©2007 Clairmont Press

Section 1: Sectionalism and Secession Section 2: Sticking with the

Confederacy Section 3: Conflicts on the Home Front Section 4: Reconstruction in the State Section 5: African Americans During

Reconstruction

ESSENTIAL QUESTION What events led to the secession of North Carolina?

What words do I need to know? 1. Missouri Compromise2. abolitionist3. North Carolina Manumission Society4. manifest destiny5. annex6. secession7. Compromise of 18508. Republican Party9. Confederate States of America10. Unionist

Introduction During the 1850s, conflict between

different areas of the state increased. Western areas grew less cotton and

wheat and needed fewer slaves. Eastern areas increased cotton

production and needed more slaves.

Missouri Compromise: an agreement made in 1820 that allowed slavery in some states (including the south) and not others.

abolitionists: opponents of slavery. North Carolina Manumission Society: a

group of abolitionists who raised money to buy slaves from their owners.

Demand for cotton led to the state supporting slavery.

Abolitionists were run out of the state.

Manifest destiny: the belief that the US should control all land, Atlantic to Pacific.

1844: Polk elected President. Polk annexed (added) Texas to the US.

This led to war with Mexico over the land. 1850: nation came close to a civil war. secession: a state leaves the Union. Compromise of 1850: allowed California

to enter the Union as a free state and made a stronger fugitive slave law.

North Carolina did not side with the North on slavery.

1860: Abraham Lincoln elected by the Republican Party (formerly the Whigs) for President.

Lincoln was not on southern state ballots. 1861: Confederate States of America

formed by 8 southern states seceding.

Unionists (who wanted the state to stay in the Union) were more influential than people in the cotton trade, so North Carolina stayed in the Union.

Unionists did not want the country to take action against the states that seceded.

April 12, 1861: Fort Sumter fired on by the Confederates.

May 20, 1861: NC voted to secede.

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ESSENTIAL QUESTIONHow did the war affect North Carolina?

What words do I need to know? 1. naval blockade2. blockade runner

Introduction Nickname of Tar Heels acquired. More than 125,000 troops were provided

to the Confederacy by the state. Soldiers could die, be injured, be

captured, become ill, or desert. North Carolina was not seen as a military

leader.

Beth, Virginia, 1861: first North Carolinian killed in battle, Henry Wyatt.

General Pettigrew led troops in Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, NC people called it “Pickett-Pettigrew Charge”.

¼ of those who surrendered at Appomattox in 1865 were from the state.

NC soldiers accidentally wounded Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville.

By 1862, the Union controlled the Outer Banks, working toward capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

By 1863, the North had created a naval blockade, which blocked all supplies from other countries from being received by the state. Only Wilmington remained open.

The features of the coastline were an advantage and the North was outmaneuvered.

Blockade runners: gray, low-lying steamships that were able to slip out for supplies.

“The lifeline of the Confederacy”: the rail line between Wilmington and VA to carry supplies.

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1865: North Carolina was under attack from all directions.

Sherman marched through the state, taking control of central North Carolina.

Bentonville was the largest NC battle.

General Stoneman invaded from the West.

April 6, 1865: Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.Click here to return to Main Menu.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION How was life in North Carolina affected by the Civil War?

What words do I need to know? 1. conscript2. price gouging3. buffalo4. outlier5. Home Guard6. Peace Movement

Introduction Almost 20,000 North Carolinians were

conscripted (forced to join the Confederate army).

Price gouging (charging a higher price than what is considered fair) was a problem as money continued to drop in value.

A portion of the produce grown was required of every family as a “tax-in-kind.”

More than half of the men from farms had gone off to war, making farming difficult.

Many women left on farms had to ask for financial help from their communities.

Flour riots occurred in 1863 when prices rose sharply.

Buffaloes: men who hid in gangs in the swamps to avoid going to war. Some were thieves and others fought for the North.

Slaves went to fight for the North. Outliers: men who were lying out in the

woods to avoid going to war. They numbered in the hundreds and stole items.

Home Guard: older men who defended their neighborhoods.

Heroes of America: a society that helped men desert. Membership was treason.

Fighting among North Carolinians was the worst in the mountains where outliers were constantly confronted by the Home Guard.

Fighting was fierce in the mountains throughout the entire war.

William Holden Zebulon Vancenewspaper editor governororiginally favored solder’s candidate

secessionchanged his mind wanted all supplies in

when he saw the state to staywhat was happening in the state

urged state to seek opposed the Peacepeace with North Movement

proposal grew into Peace saw peace as givingMovement in to the North

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION What changes occurred in North Carolina during Reconstruction?

What words do I need to know? 1. Reconstruction2. freedmen3. Black Codes4. carpetbagger5. Universal manhood suffrage6. segregate7. Ku Klux Klan8. martial law9. Kirk-Holden War10. impeach

Introduction Most soldiers had to walk home after the

war. Slaves moved away from plantations. Vance was the only state citizen jailed

because of the war. Holden became temporary governor. Reconstruction: steps taken to rebuild the

South after the war.

1865: Jonathan Worth became governor, 13th Amendment was ratified, and a new state constitution was drafted.

Freedmen (former slaves): social status defined by new laws called Black Codes.

Black Codes allowed for marriage, education, and property ownership, but denied other rights that whites had. They could not move, change jobs, own guns, or serve on juries.

Southern states were told to repeal Black Codes or they would not be readmitted to the Union.

Holden and the Republican Party complied with Congress.

1867: Republicans won the election with the help of black voters.

23 of the delegates who met were former slaves.

Half of the white Republicans were new to public office.

Carpetbaggers served as delegates. They were white men from the North wanting power and fortune.

The delegates represented the common man.

New constitution: 1. established universal manhood suffrage (all men over 21 could vote, regardless of color or economic status)2. increased the number of public officers chosen by the public and created county commissioners3. required more services for people, including public education (blacks and whites were still segregated)

Holden elected governor and started improving conditions.

July, 1868: North Carolina readmitted to the Union. 14th Amendment ratified.

Legislature passed laws to allow money to be borrowed to rebuild railroads, expand institutions for the handicapped, and build a prison to house the state’s prisoners.

Conservatives (former supporters of the Confederacy) opposed the increased taxes needed and thought the Republicans were radicals.

White-run newspapers swayed public opinion about the actions of the radicals.

Ku Klux Klan was formed by the Conservatives to provide an “intelligent white man’s” government but became a secret, racist organization.

KKK members wore horned masks and red gowns to hide their identities. They warned, whipped, and murdered their targets.

Military forces (martial law) used to keep order, declared by Governor Holden to keep the KKK from taking over.

State militia, led by General Kirk was sent to gain control of certain areas.

Kirk-Holden War: name given to the actions of the two men by Conservatives who said it resembled a civil war.

KKK affected elections and continued to cause trouble until outlawed in 1872.

1871: Holden was impeached (charges were filed against him for wrongdoing).

Holden was removed from office because he was not allowed to enter testimony about the KKK. He was the first governor in US history to have this happen.

Conservatives undid many of Holden’s reforms.

Conservatives, renamed themselves Democrats. Saying they were saving the state from the trouble caused by radicals, the new legislature: chose justices of the peace required schools to be segregated made it harder for poor men who

moved around a lot to vote Vance was elected governor.

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ESSENTIAL QUESTION What was life like for freedmen during Reconstruction?

What words do I need to know? 1. Freedmen’s Bureau2. sharecropper

Introduction After celebrating, many freedmen lived in

refugee camps set up by the Union. The Black Codes restricted them.

1865: Freedmen held a convention to protest the restrictions, establishing the North Carolina Equal Rights League.

Freedmen’s Bureau: agency set up by the federal government to assist former slaves.

African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was organized.

Conflict continued between whites and freedmen.

Freedmen became active in the Republican party to gain better rights.

Eastern counties, where blacks were the majority, always sent black representatives to Raleigh.

Blacks continued to be elected to the legislature, as required by the 15th Amendment, even after Conservatives took over in 1876.

Former slaves had to move around to find work.

sharecropping: an arrangement where a landowner and renter shared the profit from farming done on the rented land.

Most black families became sharecroppers and barely got by because of debt involved in the arrangement.

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