The Road to War

MS StudiesCoach Marbury

• 1803- LA Purchase (Thomas Jefferson)• That area became settled & many wanted statehood (should slavery be allowed

here?)• 1819-US was made up of 22 states (slave & free)• Slave states in the south • Missouri Compromise : made # of slave & free states equal & slavery forbidden in

LA Territory above 36’30’ North

The Issue of Slavery

The next issue…

• States’ rights: the states have the right to make decisions for themselves• Tariffs- how did they effect the southern states?*We had few factories, unlike the northern states, therefore, we had to import more goods. With the new tariffs in place, the prices of these goods went up, which in turn, effected out economy!• Nullification: (prevent the enforcement of a federal law) (1832)*this included tariffs & what else?*congress passed a law stating that states couldn’t nullify a law, but ALSO passed a law that gradually reduced taxes to earlier rates (supposedly a compromise)

More Compromise…• 1850- Compromise of 1850: CA free state, other states could decide by

popular sovereignty(voted on), strong fugitive slave law.• Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): KS could vote on slavery or not(repealed the

MO Compromise) • Republican Party- opposed the expansion of slavery (split of the Whig

party)• Dred Scott- slavery couldn’t be banned in new territory (1857)*these actions all led to outbreaks of violence all over the country!

How Did MS React?• White southerners defended slavery or the “peculiar institution” as they

called it• They thought they should be able to take their slaves anywhere in the US• Quitman elected governor of MS in 1849- favored secession• Most Mississippians favored staying in the Union! • 1851, the Union Party formed by Senator Henry Foote against the

incumbent Quitman• Quitman dropped out of the race! Jefferson Davis stepped in!• FOOTE won the election• EVENTUALLY voters in MS believed that only secession could protect

slavery• 1859- Jones Pettus elected- supported secession

Jefferson Davis- defeated!

Jones Pettus- 1859

John A. Quitman-1849

Henry S. Foote-1851

Presidential Election of 1860• Platform?• The Democratic Convention met & decided on a platform that supported

popular sovereignty• Southerners didn’t like this & WALKED OUT!• Not enough people remained to elect a Presidential nominee, so they met

weeks later & finally elected Stephen Douglas to run against Abraham Lincoln (R)

• Meanwhile, the Southern Democrats held their own convention & elected John C. Breckinridge (VP of the US)

• Others who wanted a peaceful settlement: formed the Constitutional Union Party: nominated John Bell

• LINCOLN WON-180 ELECTORAL VOTES (northern states)• Breckenridge carried most southern states

How Did the South React?• South Carolina seceded from the Union!• MS legislature met to discuss secession, most elected to secede from the

Union• MS was the 2nd state to secede!• So did AL, GA, FL, LA, & TX

• Feb. 1861, the Confederate States of America formed among the newly seceded states (their own gov’t!)

• Jefferson Davis was elected President (from MS)• The Confederacy formed their own constitution, which PROTECTED

STATES’ RIGHTS & SLAVERY! President would serve for 6 yrs.

* People thought that things had settled down by the southern states seceding…

US in 1860

War Begins!• Fort Sumter- was important because it was controlled by US military, but

surrounded by Confederate states!• Lincoln needed to send supplies to troops there• SC authorities attacked the fort & captured it! • Lincoln then sent troops to put down the rebellion which led to VA, NC,

TN, & AR seceding!

South: North:Military training more resourcesStrong leaders larger populationKing Cotton (foreign support) industrialized

more miles of RR

War Begins!

Ft. Sumter today

War in MS• Why would MS be important in the Civil War?

• The North knew if they were going to win, they had to get in MS! (especially Vicksburg!!)

• Ulysses S. Grant-Union• Albert S. Johnston- Conf. in this region

Battle of Shiloh:• The North (March 1862) pushed the Conf. forces into Corinth, MS*this was an important RR junction site• Conf. forces attacked at Shiloh church(20 miles south) & pushed Union

troops back!• The following day, Union troops retaliated, pushing the Conf. forces BACK

again into Corinth!*This was the deadliest battle to that point of the war! 3,477 killed!

War in MS• Gen. Beauregard was now in charge of the Conf. troops in north MS• He took his troops down to Tupelo• Confederate forces lost Memphis, & New Orleans on the MS River &

Union forces could freely move up and down the river except for one area…

• The Confederates still held Vicksburg, so if Union troops were spotted on the river, they were shot at!!

• The goal of the Union to get around the gunfire of the Conf. forces at Vicksburg were halted for now b/c of the falling river levels

• Fighting continued in north MS, and the Conf. forces took a huge blow!• In December 1862, Gen. Sherman began a plan to directly attack

Vicksburg• He sent troops to surround the area north of the city, this wasn’t very

successful as troops tried to walk through swamps & bayous to get to VB• They also went down to Grand Gulf, south of VB• He then sent troops to Jackson, burning it, then they worked their way

west

War in MS• The Conf. troops in VB couldn’t stand up to the forces of the Union• After 6 wks, Pemberton surrenders- 40,000 troops killed• Vicksburg fell to the Union & now the MS was under complete Union

control!!!

War in MS

How Did War Effect MS?• The state gov’t became bankrupt• Cotton production slowed down- why?• Farmers began to grow cotton & wheat instead• Basic necessities (coffee, tea, wax for candles, salt) were unavailable• Violence increased

Former site of the Maxey house- Sherman came there during the Civil War

The End of Slavery• During the war, some slaves left, others defied their owners• Sometimes, slaves stayed to take care of & protect previous owners

Blacks & the Union:• Dug trenches, cooked, washed clothes• Guided Union troops through the countryside• 1863- blacks began fighting for the Union (paid less than white soldiers)

• Emancipation Proclamation (1862): Jan. 1863 all slaves in the Conf. states were to be free(not in all the US)

• COMPLETE freedom was given in the 13th Amendment Dec. 1865!

The End • After the Civil War was over, men & women went back home to rebuild

their lives & towns