6. Key moments in american history

1803

BEFORE CIVIL WAR: migration west

Reasons and affects: - Americans wanted to take advantage of document Louisiana Purchase (by president Jefferson) they bought large territory from France, and area of US doubled, they wanted more land, money – believed they would find gold – gold rush, building of railway, risking lives – they were

AFFECTS: - new states were established in the west, in the beginning Civil war – free/ slave states arguate about new states – the number should stay the same – creation of new states, distinguish difference between northerners x southerners

- affect od native americans

The Civil War (1861 – 1865): - real reason: power, money, cotton fields – north complain that S states are getting richer because of the “free work”, they didn’t care about blacks in the first place

A. Lincoln – at the beginning he didn’t want to get rid of slavery, in favor of slaves being held by the family – towards the end he changed his mind

- succession – some states seceded (to leave) from the Union – South Carolina, beginning of the new confederate states = slave states X union = free states

- border states = in favour of slavery but didn’t want to leave the Union – Delafer

CONSECUENCES

- The North won – S states damaged

- amendments added to the constitution – abolished slavery, gave black people citizenship and right to vote

- but they don’t have money because weren’t pay a long time

- richer blacks – escaped to north, then come back after the war – bought land in the south

- flag changed

- differences between the North and the South:

• North: developed industrial production, enterprising puritans - farmers X South: agricultural, needed slaves for growing the cotton and tobacco, rich farmers including aristocracy (royalist)

• The tariff policy was widely believed to favour industries based in the North and would penalize the Southern states, which were more dependent on goods imported from Europe

• 1861: the southern states created the Confederacy (the North being called the Union) and they elected their own president Jefferson Davis

• Fights between the N and the S – who will get a vote from new forming states in the West (50k population – right to form a new state)

• South wants small duties for international trade – to be able to receive goods from Europe and to sell their products back x North wants higher duties to protect their industry

• The war needs to be quick, if the South wants to win – they had guns (every farmer had one, they know how to use them) – but they have less people

• South is all in the war and the North doesn’t really care – South has spies in the North, there is corruption for the South – women in the North are angry: “we have sons dying in the war for nothing! Fight back finally!”

• North is fully involved: they took over the south harbours so the South is cut of goods and guns, they also promise to black people, that they will abolish slavery, if they come to North to fight

• 1863: Lincoln abolished slavery by Emancipation Proclamation - the end of the Civil War (general Lee surrendered to general Grant)

• The north won

• Lincoln assassinated in Ford´s theatre

• 1863 - Battle of Gettysburg, a bloody battle