American Civil War For Dummies

American Civil War For Dummies
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Take a walk through history with this guide for lifelong learners The American Civil War is one of the most fascinating and impactful periods in American history. Besides bringing about the end of slavery, the war had many important economic and social effects that continue to shape the history and present-day realities of the American people. In American Civil War For Dummies, you'll get an accessible, bird's-eye view of one of history's greatest conflicts. All the must-know details of the war are covered here, from the Battle of Gettysburg to the Emancipation Proclamation. You'll also find: Descriptions of the experiences of Black Americans, in both the North and the South, during the war Explorations of how slavery and civil rights fit into the social, political, and economic context of the time Profiles of some of the most famous generals in the war, including Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant Take a moment to get a hands-on education in this critical point in American history. Get American Civil War For Dummies now!

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Keith D. Dickson. American Civil War For Dummies

American Civil War For Dummies® To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “American Civil War For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box. Table of Contents

List of Tables

List of Illustrations

Guide

Pages

Introduction

About This Book

What Not to Read

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in this Book

Beyond the Book

Where to Go from Here

The War and Its Causes

How Did the War Happen?

The Big Picture: War and Politics

What’s a civil war?

The setting: 1850–1860

WHAT DO I MEAN BY NORTH AND SOUTH?

The North and South: Two Different Worlds

The Opposing Sides

WILMOT’S PROVISO

Playing a Part in the Controversy: The Constitution

Struggling for Power

Amassing states: The political stakes involved

Entering the Union: The politics of compromise, 1850

California: The Compromise of 1850

The Fugitive Slave Law

D.C. is free

What did the compromise do?

The Five Steps to War: 1850–1860

Setting the Stage: Five Events Leading to War

Struggling for Kansas

THE “LITTLE GIANT”

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

The violence begins

Rising from the Collapse: The Republican Party

Disappearing Whigs and Southern Democrats

The Free Soilers

The Know-Nothings

The Republican Party arrives

The Republicans and the 1856 Presidential Election

The Democrats: Choosing a safe candidate

Millard Fillmore for president

THE LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES

Politics becomes sectional

ABRAHAM LINCOLN: EARLY CAREER, 1809–1860

Southern reaction to the Republican Party

SOME COLD, HARD FACTS TO CONSIDER

The Dred Scott Decision

SECESSION, NORTHERN STYLE

The reaction to the decision

The can of worms is opened

The firestorm in the North

UNCLE TOM’S CABIN

The results of the Dred Scott decision

The Underground Railroad

John Brown’s Raid

Harpers Ferry

Sending in the Marines

The results of John Brown’s raid

John Brown’s end

“JOHN BROWN’S BODY”

The Fighting South, the Angry North

The Election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860

A new party emerges

The Democrats divide

Lincoln wins by electoral vote

The South’s view of the election

Secession and War: 1860–1861

The First Secession: South Carolina and the Lower South

Building a New Nation: The Confederacy

WORDS HAVE MEANING

JEFFERSON DAVIS: EARLY CAREER, 1808–1860

The growing crisis in Charleston: Fort Sumter

Walking the tightrope: President Buchanan

Confederates at Charleston: Waiting for a sign and heavily armed

WHAT ABOUT FORT PICKENS?

Sitting quietly: The outgoing president beats the clock

Taking Office: Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address

The Sumter crisis renewed

The decisions that led to war

Firing the First Shot

Calling for the 75,000 and another secession: The upper South

DOUBLEDAY UP TO BAT

The hardest choice: Robert E. Lee takes his stand

So, Who Started the War?

Making War

Civil War Armies: Structure and Organization

Understanding the Basics of War

The offensive and the defensive

Strategy and tactics

Creating a Strategy: Three Basic Questions

Uncovering the Principles of War

Developing Campaigns: The Art of War

Interior and exterior lines

Lines of communication and supply

Supply is critical in war

Information: Orders and critical intelligence

The Indirect Approach

Taking the initiative: Who is on top?

Putting It All Together: Strategy to Campaigns to Battles

Fighting battles

Win the battles — lose the war

The commander’s choices

Terrain and the defensive

Ending a battle

Looking at the Civil War Army Organization

Eyes and ears: The cavalry

Providing firepower: The artillery

Fleet of foot: The infantry

Other important branches

Hauling food and ammo: The quartermaster

Mastering the terrain: The engineers

Building a Basic Civil War Army Structure: The Regiment

Strength and size of units

UNION AND CONFEDERATE CAVALRY: A COMPARISON

Roles of different units in an army

Cavalry regiments

Comparing the Science versus the Art of War

Union and Confederate Strategy

Comparing Northern and Southern Resources

Industrial power

Agricultural advantages: Food and crops

Cotton: The double-edged sword

Cotton as collateral

Soldiers and laborers: Population

Financial wealth

Analyzing the statistics for both sides

Wartime Strategy: Union and Confederate

The Union’s strategy

The Confederacy’s strategy

Geography and Strategy: Theaters of War

The Eastern Theater

The Western Theater

The Trans-Mississippi Theater

Civil War Strategy in Retrospect

Organizing and Training the Armies

Making Civilians into Soldiers

Fighting in the frontier: The regulars

Responding to the call: The militia

Joining to fight: Volunteers — then Conscripts

ELECTING OFFICERS IS A BAD IDEA

Qualifications of Union and Confederate Officers

Military bloopers: The political generals

Rookies learning a new trade: the blind leading the blind

Significant Weapons of the Civil War

The Weapons You Need to Fight

Struggling with the smoothbore

Rifled muskets for the infantry

Spinning faster: The Minié ball

The Rifled Musket and Tactics

The Really Big Guns: Civil War Artillery

Artillery ammunition

Using artillery

Cavalry Weapons

The carbine

The revolver

Opening Moves, 1861–1862

Starting the War: Bull Run (First Manassas), July 1861

The First Rumblings: “On to Richmond!”

Taking command of Union forces: McDowell

Waiting: Beauregard and the Confederates

Marching into Battle (Sort Of)

Organizing the Armies: Disposition of Forces on the Battlefield

RAILROADS: A FIRST AT FIRST MANASSAS

Opening Moves: Key Decisions and Events

Advancing to Victory: The Outcome

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN (MANASSAS), JULY 21, 1861 — CONFEDERATE VICTORY

Analyzing the Battle

A NEEDLESS ERROR

Immediate and long-term results

Naming schemes of the Union and Confederacy

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

CONFUSION AT MANASSAS

Trouble West of the Mississippi and the Road to Shiloh, August 1861–April 1862

Focusing on the Early Battlegrounds of Missouri and Arkansas

The Union offensive into Arkansas

A new commander arrives

The Battle of Pea Ridge

Dictating a Strategy in the Western Theater

Struggling with Rank: Union Command

The Importance of Kentucky

U.S. GRANT: THE MAN NOBODY KNEW

Attacking the Forts: Grant Teams with the Navy

Military misfits at Fort Donelson

Grant’s terms: “Unconditional surrender”

The Shiloh Campaign

Taking the initiative: Johnston’s plan

The plan’s weaknesses and advantages

The Fighting Begins: The Battle of Shiloh

Key decisions and events

Johnston’s last battle

Critical action at the Hornet’s Nest

The second day of Shiloh

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF SHILOH (PITTSBURG LANDING), APRIL 6–7, 1862 — UNION VICTORY

Aftermath of the Battle

Immediate effects

HARDBALL ARMY POLITICS

Long-term effects: The war becomes real

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

Union Navy Victories and Union Army Defeats, March–July 1862

Bringing in a New Commander: George B. McClellan

A STAR IS BORN

Taking a Gamble: The Blockade

Patrolling the Coast: Union Naval Victories

SETBACKS FOR THE BLOCKADE

Discovering the Political Price of Failure and Inaction

The Peninsula: A New Campaign

ALAN PINKERTON: INTELLIGENCE FAILURE

Writing a New Chapter in Naval Warfare: The Ironclad

Washington panics!

The Virginia goes hunting

The Monitor versus the Virginia

Getting Fooled at Yorktown

The other Johnston

Johnston advances

LINCOLN TAKES NORFOLK

Battle of Wills: The Presidents versus the Generals

McClellan Makes a Mistake before Richmond

Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign, March–June 1862

Creating a Hero: Stonewall Jackson

Stonewall’s Valley: The Shenandoah

The Valley’s strategic importance

Looking for Jackson: Banks enters the Valley

Jackson disappears and reappears

Using the defeat: Lee’s strategic vision

Jackson disappears and reappears — again

“COMMISSARY” BANKS

Jackson strikes again

Lincoln sets a trap for Jackson

JACKSON’S SIMPLE RULES OF WAR

The campaign ends

The Valley Campaign: An Appreciation

The Seven Days of Robert E. Lee, June–July 1862

The Confederacy in Crisis: Seven Pines

RISING STAR: ROBERT E. LEE

Results of the Battle: McClellan Falters

Taking Command: The “King of Spades”

Jeb Stuart’s ride around McClellan

The Seven Days begin: Lee at Mechanicsville (Beaver Dam Creek)

McClellan calls it quits

WHERE WAS JACKSON?

The end of the Seven Days: Lee’s final push at Malvern Hill

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE SEVEN DAYS BATTLES, JUNE 26–JULY 1, 1862 — CONFEDERATE VICTORY

The Significance of the Campaign

Lee takes the offensive to win

The Seven Days: The bottom line

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

Second Bull Run (Manassas), August 1862

Reshuffling the Union Command Structure

Giving Lee an Opportunity: “Old Brains” Miscalculates

Jackson appears, disappears, and reappears

Looking for Jackson: Pope advances

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF SECOND MANASSAS (SECOND BULL RUN), AUGUST 29–30, 1862 — CONFEDERATE VICTORY

The Aftermath of the Battle

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

The Bloodiest Day: Antietam (Sharpsburg), September 1862

Winning the War Now: The Confederate Strategic Situation

Waiting for a Victory: The Union Strategic Situation

The Antietam Campaign

Jackson’s Coup at Harpers Ferry

Starting the Battle: McClellan Creeps In

The sunken road

Burnside’s bridge

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM (SHARPSBURG), SEPTEMBER 17, 1862 — DRAW

Aftermath of the Battle

Assessing the Battle and Its Significance

The Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s proclamation: The fine print

Southern reaction

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

Lost Opportunities for the Confederacy in the West: September–October 1862

The Western Theater: A Lesson in Geography

Confederate Cavalry Dominates Tennessee

KEEPING TRACK OF WHO IS WHO

Bragg Takes Command

Bragg’s invasion plan

Bragg in Kentucky

Lincoln loses patience

Starting the Fight: The Battle of Perryville

Enduring Another Confederate Disaster: Iuka and Corinth

Assessing the Aftermath of the Campaign: Results and Recriminations

Significance of the Battles

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

War So Terrible: Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro, December 1862

Making a New Start in the East

BURNSIDE/SIDEBURNS

Hurry Up and Wait at the Rappahannock

My kingdom for a pontoon

Lee awaits

The Battle of Fredericksburg

The Aftermath of the Battle

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG, DECEMBER 13, 1862 — CONFEDERATE VICTORY

Both the Union and Confederacy fail in Mississippi

Rosecrans takes charge in Tennessee

The Battle of Murfreesboro

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF MURFREESBORO (STONES RIVER), DECEMBER 31, 1862–JANUARY 1, 1863 — CONFEDERATE VICTORY

The Results of the Battle

Securing Tennessee: Union gains

Confederate losses

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S SUMMARY FOR 1862 CONFEDERATE REPORT

UNION REPORT

War to the Hilt, 1863–1865

The Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1863

Beginning a New Campaign in the Eastern Theater

Another new commander for the Union army

Hooker’s plans

Lee’s situation

Fighting Joe Hooker won’t fight

Jackson disappears and reappears

Hooker fails to act

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE, MAY 1–3, 1863 — CONFEDERATE VICTORY

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

The Battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, July 1863

The Gettysburg Campaign

Moving the armies

Hooker waits (again) and is finished

THE BATTLE OF BRANDY STATION, JUNE 9, 1863

CALLING OUT THE MILITIA

The Battle of Gettysburg: Day One

Gettysburg favors the defender

Ewell says no

The Battle of Gettysburg: Day Two

Longstreet opens the battle

Longstreet attacks

DAN SICKLES’S LEG

The Battle of Gettysburg: Day Three

Meade calls a meeting

The Confederate attacks

PICKETT’S CHARGE

The Final Moves

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, JULY 1–3, 1863 — UNION VICTORY

The Battle’s Significance

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

1863: The Western Theater

The Vicksburg Campaign

The advantages of geography

Grant’s gamble

Grant closes the vise

The Siege and Fall of Vicksburg

Success at Port Hudson

Grant’s Accomplishment

Heroes

Goats

The Battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, August–November 1863

Rosecrans: Approaching and Taking Chattanooga

BRAGG’S DILEMMA

The Chickamauga Campaign

The Battle of Chickamauga: Day One

The Battle of Chickamauga: Day Two

A DIFFERENT VIRGINIAN

The Battle Ends

BATTLE CAPTAIN’S REPORT: THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA, SEPTEMBER 18–20, 1863 — CONFEDERATE VICTORY

Chickamauga: The Results

The Union: Mixed results

The Confederacy: Frustration

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

Turned Tables at Chattanooga

Now Rosecrans is out

Handling the problem: Davis arrives

FORREST TAKES ON BRAGG

Grant takes charge

The soldiers take charge and win

ARTHUR MACARTHUR

The Battle’s Aftermath

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

Lee and Grant: Operations in Virginia, May–October 1864

Generals Get Their Orders from Grant

PROBLEMS OF COMMAND

BEN “BEAST” BUTLER

Day One in the Wilderness: “Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale”

Day Two in the Wilderness: Grant Doesn’t Quit

Lee attempts a decisive counterstrike

“GENERAL LEE TO THE REAR”

The battle for the Mule Shoe

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

Bad news for Grant

Bad news for Lee: Stuart’s death

Lee Loses the Initiative at North Anna

Grant’s Disaster at Cold Harbor

The Jug-Handle Movement to Petersburg

The strategic importance of Petersburg

Grant’s plan

General Beauregard’s greatest moment at Petersburg

THE 1ST MAINE HEAVY ARTILLERY

The Second Valley Campaign

Old Jube in the Valley

Early distracts everyone

A TRIBUTE TO JACKSON

A VISITOR TO FORT STEVENS

Early meets Sheridan

Reversal at Cedar Creek

The Siege at Petersburg: July–October 1864

Breaking the stalemate

Burnside blunders

The Battle of the Crater

The siege continues

The Atlanta Campaign and a Guarantee of Union Victory, May–December 1864

Taking Command: Johnston and the Army of Tennessee

AN INTERESTING SIDELINE

Preparing to Move: Sherman in the Western Theater

THINK OF RED RIVER

The Campaign for Atlanta Begins

The Sherman sidestep

The Johnston backtrack

THE BISHOP FINDS HIS REST

The Battle for Atlanta

Sherman’s supply line

Hoodwinking Hood

Looking at the Navy’s Contributions in 1864

FARRAGUT’S FIGHTING WORDS

Checking on Presidential Politics of 1864

The Democrats nominate McClellan

Atlanta and the soldier vote

The election results

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Beginning the march: Soldiers take all

THE YANKEES ON THE MOVE

A Christmas present

Assessing Sherman’s Impact

The Destruction of Hood’s Army in Tennessee, October 1864–January 1865

Hood Moves North

Running quietly: Schofield on the lam

Calculating the magnitude of Hood’s disaster

Triumphing at Nashville: Thomas’s Brilliant Plan

The Battle of Nashville

The Aftermath

Heroes and Goats

Heroes

Goats

A Matter of Time: Petersburg to Appomattox, January–April 1865

The Strategic Situation in 1865

A CRITICAL MEETING WITH THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF

Sherman on the move in South Carolina

The Confederate strategy

Johnston takes a stand

The results in Carolina

Lee’s Fateful Dilemma: Petersburg

Breaking out: Lee makes his move

A Crossroads: Five Forks

Falling in flames: Richmond

The Last Retreat

Grant proposes surrender

The meeting at Appomattox

THE CURIOUS STORY OF WILMER McLEAN

Symbolic Formalities: The Last Act

LEE MEETS MEADE

Closing Events: The War Ends, a President Dies

The politicians react

Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured

The last surrenders

Victory and Uncertainty: The Reunited States

The last parade

SHERMAN’S REVENGE

“Strike the tent”

A final thought

Winners and Losers: The Debate Lives On

Why the Union won

Why the Confederacy lost

Behind the Lines

The Confederacy: Creating a Nation at War

Examining Jefferson Davis as President and War Leader

DAVIS AT WEST POINT

Creating the New Confederate Government

Handling political troubles: No political parties

ROBERT TOOMBS (1810–1885)

Unionist sentiment in the Confederacy

States’ rights and the governors

Financing the War

Confederate creative finance I: Bonds and taxes

Confederate creative finance II: Paper money

The bottom line

Supplying Manpower for the War

Supplying Material for the War

Josiah Gorgas and his miracle

Getting food to the soldiers

HOW THE CONFEDERACY MADE DO

Detailing the Confederate Naval War

Struggling to build a navy

CONFEDERATE SEA RAIDERS

Blockade running

Struggling with Diplomacy: European Recognition

The blockade

THE SHOE ON THE OTHER FOOT

The decisive year for recognition: 1862

Diplomatic highlights with Britain, France, and Russia

Assessing Confederate diplomacy

Creating a Nation: Confederate Nationalism

The Union at War: Creating a New Republican Future for America

Looking at Abraham Lincoln as President and War Leader

Financing the War

Borrowing money: Loans and bonds

Taking money: Taxation

COMPARING THE EFFECT

Making money: Greenbacks

Running the War: Congress and the President

Non-Wartime legislation

Opposing and disloyal: The peace democrats

CLEMENT L. VALLANDIGHAM

Fighting the War

Drafting soldiers

SHODDY

Resisting the draft

Building a navy

Building an Economy: Northern Industrial Production

Wartime in America: Its Effect on the People

Meeting the Common Soldier: Everyman

Eating what the army gave you

Living the life of a soldier

Wearing the blue or the gray

Fighting illness in the ranks

Caring for the wounded

Taking in prisoners of war

Changing Women’s Roles in the Civil War

An essential workforce

The cost of war: Refugees and starvation

Spying for the North and South

Taking Note of the African American Contribution

Union: The U.S. Colored Troops

African Americans in the Confederacy

Discovering the American Indians

The Civil War Tourist

Getting Ready to Travel

Planning Your Trip

Using Your Time Wisely

Taking Three Methods on a Battlefield

Mounted

Mounted/dismounted

Terrain walk

Visiting a Civil War Battlefield

Fine-Tuning Your Trip

Getting an enthusiast

Checking the Internet

Bringing the right stuff

Getting Oriented: The Visitor Center

Asking the right questions

Finding the best monuments and markers

Appreciating the Terrain

Studying, Stories, and Reflection

The Part of Tens

The Ten Worst Generals of the Civil War

Braxton Bragg (1817–1876)

Nathaniel P. Banks (1816–1894)

Ambrose E. Burnside (1824–1881)

John B. Hood (1831–1879)

John B. Floyd (1806–1863)

Benjamin F. Butler (1818–1893)

Leonidas (Bishop) Polk (1806–1864)

Joseph Hooker (1814–1879)

John Pope (1822–1892)

P.G.T. Beauregard (1818–1893)

George B. McClellan (1826–1885): Honorable Mention

The Ten Biggest “Firsts” of the Civil War

The Growing Dominance of the Defense

Minesweeping: Naval Mines

Starting Undersea Warfare: The Submarine

Changing Tactics and Moving Quickly: The Railroad

Battling without Bullets: Psychological Warfare

Using Air-to-Ground Communication

Dominating the Seas: The Ironclad Warship

Talking over Wires: The Telegraph

Increasing Firepower: The Repeating Rifle

Born in the Civil War: The Machine Gun

The Ten Biggest “What Ifs” of the Civil War

What If the Confederates Had Pursued After Manassas (Bull Run)?

What If Grant Had Been Killed at Shiloh?

What If Fort Sumter Had Not Been Fired On?

What If McClellan Had Not Found Lee’s Lost Orders?

What If McClellan Had Won Decisively at Antietam?

What If Johnston Had Not Been Wounded at Seven Pines?

What If Davis Had Adopted a Different Strategy in the West?

What If Lee Had Won at Gettysburg?

What If Davis Had Relieved Bragg Earlier in the War?

What If Jackson Had Not Been Lost to Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia?

The Ten+ Best Battlefields of the Civil War and How to Visit Them

Best Battlefields by the Mounted Method

Best Battlefields by the Mounted/Dismounted Method

Best Battlefields by the Terrain Walk Method

Index. A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

About the Author

Dedication

Author’s Acknowledgements

WILEY END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

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It is interesting that for over 150 years, in times of controversy, public discourse has always turned to the Civil War. Everyone, it seems, is compelled to return to the war to highlight some aspect of an argument. This should not be surprising because the Civil War created the modern United States and defined the people who called themselves Americans. The war was a fundamental watershed in our history — marked by a staggering cost of 620,000 Union and Confederate casualties and 50,000 civilian deaths — defining both who we are as a nation and who we are as Americans. It is therefore natural that we continue to return to the war as a starting point for any discussion today about what America is and what America means.

The Civil War is still very much with us for a number of reasons. America’s Civil War has epic dimensions, equal to Homer’s Iliad or Virgil’s Aeneid. Like any great epic, it has all the elements of tragedy and pathos; it has immortal heroes who control the destinies of nations. There are great battles on land and sea that stir deep emotions. The experiences of Army of the Potomac, the Army of Northern Virginia, the Army of the Cumberland, and the Army of the Tennessee marching across a vast landscape, each composed of free and self-reliant Americans joined together to strive in a common cause, surpasses Xenophon’s account of the Greek army in Anabasis.

.....

It is not surprising that in the midst of this intense sectional debate over constitutional rights and slavery that the Supreme Court should become involved. Many hoped the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of extending slavery in the territories would put the issue to rest once and for all. Of course, many of these same people had hoped the Kansas-Nebraska Act would settle the issue forever, too.

As both the North and South became increasingly hostile to each other, both regions rhetorically wrapped themselves in the mantle of purity and righteousness. It needs to be made clear that neither section was free of the fear and hostility to Blacks, whether free or slave. In the South, the slave system, however beneficent and humane, depended in the end on the threat of violence to compel obedience and compliance. In this way, it was a tyrannical system and a damning charge against the institution. The North, which was more than 98% white in 1860, was hostile to Blacks. Laws restricted civil liberties, such as voting; schools and many churches, theaters, restaurants, rail cars, and hotels were strictly segregated. Blacks could not testify against whites in court, and some Midwest states banned Blacks from entering their states altogether. Blacks in the cities of the North lived in bleak conditions. Jobs were scarce, as whites preferred to hire Irish immigrants. Violence directed against Blacks was commonplace, and sympathetic support was rare. Thus, the larger problem in America was not slavery, per se, but the fact that Blacks and whites were coexisting in two vastly different and separate worlds.

.....

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