Week 12 American Studies 5 May 2014

1. Week 12American Studies5 May 2014 The Civil War Lincoln The 13th Amendment

2. The Two Sides The North, a.k.a. The South, a.k.a. The Confederate States of America The Confederacy Rebels Secessionists, (Secesh) Gray coats Johnny Reb The War Between the States or the War of Northern Agression • The United States of America • The Union • Yankees • Federals • Blue coats • Uncle Sam • The Civil War

3. The reason for the war: From the Mississippi Declaration of Secession . . . Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin.

4. The Emancipation Proclamation 1863 • Freed slaves held in rebel territory • Stated purpose—to weaken the South and end the war sooner • Did not free slaves held in Union territory • Did not end Slavery

6. Amendment XIII • Passed by House of Representatives on Jan. 31, 1865 • Ended slavery in a way that could not be overturned.

7. Copperheads—Northerners who sympathized with the South. George McClellan was the top general in the Union Army. He put together a huge, well-trained, well equipped force, but was reluctant to engage the South in battle. Lincoln eventually replaced him with U.S. Grant. McClellan then ran against Lincoln in the 1864 presidential race.

8. A Cabinet of Rivals • Some presidents appoint their closest and most loyal friends to the cabinet. • Lincoln chose the best and brightest—including men who were his rivals and who thought they could do a better job of being president.

10. Edwin P. Stanton. Lincoln had reason to hate this man, still he chose him to be Secretary of War because he was the best man for the job. Sec. of the Navy, Gideon Welles

11. Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) Spielberg’s film follows 56-year-old Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, from January of 1865 until his death in April. The portrait on the left was taken in 1864.

12. Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) The First Lady, was 47 at the time the film takes place. The photograph above shows her at 43. Her son Willie died in the White House in 1862. She was still grieving and determined to prevent her oldest son Robert from dying in the war.

13. Robert Todd Lincoln (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) Robert Todd Lincoln was the president’s eldest son, a 22-year-old Harvard graduate who would later become Secretary of War under Presidents Garfield and Chester A. Arthur.

14. Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones) A 73-year-old U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania, he was a powerful Radical Republican who served as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. He put pressure on Lincoln to act more quickly to end slavery.

15. William H. Seward (David Strathairn) Secretary of State and Lincoln’s closest advisor. Once Lincoln’s rival for the Presidency, the two developed an excellent working relationship.

16. Ulysses S. Grant (Jared Harris), the man who ultimately replaced McClellan and won the war. He rose through the ranks on the strength of his victories. He won the Battle of Vicksburg and gave the North control of the Mississippi River. Things began to go the North’s way when Lincoln put Grant in command of the entire army.

17. Francis Preston Blair, Sr. (Hal Holbrook) A former chairman of the Republican Convention, Blair attempted to broker a peace with Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1864, resulting in the “Peace Conference” of February 1865. A conservative Republican, he was willing to accept a peace agreement that would allow the South to keep their slaves.

18. Fernando Wood (Lee Pace) who was born in 1812, represented New York in Congress after serving as mayor of New York City. Wood was a “Copperhead”—a northerner who sympathized with the South. He was one of the main opponents of the 13th Amendment.

19. Alexander Hamilton Stephens (Jackie Earle Haley), Vice-President of the Confederacy. He and Lincoln had been in Congress together and had been friends despite their political differences. Stevens gave a speech justifying secession in which he called slavery the “cornerstone” of the southern way of life. He was the head of a peace delegation that was trying to negotiate a peace treaty that would allow the South to keep slavery.

20. Elizabeth Keckley(Gloria Reuben) A slave whose skill as a dress maker and fashion designer allowed her to buy her freedom and the freedom of her children, she became Mary Todd Lincoln’s confidant. Her son died fighting for the Union.

21. James Mitchell Ashley (David Costabile) represented Montana in Congress and was a chairman to the Committee on Territories. Lincoln counted on him to get the 13th Amendment passed.