,100,000) the most were recorded during the first day of the Battle of Antietam. This Battle was also one of the most significant in the war. Not only did the Union repel a direct invasion but the Confederacy's loss also impeded any potential alliances with European powers such as Britain of France, it also created a platform for the Emancipation Proclamation. This proclamation was a work of tactical genius on Lincoln's part. Basically the proclamation meant that if the Union won the war, all slaves would be free, with the exception of the slaves in border states. Lincoln's hope was that if the slaves knew they would be free in the case of a Union victory they would revolt against their masters and do their best to hinder the South's victories. The President's other motivation was the fact that the European countries were very close to recognizing the Confederacy as a  legitimate government. The only thing stopping them was slavery, which they detested. By creating the Proclamation the other countries were prevented from taking a stand until the war was resolved and it was clear whether or not the Confederacy would remain independent or not.

Honest Abe

The election of 1860 was the final straw for the south: Abraham Lincoln, a member of the new Republican Party, was voted President of the United States. He was the first Republican President and his views contrasted sharply with those of the southern states. Republicans in this time period were determined to keep slavery confined to the old south, or maybe even abolish it altogether! Lincoln's victory started a landslide of secessions.  The first to go was South Carolina, it was followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia. Georgia's secession was chiefly caused by the pro-slavery mindset of most of it's citizens. However, not all Georgians were in favor of secession, in fact the final count of the vote was 50,243 in favor of secession to 37,123 against. One very vocal Unionist (those against secession) was Alexander Stephens. Although he held Unionist views, after Georgia's secession he accepted the role of Vice President of the Confederacy  On March 21, 1861, he spoke about why the South wanted to secede, these were his exact words: 

"The prevailing ideas entertained by Thomas Jefferson and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old Constitution were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature - that it was wrong in principle - socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that somehow or other, in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent [temporary] and pass away. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. . . . and the idea of a government built upon it. . . . Our new government [the Confederate States of America] is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid - its cornerstone rests - upon the great truth that the Negro is not equal to the white man. That slavery - subordination to the superior race - is his natural and moral condition. This - our new [Confederate] government - is the first in the history of the world based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth"

The OTHER causes

In the last post, the main cause of the Civil War (slavery) was discussed. However, some other causes were mentioned, the second most important of these was States' Rights. States' Rights were the powers not awarded to the federal government. Many people in the South believed that it should be up to the state whether or not it should be a slave state or a free state. In order to try and remedy this issue, the federal government passed the Missouri compromise. This compromise stated that and state below 36º 30' was a slave state and any state above that line -except Missouri- was free. This compromise worked for a time but the ruling of the Dred Scott Case overturned the act. The Dred Scott v. Sanford was a legal suit where a slave (Dred Scott) claimed that since he had lived in a free state for a period of time, he was now free. This case was taken to the Supreme court and the justices ruled:

1. That since slaves were not citizens of the United States and could not sue in Federal courts.
2. The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories.
3. Dred Scott was still a slave.

With the Missouri Compromise overturned, a new act was introduced; The Compromise of 1850. This compromise brought California into the US as a free state and Texas as a slave state. It also created New Mexico and Utah, these states were given the right of "popular sovereignty" which allowed the citizens of said states vote on whether or not to be a slave state. The slave trade was also banned in Washington D.C. The most controversial part of the compromise was the Fugitive Slave act, this act required citizens to help recover runaway slaves. This compromise alleviated arguments for a while but inevitably caused more controversy. This resulted in the Kansas-Nebraska act (also called the Bleeding Kansas act). This created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and also gave the new territories popular sovereignty. The Kansas- Nebraska act was the last legal attempt to unite the North and South once and for all.

Why did it happen?

The Civil War was possibly the most important war in US history (other than the Revolutionary War, of course). This series of brutal battles created the basis of the United States today. One thing historians can never agree upon though is the cause of the Civil war, was it the differences in lifestyle in the North and South? Or was the South's adamancy for states' rights? Another widespread belief is that the election of Abraham Lincoln fueled the flames of war. Even though all of these are highly plausible causes, the reason behind is mostly thought to be slavery. The South wanted to keep their slaves, they argued that they needed them to keep their plantations functioning. The lifestyle of southerners was built off of slave labor, on the other hand, the northern populace reasoned that it was unjust to own another human being. They wanted to abolish the south's "peculiar institution" once and for all. The argument between  the two sides of the country resulted in many compromises and acts, none of which solved the problem. Granted, they mollified the supporters on either side, but they were temporary solutions at best. This difference in opinion was what widened the rift between north and south to an impassible girth.