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Railroads made shipping cheaper and more efficient, and allowed people to move around the country quickly, and they had a huge backer, and also a tiny backer, in the form of Illinois Congressman Stephen Douglas, who wanted a transcontinental railroad because: 1) He felt it would bind the Union together (at a time when it could use some binding), and 2) He figured it would go through Illinois, which would be good for his home state. But there was a problem.

To build a railroad, the territory through which it ran need to be organized, ideally as states, and if the railroad was gonna run through Illinois, then the Kansas and Nebraska territories would need to become state-like, so Douglas pushed forward the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act formalized the idea of popular sovereignty, which basically meant that white residents of states could decide for themselves whether the state should allow slavery. Douglas felt this was a nice way of avoiding saying whether he favored slavery. Instead, he could just be in favor of letting other people be in favor of it.

Now, you'll remember that the previously bartered Missouri Compromise banned slavery in new states north of this here line, ( 3:28) and since in theory, Kansas or Nebraska could have slavery if people there decided they wanted it under the Kansas-Nebraska Act, despite being north of that there line, this in practice repealed the Missouri Compromise. As a result, there was quite a lot of violence in Kansas, so much so that some people say the Civil War really started there in 1857. Also, the Kansas-Nebraska Act led to the creation of a new political party: The Republicans. Yes, those Republicans. Thanks, Thought Bubble.

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Nerdfighteria Wiki - The Election of 1860 & the Road to Disunion: Crash Course US History #18

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Railroads made shipping cheaper and more efficient, and allowed people to move around the country quickly, and they had a huge backer, and also a tiny backer, in the form of Illinois Congressman Stephen Douglas, who wanted a transcontinental railroad because: 1) He felt it would bind the Union together (at a time when it could use some binding), and 2) He figured it would go through Illinois, which would be good for his home state.

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Hi, I'm John Green. This is Crash Course U.S. History, and today we come at last to the Civil War: the conflict that, in many ways, created a nation. So here's what you won't be getting today: we will not be describing battles and tactics. If that's your bag, might I suggest Ken Burns or if you prefer books, like a thousand authors. My favorites being James McPherson and Shelby Foote.

And number two, we won't be bashing and/or praising Abraham Lincoln very much, although we do have multiple Lincolns here because we've heard that's good for ratings. I mean, to watch or read certain accounts, you would think the Civil War was a lengthy chess game played by Abraham Lincoln against his cunning opponent, Abraham Lincoln, but of course there were other people involved. We are gonna quote a fair bit of Lincoln though because, you know, that won Tony Kushner an Academy Award nomination.

Three, we won't be claiming that the Civil War was somehow secretly about something other than slavery because that is just so early twentieth century. And, number four, there will not be a lot of jokes today because: ha ha ha ha, 700 thousand people died.

John-from-the-Past: Mr. Green! Mr. Green! Actually, only 680 thousand people died.

Yeah, it depends on how you count, you snivelling little ghoul, but recent estimates are between 680 thousand and 8 hundred thousand total casualties, deadlier for Americans than the American Revolution, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam. Combined.

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Nerdfighteria Wiki - The Civil War, Part I: Crash Course US History #20

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Hi, I'm John Green. This is Crash Course U.S. History, and today we come at last to the Civil War: the conflict that, in many ways, created a nation. So here's what you won't be getting today: we will not be describing battles and tactics.

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President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address 1865

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President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address 1865

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Just 701 words long, Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address took only six or seven minutes to deliver, yet contains many of the most memorable phrases in American political oratory. The speech contained neither gloating nor rejoicing. Rather, it offered Lincoln's most profound reflections on the causes and meaning of the war. The "scourge of war," he explained, was best understood as divine punishment for the sin of slavery, a sin in which all Americans, North as well as South, were complicit. It describes a national moral debt that had been created by the "bondsmen's 250 years of unrequited toil," and ends with a call for compassion and reconciliation.

With its biblical allusions, alliteration, repetition, and parallel structure, and its reliance on one-syllable words, the address has the power of a sermon. It incorporates many of the themes of the religious revivals: sin, sacrifice, and redemption. At a White House reception, President Lincoln encountered Frederick Douglass. "I saw you in the crowd today, listening to my inaugural address," the president remarked. "How did you like it?" "Mr. Lincoln," Douglass answered, "that was a sacred effort."

In this printing of the Second Inaugural, the blue ink is a significant design detail. After Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, all copies were printed in black ink appropriate to a national mood of mourning. In the days before Lincoln's assassination, readers were focused primarily on the tone of reconciliation that on March 4 had moved his audience to tears.

A full transcript is available.

Excerpt

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it, all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war, insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war-seeking to dissolve the Union and divide effects by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war, but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive, and the other would accept war rather than let it perish, and the war came.

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president lincoln’s second inaugural address

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lincoln’s second inaugural address took only six or seven minutes to deliver

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yet contains many of the most memorable phrases in american political oratory. the speech contained neither gloating nor rejoicing. rather

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
it offered lincoln’s most profound reflections on the causes and meaning of the war. the "scourge of war

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was best understood as divine punishment for the sin of slavery

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were complicit. it describes a national moral debt that had been created by the "bondsmen’s 250 years of unrequited toil

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" and ends with a call for compassion and reconciliation.
with its biblical allusions

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the address has the power of a sermon. it incorporates many of the themes of the religious revivals: sin

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and redemption. at a white house reception

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president lincoln encountered frederick douglass. "i saw you in the crowd today

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" the president remarked. "how did you like it?" "mr. lincoln

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"that was a sacred effort."
in this printing of the second inaugural

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
the blue ink is a significant design detail. after lincoln’s death on april 15

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
all copies were printed in black ink appropriate to a national mood of mourning. in the days before lincoln’s assassination

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
readers were focused primarily on the tone of reconciliation that on march 4 had moved his audience to tears.
a full transcript is available.
excerpt
on the occasion corresponding to this four years ago all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. all dreaded it

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all sought to avert it. while the inaugural address was being delivered from this place

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devoted altogether to saving the union without war

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
insurgent agents were in the city seeking to destroy it without war—seeking to dissolve the union and divide effects by negotiation. both parties deprecated war

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but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive

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and the other would accept war rather than let it perish

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President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, 1865

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President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, 1865 | | Just 701 words long, Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address took only six or seven minutes to deliver, yet contains many of the most memorable phrases in American political oratory. The speech contained neither gloating nor rejoicing.

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Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

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Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

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The Emancipation Proclamation was shaped by both pragmatic considerations and Lincoln's deeply held, lifelong hatred of slavery. It was timed, after the Union victory at Antietam, to strike a military blow against the South's economic and social infrastructure, and was taken in the full understanding (given the experience of "contrabands") that the advance of the Union armies would free more and more fugitive slaves. The Proclamation transformed the war to preserve the Union into a war to save the Union and end slavery.

This elaborately decorated copy of the Emancipation Proclamation was designed by a fourteen-year-old boy and signed by Lincoln himself. In the proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863, Lincoln used no uncertain terms in declaring that "all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State . . . in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free."

Excerpt

[O]n the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

Questions for Discussion

Read the document introduction and the transcript, and apply your knowledge of American history in order to answer the questions that follow.

1. How does President Lincoln very specifically justify and explain his proclamation?

2. Lincoln exempts a city and parishes in Louisiana as well as certain counties from the proclamation. How can you explain why they are "left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued"?

3. Review the final four paragraphs. List and explain the significance of the changes in the lives of former slaves that Lincoln hopes will take place as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation.

4. Why do you think Lincoln chose to sign the Butler copy?

A printer-friendly version is available here.

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1863 | the emancipation proclamation was shaped by both pragmatic considerations and lincoln’s deeply held

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lifelong hatred of slavery. | the emancipation proclamation was shaped by both pragmatic considerations and lincoln’s deeply held

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lifelong hatred of slavery. it was timed

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to strike a military blow against the south’s economic and social infrastructure

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and was taken in the full understanding (given the experience of "contrabands") that the advance of the union armies would free more and more fugitive slaves. the proclamation transformed the war to preserve the union into a war to save the union and end slavery.
this elaborately decorated copy of the emancipation proclamation was designed by a fourteen-year-old boy and signed by lincoln himself. in the proclamation

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lincoln used no uncertain terms in declaring that "all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state . . . in rebellion against the united states

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and forever free."
a full transcript is available.
excerpt
[o]n the first day of january

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in the year of our lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three

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all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state

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the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the united states

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and forever free; and the executive government of the united states

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including the military and naval authority thereof

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will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons

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and will do no act or acts to repress such persons

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in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.

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The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

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The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863 | The Emancipation Proclamation was shaped by both pragmatic considerations and Lincoln's deeply held, lifelong hatred of slavery. | The Emancipation Proclamation was shaped by both pragmatic considerations and Lincoln's deeply held, lifelong hatred of slavery.

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Sectionalism & Causes of the Civil War Explained

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Sectionalism & Causes of the Civil War Explained

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Hip Hughes History

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John Green: Hi, I'm John Green, this is CrashCourse US History, and today, we return to, wait, what are we talking about today, Stan? Oh, the Civil War, I can tell, 'cause Lincoln's here. But, this week, we're not going to talk about casualty counts or battles or generals with their heroic and probably fictional dying declarations.

Young John: Mr. Green! Mr. Green! Wait, did that one guy not really say, "Honey bun, how do I look in the face"? Because that was the best part of this whole class.

John: Jeb Stuart did say that, Me-from-the-Past, but it probably wasn't his last words. But anyway, today we're going to try to focus on what's really important. In the end, the really vital stuff isn't like, Pickett's charge or Lee saying "It is well that war is so terrible--otherwise, we would grow too fond of it" or the surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse. That stuff matters, and I don't want to deny it, but the Civil War and way we remember it is still shaping the world today, and that's what I wanna focus on, because it's the stuff that might actually change the way that you think about your own life in your own country, whether it's United States or the green parts of Not-America.

(Intro)

So let's start with one of the big questions historians still ask about the Civil War, did Lincoln free the slaves? The answer, as with so much here on CrashCourse, is yes, and also no. Let's go straight to the Thought Bubble today.

So Lincoln's reputation as the great emancipator rests largely on his emancipation proclamation, an executive order which went into effect on January 1st, 1863. This order ostensibly freed all the slaves in territory currently rebelling against the United States, i.e. in areas where the US government had no authority to free slaves. This is rather like the United States announcing that, from here on out, North Korea would be ruled by Lady Gaga. Sure, it's a great idea, but it's not really your jurisdiction. In areas where the US did have the authority to free slaves--the border states and some of the areas of the Confederacy that had been effectively conquered and occupied by federal troops, those slaves were not freed. So Lincoln didn't free the slaves that he actually had the power to free. Many historians argue that, in fact, slaves freed themselves. How? By running away to Union lines and becoming, quote, contrabands. Because this was a time of war, and slaves were seen as a valuable resource to the enemy, when they escaped and sought refuge with Union troops, Union commanders wouldn't give them back despite fugitive slave laws still being on the books. So many slaves escaped, the argument goes, that Lincoln was basically forced to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, because until he did so, those contraband slaves were still technically property of their southern masters, and the Union generals were breaking American laws by not returning them. The Emancipation Proclamation then had the added bonus of encouraging more slaves to come over to the Union lines, many of whom joined the army, which eventually included about 180,000 former slaves and free black men. Thanks, Thought Bubble.

So Lincoln may also have issued the Proclamation in order to shift the focus of the war from Union to slavery to prevent the British from recognizing the Confederacy. Arguably, the Confederacy's best chance to win the Civil War was to get some kind of foreign patron, and Britain was the likeliest choice as it was very dependent on Confederate textiles. But as you'll remember from all those people going to Canada, Britain had already abolished slavery and it was the historic source of abolitionist sentiment, and so it was very shrewd of Lincoln to make the war about slavery. Off-topic, but if I may put on my world historian hat for a moment, thank you, Stan, the fact that the British did not recognize the South had profound effects on the whole world, because it meant that the British shifted their focus to Egypt and India as sources of cotton for their textile mills. All that noted, I think Lincoln does deserve some credit for freeing the slaves, for two reasons.

First, he pushed for the Thirteenth Amendment, which actually ended slavery in the United States, and perhaps more importantly, he continued the war to its conclusion and demanded that the end of slavery and the return of the southern states to the Union be conditions for peace. This may seem obvious today, but in 1864, it wasn't. In fact, there were numerous calls in the North for an end to the war that would allow the South to exist as a separate country and leave slavery intact. Now, of course, the rest of world history indicates that, at some point, slavery would have ended, but by prosecuting the war to its end, Lincoln brought about slavery's end sooner.

But the Civil War didn't just end slavery, if it had gone differently, Me-from-the-Past might have been annoying teachers in a different country from the one in which I now live. I might have needed a passport to visit my parents in North Carolina and slavery might have survived for decades. Brazil didn't fully abolish slavery until 1888. And the South would be covered in green, as part of Non-America, or the North, depending on where you're watching this video, I guess. And the people who lived through the Civil War knew it was momentous. In his famous Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln fostered the idea that the Civil War was a kind of second American revolution, or at least a culmination in reaffirmation of the first one. "From these honored dead, we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." We tried to hire Daniel Day Lewis for that, but he was unavailable. That phrase "new birth of freedom" had religious significance as well, because it was like the 19th century equivalent to "born again".

So the Civil War was the first modern war in terms of its scale and its destruction, like, others have waged war on civilians to break the spirit of their enemies, Stan, Mongoltage opportunity!

(Mongoltage plays)

But new technologies made this one of the most destructive wars yet recorded, and yes, I know the Tai-Ping rebellion took more lives and that in terms of percentage of population killed the contemporaneous war in Paraguay was worse but bear with me.

Rifles, and towards the end of the Civil war machine guns shifted the way that people fight. It became easier to defend a line, so cavalry charges and huge waves of attacks started to be just... slaughtery, although we take World War I for the rest of the world to figure that out. And the incredible numbers of dead and wounded really changed America's relationship with death itself. Like, Gettysberg's address was given to dedicate a new national cemetery and the Civil War helped to create a culture of meditation on mortality itself that led to cemeteries replacing churchyards as the final resting places for most Americans. And the sight of slaughter and the sheer weight of it had profound existential effects on a generation of American intellectuals from Walt Whitman to Oliver Wendell Holmes.

( 06:04) Oh, it's time for the mystery document? The rules here are simple: I guess the mystery document and then usually I am shocked. Oh my gosh, today's mystery document is on an iPad! This appears to be a photograph of wounded soldiers in hospital I'm gonna go ahead and call it as being by Matthew Brady- what?! I already got it? But I didn't get to say the na- oh it's called "Wounded Soldiers in Hospital". Thank you for an easy one, Stan.

( 06:25) So Matthew Brady was a prolific photographer during the Civil War, though like a lot of prolific people he often took credit for work done by his employees, and Brady really changed the way that people thought about war. He and his staff created some 10.000 images during the Civil War and it was the first time that an event had been photographically documented so thoroughly. By the way, lest you think the unreliability of images begin with Photoshop; many of Brady's photo's were staged. He would move bodies, sometimes soldiers were apparently told to act dead. But of course at the time photographs felt inherently authentic and written accounts of battle could now be accompanied by actual images of fighting and its aftermath.

( 07:01) But perhaps the most important impact of the Civil war was the new nation that it created, like the American Civil War fits right in with the global phenomenon of nation-building that was happening. Soon we would have places on the map like Italy and Germany and older places like Greece would be reborn as nation-states and then all of these places would be known to Americans as 'Not America'. But by the way, congratulations to Italy on their recent election of their 732nd Prime Minister in just 180 years of existing. By far the most successful of these new nation states were the ones that embraced industrialization and modern ideas of organization and centralized government. Northern victory in the Civil War meant that the United States would follow the path that the North had laid down: it would become an industrial rather than agrarian nation with a national government, pre-eminent over those with individual states. It would become a nation. And it's not a coincidence that over the course of the 19th century people stopped pluralizing "the United States". They stopped saying "The United States are a great place to live," and began saying "The United States is a great place to live." The Civil War helped singularize what had been until then had been a plural nation. And Abraham Lincoln was the first president to truly expand the power of the executive. He ordered blockades and suspended Habeas Corpus, in addition to emancipating the slaves. But the Republican-dominated congress played a role in this federalization too. Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862, that encouraged settlement of the West by basically giving away land to anyone who had 18 dollars and was willing to live on it and farm it for five years.

( 08:27) Meanwhile the Morrill Land Grand Act financed colleges to offer training in new scientific agricultural techniques, the Department of Agriculture was created to generate statistics and share best practices in farming. Congress also helped unify the country with massive land grants in the Pacific Railway Act of 1862. And during the was the Lincoln Administration gave away 158 million acres to railroads to tie the nation together. Get it? Tie? Railroad ties? The nation tog... I'll get my coat and go.

( 08:54) Plus, as you may have noticed: wars are expensive, and in order to finance the Civil War the congress passed the first Progressive Income Tax in American history, as well as floating huge bond issues to the public. And when that wasn't enough the administration began printing federal money on green paper called 'Green Bags'. These, along with notes issued by banks under the National Bank Act of 1863 became the first national currency of the United States.

( 09:16) All together the total cost of the war for the Union was 6.7 billion dollars. Interestingly, if in 1860 the Federal Government had purchased every slave and had granted a 40 acre farm to each family the total cost would have been 3.1 billion dollars. But a. it would have been hard to get that bill through congress and b. at the time the federal government had no way to raise that kind of money. The Federal Government also actively promoted the industrial economy that was to become dominant in the United States after the war. In fact industrialization was so healthy that visitors to cities in the north during the Civil War would have been hard-pressed to know that they were even in a war.

( 09:51) So ultimately the Civil War was a victory for Alexander Hamilton's vision of what America should be. I mean, Thomas Jefferson could never have imagined the United States that emerged from the Civil War: a government that supported an army of a million men, carried a 2.5 billion dollar national debt, distributed public lands, printed a national currency and collected an array of internal taxes. It sounds like Britain!

So the Civil War wasn't just a victory of North over South or of freedom over slavery. It created the nation that the United States of America has become. Thanks for watching. I'll see you next week.

( 10:22) Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan Muller, our script supervisor is Meredith Danko- too far! Our associate producer is Danica Johnson and the show is written by my high school history teacher Raoul Meyer and myself, and our graphics team is Thought Café. Every week there's a new caption for the libertage, you can suggest some in the comments, or you can also ask questions about today's video that will be answered by our team of historians. Thank you for watching and as we say in my home town: don't forget to be awesome.

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Nerdfighteria Wiki - The Civil War Part 2: Crash Course US History #21

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John Green: Hi, I'm John Green, this is CrashCourse US History, and today, we return to, wait, what are we talking about today, Stan? Oh, the Civil War, I can tell, 'cause Lincoln's here. But, this week, we're not going to talk about casualty counts or battles or generals with their heroic and probably fictional dying declarations.

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President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address 1865

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President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address 1865

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The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 183

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The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 183

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Interpretations: Causes of the Civil War 1

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Interpretations: Causes of the Civil War 1

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Interpretations: Causes of the Civil War 2

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Interpretations: Causes of the Civil War 2

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Turning Points: Compromise of 1820, Compromise of 1850, Election of Lincoln

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Turning Points: Compromise of 1820, Compromise of 1850, Election of Lincoln

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The security system for this website has been triggered. Completing the challenge below proves you are a human and gives you temporary access.

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The Dred Scott Decision Explained: US History Review

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