History of the US Civil War - Assignment Example

History of the US Civil War Order No: 179112 No of pages: 6 Premium – 6530 Introduction: There were many contributing factors that led to the Civil War in the United States. Some of these incidents that brewed up in the different areas were the key factors that finally led to the devastating Civil War where there was great loss of life and property. Question – 1 a) The Wilmot Proviso: The Wilmot Proviso was introduced by David Wilmot, a Democratic Representative in Pennsylvania on August 8th, 1846, just two months after the outbreak of war against Mexico. James Polk desired to expand territory in the West which caused a battle to ensue, over the expansion of slavery in the North and South. This political issue was vehemently debated and the Wilmot Proviso was passed, which banned slavery in any territory that was acquired from Mexico. President Polk and other Southerners were not in favor of the Wilmot Proviso. Several times the Wilmot Proviso was passed in the House of Representatives, but never in the Senate and so never became a law. Free Soil Party: Due to political rivalry in New York State, the Free Soil Party was formed. The Democratic Party was made up of opposing contending factions – the Barnburners who were strongly opposed to slavery on one side and the Hunkers, who were neutral or supported slavery. The nagging issue of slavery had a great impact on both the National Parties in the 1844 elections, but somehow the Southern Democratic Forces managed to engineer the nomination of pro slavery and enabled a Polk victory. In the 1848 elections, Van Buren, together with other anti- slavery forces formed the Free Soil Party. Van Buren and his running mate Charles Francis Adams ran on the slogan, “free soil, free speech, free labor and free men”. The Compromise of 1850: The Missouri Compromise was President Polk’s alternative to the Wilmot Proviso. This 1820 law allowed Missouri to be a slave state and Maine a free state. Polk wanted to extend the Missouri Compromise West to the Pacific Ocean. By doing this, it would have allowed slavery below the latitudes 36’ and 30’ (present day South California, Arizona and Mexico) and would have prevented slavery above it. (Present day Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho, Utah and Northern half of California) Question 2: The Kansas Nebraska Act and the American Civil War: On May 30th 1854, the US passed the Kansas Nebraska Act, which allowed the people of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves for or against slavery. The repeal on the ban of slavery in the Northern states erupted great opposition all over the North. The Kansas Nebraska Act also led to a mini Civil War called “Bleeding Kansas which erupted in 1856. Both Northerners and Southerners flooded Kansas with determination to convert the future state to their view on slavery. Question 3: The Dred Scot Decision: One of the most controversial issues ever of the US courtroom was the Dred Scot Decision. Dred Scot was a slave of John Emerson, a citizen of Missouri. Both Scot and Emerson spent a lot of time in slavery prohibited areas of Illinois and Wisconsin. After Emerson’s death, Scot fought for his freedom, claiming that his journey to free soil had made him free. He lost his case and then came to be in the possession of an abolitionist called John Sanford who helped Scot take his case to the Federal court. In 1857, the case came up in the Supreme Court, but the court was also divided along sectional lines as was the country and hence the decision was also divided. While the Liberal Justice said that Scot should be freed under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, the other half said that the matter belonged in the State Courts. In such a condition, the court could not arrive at a proper decision. The Lincoln Douglas Debates: In 1858, the campaign for the Illinois Senatorial Seat had two people pitted against each other. One was the leading Democratic figure Stephen A. Douglas who was the nominee for the Democratic Party Senate and the other was Abraham Lincoln who was a successful lawyer and politician and who was the nominee of the Republican Senate. Reluctantly, Douglas tried to meet his opponent in a series of debates held in the state. There were a total of seven debates which took place at Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton respectively. Both of them were campaigning for the election of state representatives and senators. Though Abraham Lincoln lost the election, these debates served to launch him into National prominence and were later instrumental in helping him to get elected as the President of the United States. Freeport Doctrine: Douglas had emphatically stated that a Territory can, by lawful means, can do away with slavery even before the formation of a State Constitution. The response to this was known as the “Freeport Doctrine” alienated the Southern slave owners from Douglas. He also did not want Dred Scot to gain popular sovereignty. On the other hand Lincoln’s powerful oration made him a National political figure which finally led him to become President of the United States in 1860 and the Civil War was on. The debate at Freeport was attended by thousands of people and it went on for several hours which included booing and applauding alternately all through the debate. The Western Theater: The Civil War Military Operations are segregated into three different theaters called “The Eastern Theater, The Western Theater and the Trans – Mississippi Theater. The Western Theater comprised of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Tennessee. By January 1862, the disunity among the command was quite apparent as they could not agree on a proper strategy for operations in the Western Theater. Except for very minor victories nothing much happened. Then on February 1st 1862, they moved against Fort Henry which had poor defenses and could not measure up to the Confederates. Brig. Gen. Lloyd Tilghman withdrew his garrisons and the Tennessee River was open for future Union Operations in the South. On 15th of February, the Confederate forces under the leadership of Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attempted to escape but did not succeed. Grant assaulted the weakened Confederates who were trapped inside the Fort and town of Dover, Tennessee. Finally they surrendered and handed over the much needed ammunition and supplies to Grant. These were the first significant Union victories in the war, where two major rivers became available for attacks on Tennessee. Both Beauregard and Johnston concentrated their forces in Corinth, Tennessee by late March. On April 6th, the combined armies of the Confederates launched a surprise dawn attack on Grant in Shiloh. Grant launched a counter attack in which Johnston lost his life and the Confederates retreated. Grant’s Army moved from Shiloh slowly towards the fortified city of Corinth and launched an attack. On May 29th Beauregard withdrew without any hostilities. Gen. Robert E. Lee: General Robert E. Lee was the son of a Revolutionary War hero called “Light Horse” Harry Lee. In 1862, during the war, he was given his first field command. Due to the failings of his superiors, his “Cheat Mountain Campaign” failed miserably. His entire tenure in the region was unpleasant and he was called away to Richmond and was made advisor to the President. His position gave him influenced over the military operations. When Johnston launched his attack at Seven Pines, Davis and Lee fought back and Johnston was injured. In a daring move, later in the month, Lee left a small army at Richmond and crossed the Chickahominy to battle against the One Union Corps north of the river. In what was called “The Seven Days Battles”, the Confederates were badly defeated and Lee achieved the goal of removing McClellan’s army from the gates of Richmond. To this day, Lee is known as the idol of the South. George B. McClellan: In 1861, McClellan returned to service when hostilities broke out and was given the command of the Federal Forces in West Virginia. He was successful in defeating forces in minor incidents and came to be known as “Young Napoleon”. In the spring of 1862, McClellan launched what is called the “Peninsular Campaign” in which he had to take the Confederate capital Richmond. He did not achieve this and Lincoln was angry with him. The press who was looking forward to some good action, branded the general as “Mac the Unready”. References: From the Wilmot Proviso to the Compromise of 1850 www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi/aa/presidents/polk/wilmot_1 Free Soil Party www.u-s-history.com/pages/h139.html The American Civil War/ Overview/ Western Theater www.civilwarhome.com/atlanta.htm Robert Edward Lee/ Biography www.civilwarhome.com/leebio.htm George B. McClellan www.u-s-history.com/pages/h116.html President Polks alternative to the Wilmot Proviso was to fall back on the Missouri Compromise, an 1820 law that permitted Missouri to be admitted as a slave state with Maine as a free state. Polk recommended extending the line of the Missouri Compromise west to the Pacific Ocean. That would have allowed slavery below the 36 30 latitude line (present-day southern California, New Mexico, and Arizona) and forbid it above (present-day Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and the northern half of California). Was slavery ultimately allowed in the new territory? Read More