The story of the rise and the victorious moment of the US.

1. Prepared by:
Jesse G. Caling
AB History-3

2. OBJECTIVES:
 At the end of this chapter, the student will be
able to:
1. Learn more about the life of Americans
under Colonization;
2. Familiarize on how the Americans fight for
their liberation and;
3. Discuss on how America was free from the
colonizer.

3. BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY
 England won the North American continent
from France, but lost the affection of the
American settlers.
 In her desire to rehabilitate her financial
resources which had been exhausted by the
costly wars, she levied many taxes on the
settlers and Restricted their trade.

4.  When the liberty-loving Americans showed
signs of opposition, King George III sent
ruthless governors, generals, and customs
collectors to the Thirteen colonies in order to
enforce the British authority.
 These minions of British power forcibly
collected taxes, enforced restrictions on
colonial trade, had trampled down the
colonist political rights.

5. AMERICAN RESISTANCE TO
BRITISH RULE
 The American settlers refused to pay taxes
on the ground that the laws providing for
their collection were promulgated by the
British Parliament, where they had no
representation.
 According to them “Taxation without
representation ” was illegal. To evade paying
taxes, they smuggled rum, sugar, coffee, and
Textiles.

6.  They also boycotted British goods in the
Colonies. In the different colonial
assemblies, representatives delivered fiery
speeches against the restrictive policy of the
mother country.
 At the Virginia House of Burgesses, Patrick
Henry urged his compatriots to make any
sacrifice in defense of their rights.

7.  With stirring eloquence, he thundered: “Is
life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be
purchased at the price of chains and
slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know
not course others may take; but as for me,
give me liberty, or give me death!”

8.  Violent anti-British riots broke out in some
cities. British officials, particularly the
collectors of customs, were stoned or beaten
up by the colonists.
 In several colonies, especially in
Massachusetts, the Patriots organized
themselves into militias called “minutemen”
drilled daily, and stored up millitary
supplies.

9.  On March 5, 1770, some British soldiers
fired on a hostile mob, killing five men and
wounding six. This incident was called the
“Boston Massacre”.
 More dramatic, though less bloody, was the
Boston Tea Party. In the dark night of
December 16, 1773, a group of American
patriots, disguised as Indians, silently
boarded the British vessels at the harbor
and dumped their cargoes of tea into the sea.

10.  Angered by the loss of the valueable tea,
Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts
(1774) which closed the port of Boston until
the tea should be paid, repealed the liberal
charter of Massachusetts, and empowered
the British colonial governors to quarter
troops in private homes.

11. FIRST CONTINENTAL
CONGRESS (1774)
 As tension mounted in the colonies, the First
Continental Congress met at Philadelphia,
on September 5, 1774.
 It was attended by 56 delgates from twelve
colonies (Georgia did not participate).
Among the prominent delgates were George
Washington and Patrick Henry from
Virginia, and John Jay from New York.

12.  During the session, Patrick Henry expressed
the new spirit of American nationalism in
the following words: “The distinctions
between Virginians, Pennsylvannians, New
Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I
am not a Virginian, but an American.”

13.  The first continental Congress organized a
Continental Association, with local comittees in
all colonies, to enforce the boycott on English
goods.
 It also prepared the Declaration of Rights and
Grievances which was submitted to the British
people and government. This document won
some British sympatizers to the American cause
in England, among them Edmund Burke,
Adam Smith, and William Pitt the Younger.

14. THE FIRST AMERICAN
FREEDOM
 Instead of heeding the grievances of the
American colonists, King George III
ordered General Thomas Gage, commnader
of the British army in America and governor
of Massachusetts, to arrest the leader and
confiscate all millitary stores.

15.  At dawn of April 19, 1775, the first shot of
American freedom was fired in Lexington. A
company of 70 minutemen, alerted by Paul
Revere who galloped through the night from
Boston, fought 700 redcoats (British soldiers
in red uniforms) who were on their way to
destroy the colonial military stores at
Concord, about 20 miles from Boston.

16.  After a brief but furious fight, the
outnumbered patriots retreated, leaving eight
dead comrades on the field. This skirmish at
Lexington ignited the War of American
Independence.
 The British pushed on to Concord, where they
met more resistance from the fighting patriots.
However, they were able to destroy the
millitary stores. News of the fight at Lexington
and Concord spread like a forest fire.
Everywhere the patriots rushed to arms.

17. SECOND CONTINENTAL
CONGRESS (1775)
 The Second Continental Congress met at
Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. It decided to
fight for American rights.
 It organized an army and appointed George
Washington as its commander. It established
a navy and issued paper money to raise
funds for the persecution of the libertarian
struggle. It also declared war on England.

18. EARLY BATTLES OF THE
REVOLUTION
 In May, 1775, while the Second Continental
Congress was in session, Ethan Aller of
Vermont and his famous “Green Mountain
Boys” seized Ticonderoga and Crown point,
thus cutting off the British route between
Canada and New York.

19.  On June 17, 1775, the British forces attacked
Breed’s Hill overlooking Boston, which was
fortified and defended by the patriots under
Colonel William Prescott.
 After a bloody and fierce battle, the patriots
evacuated the hill, having used up all their
ammunition. This battle has been
erroneously called “Battle of Bunker Hill.”

20.  Other battles flared up in New England and
North Carolina. The heroic attempt of the
American patriots to capture Quebec failed,
and they were forced out of Canada.

21. AMERICAN DECLARATION OF
INDEPENDENCE (JULY 4, 1776)
 While the patriots were busy fighting, their
leaders were discussing in the Second
Continental Congress the fundamental issue
of independence.
 On July 2, 1776, the resolution submitted by
Richard Lee of Virginia asserting the right
of the colonies to be free and independent
was approved by an overwhelming majority
vote.

22.  Thomas Jefferson, who was a master of
forceful prose style, was assigned to write
the American Declaration of Independence.
 On July 4, the historic document was
approved by the Congress. The first signer
was John Hancock, presiding officer of the
congress, followed by the members.

23.  The American Declaration of Independence
consists of three parts: (1) the right of
revolution against a government which
denies the people’s “inalienable rights” to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; (2)
a long list of the oppresive acts of King
George III; and (3) the pledge of the
members of the congress to defend the
independence of the new nation with their
lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

24. DARK DAYS OF
REVOLUTION
 Since Lexington, the tide of war was against
the rebelling Americans. Washington was
handicapped for lack of men, ammunition,
and funds.
 On the other hand, the British forces were
reinforced by redcoats and Hessians
(German mercenaries from Hesse-Cassel, a
state in Germany), who were adequately
armed and well-fed.

25.  Many Americans, especially in New York,
North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Georgia, remained loyal to England and
were called Torries.

26.  In August 1776, General William Howe,
Gage’s successor as commander of the
British army in America, deteated
Washington at Long Island and took New
York City.
 Washington, with his small army, fled across
New Jersey to Delaware. He returned in
December and captured Trenton and
Princeton.

27.  Howe counter-attacked in the summer of 1777,
beat Washington at Brandywine, and took
Philadelphia.
 Washington’s defeat was offset by the
American victory at Saratoga (October 17,
1777). General Burgoyne, commander invading
British army from Canada, lost of the battle
and surrendered to the Americans. Meanwhile,
Washington was on retreat. He established his
headquarters at Valley Forge, where he and his
men spent gloomy winter of 1777.

28. FOREIGN AID TO FIGHTING
AMERICANS
 Fortunately for the American patriots,
France, Spain, and Holland came to their
aid. It was Benjamin Franklin, American
diplomat and distinguished man of letters
and science who was instrumental in
persuading these European powers to
declare war on England and help thirteen
colonies.

29.  Certain liberty-loving Europeans actually
served under the American against the
British. Most famous of them was the
French noblemen, Marquis Lafayette, who
fought gallantly and was wounded at the
Battle of Brandywine. Baron von Steuben,
Prussian army officer and former aide-de-
camp of King Frederick the Great, became
the drillmaster of Washington’s army.

30.  Two brave Poles, Casimir Pulaski and
Thaddeus Kosciusko, also rendered valuable
services to the American forces.
 Pulaski died in battle, while Kosciuko
survived the war and returned to Poland.

31. THE WAR AT SEA
 Throughout the war, England’s mighty navy
dominated the sea. Yet the few and small
American frigates under the command of
bold Yankee naval captains were able to
inflict heavy damage on British sea power
and commerce.

32.  Most dashing of America’s naval heroes
during revolution was John Paul Jones.
With a squadron of five small warships, he
cruised in the waters of Ireland and
Scotland in August, 1779, capturing many
British merchantmen.

33.  A month later (September 23), his flagship
Bon Homme Richard engaged the British
warship Serapis in single combat near the
coast of Scotland.
 He won after terrific fight and captured the
Serapis, thereby establishing a fine tradition
of heroism in America’s naval anal.

34. THE WAR IN THE SOUTH
AND WEST
 Failing to crush Washington, the British
transferred the war to the South. They
hoped to win the support of the Tories of
Georgia and the Carolinas.
 At first, they were victorious, for they
captured Savannah (December, 1778) and
Charleston (May, 1780). They were,
however, checked at King’s Mountain in
North Carolina (October, 1780) by the
America’s guerrillas.

35.  In the West, the British were strongly
intrenched for they made the Indians their
allies. Kentucky was revaged by Indian
raids, which were instigated by the British
authorities.
 Led by George Rogers Clark, the Americans
smashed the British forces at Kaskaskia and
Vincennes (1778-79) in Illinois. The
successful campaign of Clark broke the
British power in the west.

36. AMERICANS WIN THEIR
INDEPENDENCE
 As the tide of war was turning in favor of
the Americans, General Cornwallis, British
Commander, made a serious blunder in
Virginia.
 He allowed himself to be trapped by the
American and French forces at Yorktown.
On land, he was surrounded by Washington
and Comte de Rochambeau (French
General).

37.  He could not escape by the sea for French
fleet under Admiral Francois de Grasse
blockaded Chesapeake Bay.
 On October 19, 1781, General Cornwallis
surrendered to Washington at Yorktown,
thus ending the American war of
Independence. At last, the Americans won
their independence, which was recognized
by England in the Treaty of Paris, signed on
September 3, 1783.

38. PROBLEMS OF A NEW
NATION
 The period (1781-87) was a critical one
which threatened to destroy the
independence that has been so dearly won
by so much “blood, sweat, and tears.”
 Serious problems as follows:

39. WEAKNESS OF THE
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
 The articles of confederation of 1781
established a confederation of sovereign
states, each enjoying great powers.
 The national government was weak
because it had no power to levy taxes and
to regulate commerce.

40. DISUNITY AMONG THE
STATES
 After winning independence, the states fell
apart and resumed their old jealousies and
quarrels They imposed tariff against one
another’s products and quarreled over their
boundary lines.

41. ECONOMIC CRISIS
 The economy of the new nation was paralyzed.
Agriculture and industries were ruined. The
paper money issued by the Continental
congress became worthless because the national
treasury was bankrupt. People derisively
referred to things without value as worthless as
the continental.” Prices of commodities soared
sky-high and thousands of people became
unemployed. The government could not pay its
obligations to foreign governments and to its
own people.

42. LACK OF FOREIGN
MARKETS
 Suffering economic distress at home, the
new nation lost its markets in foreign lands.
England, Spain, and the other European
countries closed their doors to American
trade.

43. ABSENCE OF PRESTIGE
ABROAD
 Foreign powers did not respect the new
nation because it was poor and unstable.
American diplomats abroad were shabbily
treated. As Thomas Jefferson, US minister in
France, reported: “We are the lowest and
most obscure of the diplomatic tribe.”

44. EMERGENCE OF A
STRONGER NATION
 As the condition of the new nation grew
worse, Benjamin Franklin, George
Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and other
leaders urged the strengthening of the
national government.
 Accordingly, the Philadelphia Convention
met on May 14, 1787 to draft a constitution.

45.  It was attended by delegates from twelve
states. Rhode Island sent no delgate. Among
the prominent delegates were George
Washington, James Madison, and Edmund
Randolf from Virginia; Alexander Hamilton
from New York; Benjamin Franklin from
Pennsylvania; and John Dickinson from
Delaware.

46.  On September 17, 1787, after nearly four
months of work, the Constitution of the
United States was finished and signed by 139
delegate.
 James Madison who had worked very hard
for its passage came to be called the “Father
of the Constitution.”

47.  The Constitution required the ratification of
at least nine states before it could be put into
effect.
 Many Americans strongly opposed its
ratification. Their objections to the
Constitution were as follows: (1) it is godless
because it does not mention God; (2) it
contains no Bill of Rights; and (3) it deprives
the states of their sovereign rights.

48.  A brilliant defense of the Constitution was
put up by Alexander Hamilton, James
Madison, and John Jay, resulting in the
ratification of the Constitution by nine states
at the end of June, 1788. The first state to
ratify the historic document was Delaware
(1787) and the ninth state, New Hamsphere
(1788).

49. WASHINGTON, FIRST
PRESIDENT
 The new
government under
constitution was
inaugurated at New
York, temporary
capital of the nation
on April 30, 1789

50.  President Washington took his oath of office
before Robert Livingston. As he bent his
head to kiss the Bible on which he had taken
the oath, the vast crowd that witnessed the
inagural ceremony cheered: “Long Live
George Washington, President of the United
States!”

51.  Washington, great in war and in peace,
successfully laid the solid foundation of the
American republic.
 Honest, sincere, and devoted, he gave his
people a fruitful and clean administration.
At the end of his second term in 1796, he
was urged by the people to run for a third
term, but he refused. In his famous
“Farewell Address”, he advised his people to
stay out of “entangling alliances” with other
powers.

52. ORIGIN OF THE PARTY
SYSTEM
 Although the framers of the Constitution
had no intention of establishing a
government by party system, the political
parties arose because of the conflict between
two members of Washington’s Cabinet-
Jefferson, Secretary of State, and Hamilton,
Secretary of Treasury.

53.  Hamilton favored a strong federal
government, high tariff to protect the infant
manufacturing industries, and a liberal
interpretation of the Constitution. He and
his followers came to be called the
“Federalists.”

54.  Opposing Hamilton, Jefferson championed
the rights of the states, low tariff to help the
farmers and landowners, and a strict
interpretation of the Constitution.
 He and his followers were called “Anti-
Federalists,” or “Democratic Republican” or
simply “Republicans.”

55.  John Adams (Federalists) was elected
President in 1796, succeeding Washington
who retired to his happy plantation home
called Mt. Vernon.
 Adams held office for only one term (1796-
1800).

56. JEFFERSONIAN
DEMOCRACY

57. JEFFERSONIAN
DEMOCRACY
 In the presidential
election of 1800,
Thomas Jefferson
(Democratic
Republican)
defeated Adams at
polls.

58.  He was the first President to be inagurated
at the nation’s capital Washington, D.C.
 Jefferson, a cultured and versatile Virginian,
was one of America’s greatest men. His
presidency (two terms, 1800-08) introduced
a new type of democracy known as
“Jeffersonian Democracy”.

59.  It was a democracy of the common people
farmers, small landowners, and middle-class
intelligentista.
 This democracy differed from the
democracy differed from the democracy of
rich industrialists and aristocratic landlords
which prevailed during the time of
Washington and Adams.

60.  Jefferson believed in equal opportunities for
all men, regardless of birth and social
position. He also believed that popular
education, free press, vigilant public
opinion, and economic security were
prerequisites of a good democracy.

61.  Other achivements of President Jefferson
were (1) the purchase of Louisiana (1803)
from Napoleon the Great for $15,000,000;
(2) victory in the war (1801-05) against the
Barbary States of North Africa (Tunis,
Algiers, Morocco, and Tripoli) which preyed
on American shipping in the Mediterranean;

62.  (3) reduction of taxes, government debts,
and army expenses; and (4) explorations of
the west by Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark (1804-06) and Lieutenant Zebulon
Pike (1805-07).

63. SECOND WAR FOR
INDEPENDENCE (1812)
 In 1808 James Madison, another Democratic
Republican, succeeded Jefferson to the
Presidency.
 At that time there was an intense anti-
British feeling in America because of (1)
England’s instigation of Indian attacks on
American frontier settlements and (2)
kidnapping of American seamen by British
naval officers.

64.  Despite America’s unpreparedness for war,
the fiery “War Hawks” a group of anti-
British politicians, compelled President
Madison and Congress to declare war on
England (June 18, 1812).
 American Historians call this needless war
the “Second war for independence,” once
more the Americans fought England in
defense of their land and freedom.

65.  Surprisingly, the small American fleet won
some amazing victories against the mighty
English navy.
 On August 19, 1812, the American warship
constitution (later rechristened Old Iron
Sides), captained by Isaac Hull, defeated the
British Guerrire in a sea duel off the Gulf of
St. Lawrence.

66.  Later, on September 13, 1813, Captain
Oliver H. Perry, with a flotilla of new ships,
defeated the British squadron at Lake Erie.
 But in the end the British navy prevailed
and it blockaded the coast of the United
States.

67.  Early in the war the American invaded
Canada, but they were repulsed. In
retaliation, the British forces in Canada
invaded the United States.
 They captured and burned Washington,
D.C. (August 24, 1814). But the attempt of
the British fleet to take Baltimore was foiled
by the heroic resistance of Fort McHenry.

68.  A young American, Francis Scott Key,
witnessed the all-night battle. The thrilling
sight of the American flag still waving
proudly at dawn (September 13) on Fort
McHenry’s parapet inspired him to compose
the “Star-Spangled Banner,” America’s
national anthem.

69.  Unable to capture Baltimore, the British
fleet left, sailing for New Orleans. The city
was defended by Andrew Jackson, aided by
tough frontiersmen, pirates, and fishermen.
 The Americans won a brilliant victory
(January 8, 1815). The British army under
the command of Sir Edward Pakenham (the
Duke of Wellington’s brother in law)
suffered a humiliating defeat.

70.  Jackson was acclaimed America’s military
hero. Because of his great popularity, he
became governor of Florida, then U.S
senator, and later President of the United
States.
 Although the Battle of New Orleans was a
dramatic success, it had no effect on the
Outcome of the war.

71.  Two weeks before the battle took place, the
treaty ending the war was signed at Ghent,
Belgium (December 24, 1814).
 Officially, the Battle of New Orleans was
illegal, for it was fought after the signing of
the Treaty of Ghent.

72. THE MONROE DOCTRINE
(1823)
 After the “Second War for independence,”
the United States developed a new foreign
policy known as the “Monroe Doctrie.” This
was provoked by the attempt of Metternich
and Concert of Europe to help Spain recover
her lost colonies in Latin America.

73.  England, who had resigned from the
Concert of Europe in 1822, proposed to the
United States an Anglo-American measure
against the projected European intervention.
 President James Monroe, however, decided
to act without England’s help. On December
2, 1823, he presented in a message to
Congress the Famous Monroe Doctrine.

74.  It contained the following provisions: (1) the
Western Hemisphere is no longer open to
European colonization, (2) any attempt to
extend European influence in the Western
Hemisphere would be considered dangerous
to American interests, and (3) the United
States does not interfere with the affairs of
Europe and expects Europe not to interfere
with American affairs.

75.  The Monroe Doctrine stopped the European
imperialistic designs in the Western
Hemisphere and saved the new republics of
Latin America (Mexico, Peru, Chile,
Argentina, etc.) from being reconquered by
Spain.

76. JACKSONIAN DEMOCRACY
 In 1828 Andrew Jackson, the popular “Hero
of New Orleans,” became the seventh
President of the United States, succeeding
John Quincy Adams.
 He was the first President from the West,
where he had grown up admidst simple and
rough pioneer folks.

77.  With little formal education, he trained
himself to be a lawyer and a general.
Aggressive, fearless, and strong, he became a
glamorous leader of the masses.
 He was affectionately called “Old Hickory”
because he was tough and durable as
hickory.

78.  During his presidency (two terms, 1829-37),
Jackson introduced a new kind of
democracy called “Jacksonian Democracy”.
 Jefferson believed in a democracy for the
common people but those who would govern
must have proper training and education.

79.  Jackson was of the opinion that such
education and training were not necessary
because men of ordinary intelligence and
sincerity could be officials in as much as the
duties of public office were “so plain and
simple.”

80. “MANIFEST DESTINY,”
TERRITORIAL EXPANSION
 As soon as the United States emerged as an
independent nation, she aspired to expand
from the Atlantic across the mountains to
the west.
 She believed in her destiny to be continental
power. Out of the Indian lands west of the
original Thirteen Colonies were created the
states of Kentucky (1792), Tennessee (1796),
and Ohio (1803).

81.  Despite his belief in the strict interpretation of
the Constitution, President Jefferson purchased
from France in 1803 the Louisiana Territory
between the Mississippi and Rockies.
 Florida was purchased from Spain in 1819. The
Republic of Texas, which had obtained its
independence from Mexico, was annexed to the
United States in 1845. The following year
Oregon was aquired by treaty with England.

82.  In 1846-48 the United States fought the
Mexican War because of her expansionist
aim to obtain California and New Mexico
and also because of her grievances against
Mexico.

83.  The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
which ended the war, set the Rio Grande as
the boundary between Mexico and Texas
and ceded to the United States the Mexican
territories of the Southwest, including
California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

84.  Five years later (1853) the United States, by
the so-called “Gadsden Purchase,” bought
from Mexico a strip of disputed territory
between Arizona and Mexico, thereby
rounding out her continental boundaries.

85. AMERICAN CIVIL WAR (1861-
65)
 The remarkable economic, social, and
political progress of the United States since
winning her independence was hampered by
the bloody and destructive Civil War, which
American writers called the “War between
the States,” a bloody conflict between
brother Americans. The causes of the Civil
War were as follows:

86. SECTIONALISM
 Northern Americans and Southern
Americans had clashing sectional feelings
due to differences in economic interests and
character.
 The north was industrial, while the South
was agricultural. The Northerners were
more democratic and progressive, while the
Southerners were more aristocratic and
conservative.

87. SLAVERY
 Northern Americans opposed Negro slavery
because they do not need slave labor in their
factories and small farms.
 On the other hand, Southern Americans
favored slavery because they needed Negro
slaves to cultivate their vast platations of
cotton, tobacco, and rice.

88. SECESSION
 Northern Americans, led by Senator Daniel
Webster of Massachusetts, believed that the
“Union is one and indivisible.”
 As President Jackson toasted in 1831: “Our
Federal Union... it must and shall be
preserved!” President Abraham Lincoln in his
first inagural address on March 4, 1861,
asserted: “No state upon its own mere motion
can lawfully get out of the union.” Southern
Americans led by Vice-President John C.
Calhoun of South Carolina, believed that any
state could secede from the Union.

89.  The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when
the Confederates (Southerners) bombarded
Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, South
Carolina.
 Not with standing their handicaps in manpower
and resources, the Confederates under their
able commanders (Robert E. Lee and
“Stonewall” Jackson) were able to fight the
North in four bloody years, winning some
brilliant victories against overwhelming odds.

90.  Their first victory was won in the First
battle of Bull run (July 21, 1861), thirty
miles south of Washington, D.C. They won
again in the Second Battle of Bull Run
(August 29-September 1, 1862).

91.  Inspired by his victory at the Second Battle
of Bull Run, General Robert Lee, greatest
military commander of the South, invaded
the north.
 He was checked at Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, where the fiercest and most
famous battle of the war was fought (July 1-
3, 1863).

92.  Later President Lincoln visited the historic
battleground and delivered his famous
“Gettysburg Speech” honoring the gallant
dead both Northerners and Southerners.
 On September 22, 1862, he proclaimed the
emancipation of the Negro slaves in all
Confederate states begining January 1,
1863.

93.  This Emancipation Proclamation was
implemented by the Thirteen Amendments
(1865) to the US Constitution which
abolished slavery in the United States.
 After Gettysburg, the Confederate cause
was lost. Lee’s military genius and the
splendid courage of the Confederate armies
could not win without adequate armanent
and reinforcements.

94.  The South grew weaker for lack of food,
machines, ammunitions, and Men. The
ruinous war was finally ended on April 9,
1865, when General Lee and his tired and
starving army surrendered to Ulysses S.
Grant, greatest general of the North, at
Appomatox Courthouse, Virginia.

95. RESULTS OF THE CIVIL WAR
 The results of the American Civil War were
as follows: (1) a stronger American nation
emerged out of the ashes of war, with
strengthened spirit of unity; (2) the Union
was preserved; (3) slavery was abolished;
and (4) the planter aristocracy, whose wealth
and prestige depended on slave labor,
disappeared in the South.

96. THE RECONSTRUCTION
PERIOD
 The story of the vanquished South after
Civil War is a dark chapter in American
History.
 Had President Lincoln’s life not been cut
short by an assassin’s bullet, many of the
evils of the Reconstruction Period would not
have flourished.

97.  The “Carpetbaggers,” poor Northern
officials who went South carrying their
wordly goods in a carpetbag, connived with
the “Scalawags,” corrupt Southern whites,
to gain control of Southern politics and
enrich themselves.

98.  The Postwar governments which were
established in the different states of the
South were “the worst governments in
American history,” being dominated by
unscrupulous officials.
 The Southern whites, who later gained
control of state legislatures, passed
discriminatory laws against the Black
Americans (Negroes).

99.  They also organized a secret society called,
the Ku Klux Klan, which terrorized the
helpless negroes.
 Ku Klux Klan activities intensified the
conflict between black and white Americans,
thereby fostering racial prejudice which still
exist in a few States.

100.  In 1866, the Fourteenth Amendment was
added to the Constitution, making the
emancipated Negro slaves citizens of the
United States and protecting their rights as
citizens. It also disqualified former leaders
of the Confederacy from holding federal and
state offices.

101. THANK YOU
AND
GOD BLESS