Lecture 5.1: Contextualizing Period Five

Overview

• Time Period: 1844-1877
• Key Events: Civil War and Reconstruction
• Learning Objective: Explain the context of sectional conflicts from 1844 to 1877.

Key Concepts

U.S. Expansion and Migration

• Expansionist Foreign Policy:

  • U.S. becomes more connected globally.
  • Engaged in the Mexican-American War (1845), annexing Texas and gaining the Mexican Cession.
  • Oregon Territory dispute with Great Britain settled along the 49th parallel.

• Manifest Destiny:

  • Driven by economic and security interests.
  • Large land acquisitions: Louisiana Purchase, annexation of Texas, Mexican-American War, Oregon Territory.
  • Mining and railroad opportunities lure settlers west.

• Migration:

  • First large wave from Ireland (due to Potato Famine) and Germany (political instability).

Debates on Rights and Citizenship

• Nativism:

  • Anti-immigrant sentiments, especially against Irish and Germans.
  • Targeted Chinese immigrants on the West Coast, leading to the Chinese Exclusion Act.

• African American Rights:

  • Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857): African Americans not considered citizens; slaves considered property.

• Native American Citizenship:

  • Not granted until 1924.

Civil War and Sectional Divisions

• Slavery Expansion:

  • Compromise of 1850 attempted to balance slavery interests.
  • Lincoln's election led to Southern secession (beginning with South Carolina).

• Confederate Ideology:

  • Slavery central to Southern society (Cornerstone Speech by Alexander Stephens).

• Abolitionist Movement:

  • Grew stronger in the North; Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" influential.

Political Changes

• Political Parties:
  • Rise of the Republican Party; anti-slavery platform.
  • Democratic Party split over slavery.

Civil War Outcomes

• Union Victory:
  • Northern advantages: manpower, industrial resources, leadership (Lincoln), and emancipation.
  • Emancipation Proclamation added moral cause, preventing British support for Confederacy.

Reconstruction

• Reconstruction Amendments:

  • 13th Amendment: Abolished slavery.
  • 14th Amendment: Guaranteed citizenship rights.
  • 15th Amendment: Voting rights for male citizens.

• End of Reconstruction:

  • Compromise of 1877 ended military enforcement in the South.
  • Decline in African American rights, rise of Jim Crow laws.

Federal and State Relations

• Post-war, federal supremacy over states established.
• Citizenship redefined, though women's and Native American rights lagged.

Recap

• Manifest Destiny drives U.S. expansion.
• Slavery debates lead to Civil War.
• North and South diverge over slavery.
• Political compromise fails, leading to Southern secession.
• Reconstruction temporarily expands rights but many gains are lost over time.

Note: Check resources like apushlights.com for further practice and study materials.