The Civil War
Where was the first field battle of the Civil War, and what was the result?
The Battle of Bull Run was fought in July 1861 in Virginia, not far from Washington, DC. The Union lost the battle, and realized the war would be longer and more challenging than first expected.
What political group was considered the driving force behind Reconstruction, and favored relatively harsh treatment of the former Confederate states?
Radical Republicans
Who took over the Presidency from Abraham Lincoln but was a poor President and was nearly impeached by his own Republican party in 1868?
Andrew Johnson
What term refers to a stream or smaller river that feeds into a larger river?
Tributary
Name one advantage held by the North in the Civil War.
Larger population, more diverse and productive economy, greater naval power, better transportation infrastructure, better technology, support of (some of) black population, etc.
Name the two main theaters of the Civil War. What was the main goal of each theater?
East: Control of Virginia, defeat of the opposing Army, and capture of the opposing capital
West: Control of the Mississippi River
Name two key political accomplishments of the Radical Republicans during the Reconstruction period.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, the 14th Amendment, the Reconstruction Acts, the 15th Amendment
What Union General struggled against Lee early in the war, was removed by Lincoln in 1862, and then ran for President against Lincoln as a Democrat in 1864?
George McClellan
What term means to reject or defeat something that has already been decided?
Override
Describe Lincoln's view of slavery at the beginning of the war, and how it shifted as the war progressed. What was a strategic military consideration which may have impacted Lincoln's decisionmaking?
Lincoln was anti-slavery from the beginning, but before the war began he prioritized stopping the expansion of slavery rather than eliminating slavery in the South. As the war progressed, he came to see that emancipation could also harm the South's war effort by depriving the South of "property" in the form of slaves and preventing Europe from aligning with the South due to moral considerations. He declared the Emancipation Proclamation to free slaves in the South, effective January 1, 1863.
As of June 1863, describe the military momentum and strategy in the Eastern theater.
The Confederacy, led by Robert E. Lee and other strong generals, had won the vast majority of victories in Virginia, most recent Chancellorsville, and was preparing to invade the North for a second time. The South had lost General Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville, but believed that success on Northern territory could impress France and Britain and potentially gain their support.
Name one way in which life for black people in the South significantly improved during Reconstruction, and one way in which it did not significantly improve.
Voting rights, political representation, and educational opportunities improved for many black people.
Economic opportunity was often very limited due to the pervasive sharecropping economy in the South, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan and other secret societies led to tremendous violence against black people.
This general was responsible for the "March to the Sea" that contributed to Confederate surrender late in the war.
William Tecumseh Sherman
What term describes a strategy of bringing war to the entire society, not just the military? When was this strategy most clearly seen in the Civil War?
Total War, as demonstrated by the destruction of civilian targets during Sherman's March to the Sea
What was the main problem for the Army of the Potomac during 1861-1863 in the Eastern theater? How did they resolve this problem?
The North had poor, passive generals who struggled against Robert E. Lee. In 1864, Lincoln appointed Grant to be head of all Union armies, and the North became much more aggressive.
Name two key roles played by women during the Civil War.
Medical care, spying, managing the "home front" including families, schools, businesses, etc.
Name two restrictions on voting rights which emerged after Reconstruction and lasted into the 20th century.
Poll tax, literacy test, violence at polling locations
What former slave and famous black abolitionist had a strong influence on Lincoln's views on slavery and emancipation during the Civil War, and was an important reformer during the Reconstruction period?
Frederick Douglass
What did the term "carpetbagger" mean in the Reconstruction period? What does it mean in today's political world?
Today, the term refers to someone who moved to a state or area they are not from, just to run for a political position.
Describe the main military goals and strategy for the North and South.
North: The North needed to subdue the South and reunite the country. Their early strategy was the "Anaconda Plan" which sought to blockade Southern ports and prevent Southern cotton exports, gain control of the Mississippi, and capture Richmond, the Confederate capital.
South: The South had already declared independence and needed only to convince the North it was not worth fighting to restore the Union. They had no ambition or need to invade or capture Union territory, and their strategy was to defend as much Southern territory as possible until the North became exhausted by the war effort. The South also hoped England and France would support them, in order to protect cotton supplies.
What period of the war was generally considered the bloodiest, and why?
Grant's Overland Campaign during summer 1864, including the Battle of the Wilderness, was an extremely bloody stretch of the war as Grant was very aggressive and relatively unconcerned with increasing casualties.
What was the main goal of Jim Crow laws passed in many Southern states in the late 1800s? What is the legal principle that was upheld by the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision, which lasted all the way until the 1950s?
The goal was racial segregation of nearly all aspects of life in the South. Plessy v. Ferguson established the principle of "separate but equal" which made segregation legal until it was overturned in the 1950s.
What commander led the 20th Maine Regiment's resistance on Little Round Top at Gettysburg, and later received the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House?
Joshua Chamberlain
What is habeus corpus?
A legal writ, or order, that guarantees a prisoner the right to be heard in court.
How does the idea of a "political pendulum" apply to the reconstruction period, and American politics in general?
One person or party is never able to hold absolute control for long, as the laws of "political gravity" will swing to the other side.
"Absolute power corrupts absolutely" means that without rivalry and challenge to one party's ideas, the party in power will become lazy and corrupt, and lose favor with the people.