7 Dec
Read this. It explains the history of the incorporation doctrine, which holds that at least some of the protections in the Bill of Rights applies to actions of the state and local governments as well as the federal government via the 14th Amendment.
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/incorp.htm
6 Dec
Go here to see a good summary from PBS’ wonderful series on Jim Crow: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_enforce.html. I would use this site often over the next few chapters as well as to prepare for your test next Tuesday!!!
3 Dec
This is a wee bit profane, but pretty much on the mark and humorous. Thanks to DJ for the link!
http://www.cracked.com/article_19223_6-civil-war-myths-everyone-believes-that-are-total-b.s..html
3 Dec
Thanks to last year’s scholar Chris A. for the link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2242099/The-women-war-Haunting-images-Civil-War-depict-mothers-daughters-wives-went-fight.html
And here is the letter from the little girl who encouraged Lincoln to regrow his beard: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2240765/Grace-Bedell-Abraham-Lincoln-grew-beard-girl-11-wrote-said-ladies-like-whiskers.html
And here is a photocopy of Lee’s letter regarding joining the Confederate Army, as well as his farewell address after surrendering: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2238081/General-Lees-letter-reveals-moment-decided-resign-U-S-Army-join-Confederate-cause.html
1 Dec
1. The group in the North which was most dangerous to the Union cause was the
A. Peace Democrats.
B. Radical Republicans.
C. War Democrats.
D. Free Soil Party.
E. African Americans.
2. After the Civil War, the South gained more representation in Congress because
A. the three-fifths compromise was repealed when slaves were freed.
B. the South lost fewer voters in proportion to the North as casualties in the Civil War.
C. carpetbaggers moving south artificially swelled the population.
D. blacks voted in higher percentages than whites.
E. more states were added to the Union in the South than in the North.
3. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the states wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the 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 laws.”
The above quotation is a key clause in the
A. Black Code of South Carolina.
B. Gettysburg Address.
C. 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
D. 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
E. 15th Amendment to the Constitution.
4. As a result of the Civil War, the Northern economy d, 477-8
A. emerged more prosperous than ever before.
B. became dependent upon international trade.
C. became so prosperous that unscrupulous business practices were dramatically reduced.
D. greatly helped the day laborer.
E. saw industrial profits improve but agricultural profits fall.
5. The Civil War resulted in which of the following?
A. expanded federal powers in taxation.
B. increased influence for the federal courts.
C. the creation of the first federal social welfare agency.
D. the end of slavery.
E. all of the above are true.
6. The purpose of the Force Act of 1871 was to
A. ban the use of terror, force, or bribery by the Ku Klux Klan to prevent blacks from voting.
B. force South Carolina to accept the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
C. force the last Federal Troops from the South in exchange for acquiescence to the election of Rutherford Hayes as president.
D. collect the last of the Plains Indians and remove them to reservations in order to enable white settlement of the Great Plains.
E. ban the use of the crop-lien system to re-enslave blacks.
7. Radical Republican state governments
A. did little of value.
B. passed much desirable legislation and badly needed reforms.
C. were more corrupt than Northern state governments.
D. had all their reforms repealed by all-white “redeemer” governments.
E. collapsed before the end of the 1860s due to lack of tax revenue.
8. Which state declared its neutrality in the Civil War?
A. Oklahoma
B. Nebraska
C. Nevada
D. Indiana
E. Kentucky
9. In the 1866 congressional elections,
A. President Johnson conducted a highly successful “swing around the circle” tour.
B. radicals replaced moderates as the dominant faction in Congress.
C. voters endorsed the congressional approach to Reconstruction.
D. Republicans lost majority control of Congress.
E. the South voted strongly Democratic.
10. Robert E. Lee decided to invade the North through Pennsylvania in order to
A. deliver a decisive blow to strengthen the Northern peace movement.
B. force the Union to ease its blockade of the South.
C. cut Northern supply lines.
D. stir northern draft resisters to revolt.
E. seize Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
1 Dec
Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment read thus (emphasis mine):
“Section 1. 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 laws.”
This site (http://law.jrank.org/pages/6992/Fourteenth-Amendment.html)has a good outline of some of the things we talked about in class and that we will talk about. Notice that the first sentence is about overturning the Dred Scott decision (Ask yourself: what was the opinion of the court regarding citizenship of African-Americans in that case?).
What is important to remember is that the 14th Amendment, for the first time, made the protections of the Bill of Rights binding upon the STATES, not just the Federal government, as was the original intent of the framers of the Constitution, and especially those with anti-federalist opinions. The 14th Amendment tells STATES that they have to fulfill the obligations of the Federal Bill of Rights. This is known as the incorporation doctrine.
Make sure you understand what the two clauses– due process and equal protection– mean.
I strongly urge you to go to the link provided above and read the article thoroughly.
30 Nov
Overview from Ohio History Central
What happened in Arkanas during the Civil War and Reconstruction
Louisiana during Reconstruction
Questions for understanding:
1. Why were there competing plans for Reconstruction?
2. Why did Congress seek to assert more authority in the closing months of the Civil War?
3. Louisiana and Arkansas were captured relatively early in the Civil War. What happened in these states when they initially attempted to rejoin the Union fully?
Try to find the answers to these questions before you read the documents relating to the debate over the Wade Davis Bill, which is really a power struggle over which branch of government should reign supreme.
12 Apr
Today, April 12, 2011 marks the sesquicentennial of the first shots being fired in the US Civil War. At 4:30 am, Edmund Ruffin, a fascinating character in his own right as a scientist as well as a fire-eater, was given the honor of firing the first shots on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
Here is the carving on Stone Mountain, GA (mentioned in the I Have A Dream speech!) commemorating Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Jefferson Davis. Try to guess where the funding for this carving originated?
Here is a link about the battle: http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_sumter.html
Here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110304/us_time/08599205598100) is an interesting link about the Sons of Confederate Veterans’ attempt to get a commemorative license plate of General Nathan Bedford Forrest (Run, Forrest! Run!) and the controversy over this, since he was also a founder of the Klu Klux Klan.
30 Nov
Your topics have now been assigned to you, mostly based on your requests if you gave them tto me. They are posted on the front whiteboard. Get your project done early.
What you are eventually going to produce is a four minute presentation (not more or less), with either an audio or visual prop, and a sheet of paper suitable for posting with ten important or interesting facts about your topic.
This will be due December 9 and 10.
Examples of some weirder topics:
What naval battle was fought off the coast of France during the Civil War?
In what battle did the Confederates resort to throwing rocks at the enemy?
What were the deadliest 20 minutes of the Civil War?
Was Wilmer McLean the unluckiest man in the Civil War?
How did Stonewall Jackson die?
How did the US Sanitation Commission change medical practices on the battlefield?
Who was Stand Watie, and what did he do during the Civil War?
What improvements to weaponry were influential during the Civil War?
How witchy was Lincoln’s wife?
What role did Clara Barton play, and how has her impact continued?
Who was Jesse James?
What was Missouri’s role in the Civil War?
What role did Irish troops play in the Battle of Fredericksburg?
What do General James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson have in common?
What are some firsts about Abraham Lincoln as president?
How was Arlington National Cemetery created?
Who were the TWO Jefferson Davises of the Civil War?
How was Mary Todd Lincoln’s family involved in the Civil War?
24 Nov
Chapter 22 questions
These are due — complete– Monday, November 29.
1. Why did some freedmen find themselves re-enslaved? (Just for fun: how do the last four words on page 479 constitute a pun?) In what ways did former slaves repudiate their slave life?
2. How did “emancipation… strengthen the black family?”
3. What were exodusters, and why did they go to Kansas? (Think: What does the name signify?)
4. What evidence shows that the freedman who wrote the letter to his former master will not consider returning to his former master? What did freedom literally mean for former slaves as hinted at in this letter?
5. What did the American Missionary Association do? Why was this task so significant?
6. What was the goal of the Freedmen’s Bureau (research what the full title of this organization actually was)? Explain whether it was effective or not, and whether white Southerners were right to resent it? Think: how does this agency establish an important precedent in terms of the growth of the federal government? Why did Johnson veto renewal of this agency in 1866?
7. What factors worked against Johnson’s success as president? Include his attitudes in your answer. How had he become an acceptable running mate for Lincoln?
8. How had Reconstruction actually begun before the war was over? What was Lincoln’s plan like, and why was it criticized? How did congressional leaders counter this plan?
9. Contrast Lincoln’s legal argument regarding secession with that of the Radical Republicans. Make sure you use specific terms.
10. How did Johnson’s ascendance to the presidency throw Reconstruction plans into further turmoil? Did Johnson’s version of Reconstruction demand real change from the South? Justify your answer.
11. How did the Black Codes work? How did sharecropping help the South “solve” its labor problem?
12. What were “whitewashed rebels?” (You may need to research what “whitewashing” means.) How did emancipation threaten to INCREASE the political power of the South in the House of Representatives? What specific programs were threatened if Democrats regained political power by reuniting?
13. What was the Civil Rights Bill passed, and what did it eventually become? Think constitutionally: Why was this change in status important?
14. What was ultimately the importance of the 14th Amendment, then and now? What are its two most important phrases today?
15. Examine the quotes of Southerners scattered throughout the chapter. What emotional response did they refuse to give in the wake of their military defeat? How did their “10 percent” governments reinforce this impression?
16. What did Johnson hope to accomplish with his “Swing ‘Round the Circle?” How did that turn out?
17. What political realities seemed to ensure that the Republicans would vanquish “Old Andy?” How was the Republican party divided? Who were the radicals’ leaders? How did the radicals’ plans clash with those of the moderate Republicans?
18. How did the Reconstruction Amendments disappoint those who supported women’s rights, and how did they respond?
19. How was the 15th Amendment more radical than the 14th?
20 How did African Americans flex their political muscle during the Reconstruction era? Why were these called “radical regimes?”
21. What’s the difference between scalawags and carpetbaggers? What offense were they accused of by Southerners?
22. Describe the creation of the Klan. What was their agenda?
23. What methods were used to disenfranchise blacks after the Civil War? (And how did they get away with it?
24. What trap did the radical Republicans lay to try to get rid of Johnson as president? What role did Edwin Stanton play in this trap?
25. How close did Johnson come to being removed from office? Why would the president of the Senate have been next in line to become president if Johnson had been removed?
26. What was “Seward’s Folly?” Did it pay off?
27. Some historians have called the Civil Rights era a “Second Reconstruction?” Why was this second reconstruction necessary?
28. What are Eric Foner’s views of Reconstruction?
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