Page 365 - American Stories, A History of the United States

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15.1

Learn about some key topics related to this chapter with the
15.2 MyHistoryLab Video Series: Key Topics in U.S. History

1 overview of the american civil war, its causes and
15.3 the civil war: 1861–1865 this video presents an
outcomes. the war wreaked unprecedented damage, but
ultimately resolved the question of slavery that lay at the
15.4
heart of the conflict. the legacy of slavery, however, has
continued to shape american society ever since.
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territories, but it did set in motion the emancipation of the slaves in confederate states that eventually 2
the emancipation Proclamation during the civil war, abolitionists began to urge President Lincoln to
emancipate the slaves. the emancipation Proclamation of 1863 did not free a single slave in occupied

led to substantial military participation by freedpeople in the Union army. this video looks at the
various ways slaves freed themselves unofficially during the war, the military arguments in favor of
emancipation, and the story behind the conception of this historic address.
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3 Gettysburg: the turning Point General robert e. Lee, building on the momentum gained from the
confederate victory at chancellorsville, led the army of northern Virginia into Pennsylvania in an
attempt to decapitate the Union by outflanking Union forces and ultimately capturing washington, d.c.
this video explains the importance of the crucial battle of Gettysburg, fought in early July 1863. it was
the turning point in the civil war.
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confederate armies. this video surveys the last year and a half of the civil war and General robert e. 4
the surrender at appomattox courthouse the leadership of Generals Ulysses s. Grant and william
t. sherman, while costly in life and property, proved effective in breaking the resistance of the

Lee’s surrender at appomattox courthouse in northern Virginia in april 1865.

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He went bankrupt and was saddled with debt for years. But he found success in law and politics.
While studying law on his own in New Salem, he was elected to the state legislature. In 1837, he
moved to Springfield, a growing town that offered bright prospects for a young lawyer-politician.
Lincoln combined exceptional political and legal skills with a down-to-earth, humorous way of
addressing jurors and voters. He became a leader of the Whig party in Illinois and one of the most
sought after lawyers in the central Illinois judicial circuit.
the high point of his political career as a Whig was one term in Congress (1847–1849). Lincoln
did not seek reelection, but he would have faced certain defeat if he had. His opposition to the
Mexican-American War alienated his constituency, and the voters elected a Democrat to succeed
him in 1848. In 1849, President Zachary taylor, for whom Lincoln had campaigned vigorously, did
not give him a patronage job he coveted. Having been repudiated by the electorate and ignored
by the national leadership of a party he had served loyally and well, Lincoln built his law practice.
the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, with its advocacy of popular sovereignty, provided Lincoln
with a heaven-sent opportunity to return to politics with a stronger base of support. For the first
time, his ambition for political success and convictions about what was best for the country were
easy to reconcile. Lincoln had long believed slavery was unjust and should be tolerated only to
the extent the Constitution and the tradition of sectional compromise required. He attacked
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