1. Georgia Studies Unit 4: Civil War and Reconstruction
Lesson 1: Antebellum Georgia
Study Presentation

2. Lesson 1: Antebellum Georgia
Essential Question
-How do political policies influence growth and development?
-How did national political issues lead to the decision for Southern states to secede from the Union?

3. Differences: North and South
Class Structure: North generally based on wealth; South based on wealth and being “born into the right family”
Slavery: Practice of forcing a person, that was considered property, to work for you with no pay and with no rights. North wanted it abolished (done away with); South supported it
Southern plantation system consisted of large and small categories; the wealthiest had the most land and the most slaves
Economy: Northern based on mining, industry, banks, stores, and railroads; Southern based on agriculture, including cotton, rice, and indigo
Southerners resented tariffs, which raised import prices; the South imported more than the North

4. States’ Rights and Nullification
States’ rights: Beliefs that the state’s interests take precedence over interests of national government
Northern states believed that all states should abide by laws made by the national government
Southern states believed that states had right to govern themselves and decide what would be best for their own situation
Many Southern states believed that if the US Government created laws that took away their right to own slaves then those states had the right to nullify those laws.
Nullification-Legal theory that states have a right to nullify, or invalidate, a law which that state viewed as unconstitutional.

5. The Missouri Compromise
Compromise (agreement or settlement) between the northern and southern states; approved in 1820.
Maine entered the Union as a free state, and Missouri entered as a slave state
11 states allowed slavery and 11 states did not
Prohibited slavery north of 36º20’ latitude (the southern border of Missouri), and included Louisiana Territory lands west of Missouri
Temporarily solved slavery controversy between the states

6. The Compromise of 1850
Compromise between northern and southern states in 1850
California would enter Union as a free state
New Mexico territory would not become part of Texas or a guaranteed slave state
The District of Columbia would no longer trade slaves, but slave owners there could keep their slaves
Runaway slaves could be returned to their owners in slave states
Utah and New Mexico territories could decide if they wanted to allow slaves or not

7. The Georgia Platform
The Georgia Platform-Statement from the Georgia Convention in response to the Compromise of Supported by Union states, the Georgia Platform stated that the Southern states would agree to follow the Compromise of 1850 (and not leave the Union) as long as northern states would no longer attempt to take away rights from southern states.

8. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska in 1854; nullified the Missouri Compromise and broke the peace created by the Compromise of 1850
Led to the creation of the Republican Party and further divided the northern and southern states
Those territories had right of popular sovereignty
Popular sovereignty: When a territory asked for statehood, the people could vote on slavery
Freesoilers in those territories fought against Abolitionists and proslavery supporters

9. The Dred Scott Supreme Court Case and Decision
Supreme Court ruling in 1857
A slave filed suit after he lived in free states with his owner but was returned to slave state
Court ruled that slaves were not citizens and could not file lawsuits
Court also ruled that Congress could not stop slavery in the territories
Decision further separated the North and South

10. The Abolitionists
Led the movement to do away with slavery. Many northern whites, some southern whites, and free blacks were involved
Made speeches, wrote books and articles, and offered their homes as safe houses for runaway slaves
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), by Harriet Beecher Stowe, portrayed slavery’s evils; the book sold more than 1 million copies
Many abolitionists assisted slaves in their escape from southern states to the north. Many of these slaves escaped on the Underground Railroad.
The Underground Railroad was not a railroad or underground but instead was a series of roads, houses, river crossings, boats, wagons, woods, and streams where white and black citizens (known as conductors) would assist slaves in the escape attempts.
One famous conductor was Harriet Tubman. Tubman was an ex-slave that personally helped more than 300 slaves escape to freedom

11. Slave Rebellions
Turner led bloody rebellion in Virginia; between 57 and 85 people died; Turner was hanged
Nat Turner’s Rebellion and other unsuccessful rebellions prompted strict laws across the South, known as Slave Codes, designed to curtail slave movements, meetings, and efforts to learn to read and write
These laws applied to both slaves and freed blacks and gave slave owners near-absolute power over their human property.

12. Freed Blacks and Slaves
500,000 freed blacks; only 6 percent lived in South (mostly Virginia and Maryland)
By 1860, 11.5 percent of nation’s 4 million slaves lived in Georgia
3, 500 freed blacks lived in Georgia by 1860
Slaves in the lower South cultivated “King Cotton” which accounted for 50% of America’s exports

13. Election of 1860
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a Republican from Illinois, won election at President of the US
Northern states favored a Republican candidate that would help to abolish slavery. Southern states favored candidates that supported States’ Rights
Northern States, California and Oregon supported Lincoln
Most Southern states supported John C. Breckinridge
Most Border states supported either Stephen Douglas or John Bell

14. Georgia’s Pre-War Economy
68,000 farms by 1860; cotton was chief crop
500 plantations (500 acres or more); most farms were less than 100 acres
60% of Georgians owned no slaves; only 236 had 100 or more slaves
Half of Georgia’s total wealth was in slaves ($400 million)
1,890 factories in Georgia by 1860; about $11 million in value

15. Debate Over Secession in GA
Georgians were, for the most part, for the Union; however, they were strongly for states’ rights
Despite lawmakers’ strong debates for and against secession (leaving the union/country), a Secession convention began in January 1861 in Milledgeville, the capital
A secession ordinance (bill) passed by a vote of
The Southern states who seceded met in Montgomery, Alabama in February, 1861; they formed the Confederate States of America

16. Georgians in Leadership
Alexander H. Stephens served as a Representative in Congress from Georgia from During this time he spoke against southern secession. However, after the southern states seceded from the Union Stephens was elected as Vice President of the Confederate States of America (CSA) in 1861.
Robert Toombs was named Secretary of State of the Confederate States of American
Governor Joseph E. Brown favored secession and used his terms as governor to prepare Georgia for war

17. Unit 4: Civil War and Reconstruction
Georgia Studies
Unit 4: Civil War and Reconstruction
Lesson 2: The Civil War
Study Presentation

18. Lesson 2: The Civil War Essential Question
-How did key military, political, and economic strategies influence the outcome of the Civil War?

19. The War Begins: Southern Secession
April 10, 1861, Major General P.G.T. Beauregard leads bombardment of Fort Sumter, in Charleston Harbor
Federal troops an laborers inside Fort Sumter surrender on April 13
Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia secede from the Union
President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 troops to put down the rebellion and protect Washington

20. Assembling Armies
Most soldiers volunteered at first, but later men were conscripted (drafted to serve in the armies)
Some men received bounties (money) to sign up; some signed up, received the bounty, then deserted (ran away)
Poorer men sometimes accepted money to fight in place of wealthier men who didn’t want to serve
Some 178,985 enlisted men served in black regiments during the Civil War; almost all fought for the Union
Boys as young as 10 served in both armies; thousands of soldiers were between 14 and 16 years old

21. Resources-North and South Industry v. Agriculture
North had more people from which to create and resupply armies
North had more factories, better railroad system, and most of the nation’s food growing farms and wealth
South had more experienced military leaders, and were highly motivated to defend their familiar homeland and to win independence.
Most Southern farms were used to grow cash crops (cotton, etc.), so trade (cotton for weapons/supplies) was very important to the South.

22. Military Strategies Union (North):
-Union blockaded of GA’s coast-Close all Southern ports (using ironclads-armored ships) to prevent cotton exports and imports of weaponry from foreign countries
-Destroy Confederate armies on the battlefield
-Lay waste to the Southern land, so that civilians would call for an end to the war
Confederacy (South):
-Wear down the Union armies, which would hasten the northerners’ desire to end the war
-Use swift raiders (small, fast ships) to help break the Union blockade
-King Cotton Diplomacy: Convince France and England to help the Confederacy by stopping the export of Cotton to these countries

23. Notable Battles Outside of GA
Battle of Antietam- Sept. 17, 1862 near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Bloodiest single day of the Civil War. Union Army defeated the Confederate Army (under the leadership of Robert E. Lee). About 2,000 Northerners and 2, 700 Southerners were killed and 19,000 people were wounded.
Battle of Gettysburg-July 1 to July 3, 1863 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Union Army defeats the Confederates. Union suffers 23,000 Causalities (dead and wounded soldiers). Confederacy suffers 28,000 causalities.

24. Freeing the Slaves
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862
Document gave the Southern Confederacy a choice: Quit the war and keep slavery alive or keep fighting and slaves would be forever free
Deadline was January 1, 1863
The Confederate leaders continued the war and the slaves were declared free by the United States government in 1863.

25. The Fall of Fort Pulaski
More than 100 battles or skirmishes in Georgia; 92 happened in 1864 during the Atlanta and Savannah campaigns
First battle, April 10, 1862, was at all-brick Fort Pulaski, near Tybee Island
Rifled cannon used by U.S. Army in warfare for the first time; the Confederates surrendered the fort in less than two days
No brick American forts were built after this battle

26. The Battle of Chickamauga
Fought in September 1863
Seven miles south of Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga was major railroad center and was important to the movement of supplies and troops for the Confederacy
Union troops were driven back to Chattanooga; Confederates did not follow-up on their victory by attacking retreating soldiers
Union reinforcements later recaptured the city of Chattanooga

27. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign
Late Spring/Early Summer 1864: William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union Army fought series of battles against Joseph E. Johnston’s Confederate Army in an attempt to capture/destroy the important Confederate rail and supply center of Atlanta
Confederates continued to retreat further southward into Georgia
June 27, 1864: Sherman attacked Johnston at Kennesaw Mountain; Sherman was unable to defeat the Confederate troops but continued toward Atlanta
July 1864: Confederate General John Bell Hood replaced Johnston, battled Sherman, then concentrated defenses in Atlanta

28. The Battle of Atlanta Sherman surrounded the city and laid siege
Hood wanted to lure Sherman into the city to fight, but that didn’t work
Fighting continued during July and August 1864
Hood and Atlanta’s citizens finally evacuated the city on September 1, 1864
Sherman burns the city in mid-November then begins his march toward Savannah and the sea. The Army then burned all but about 400 of Atlanta’s buildings (approximately 90% of Atlanta was burned/destroyed)

29. Sherman’s March to the Sea
Part of the Lay Waste Strategy-Sherman’s Union army destroys everything in its path, 300 miles from Atlanta to Savannah
A sixty mile-wide area is burned, destroyed, and ruined during a two-month period
Estimated losses exceeded $100 million
Captured, but did not burn, Savannah in December 1864
Union troops loaded and shipped $28 million worth of cotton, stored in Savannah, to the North

30. The Civil War Ends
January 13, 1865: Fort Fisher in North Carolina captured; the last Confederate blockade-running port
General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Virginia cannot defeat Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Petersburg; he surrenders his army at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865
Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Vice President Alexander Stephens (from GA) flee and are eventually captured

31. Civil War Prisons
Both North and South had prisons for captured soldiers; thousands of men on both sides died in these prisons
Andersonville Prison, in Southwest Georgia, was overcrowded, and offered poor food, contaminated water, and poor sanitation; 13,700 Union soldiers are buried there
Captain Henry Wirtz, Andersonville Prison commander, was later hanged for “excessive cruelty”
Andersonville is now home to the National Prisoner of War Museum

32. The Aftermath
620,000 people died during the war; about two-thirds died from diseases, wounds, or military prison hardships
In order to reenter the United States the South would have to endure political, emotional, and physical reconstruction
Healing of emotional wounds took far longer than the war itself
The North or the South would never be the same again

33. Georgia Studies Unit 4: Georgia in a Divided Nation
Lesson 3: Reconstruction
Study Presentation

34. Lesson 3: Reconstruction
Essential Question
-How did political action and social reaction change the Southern culture after the Civil War?

35. Conditions in Georgia (and the South) at the end of the war:
Farms were in ruins; not enough food
Homes, railways, bridges, roads were destroyed or in need of repair
Banks were closed-Confederate money was worthless
The state owed $20,000,000 in war debt
25,000 Georgians had died of wounds or disease-many more were crippled and could not work

36. Freed Slaves (Freedman)
Problems of freedman (former slaves):
-Homeless
-Hungry-Not enough food
-Uneducated
-Free for the 1st time
-No property or goods; many freedman began working in sharecropping or tenant farming to survive
Many former slaves feared re-enslavement
Most whites had difficulty treating freedman as free persons since they had previously been slaves and were treated as property.

37. Sharecropping and Tenant Farming
-Landowner provides house and land
-Landowner received a set amount of cash or a portion of the crop at the end of the season
-Tenant farmers usually made a small profit.
Sharecropping
-Landowner provides a house, land, equipment, animals, fertilizer, and seeds.
-The landowner issued credit to the worker to buy medicine, food, clothing, and other supplies
-The landowner gets a share of the crop and crops to pay any debt owed
Sharecroppers rarely had any cash

38. The Freedman’s Bureau
Started as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedman, and Abandoned Lands by U. S. Government in 1865
Its purpose was to help freed slaves and poor whites with the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter
The purpose shifted to education:
-Set up 4,000 primary schools
-Started industrial schools for jobs training
-Started teacher-training schools
Missionaries started schools like Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Clark College to give freedmen opportunities at higher education

39. Reconstruction Plans: Lincoln’s Plan
Lincoln wanted to rebuild and return the south to the Union as soon as possible
“Reconstruction” would have two parts:
-Southerners would be pardoned after taking an oath of allegiance;
-When 10% of voters had taken the oath, the state could rejoin the Union and form a state government
Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 during a play at Ford’s Theater by actor John Wilkes Booth
Vice President Andrew Johnson took over as President

40. Reconstruction Plans: Lincoln’s Plan (Con’t)
Lincoln’s plan to reconstruct the south was challenged. Some northerners called “Radical Republicans” thought the south should be more severely punished
The Radical Republicans wanted to make sure the freedmen retained their new right
Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured and imprisoned

41. Reconstruction Plans: Johnson’s Plan
In addition to Lincoln’s requirements, President Johnson added a few more. Southern states had to:
-Approve (ratify) the 13th Amendment (outlawing slavery);
-Nullify their ordinances of secession
-Promise not to repay money borrowed during the war

42. The Constitutional Convention of 1865
President Johnson appointed James Johnson as Georgia’s provisional Governor
Governor Johnson held a Constitutional Convention. The representatives voted to abolish slavery and repeal the ordinance of secession
Elections were held in November 1865 for a new legislature
The General Assembly voted to extend rights to freedman.

43. Congressional Reconstruction
Congress was angry about Georgia’s Black Codes, so it passed the Civil Rights Act of This law gave:
-citizenship to all freedman
-the federal government power to intervene any time civil rights were taken from freedman
The 14th Amendment was passed granting citizenship to freedman and required “equal protection under the law.”

44. Congressional Reconstruction
Congress required southern states to ratify the 14th amendment
Georgia and most of the other southern states refused
Congress abolished these states’ governments and put them under military rule
Georgia was ruled by General John Pope
Pope was required to register all male voters-black and white. These voters would elect new representatives to form a new state government

45. Constitutional Convention of 1867
Georgia male voters elected delegates to the convention to create a new state constitution.
Delegates were carpetbaggers (northerners who had moved south) ,scalawags (southerners who sided with the republicans), and blacks
Accomplishments of the Convention:
-A new constitution ensuring civil rights for all citizens
-Free public education for all children;
-Women were allowed to control their own property.
Georgia had satisfied Congress, so general Pope and his troops left the state.

46. Henry McNeal Turner and Black Legislator
The election of 1867 was the first time African Americans in Georgia were able to vote.
Several African Americans were elected to Georgia’s General Assembly (Legislative Branch)
Rev. Henry McNeal Turner was one of the first black men elected in Georgia.
The African Americans elected to the General Assembly were expelled ( kicked out of office) in 1868.
It was argued by whites that civil rights laws gave blacks the right to vote but not to be elected to office.

47. Ku Klux Klan
Secret organization – originally started as a social club for men returning from the war.
Members hid behind robes and masks.
The group terrorized blacks to keep them from voting
As a result, Congress passed “The Georgia Act” and sent troops back to Georgia.
The act required Georgia to pass the 15th Amendment giving all males the right to vote.

48. The End of Reconstruction
The African Americans who had been expelled from the General Assembly in 1868 were readmitted by the Georgia Supreme Court in 1870.
Georgia’s General Assembly approved the 14th and 15th Amendments.
Georgia was readmitted to the Union, ending Reconstruction in Georgia.