THE CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH

The Gold Rush in the 1800’s

The Gold Rush was one of the most significant events in California history. It drew thousands of people from all over the world to California in search for gold. These fortune seekers rushed to the gold fields by foot, horseback, wagon, and ship. Many gold seekers arrived expecting to find rivers overflowing with gold. Each person had a dream of wealth and was willing to endure tremendous hardships while searching for gold. Gold as a Mineral “Gold is a Gold is a bright yellow metal. It has many qualities which make it popular. Gold will not tarnish or rust. It is very soft, which makes it is easy to work with. Gold can be shaped into any form desired. Gold can also be combined with other metals to make objects harder such as jewelry and cups. The mixture of gold and other metals is called an alloy. Gold alloys are measured in Karats. Jewelry that is pure gold is said to be 24 Karat (24K). Jewelry bright yellow that is half gold and half other metals is 12 Karat (12K). Gold, however, is not valuable just because it has many good qualities. It is valuable metal.” because it is scarce. Possession of gold has been a sign of wealth for thousands of years.

Historic Importance

No one knows when gold was first discovered, but gold cups and gold jewelry made as early as 3500 B.C. have been found in ancient tombs and ruins. Greek and Roman myths refer to gold in stories like “King Midas” and “The Golden Fleece.” During the Middle Ages, gold became so scarce that men called alchemists tried unsuccessfully to make gold from other metals. When gold was discovered in the new world in the 1500’s, Europeans explored and conquered these new lands to get the gold. The Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru had their gold and land taken from them by gold-hungry explorers. These early explorers didn’t find gold in the present day boundaries of the United States, but it was there. The first gold rush in America took place in Georgia in 1828, and a vast amount of gold was discovered in several western states later in the century.

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The Beginnings

John Sutter was an immigrant (a person from another country) who arrived in California in 1939. He became a Mexican citizen and received a land grant of 50,000 acres in Sacramento Valley. Sutter began to build a settlement on his land and hoped to one day build an agricultural paradise. He built Sutter’s Fort as a rest station for travelers and immigrants to California. In 1847, John Sutter hired a construction supervisor, James Marshall, to build a saw mill on a portion of his land. One problem that Marshall had encountered was how to keep the water flowing forcefully so that Sutter’s waterwheel would turn properly. He had workers constantly deepening and widening the waterway to create the right current. Each morning, Marshall would check the completed work and the flow of water. On the morning of January 24, 1848, James Marshall was checking the progress of the work from the previous day when he noticed a few glittering flakes of gold. Returning quickly to the mill, Marshall shouted to the men, “Boys, I believe I have found a gold mine!” Marshall hurried to show the gold to his boss, John Sutter. Sutter tested the gold and found it to be pure. The two men decided to keep the information a secret. Unfortunately, some men at the mill had already started to spread the news. It took about one year for the news to reach across to the East Coast and to other countries such as Europe, Australia, and China. When word arrived, thousands of people decided to leave their homes and businesses and travel to California in hopes of striking it rich. This influx of people entering California became known as the Gold Rush. In the beginning, rich deposits of gold were found often. But, as time progressed, the rich deposits dwindled, and the number of gold seekers increased. Most prospectors worked very hard just to meet daily living expenses. The work was physically hard. It usually meant bending and shoveling from sun-up to sundown everyday. Most prospectors lived in small shacks or canvas tents. The shacks usually had only a rough cot, a washbasin, a table, and a chair. Many shacks only consisted of a cot. Winters were cold and hard for the miners. They were not prepared for the harsh winters, lacking proper supplies and shelters.

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Getting to the Gold Fields

Gold was discovered in rural areas of western states and territories, sometimes thousands of miles away from populated cities. Most fortune seekers spent months just trying to reach the gold fields and the hardships that they endured were at times unbearable. But, they still came. They had two ways of getting to the gold – by land and by sea.

Journey by Land

The overland route was the shortest to California. It usually took travelers 3 – 6 months to reach San Francisco. It was the route that most travelers chose because it was more affordable than to journey by ship. These gold-seekers traveled in covered wagons pulled by oxen or mules and some rode horses. The overland journey required careful planning and preparation. No matter where the gold was found, Forty- Niners had to wait for the right time in spring to start their journey. They could not begin to travel until the rains of early spring had stopped and grass on the prairie had grown enough to feed the animals that pulled the supply wagons. If travelers left too early, the grass would not be plentiful across the plains and their animals would starve to death. However, if they left too late in the spring, they could get caught in early snowstorms while crossing the western mountains, which caused many to perish. Many gold seekers purchased supplies and wagons and then formed mining companies so that they could travel together across the unknown and dangerous territory. These mining companies gave the travelers a sense of safety because many feared attacks from the Native Americans. After all, the miners were crossing tribal land without permission. By traveling together in large numbers, the gold seekers believed that they had a better chance reaching the gold fields safely. Many people paid about $300.00 to join one of these companies. Even with careful planning, overland travelers endured many hardships. They experienced violent thunderstorms, intense rain, and scorching heat. They traveled mile after mile on bumpy trails that choked their throats with dust. While trying to cross rivers, they lost many of their belongings and sometimes even their lives. Because many of these travelers were from cities like Boston or New York, they had never had to hunt for food, build a fire, or try to survive in the wilderness. Now they faced months far from civilization. However, the biggest killer for the overland traveler was disease. Hundreds of gold-seekers died and were buried along the trail.

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The strain of the long journey also took a toll on the oxen and mules. As they traveled, forty-niners were forced to lighten the load by throwing out everything they didn't need--from cook stoves and furniture to barrels of flour. Still, thousands of animals died from exhaustion or thirst and were left to rot in the sun. Near the end of the journey, the forty-niners had to cross a 40 mile desert. In this hot, dry wasteland, the travelers battled heat and thirst. Some people brought enough water for the crossing, but those who didn’t, often paid with their lives. This stretch of desert was later named Death Valley because it took so many lives during the Gold Rush years. After Death Valley, the travelers still had one final challenge to overcome, the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Its high passes, and narrow gaps, were extremely difficult to cross. It took a combination of bravery, cooperation, skill, and luck to survive the overland journey. But, many believed that it was worth the risk in order to strike it rich in the California gold fields.

Journey by the Panama Route

Another way to the California gold fields was by sea. Ships were in great demand. When all the safe, sturdy vessels were filled, greedy businessmen began to sell passage on ships that were old and had been abandoned for years. Many were not even seaworthy. But anything that could possibly stay afloat was used. All the ships took either the Panama route or the Cape Horn route. For many Forty-Niners, this 3 – 5 month route was irresistible because it could possibly cut off months of travel. However, it was the most expensive. Panama travelers usually boarded ship at Boston and traveled to the Caribbean Coast. After their arrival on the coast, the gold-seekers stepped on board a canoe and took a three to four day trip up a river. At first the Panama people charged $5.00 for the journey, but when they realized how anxious the gold- seekers were to get across Panama, the price quickly rose. However, the Forty-Niners realized that the river ride was the easy part. After, the canoes landed, they had to travel miles by horse of mule through the steaming jungle to Panama City. At first, the jungle landscape seemed like a beautiful dream: dense thickets of trees, dazzling tropical flowers, and exotic animals surrounded them. Some Forty-Niners even had the chance to sample roast iguana and monkey meat. However, crossing through the jungle had its difficulties. Bodies of dead horses and mules marked the 50 mile trail. Of the thousands of travelers who attempted the Panama crossing, many became ill and died from diseases and never made it out of the jungle.

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The forty-niners that survived the treacherous trek were soon shocked when they discovered that thousands of gold-seekers were stranded in Panama City because ships needed to take them the rest of the way to California were rare. Unfortunately, many of the sailors who brought the miners to the California coast did not want to sail back to Panama. Instead, they joined the gold rush and stayed in California. Ship captains had a difficult time getting crews to sail back to Panama to pick up those waiting. Meanwhile the travelers stranded in Panama had to wait weeks, even months in overcrowded, disease-infested towns, for a ship to take them north. When a ship finally arrived, miners swarmed them. Often, Forty-Niners paid extremely high prices for passage. But most thought the cost was worth it. They were headed to California, the land of gold.

Journey Around Cape Horn

Of the two major sea routes, the Cape Horn route was the most heavily traveled, as it was considerably cheaper than the route through Panama. The lower fare allowed men of modest means, such as famers and laborers, to travel to California. It was, however, a considerably slower voyage. The average trip took between four to eight months. Many anxious miners avoided this route, but for passengers who needed to bring large amounts of supplies with them to the Pacific Coast, is was the best choice. One reason why this route took longer was because of the many dangers sailing around Cape Horn, which is located at the tip of South America. Monstrous waves, terrifying winds, and frigid temperatures challenged even the most experienced captains. Storms sent many ships to the bottom of the sea. In good weather, travelers enjoyed the beauty of the sea. Stops in exotic ports made life interesting. But as the voyage went on, travelers suffered boredom, disease, and seasickness. Bad food also maddened the passengers. Meats and vegetables spoiled quickly in the hot climate near the equator. Worms burrowed through the bread. The water stored for months in a ship’s hold was almost impossible to drink. Many men became ill and some died from Scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of Vitamin C found in fresh fruits and vegetables. When passengers died, their bodies were wrapped in canvas cloth and buried at sea. Even with all its hardships and dangers, the Cape Horn route was undoubtedly the safest of all the routes to the gold fields. But, no matter what route travelers chose, getting to the gold fields was not easy or safe. They had to cope with great distances, harsh weather, poor transportation, and disease. Perhaps the greatest danger came from dishonest people who

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promised quick, safe transportation but did not honor their promises. In spite of the many dangers and hardships, people continued to go. Gold was a magnet that drew thousands of fortune seekers from all over the world to California.

MINING FOR GOLD

Miners developed a number of clever devices to help them do their job more easily. But the basic idea stayed the same as in panning. Water and constant motion were used to separate gold from dirt. Panning

The most widely-used method of mining in the gold fields was panning, even though it was the most ineffective of all the miner’s tools. This process of mining was hard, tiring work. The miners worked for long hours knee-deep in icy cold streams and rivers. Their backs ached, and their feet grew numb while their faces blistered in the sun. A miner would scoop some mud and dirt into a shallow pan, lower the pan into a river or stream, and carefully swish the mud around the pan. The heavier gold settled to the bottom while the water and dirt spilled out.

Cradle/Rocker

Another popular tool used during the gold

The “topper” rush was the rocker or cradle. The rocker took is where dirt and water handle the panning process one step further. This tool were placed vaguely resembles a child’s cradle. The cradle riffles had a perforated steel top, like a screen. Mud and dirt were shoveled onto the top, and water was poured over it. The cradle was then “rocked” back and forth. The rocking action allowed the mud and water to run down and out while the heavy gold would get lodged between the wooden riffles at the bottom of the cradle. rockers For maximum efficiency, four men were required to work this tool. One dug the material from the ground, another carried it to the cradle and emptied it on the grate; the third gave a violent rocking motion; while the fourth dashed on water from the stream itself. After many shovel loads of gravel were pushed through the rocker, the miner would then use his gold pan to sort out the heavy minerals and, with luck, find gold.

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Long Tom

Once the easy gold was found, more inventive ways were needed to get gold. The Long Tom was simply an extended version of a rocker that had a wooden trough of about 10 – 30 feet long. The bottom was constructed similar to a cradle with wooden riffles to catch the gold.

However, the disadvantage of the Long Tom was that it needed a continuous flow of fast-moving water. This forced the miners to build the Long Toms near rivers and streams so that the water could be diverted to constantly run through them. The Long Tom could get 4 -5 times as much gold as a cradle, but it took more men to operate it.

Hydraulic Mining

Hydraulic mining used high-powered hoses to shoot water at the sides of mountains thought to have gold. Tons of water were used to create rivers of mud that were diverted into “Long Toms,” where the gold was collected. Hydraulic mining required expensive equipment, so only a few large companies could afford to do it. This method of mining was the most profitable, but unfortunately, it was also the most damaging to the environment. It washed away hillsides, clogged streams, and killed fish. Hydraulic mining caused so much destruction that it was made illegal in most states by 1900.

LAW AND ORDER

Miners’ Government

Gold was usually found in sparsely populated areas that had little to no government. The miners working and living in these areas often found themselves forced to create their own rules or laws. Miners would call a camp meeting and elect a presiding officer, a recorder, and sometimes even a marshal. The meetings had two purposes: first, to make laws; and second, to enforce the laws they made. If a miner felt mistreated or wanted a problem solved, he could

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call a meeting. A judge and jury would be selected to hear the miner’s case and to render a decision. Any decision made was backed up or enforced by the other miners in the camp.

Staking a Claim

The most important laws to the miners were those that governed the staking of a mining claim. The first task in any mining community was to decide how much land a miner could claim. The size of a claim varied from camp to camp, depending on the amount of gold known in that area. Usually a miner could claim approximately 100 square feet at the richer sites and as much as 10,000 square feet at the poorer sites. Once a miner had selected a claim, he had to mark it so that other miners would know that it was taken. This procedure was usually done by driving a stake into the ground (hence “staking a claim”) and filing the claim with a camp recorder. A miner could keep a claim as long as he worked it. Generally this meant the miner had to be present one day out of three. If a claim went unworked for more than ten days, another miner could claim it.

Camp Justice

Justice in the camps was quick and rough. Trials were short, and punishments were handed out immediately. For serious crimes such as grand thief and murder, the punishment was hanging. Lesser offenses such as petty theft usually resulted in a beating and banishment from the camp. Eventually legal systems replaced the miners’ version of camp justice. Sheriffs and judges were hired, and jails were built. Most of the judges were fair, but there were some exceptions. Until a standard legal system was established, the miners’ brand of justice was fair and reasonable for those in the mining camps. However, there were exceptions, especially for the minorities.

Racial Prejudice

The mining camps were populated by people from all over the world. Although most of the miners were white- skinned and English-speaking, the camps also contained minorities. These people were frequently mistreated and not protected by the miners’ system of justice. Native Americans were driven from their land. They saw their beautiful landscape destroyed, their streams polluted, and wildlife scared away. The miners who came from Mexico and South America were beaten, robbed, and forced to pay high taxes. Although the minorities were allowed to stake a claim, they were forced to leave once their claim was proven to be rich.

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Chinese miners came to the gold fields by the thousands even though they received the worst treatment of any of the groups. They could mine only where the whites had already worked or where no one else wanted to mine. Frequently they were beaten and run out of town. Many miners were hostile and cruel to people who were not like them. Racial prejudice was a common part of mining life.

The Rest of the Story

Although James Marshall discovered the first nugget of gold on John Sutter’s property, neither man profited from the discovery. Sutter’s 50,000 acres of land were invaded and ruined by prospectors searching for gold. They trampled his crops, muddied the streams, and killed his cattle for food. With his dreams crushed, Sutter tried his luck at mining but never struck it rich. Years later he traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask Congress to recognize his claim to the land he had received from Mexico, but while waiting for their decision, Sutter died in a Washington, D.C. hotel room on June 18, 1880. James Marshall, who discovered gold at Sutter’s mill, also never became wealthy. He tried prospecting, but never located another rich strike. Marshall was forced to sell his own small ranch to pay off debts. Marshall grew fruit and produced wines and brandies but failed after a few years. He tried prospecting again, bought into a partnership in a worthless mine, and even went on a lecture tour to raise money. In 1872, the California State Legislature gave Marshall a two-year pension in recognition of his role in the state’s history. However, legend has it that when he went before the legislature to ask for more money, a brandy bottle dropped out of his pocket, and the pension was denied. James Marshall died as a poor man in 1885. Many of those who set off for California to find fame and fortune found only hardship or death instead. Many never made it to California at all, dying during the long voyage, either by sea or land. Of those who did make it to California, many fell victim to disease, violence, or murder. Many of the women and children waiting back east never saw their loved ones again and some never knew what had happened to them.

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SLAVERY IN AMERICA We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Slavery – An Acceptable Practice

In 1860, Americans had a problem. It wasn’t a new problem; they’d been living with it since the nation began. There were those words written in the Declaration of Independence – all men are created equal. But not all people were equal in the United States. In fact, one large group was not even free. Slavery was a common practice across the world, and in this country, slavery was accepted. George Washington, this nation’s first president, owned over 200 slaves. Thomas Jefferson, the third president and writer of the Declaration of Independence, had over 180 slaves. In fact, eight of the first twelve presidents were slave owners. Slaves were a necessity because there were jobs that no one wanted to do and, in the days before machinery, slaves seemed to be an answer. So if you were on the losing side of a war, or were kidnapped by a rival tribe, or by a thief, you might have ended up a slave.

Slavery – North and South

In colonial times, there was slavery in both North and South. But slavery didn’t make much sense in the North; farms were small and the farmer and his family could often handle the work themselves. Therefore, slavery was banished in the north after the Revolutionary War. However, the situation was different in the South. The crops that grew well there were tobacco, cotton, rice, and sugar. These crops demanded large numbers of fieldworkers. Slaves solved the problem for planters because they were a cheap, easy source of labor. As time passed, slavery raised questions about other factors aside from economics. It raised questions of racism and forced people to ask themselves if they believed slavery was morally wrong. Even though many were against it, few were willing to do anything about it. Most of the white people who didn’t like slavery kept quiet. Was that wrong? Why didn’t they speak out? Maybe it was because it wasn’t easy to attack slavery. Those who did speak out weren’t very popular. They were called abolitionists because they wanted to abolish, or end slavery. To people who were happy with things as they were, the abolitionists seemed like troublemakers.

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What It Meant To Be A Slave

There was nothing easy about the life of a slave. They generally worked either in their master’s house or in his fields. For house slaves, all the cooking and cleaning was done by hand. They often took care of their master’s children. Even though house slaves sometimes received better food, their working days were longer because they could work after dark by the lights in the house. On the other hand, the slaves that worked in the field would work from sun up to sun down. The work was back breaking, and overseers often did not care if a slave was worked to death. If one died, they would just go to the slave market and buy another one. Others learned skilled trades, working as carpenters, blacksmiths and builders. Some worked in mines and mills, and as servants. The slave’s life was not a happy one – many were tortured, sold and separated from their families. Slaves in the United States faced serious health problems. Improper nutrition, unsanitary living conditions and excessive labor made them even more vulnerable to diseases than the dangers imposed on them by their masters. Southern slaves were given small amounts of dirty or broken rice and corn. Meat was a rare treat. When it was offered, it would be the less desirable parts of an animal, like the feet, legs, or head. Sometimes they would eat the animal’s small intestines or other organ parts. Meals were often stews which had simmered all day in a pot on the outdoor hearth. Water was the most common liquid intake of the slaves. At home the slaves could boil water to make a tea from sassafras leaves, sweetened with molasses. But out in the fields, unclean (and sometimes disease-infested) water was all they had. Horrible living conditions were also something the southern slaves had to endure. Their homes were small, dilapidated shacks that were overcrowded with little room and poor ventilation. Fireplaces were not provided. Therefore, all cooking had to be done outside and they had no form of heat in the winter. Slave owners provided the minimal amount of clothing for slaves. Children of both genders who worked in the fields were often dressed in a long shirt which reached their knees. Once they were grown, they received appropriate adult clothing. Men wore a shirt and pants with a coat for the winter, while women wore a dress. Those who worked in the house were usually better dressed than the field slaves because they were seen by more people who visited the master.

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In many states, it was illegal to teach a slave to read. Many people thought that slaves were incapable of learning. Others, however, were worried that if slaves learned to read and write, then they would be able to communicate to one another by the written word. This knowledge, they felt, could be dangerous because the slaves could possibly overpower their slave owners. However, some slaves still managed to learn to read and write even though it was prohibited. This knowledge helped many of them gain their freedom. It was a very difficult life for the slaves, since they were forced to work and live according to their master’s rules and desires. If a slave ever attempted to run away, they were punished brutally. Many were branded, whipped, and hung. They were also forced to wear iron slave collars with long protruding prongs. These collars were used to punish and identify slaves who were considered to be possible or risky runaways. Southern slave owners did everything they could to control their slaves. For example, slaves could not marry without their owners’ permission, and no slave marriage was considered legal. Slaves couldn’t learn to read or write. Slaves couldn’t own property. Sometimes, they couldn’t even name their own children - an owner would choose the baby’s name instead. Of all the terrible things about slavery, perhaps the most terrible was that a slave was considered property that could be bought, sold and punished at any time. Children could be sold away from their mothers and fathers. Husbands could be sold away from their wives and families.

Trying to Save the Union

Slavery was dividing the nation in two parts: a northern part, where there was no slavery, and a southern part, where slavery still existed. The problem increased when the country began to grow and western lands began to develop. The question was, would slavery be allowed in these new territories? Or, would the new lands be slave-free? Southerners wanted slavery to expand. Northerners did not. Eventually, almost every bill that came before Congress was judged on whether it was good for the North or good for the South. The problem of slavery made people lose track of

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what was good for the nation as a whole. In fact, the southern states began talking about leaving the Union and becoming a separate country. Congress was desperate to keep the United States together. In September of 1850, Congress passed a series of bills aimed at resolving the territorial and slavery controversies known as the Compromise of 1850. These bills were called a compromise because both the North and South had to give up some things they wanted.

The Fugitive Slave Act

One law in the Compromise of 1850 really upset the North. It was called the Fugitive Slave Act. A fugitive is a slave who runs away. According to this new law: 1. Blacks in the North could be taken back to the South to slavery. 2. People could not help slaves escape. 3. Northerners were forced to return slaves to their owners or they would face criminal charges.

Although the Fugitive Law of 1850 made it illegal to help runaway slaves, many people ignored the law.

The Dred Scott Case

In 1857 the Fugitive Slave Law was put to a legal test during the Dred Scott case. Dred Scott was born into slavery in 1799, in the slave state of Missouri. One day, Scott’s owner decided to move to the Wisconsin Territory where slavery was prohibited. For several years, Scott lived as a slave where slavery was not allowed. Determined to fight for his freedom, Scott sued, arguing that he and his wife should be considered free because he lived in a free state. His case reached the country’s top court – the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the judges on the Supreme Court voted against Scott’s claim. They decided to support the ideas of the Fugitive Slave Law and state that even free states were subject to the laws of slavery. They even went far beyond the issue of Scott's freedom and declared that blacks, as a whole, were "beings of an inferior order.” The Supreme Court declared that no blacks – free or slave – could ever be a citizen of the United States. They also ruled that all slaves were property so their owners could take them wherever they wanted. The Dred Scott decision meant that it did not matter whether a state was slave free or not. Slave

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owners could take their slaves anywhere. This ruling helped to further divide the nation into slavery and anti-slavery forces. As for Dred Scott himself, in his later years was freed by his owner and lived as a free man for only 16 months before he died from lung disease.

The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was not a real railroad at all. In fact, it was the name given for the secret route that runaway slaves took to escape to freedom. The route stretched from the South to the North, and it was called this because fugitives who traveled it seemed to just vanish as if traveling underground. Along the route of the Underground Railroad were a series of safe hiding places called stations, where runaways could hide for a time. These stations provided a safe place for the slaves to eat and rest before continuing on. The Underground Railroad also consisted of a secret group of people - blacks and whites - who helped runaway slaves from the South escape to freedom in the North, where slavery was against the law. The people who participated in the Railroad went to great lengths to protect themselves and disguise the activities of the Railroad. To do so, they used creative ways to communicate to one another. It was important that abolitionists could communicate with one another as well as communicate with the runaway slave. The most popular methods used by the members were secret code words, quilt picture codes, and lyrics to songs.

Underground Code Words

Code Word Meaning Baggage or Passengers Escaping slaves Conductor A person who led slaves along escape routes

Drinking Gourd The Big Dipper

Load of Potatoes Slaves hidden under produce in a wagon

Station A safe house Stationmaster Keeper of a safe house

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Quilt Picture Codes The Underground Railroad Quilt Code also existed as a form of communication to guide fugitives to freedom. Because it was illegal in slave-holding states to teach slaves how to read, they could not communicate with each other in writing. But, because slaves shared an oral history of storytelling along with a basic knowledge of African art, abolitionists and slaves discovered that they were able to communicate complex messages to one another through stitches, patterns, designs, colors and fabrics. Once the codes were created, the fugitives memorized the meanings and patterns of the code, which ultimately communicated to them how to get ready to escape, what to do on the trip, and where to go. The images on the quilts were not only used to guide and to provide directional clues for the runaway but to also communicate warnings of danger as they traveled. The coded quilts were hung outside on a clothesline or “aired” out of the home’s window. Because quilts were common and not an unusual site that would signal suspicious activity, the abolitionists felt that these secret maps were a safe form of communication.

Methods of Travel

Most runaways traveled by wagon or on foot. This wagon (right) had a false bottom. Runaways would hide by lying down on the real wagon bottom, and then the wagon driver would cover the space with straw or sacks of grain.

Traveling at Night Small Dipper North Conductors (the person who led slaves along escape routes) and Star runaways learned to use the North Star as a compass. They first searched the sky for the star group known as the Big Dipper. It helped them find the North Star. By always traveling north, runaways reached the free states. When clouds covered the North Star, runaways had another way to find north. If they were in a forest, they would run their hand up and down the sides of trees. Since moss grows best on the north side of a tree, this helped them travel in the right direction. However, sometimes runaways got lost.

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The Drinking Gourd – THE BIG DIPPER

Gourd - a squash-like vegetable, usually dried and used as a drinking utensil.

Slaves planning their escape became skilled at communicating through songs. The lyrics or words to the song, “Follow the Drinking Gourd” contained secret messages and specific instructions that helped slaves who were running away. It directed runaways to use the pattern of stars to help guide them out of the South and to freedom.

Lyrics To “Follow the Drinking Gourd” Old Man = Peg Leg Joe, a man who was part of Follow the Drinking Gourd. the Underground Railroad who met escaping For the old man is waiting slaves at the Ohio River. For to carry you to freedom, If you follow the Drinking Gourd. When the sun comes back = refers to winter and spring when the altitude of the sun at noon is When the sun comes back, higher each day. Quail, a migratory bird, spends and the first quail calls, the winter in the South. The first verse instructs Follow the Drinking Gourd slaves to leave in the winter. The riverbank makes a very good road, The dead trees will show you the way, Drinking Gourd = North Star Left foot, peg foot, traveling on Follow the Drinking Gourd. Riverbank = the edge of the Tombigbee River

The river ends between two hills, Dead Trees = Slaves were to look for dead trees marked with the drawings of a left foot and a Follow the Drinking Gourd. round mark, denoting a peg leg. There’s another river on the other side, River = Tombigbee River Follow the Drinking Gourd Another River = Tennessee River, which follow to When the great big river the left leads to the Ohio River meets the little river, Great Big River = the Ohio River meets the Follow the Drinking Gourd. Tennessee River For the old man is awaiting For to carry you to freedom If you follow the Drinking Gourd. Peg Leg Joe

A one-legged sailor, known as Peg Leg Joe, worked at various jobs on plantations as he made his way around the South. At each job, he would become friendly with the slaves and teach them the words to the song “Follow the Drinking Gourd.” Each spring following Peg Leg Joe’s visit, many young men would be missing from those plantations. 16

The Hardships of Escaping

Traveling along the Underground Railroad was a long, perilous journey for fugitive slaves to reach their freedom. Most slaves failed in their attempts for freedom due to the overwhelming amount of difficulties. The first hurdle slaves had to overcome was to escape from their master. Most slaves had to rely on their own resources to flee from their plantation. To be successful, they needed help from both free blacks and whites. Once, the fugitive slaves had escaped from the plantation, they faced numerous challenges. Runaway slaves had to travel great distances at night, approximately 10 to 20 miles between stops, many times on foot. Traveling in the night’s darkness kept the slaves safer and out of sight; however, it also made it more difficult for them to cross rivers and pass through the treacherous terrain. Much of the journey was through the dark and fierce wilderness, where many were forced to fend off animal attacks from the vicious creatures that they encountered. To compound the problem, the runaways had to survive severe temperatures. Because most traveled during the winter months, the harsh weather and a lack of proper clothing prevented many from keeping warm during their journey. Slaves also feared starvation as many traveled these long distances with little or no food. They also found it difficult to know whom to trust. Those who helped on the Railroad usually never identified themselves. However, there were signs that helped slaves know if a place was safe or not. The owners of some safe houses painted the top bricks of their chimney the color white. Some would hang flags or quilts outside on fences or rails. Others placed lanterns outside their house on posts or in certain windows that would help show the way. Once slaves reached a safe house, they would be given food and time to rest. Safe houses were not only in basements, attics, hidden rooms, root cellars, and chimneys, but also in mine shafts, tunnels, caves, empty barns and haystacks. In some safe houses, the runaway would have to stay in hidden compartments of cupboards, floors, and closets. The length of a runaway’s stay at a safe house varied. Some waited days, months, and sometimes even years.

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Even when all precautions were taken, many slaves were still caught. Slave owners would do about anything to find and bring back the slave that escaped. But owners knew that they couldn’t do it alone. In order to entice others to assist in the capture, the owners would post reward posters offering money for the capture of their property (slave). The thrill of catching a runaway slave and the benefit of collecting a reward encouraged many to help. Captured fugitive slaves were beaten, branded, jailed, sold back into slavery, or even killed.

$50.00 Reward $25.00 Reward $50.00 Reward For my fellow Edward, For my man Isaac, he For the negro Jim he has a scar on the has a scar on his Blake--has a piece cut corner of his mouth, two forehead caused by a out of each ear, and the cuts on and under his blow, and one on his middle finger of the left arm, and the letter E on back made by a shot hand cut off to the his arm." from a pistol. second joint."

Real advertisements posted in the local newspaper.

Sadly, for the slaves who were successful in reaching the north on the Underground Railroad, they were still in danger once they entered northern states. The government had passed laws that worked to the benefit of the slave owner. Remember The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850? It allowed and encouraged the capture of fugitive slaves due to the fact that the runaway was seen as stolen property, rather than a human being. It declared that all slaves found in the North, must be returned to his/her Southern owner. Interestingly, even though traveling the Underground Railroad was dangerous and possibly deadly, many slaves still risked everything they had for the hope of freedom.

Stories of Escape

It is fascinating that so many slaves found their way to freedom on the Underground Railroad considering the fact that it had no formal organization. Some historians estimate that as many as 100,000 slaves escaped during the years between the American Revolution and the Civil War. The Underground Railroad was very widespread too, with many escape routes linking southern states to the North. Some of the routes even extended to the west and south into Mexico. Why did so many slaves risk death to gain freedom? What was it like to be a slave traveling on the Underground Railroad?

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“I Can’t Lose My Baby!”

The story of Eliza Harris was recounted and made famous in the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Eliza was the property of a slaveholder in Kentucky, who lived near the Ohio River. Eliza said her master and mistress treated her kindly. But, one day her master delivered some bad news. He shared with Eliza that he was in some financial trouble, and that he was planning to separate Eliza and her young child by selling one or both of them. Rather be separated from her child, Eliza decided to try to go North so that they could stay together. Eliza left at night, after everyone had gone to sleep, with her child in her arms. She headed straight for the Ohio River. At that time of the year, the river was normally covered with ice. Eliza planned to cross over on the ice, but when she got to the river, she discovered the ice was all broken up in sheets floating this way and that. She went to the nearby house and was able to hide away for the daylight hours. The next night, she bundled up her child and stepped out onto a piece of ice. As the sheet of ice would begin to sink, she would set her baby on the next piece and follow the best she could. She continued going from one sheet of ice to the next. Eliza was wet and freezing cold, and struggling not to drown. When she was close enough to shore, a man who had heard the commotion reached out and pulled her out of the river. He directed her to the closest station on the Underground Railroad a few miles away. Eliza and her child then journeyed from station to station, sometimes joined by other fugitive slaves, until they eventually reached Ohio, where she crossed Lake Erie to Canada.

“Because I am a Man”

The escape of the Hayden family is recounted in Let My People Go (The Story of the Underground Railroad and the Growth of the Abolition Movement) by Henrietta Buckmaster and History of Black Americans, by Phillip Foner.

Lewis Hayden and his family wanted to escape slavery and become free people. In his search to find someone to help his family escape to freedom, Lewis found a young college student named Calvin Fairbanks and Calvin’s fiancée, Delia Webster. When Calvin asked Lewis why he wanted his freedom he replied, “Because I am a man.” Hayden and his wife pretended to be Miss Webster’s servants so they could maneuver through Kentucky with little trouble. Hayden’s young son hid under the seat of the wagon while they traveled. They took an unusual route because others were full with bounty hunters.

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Fairbank and Webster successfully delivered the Hayden family to freedom in Ohio, then returned to Kentucky where they were identified and arrested for assisting the runaway slaves. Delia Webster was tried and sentenced to two years in the state penitentiary, but served less than two months of her sentence. Calvin Fairbank was tried and received a 15-year term, five years for each member of the Hayden family that he helped free. However, Lewis Hayden quickly discovered that there was a $650.00 fee out for his release. The grateful Hayden was now a clothes dealer in Boston and he had begun a campaign to collect monies to buy Calvin Fairbanks’ freedom. Lewis raised the money within two months. Years later, Lewis Hayden was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislative.

“I’LL Never Feel Safe Again”

The story of Daniel Fisher’s escape was told in The Underground Railroad: Dramatic Firsthand Accounts of daring Escapes to Freedom, by Charles Blockson.

When Daniel Fisher was twenty years old, he was sold by his master at an auction in Virginia for $550.00. His new master took him to South Carolina where he stayed only seven months before he and another slave decided to try to escape. They stole a horse and rode all the first night until daybreak. That morning, they dismounted and chased the animal away, knowing it would look suspicious if two slaves were seen with a horse. In Daniel’s words, “We kept on our way on foot, hiding by day and walking by night. We were without knowledge of the country, and with nothing to guide us other than the North Star, which was oftentimes obscured by clouds. We would unwittingly retrace our steps and find ourselves back at the starting point.” The two eventually found their way to Virginia and found Daniel’s original home and master. Daniel begged to be bought back, but his former master was too poor and he advised Daniel to stow away on a boat going north. Daniel and his companion dug dens in the woods and lived in them for three months, searching for food at night and hiding in the dens during the day. Finally, they snuck on a boat taking lumber to Washington, D.C. After four days without food, the boat reached Washington. The boat’s captain showed them which way to head. After three more days and nights of being chased by men and hounds, without food and near exhaustion, Daniel and his friend reached Pennsylvania and were directed to people who would help them. Daniel ended up in Connecticut, where he found work and freedom, “Though always afraid of being taken by day or night and carried again to the South.”

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Heroes of the Underground Railroad

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman was born into slavery. She was often beaten and whipped by her overseers. An overseer is one who watches over the slaves to make sure they are doing what is expected. Once, she tried to stop an overseer from beating another slave. The overseer hit her in the head with a two-pound weight. Harriet lived, but for the rest of her life, she had blackouts and dizzy spells. In 1849, at the age of 28, Harriet Tubman ran away and made it to freedom. A year later, Harriet headed back to the South. Not to stay, but to become a conductor and lead other runaway slaves along the same path that she had followed to freedom. Every time Harriet made the dangerous journey on the Underground Railroad, she broke the law and risked being caught and returned to slavery. For the next ten years, Harriet continued to risk her life and her freedom to help runaway slaves. In fact, she became the most famous conductor guiding more than 300 slaves to freedom. She also became known as “Moses” to those who hoped she would deliver them from bondage as the biblical character had done for his people. She was careful to call for slaves on Saturday nights, when many were allowed to leave their plantations to visit family on other properties and were not expected back until Monday. This always gave the group two days to get ahead of the hunting dogs. Slave owners offered a huge reward for her capture.

Frederick Douglass

Like Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass was an escaped slave from Maryland. He had a talent for public speaking and for writing. He started one of the first African American abolitionist newspapers, called The North Star. Although careful to not reveal too much, Douglass mentioned the Underground Railroad in his paper, and used it to assist escaping slaves. Harriet Tubman often brought fugitives to his home where he and his wife would offer help. He once had eleven fugitives hidden in his house, and provided them with food, shelter, and money so they could move on to Canada.

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Levi Coffin

Levi Coffin’s house was known as the Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad. He and his wife ran a store in their community. Together, they worked for over twenty years in Ohio and Indiana to help fugitive slaves get to Canada. Over 2000 slaves passed through their home, where three routes of the Underground Railroad met. The Coffins claimed that no slave who came to them for help ever failed to make it to freedom. Levi donated much of his own income to his secret work and convinced many business people to do the same.

Josiah Henson

Josiah Henson was born into slavery. As a young child, he witnessed his father being brutally beaten and sold. Three years later, his master died, and his family was separated and sold off to different people. Josiah had an unusually bright mind. He gained his new master's confidence and eventually was put in charge of taking the produce to market in the cities. In the markets, Josiah would hear speeches of those who were educated and refined. He wanted to be more like those men. One night when Josiah and his master went into town, his master got into a fight. Josiah came to his rescue. This made the attacker furious. The attacker and several of his slaves waited one night for Josiah. They held him down and beat him with a fence rail. Josiah's shoulder blades were shattered. Though he eventually healed, he could no longer raise his arms above his head. One day, Josiah met free blacks whose masters allowed them to earn money to buy their freedom. It was at that point that he too determined that he would buy his own freedom. When he was twenty-two, Josiah married and later had eight children. He became a minister in the Methodist Church even though he had no formal schooling. He thought that he had raised enough money from preaching to buy his freedom. However, his master denied his request. One night, Josiah overheard his master’s plan to sell him. He decided that it was time that he and his family try to escape and travel north. They were successful and after more than forty years of slavery, Josiah Henson became a free man. Once settled, Josiah became involved as a conductor in the Underground Railroad and in the abolitionist movement, helping other slaves to freedom.

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Famous Slavery Book – Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harriet Beecher Stowe was the most famous American woman of her day. And all because of a book she wrote titled Uncle Tom’s Cabin. What she didn’t realize at the time was that this book would change history. A teacher and the wife of a minister, Harriet Beecher Stowe had once lived in Ohio near the border it shared with Kentucky. On one side of the river were abolitionists, and on the other were her slaveholder friends. While visiting the Kentucky side, Mrs. Stowe saw and heard things that disturbed her. Later, she was convinced, by her sister, to write a story about slavery. Harriet believed passionately that slavery was inhumane and evil. She wanted to share with others the overwhelming horrors of slavery. Stowe believed that if she could tell a story that drew a vivid picture of what she had heard about slavery, and share situations based on real people and their experiences, that others would no longer approve and turn away from its practices. Stowe wanted to teach people that there was a human face and a real person behind the slave. Harriet Beecher Stowe also wanted to generate a strong emotional reaction in her readers by telling tales of how families were being ripped apart, especially mothers away from their children. To get started, she started interviewing slaves and listening to their life stories. Fate brought her to Josiah Henson. Josiah ended up being the main inspiration for the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold 5000 copies in two days. Another 20,000 copies sold in the next three weeks. The publisher couldn’t keep up with the demand for copies. It was later published in Great Britain and translated into other languages. The book drew so much attention and was read by so many people, it became one factor that led to the Civil War.

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THE CIVIL WAR

The Presidential Election of 1860

Separation between the North and the South continued to grow Secede because of slavery and the South’s threat of secession. The results of To “break away from the upcoming Presidential election would decide the nation’s future. If something” the South’s proslavery candidate won, then secession would not be In this case, the needed; but, if the North’s anti-slavery candidate, Abraham Lincoln, South wanted to break away from the won, then the South would break away and Union and become become their own country. their own country. Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860. The Northerners were happy, but many Southerners were afraid that they would lose their rights to own slaves. Within forty days of the election, eleven southern states left the Union and began creating a new country called the Confederate States of America. They believed that if the states could Abraham Lincoln President of the individually join the Union, they should be able to United States leave whenever they wanted. The seceded states elected Jefferson Davis as their president, and they wrote their own constitution which guaranteed that slavery could continue. The South’s secession from the Union was an act that ultimately led

Jefferson Davis to the first shots of the Civil war. President of the Confederacy

A Nation Divided Before the start of the Civil War, the United States consisted of 19 free states and 15 slave states, and several territories. After Abraham Lincoln’s victory as the President of the United States, 11 of the 15 slave states withdrew from the Union to make up the new Confederate States of America. The four remaining slave states that did not secede are considered border states.

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Fort Sumter – April, 1861

Fort Sumter was a military post built on an island in South Carolina. Union soldiers and weapons were located there. But, now that South Carolina, a southern state, had seceded, the South demanded that the Union soldiers leave so that they could have control of the fort and all the weapons it contained. However, the Union soldiers refused. The impatient Confederates sent an urgent message to the Union soldiers in Fort Sumter stating that if they did not leave by morning, Confederate troops would start firing. The Union soldiers again declined. Before dawn, Confederate troops, started firing across the water at the fort. They kept firing, until fire consumed Fort Sumter and the Union soldiers inside surrendered. This was the first attack of the Civil War. It resulted in a Confederate victory. After the Confederate army captured Fort Sumter, Abraham Lincoln began to organize the union’s army in preparation for war.

Army Nicknames

Union Army – Yankees or Federates Confederate Army – Rebels

First Industrial Revolution is an advantage for the North.

In the early 1800’s, approximately 50 years before the Civil War began, a change occurred in the United States. This change was called the First Industrial Revolution and it defines a time when manufacturing products changed from handmade to machine-made. Almost all U.S. industry was in the North before the Civil War. Many Northerners worked in factories that had large machines that produced clothes, guns, or farm tools much faster than individual workers could. The ability to make products quickly by machine was a major advantage for the North in the Civil War. During war, armies have to be well provided with clothing and equipment if they are to win. Since there were already factories in the Northern states, the Union Army had the benefits of having more supplies than the Southern states.

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Army Uniforms and Supplies

Union Army Confederate Army

Dark Blue Coats Gray & Butternut Coats

Light blue pants Light blue pants

North – Union Army

 The factories of the North produced clothing, firearms, shoes, and locomotives which caused them to be better equipped for war.

 The North had 38 factories that were capable of producing 5,000 rifles per day.

 The Northern mines produced the iron that was molded into cannons and ships.

 It also had a strong railroad system that was twice as large as the South’s to move and carry troops and supplies.

 The North’s growing population provided a large pool from which to draw soldiers.

South – Confederate Army

 At the beginning of the war, the Confederates did not have one style of uniform for all soldiers. Some wore their own clothes. Others wore dark blue clothes, which was the color of the Union. This caused confusion and during the first battles, many soldiers shot their own men. Later, troops wore a mix of varying shades of gray and butternut. Many of the gray dyes used at that time faded to butternut, so as the war continued, the uniforms shifted from a gray to a butternut color.

 Confederate soldiers were so poorly clothed that often times they would have to go barefoot because they didn’t have the benefits of the shoe-making industry in the South.

 The South had factories that could produce only 100 rifles per day.

 There was only one factory in the South that manufactured cannons and one small mill that manufactured gunpowder for the entire Confederate army.

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Life in the Army

Most of the Civil War soldiers were between the Hardtack ages of 18 and 30. However, there were boys as young as This was a hard, typically nine years old who ran away to serve in the war. Many of worm-infested biscuit used them came from rural areas, had little education, and had by both Confederate and never been far from home. Union armies as a main Soldiers slept on the ground or beds of straw source of food. covered with blankets. The ground was often cold and damp. Some slept in open tents, and if it rained, the water and wind would beat in on them. Bugs would crawl all over them, and mosquitoes often bit them. The soldiers ate whatever was made available to them. Because they were hungry, they were grateful for any food. Sometimes, they had a sufficient amount of meat, potatoes, beans or bread. But, sometimes they would even have to eat maggoty food and hardtack.

Women and the War

Women were not allowed to fight during the Civil War, but they were able to help in other ways. Women worked as nurses, while some stayed home and maintained the home front. Some served as spies, while others cleaned the clothes of the military men. Many women helped teach soldiers to read and write, while others helped clean and load their muskets or guns on the battlefield. Some women followed their husbands or brothers into battle, and some carried water and food to the troops when they were fighting. It is known that as many as four hundred women disguised themselves as soldiers, and fought on the battlefield. By taking a male name and cutting their hair short, women could easily pass for male soldiers.

Loreta Velazquez

Loreta Velazquez published a book called The Women in Battle in 1876, where she tells of

how she disguised herself as a male soldier and served in battle. She claimed that she assumed the name of Harry T. Buford and that she wore a fake moustache, developed a masculine walk, learned to smoke a cigar, and padded her uniform so that she appeared like

a muscular man. 27

Drummer Boys

Both the Union and Confederate Armies had a musician who was usually a young drummer. Some drummers were as young as 8 or 9 years old. They were relied upon to play drum beats to wake the soldiers up in the morning, call the soldiers into formation, signal them to report for morning roll call, and guard duty. Drummers also played at night to signal lights out. The most important use of drums was on the battlefield where they were used to communicate orders from the commanding officers. The drummers were usually the first to know about trouble. Their drums called the soldiers to battle, told them when to march, when to shoot, when to reload, and when to retreat. All day long the drums told the soldiers what to do. The drummers got a lot of exercise. They marched with the rest of the Army. They carried and played their drums through mud and snow, in sunshine and rain. Civil War drums were made of wood. The outside of a Union drum was often painted and featured a large eagle displaying its wings with the stars and stripes flowing around it. Confederate drums were not quite as fancy, many just having a plain wood finish. The heads of the drum were made from calfskin and stretched tight by ropes.

Fife Players

The fife is a loud, piercing instrument that is extremely small and portable. During battle, a band of fifes and drums can be heard up to three miles away over loud artillery fire. Like the drummer boys, the fifers were extremely useful for relaying commands and orders on the battlefield. During marches when troops traveled by foot, the drummer and fifer would set the cadence or pace. However, the fifer played variations of different tunes while keeping the rhythm of the march. Drummers and fifers were always welcomed while the unit rested, as they played music to entertain the soldiers and left their spirits.

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Civil War Inventions

Hot Air Balloon Ironclad Ships Telegraph

During the Civil War, the Iron ships were built to President Lincoln used Union used a balloon to withstand the force of the telegraph to gather information on cannonballs. The communicate with his Confederate troop Merrimac and the officers, and to know movements from the sky. Monitor both ended up in what was going on at the battle. battle front.

Machine Gun Military Railroad The Repeating Rifle

Rifles first used during the war allowed soldiers only one shot. After that they had to stop, reload, and prepare to A Union General The invention of the shoot again. This transformed the first successful machine changed with the Railroad system into a gun was first used by invention of the strategic way of repeating rifle. This the Union Army during transporting troops and invention was one of the the American Civil War. war resources during the reasons why the North Civil War. won the Civil War.

The Commanders 29

Ulysses S. Grant - 1861 Robert E. Lee - 1862 Union General Confederate General

Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27 1822. Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, He was the sixth general to lead the Union 1807. He was the South's greatest Army. He had all the qualities President general during the Civil War. He graduated Lincoln wanted for the commander of his from West Point Military Academy and army. Grant fought very hard and was very fought in the Mexican – American War. stubborn in battles. He did not like to be Robert E. Lee became a colonel in the army defeated. before the Civil War began. He was from Virginia and decided to fight on the side Grant was trained at the Military Academy at of the Confederates even though West Point, New York. During the Mexican- President Lincoln asked him to be American War he was a second lieutenant in commander of the entire Union Army. the army. In 1854 he went home to his family. General Lee wanted to fight for the South When the Civil War began and the North and remain loyal to his home state. began losing so many battles, Grant joined the Army for a second time. He was an General Lee was a fierce fighter and excellent military leader because of his helped his soldiers win many battles at the training and skill. General Robert E. Lee, the beginning of the Civil War. But the Union leader of the Confederate Army had to Army was bigger and stronger. Lee felt he surrender to General Grant in 1865. Later had to surrender to the North to stop so General Grant became president of the many of his soldiers from being killed. United States. People remember him as a great war hero. They felt he did more as a leader of the army than what he did as president.

The Battle of Bull Run or Manassas – July, 1861

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The first big battle was fought at a place called Manassas, not far from Washington, D.C. It was fought near a muddy stream known as Bull Run. Some people call it the Battle of Bull Run, and others the Battle of Manassas. Manassas was a railroad junction, where two railroad lines met. This battle was important because it would help predict who would win the war. If the South won, their confidence would be boosted and they would be encouraged to continuing fighting for secession and for a government of their own. However, if the North won, they too, would develop confidence and continue their attempt in keeping the Union together and stopping the South from causing more division of the Union. Some thought this would be the only battle of the War, but it was only the beginning. On one July day, in 1861, war seemed a bit like a show. Hundreds of people from Washington left their homes because didn’t want to miss it. They decided to go to Manassas with their picnic baskets, settle down near Bull Run stream, and watch the fighting. They came on horseback and by wagon. They spread out in the fields and listened to the guns and watched a smoky haze form above the noisy cannons. But they didn’t see what they expected. It wasn’t a picture-book battle; it was real, and disorderly. The soldiers on both sides were untrained men who didn’t know what they were doing. The soldiers fought hard all day. The battle continued over meadows and wooded hills and on the steep banks of Bull Run Creek. By afternoon everyone was exhausted, bodies littered the ground, the earth was bloody and beginning to smell, and neither side seemed to be winning. Then fresh Southern troops arrived by train. That made the difference. It gave new energy to the rebels (South). The South attacked with bloodcurdling shouts, and the Yankees (North) dropped their guns and fled. The South won that battle of Bull Run. The Northern soldiers, who had planned to fight and move the rebels back south, were now moving north, in the other direction. For the next year and a half many battles were fought. Both armies won some battles and lost others.

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Emancipation Proclamation - January, 1863 Emancipation means freeing someone from the control of another

The Emancipation Proclamation, issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declared that all slaves in Southern territories that were at war against the Union were free. This document played a major role in the North’s success in the Civil War. Before the Emancipation Proclamation, Southern slaves kept many Southern factories and farms in production while Confederate soldiers went to war. After Lincoln issued the proclamation, thousands of newly freed Southern slaves headed north. Many of them joined Union troops in the fight to abolish or do away with slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation did not abolish slavery in the four border states of Kentucky, Missouri, Delaware, and Maryland. These remained slave states because Lincoln feared that if he banned slavery in these states, they too would want to secede from the Union. In fact, the terms of the Emancipation were created only for wartime and were not considered to be permanent. Because of this, Lincoln knew something needed to be done to abolish slavery permanently in the United States.

Black Soldiers

Until the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, the law stated that blacks could not have or handle a gun. Even though one of the major efforts of the Civil War was to get rid of slavery, the majority of both Northerners and Southerners believed that the war was in fact a “white man’s war.” Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation opened the door for blacks to become regular soldiers for the North. About 200,000 black soldiers served on the side of the Union. They formed 166 all-black regiments, most of which had white leaders. Black soldiers fought in 39 major battles, and a black regiment was the first Union group to march into the South’s capital city in Virginia. Despite the efforts and bravery of the black soldiers, they were still treated poorly. By the end of the war, one in every eight Union soldiers was black, but none was permitted to march in the victory parade in Washington, D.C.

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Battle of Gettysburg – July, 1863

Of the more than 2,000 battles during the war, Gettysburg was the most extreme. Although the Battle of Gettysburg did not end the war, it remains as the great battle and turning point of the war. More men fought and died during this three day battle than in any other battle before or since on American soil. The South’s leader, General Robert E. Lee, attempted to invade and take over the North. But his southern troops were ragged and had few supplies. In spite of their difficulties, they marched northward to the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Confederate soldiers rode ahead to search for food and ran unexpectedly into Union soldiers. The battle started by chance, but was still one of the bloodiest of the Civil War. During the next three days, every available Southern soldier was used. Unfortunately for the South, one attack required the men to charge uphill. At the top of the hill, Northern troops were kneeling behind stone fences and fired down on the masses of climbing men. Within one hour, 12,000 men fell. Those who managed to reach Union lines had to fight hand to hand with the Union troops. The Southerners unfortunately didn’t have any strength left. Northern reinforcements came and pushed the Confederates back to their own lines. Later, the Confederate had run out of ammunition. With nothing to fight or defend themselves with, they were forced to leave and accept defeat. This was Lee’s final invasion of the North, and it ended in defeat. After three days of brutal combat the two armies suffered more than 51,000 casualties. The North won the Battle of Gettysburg. However, the cost in human life for both sides was unbelievable. Wounded men flooded into Gettysburg. Every home, barn, and building was turned into a hospital, and every person into a nurse or care-giver. From then on, the war was fought in the fields and the cities of the South. The South would be the one to suffer the great losses – both in lives, land, territory, and buildings. This battle turned it around for the North, helping to ensure their final victory.

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The Gettysburg Address

Weeks after the battle at Gettysburg, bodies were still lying on the ground unburied. The bodies and the smell of the dead were horrendous for its citizens. Those who were not helping the wounded were helping dig graves. But the work was long, hard, and tedious. Gettysburg residents piled the decaying bodies in the streets. At first, the Northerners attempted to properly bury their Union soldiers while the bodies of the dead Confederate soldiers continued to rot in mass graves. Then four months later, on November 19, 1863, a cemetery that was built near the battlefield was officially established as a National Cemetery where Union soldiers who gave their lives during battle could be buried property and finally rest in peace. At the ceremony, President Lincoln was asked to say a few words to explain the meaning of the war. Thousands of men and women gathered at Gettysburg for the event. The president’s speech took two minutes and when he finished there was not a sound – not a clap, not a cheer. Lincoln believed that his speech was a failure. But he was wrong. His speech, the Gettysburg Address, is one of the greatest speeches ever written.

Prisoner – Of – War Camps

As the Civil War battles were fought, numbers of soldiers from both the North and South were taken prisoner by the other side. These troops had to be held somewhere; therefore, prisoner-of-war camps were created. Each side eventually had about thirty of these facilities. Because money and supplies were limited, especially in the South, conditions in the camps were awful and got progressively worse as the war dragged on. In some cases, prisoners were abused. One prison in Georgia was probably the worst of the camps. At one time there were over 45,000 Union soldiers in a small area. Sadly, almost 13,000 died from disease, poor sanitation, malnutrition, overcrowding, or exposure to the elements. Also the black soldiers that served in the Union army were treated worse than the others when they were taken as prisoners by the South.

Victory for the North

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General Ulysses Grant, of the North, was anxious to fight it out with Robert E. Lee and end the war. The Southern strategy was to wear the North out. For the next two years battles were fought. But finally one day, the Union soldiers were able to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, which ended with General Lee surrendering. When the news reached Washington, D.C., the citizens went wild with excitement. Cannons boomed, banners flew, people hugged and cried with happiness. After four years of worry and gloom, the war was finally over.

Outcomes of the Civil War

The end of the Civil War in 1865 brought many changes to both the North and the South. The South was ruined economically. There was no money, and the banks were closed. Cities were in ruins. Plantations, roads, bridges, railroads, and crops were destroyed. The South no longer had a working government. Although slaves had gained their freedom, they had not gained equal treatment. This was in spite of the fact that Congress passed laws – including the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments to the Constitution – in order to reduce the power of the Southern whites.

Amendment – to add to or take away from something written in the Constitution

13th Amendment

Slavery will no longer exist in the United States

14th Amendment Defines who is a citizen of the United States. It requires the states to provide equal protection under the law to all persons. th 15 Amendment Prohibits the denial of voting rights to people because of their race or color or because they have previously been slaves.

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Who Killed Abraham Lincoln?

John Wilkes Booth was a popular Shakespearean actor and member of a well-known theatrical family. He performed in many plays throughout the country. John Booth disliked black people and was a strong supporter of the South during the Civil War. He grew to hate Abraham Lincoln because he stood for everything that Booth was against. In March, 1864, Booth and a small group of men made plans to kidnap Lincoln while he visited a hospital in Washington, take him to Richmond and hold him ransom in exchange for Confederate prisoners of war. The plan failed when Lincoln’s schedule was changed at the last minute. Two days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, Lincoln made a speech to a crowd outside the White House. Booth was in the crowd and heard the President say that blacks should be allowed to vote. Angered at this, Booth changed his plans to kill Lincoln rather than kidnap him. President and Mrs. Lincoln attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865. Booth found out about the plan and had one last meeting with his friends to finalize plans for the assassination. The group of men also planned to kill other government officials on the same day, including Vice President Johnson and Secretary of state William Seward. They hoped this would lead to confusion and lack of direction in the government, allowing the South to return to power. President and Mrs. Lincoln invited several people to attend the performance with them, but many declined, including General and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant. One of Lincoln’s friends and his fiancé agreed to attend the play with Lincoln and his wife. Shortly after 10:00 p.m., Booth entered the presidential booth and shot Lincoln in the back of the head. He stabbed Lincoln’s friend and then jumped from the balcony to the stage below. When he jumped, he caught his heel on a display flag, breaking his leg. Still, Booth managed to run across the stage and fled the theater without being caught. President Lincoln was taken across the street to a lodging house, where he was laid diagonally across the bed because it was too short for him. Lincoln never regained consciousness. Lincoln died at 7:22 a.m. the following day. 36

Booth escaped but was caught in a barn in Virginia twelve days after shooting Lincoln. He was shot and killed by armed soldiers. The other eight men were also caught and tried. Four of the men were hanged, one fled the country, two were given life prison sentences and the last received a six-year prison term. For many years, it was thought that Confederate officials planned the assassination, but it has never been proven. Lincoln was not popular while he was president, but in death he became a hero. No president had ever been assassinated in the United States and it was an extreme shock to the American people. The country was overcome with grief. Thousands viewed Lincoln’s body in the White House. Lincoln’s funeral train traveled the country from Washington, D.C. to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois. RECONSTRUCTION

On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia. The Civil War, which had lasted four long years, had finally ended. The war brought an end to slavery and a promise that the United States would be restored or rebuilt. The years that followed the Civil War are known as Reconstruction. While people in the North enjoyed an economic boom after the Civil war, Southerners struggled just to survive. Soldiers returning after four long years of fighting often found their homes and fields destroyed or in shambles. Worse, some family members had died or simply vanished in their absence. Others were homeless and starving with no idea where their next meal would come from. Basically the Southern economy had been destroyed. Particularly hard hit were the owners of small farms. Even in the best of times, such farmers barely grew enough food to feed their families. Now, with the destruction caused by the war, they were reduced to virtual starvation. Poor diet and polluted drinking water also led to outbreaks of diseases such as smallpox and yellow fever. If times were hard for whites, they were doubly difficult for blacks. At first, newly freed African Americans were too joyous to think of the future. They greeted the coming of freedoms with tears, singing, and dancing. But then reality set in. What would the ex-slaves do? Where would they go? Few could read and write, and most knew no life other than that of the plantation. Those who could leave, fled the South and went north to find work in factories.

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Most blacks, however, stayed where they were. Many signed contracts with owners to work on plantations for wages. Others received housing, seeds, and equipment in return for working the planter’s land, supposedly being allowed to keep a share of the crop themselves. In many instances, ex-slaves lived in the same slave cabins they had occupied before emancipation. Dishonest planters found ways to cheat their hired workers and to continue to treat them as though they were still slaves. The low wages received by most blacks became even lower when owners deducted for medical care and hours lost from work due to sickness. But African Americans had more than earning a living to worry about: namely, their lives. When freed slaves, began to vote and to be elected to local and state offices, some white southerners reacted violently. They formed groups to frighten blacks from the voting places. These groups terrorized blacks during the Reconstruction years.

The Start of the Ku Klux Klan - 1866

One group notorious for terrorizing blacks was called the Ku Klux Klan or KKK. In 1866, six men in Tennessee believed that blacks should have as little power as possible. So they formed a group to keep blacks from using the rights they had gained. The KKK grew quickly and spread rapidly to other southern states. Most of the members were men who were once part of the Confederate army. Other members were plantation owners. Most of them were angry at how the government had treated the South after the war. The identity of the members who joined the KKK was supposed to be a secret. But people usually knew who they were. To try to hide their identity, men would wear white robes and hoods. At first, the group just met socially. But words soon turned into action. In the beginning the actions were almost like practical jokes. However, the group’s actions turned more violent. Later the group became deadly. The KKK mainly attacked black people. But anyone who didn't agree with them could be in danger. The KKK members usually came in the middle of the night on horses. They often pulled people from their homes. Some were lucky and lived. Others were killed. The killings made people in the North very angry. They called on President Grant to do something to stop the violence. Congress passed several acts. The Enforcement Act of 1870 was passed to get rid of the KKK and stop Southern whites from resisting blacks from experiencing the rights gained after the Civil War.

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The KKK was not cooperative, so the army was brought in to fight back against this group. The government started to arrest members of the KKK in different states. Soon, thousands of men who were members, found themselves in court. Slowly, the KKK began to fall apart. When the army left the South, the blacks had no protection. Whites felt in control again. Blacks still had the right to vote, but most of them didn't or couldn't. The South started new voting tests or taxes to keep blacks from voting. The KKK stayed quiet for many years. But it didn't disappear. Many years later the group would reappear. It would be as violent then as it was after the Civil War.

The United States Grows

If one word was chosen to describe this time in American history it would be “change.” Between the time the Civil War ended and the beginning of the 1900’s, transportation from the east was connected to the west. The West had been settled. Indians had been forced off their land and onto reservations. The days of the cowboy had come and gone. Millions left their farms and crowded into growing cities to seek work in factories, and candles and gas lights gave way to electric lights.

A Railroad Across America

The first railroads in the United States started to run in the early 1800’s, about 50 years before the Civil War. By the 1860’s, railroads crisscrossed much of the eastern half of the nation. Government officials had thought about a transcontinental railroad for a long time. (“Trans” means “across.” So, “transcontinental” means “across the continent.”) For years, northern and southern representatives fought about the details. Each group wanted the railroad to start in their region. However, when the South left the Union, and formed their own government, it allowed northern representatives to pass a bill that permitted the building of the transcontinental railroad.

Work Starts - President Abraham Lincoln signed the

Central Pacific bill into law on July 1, 1862. The law was called the Railroad Pacific Railroad Act. It gave the responsibility of Union Pacific building the railroad to two companies. One company Railroad was the Central Pacific Railroad. It was to lay track from Sacramento, California toward Omaha, Nebraska.

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The other company was the Union Pacific Railroad. It was to start near Omaha and lay track toward Sacramento.

Problems Building the Tracks

Both companies faced problems as they began building the railroad. For example, during the Civil War, there weren’t enough men to do the building. So, both companies looked for workers outside the country. Soon, thousands of Irish men were working on the Union Pacific’s stretch of track. Thousands of Chinese workers were building the Central Pacific’s part of the railroad. Geography also caused problems for the railroad- building companies. In the West, for example, the Central Pacific workers faced the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There was no easy pass through the mountain range. The builders had to blast tunnels through some mountains and raise bridges over others. In the mountains, terrible blizzards blew snow into drifts 30 or 40 feet deep. In these areas, snow sheds were built to keep the snow off the rails. Meanwhile, the Union Pacific was building its way across the nation’s vast, treeless plains. The tons of wood it needed for building the rails as well as other important supplies had to be hauled all the way to Omaha. Once there, the goods were loaded onto train cars that followed the finished track perhaps hundreds of miles to where the men were working.

A Golden Spike Finishes the Railroad

After years of work, the two rail lines met each other in Utah. There, on May 10, 1869, officials gathered to watch the last tie be laid and the last spike be driven to connect the western rail line with its eastern half. The last tie was made of laurel wood. The last spike was made of gold. Actually, two of the officials were supposed to take turns using a sledgehammer to pound in the last, golden spike. However, each of them missed his mark, and the man who 40

finished the rails was one who had helped build them. As he finished, telegraphs all over the country tapped out the message: “Done.” Then, the engines from the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific inched forward over the newly completed track until their noses touched. The nation’s first transcontinental railroad was completed! Soon, four other transcontinental railroads crossed the nation. The growth of these railroads brought about the expansion of other industries. Before the Civil War, most goods made in factories were sold locally. But with railroads crisscrossing the country from east to west, products could be shipped anywhere. Factories increased production to meet the new demand for goods. Some factories grew into huge industries that succeeded in putting smaller ones out of business.

The Final Indian Wars

While Reconstruction was taking place in the South, another story was unfolding in the West. That was the story of the final years of freedom for the Native American. Since the first settlers set foot on America’s shores, Native Americans found themselves pushed farther west as the years passed. By the 1830’s the only area east of the Rocky Mountains left untouched by white settlers was the vast Great Plains. Here the Sioux and other tribes were free to follow the buffalo and the antelope as their ancestors had done for centuries. For a while, they had little to fear from pioneers, who at the time considered the dry Plains unfit for settlement. Then, in the 1840’s, pioneers began to push across the Plains and the Rocky Mountains to settle in California and Oregon. To do so, they had to travel across Indian Territory. In 1851, several tribes including the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Crow Indians signed a historic treaty with the United States government stating that the Indians promised safe passage to wagon trains crossing the Plains on their way west. In return for their cooperation, the various tribes were to receive money from Washington. The treaty held for three years. In 1854, it was broken because of a cow. Yes, a cow! A group of settlers traveling through Wyoming noticed one day that one of their cows had wandered off. The owner of the cow, after an extensive search, came upon it being butchered by a group of Indians. Not desiring to challenge the Indians himself, the owner proceeded and reported the incident to the army.

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Nothing might have come of the cow episode had it not been for a young army officer who saw the incident as an opportunity to prove his worth. Setting out with 30 soldiers and several artillery pieces, he attacked the camp where the tribe lived. What followed was a disaster. The young officer managed to get himself and his entire troop killed. Because of his senseless action, tensions that had eased because of the treaty flared up anew.

The Battle of Little Bighorn

By the time of the Civil War, the flow of emigrants slowed, but revived afterward with the completion of the transcontinental railroad. People were now traveling across the country. The American Indians were forced to leave their land and live on reservations. But not all Indian tribes left their lands peacefully. Some of them chose to fight back against the settlers that they saw as invaders. One of the greatest victories for the Indians was at the Battle of Little Bighorn. In late 1875, some Sioux and Cheyenne Indians left the reservation they were living on. They were angry. White men had been looking for gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The Black Hills were very important to the tribes because they were considered sacred land. The government did not want the Indians to leave the reservation because they wanted to protect the miners who were looking for gold. The government sent in the army to help the miners and to force the Indians back to the reservation. In June of 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George Custer led a group of soldiers toward the Little Bighorn Valley. Custer had been a strong leader during the Civil War, and he was not worried about any battles with the Indians. Custer was sure that his soldiers were stronger. On June 25, Custer found a group of about 40 Indians. At that moment, he decided to attack, even though scouts had warned him that there were many more warriors in a village nearby. Custer didn't listen. Custer divided the soldiers into three smaller groups. Each group had about 225 soldiers. He then sent each group in a different direction. His plan was to surround the Indian warriors and kill them. Custer didn't know there were almost two thousand more warriors waiting for him. As one group of soldiers attacked one side of the village, Custer went in from the other side. Custer quickly realized he was outnumbered. The Indian warriors soon had the soldiers surrounded.

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Custer tried to retreat. On a ridge nearby, Custer told his men to shoot the horses and hide behind them. He hoped that the horses would help protect the soldiers from the bullets. It did not work. In less than an hour Custer and all of his men were killed. It was a huge victory for the Indians, but they did not get to enjoy it for long. The government now had a reason to send in more soldiers. The Indian warriors didn't have enough men to fight back.

Congress also stated that the borders of the reservation were to be changed, and that the new reservation boundaries did not include the Black Hills. The Indians had lost their sacred land. Never again did the Native Americans live freely in the West. Further attacks weakened the Indians more. Their land and their culture were never the same again.

Trouble Begins for the Nez Perce

The Nez Perce were mostly a peaceful people who welcomed and gave supplies to the Lewis and Clark Expedition team in 1805. The lands of this people covered a wide area—from present day Oregon and Washington into Idaho. In 1855, Chief Joseph helped set up a reservation for his people with the territorial governor. The chief actively wanted peace with the Americans, but he also wanted to protect the interests of his own people. A few years later, a gold rush occurred on Nez Perce land. Instead of allowing the native people to profit by this, the federal government took away all the reservation lands, including the part with the gold, all except a tenth in Idaho. This angered Chief Joseph to the point where he broke all friendly ties with the government. He refused to sign the new treaty allowing this to happen and would not move his people. After his father's death in 1871, his son, also named Joseph, was elected to take his father's place. He also became known as Chief Joseph. In 1877, the government gave the chief and his tribe 30 days to move onto reservation land in Idaho. Chief Joseph preferred to remain peaceful and began to move his people east. Most of the tribe started the journey; however, some of the young warriors were angry and rebelled about having to move. One night, about thirty young braves raided and killed several white settlers. Chief Joseph was not happy about the raids but his main goal was to protect all those in his tribe. To do that, he planned how to fight off the army that was on his heels.

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For the next three months the U.S. Army chased and battled about 700 Nez Perce across nearly 1,600 miles of the rugged western frontier. Of those 700, more than 500 of the people were women and children. During that time, they successfully fought off an army that was 2,000 strong. In the end, the people were too exhausted to continue. They stopped to rest about 40 miles south of the Canadian border. If they crossed it, they would be safe. The army pressed on as quickly as they could and caught up with Chief Joseph and his people as they rested. The Nez Perce were taken by surprise. The army and the Nez Perce fought for five days. Day after day, the Nez Perce warriors fought off the army. But then the Nez Perce horses were stampeded, leaving the people without transportation. The Nez Perce could not win this battle. On October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph raised the white flag of surrender. Chief Joseph and his people became prisoners of the U.S. Army. Chief Joseph never was allowed to be with his own people again. He finally died in 1904. Some said it was from a broken heart.

The End of the Frontier

In spite of Native American resistance, most of North America had been settled by the time of the Civil War. The only area left almost untouched was the vast Great Plains. Pioneers considered the Plains unfit for settlement because it had little rain fall, no trees, grassy land, and farmers at first had no way to pull water up from the ground. Therefore, wagon trains simply passed through the area on their way to California and Oregon. These areas filled up with settlers while the Plains were left. Several events changed the way people looked at the Plains. This first occurred when cattlemen discovered the grassy land was ideal for grazing, which would support longhorn steers. With five railroads crossing the territory, cowboys began driving cattle to this lush prairie grass. They would then ship the cattle to various markets in the East. Driving cattle was a difficult, hot, and dangerous journey in which the cowboy faced many dangers. He had to contend with bad weather, stampedes, outlaws, and hostile Indians. The cattle drives continued for only fifteen years. By 1880, rail lines reached far enough south to make the long, dangerous trips unnecessary. Another event that influenced the Great Plains and helped bring the frontier to a close was the Homestead Act of 1862. This act granted 160 acres to any settler who would live on it

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for five years. After the Civil war ended, land-hungry farmers from the South moved to the Plains to take advantage of the free land.

Several new inventions made farming possible on the Plains.

1. steel plow - solved the problem of turning the heavy, grassy soil of the region.

2. windmill - that could draw water from deep wells.

3. barbed wired – kept cattle from walking on and destroying valuable crops. Barbed wire also sparked a number of wars that broke out between cattlemen and farmers.

Prior to the arrival of the homesteaders (farmers), cattlemen freely roamed the Plains. Although they did not own the land, they used the endless prairie to graze their stock. When farmers arrived and began fencing off valuable grazing land, trouble flared up. Cattlemen in masks rode across the land, cutting barbed wire and terrorizing homesteaders. Cattlemen were also at odds with sheepherders. Cowboys complained that sheep ate the grass too close to the ground, killing the roots and leaving nothing for the cattle to eat. In an attempt to drive the sheepherders from the Plains, cowboys attacked sheepherders and their animals at night. Entire flocks of sheep were shot or clubbed to death. In spite of the range wars started by the cattlemen, their days on the Great Plains were numbered. The government sided with the homesteaders, and cattlemen were forced to retreat to the Southwest, where there was little competition for land. One final event in 1889 brought the frontier to a close, and that was the opening of the Oklahoma Territory. Until this time, the territory was known as Indian Territory. But the government bought 2 million acres and declared it open for settlement. April 22, 1889, was the date set for the Oklahoma “run.” This run allowed people to claim free land in the Oklahoma territory. At precisely noon on that historic day, a gun was fired at the territorial line and the race began. Pioneers pushed forth in every manner. Some lucky ones were able to travel by train and get there ahead of the pack. Others dashed off in wagons or on horseback. More than a few pedaled along at top speed on bicycles. Many walked, while some ran as

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fast as they could, pushing their belongings in wheelbarrows. Within 24 hours, Oklahoma had a population of 50,000 people! The last area open to settlement filled up quickly, and the frontier was no more.

The Second Industrial Revolution (1860 – 1900)

After the Civil War a much more powerful Second Industrial Revolution took place. The economy of the entire nation began to move away from farming and toward industry. Companies began to get much larger and production was greatly increased. Because of industry, the nation’s wealth grew. Americans moved from rural areas to cities to take jobs in factories. Immigrants coming into the United States from all over the world also found factory jobs.

An Influx of Immigrants

In 1885 France sent a gift to the United States. That gift was the Statue of Liberty. The monument symbolized friendship and admiration of the freedom enjoyed by the American people. It was this gift that quickly became a symbol of freedom and opportunity for the poor and oppressed peoples of the world. Between 1890 and 1910, it welcomed almost 20 million immigrants (people from other countries) to America. These people were all seeking a better life. Their hope was to find work in American’s growing industries. Immigrants who traveled to the United States arrived by ship. Having little money, they would usually pay the lowest fare. As a result, they were packed tightly below deck. For more than two weeks, they were forced to live in space that was so limited that no one had any privacy. And seasickness! When the weather was rough and most of the immigrants became sick, there were no containers or buckets for their use. The stench caused by a cramped compartment littered with vomit was overwhelming. After such terrible traveling conditions, one can imagine the thrill the immigrants experienced when they first saw the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. But one major obstacle still remained before their dream could be realized. That obstacle involved getting through Ellis Island.

Ellis Island 46

Ellis Island is located in New York Harbor. The United States government bought Ellis Island in 1808. For a while, American soldiers were stationed at a fort there. Later, the island was used as a place to store ammunition. In 1890 the government decided to use Ellis Island as a receiving center for immigrants headed for the port at New York City. Immediately, the work began. The first buildings were built from wood. There were baggage rooms, a small hospital, restaurants, kitchens, laundry, and places for people to sleep. It also had places where newcomers could exchange their money for American money or buy railroad tickets.

However, seven years later, right around midnight, the alarm sounded alerting everyone that there was a fire on the island. Because the buildings were built from pine, they burned easily. By dawn, there was almost nothing left. Luckily, no one was killed. It took two and a half years to rebuild. This time the buildings were built from brick which made them fireproof. The original island was made larger. More dirt was brought in to add a second island. Later a third island was created.

The Layout of Ellis Island

The original Ellis Island was a smaller portion of what today is called Island 1 of the three islands which constitute Ellis Island. The aerial photo below shows the three islands with their numerical designations. In the photo, the space between Islands 2 and 3 is water which was later filled in during the 1930s. The Main Immigration building, which is open to the public today, the Wall of Immigrants and the public gardens are all located on Island 1.

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The dark area on the map below shows the original natural island. Every day, seven days a week, Ellis Island was Everything beyond that dark area was man-made. overwhelmed with immigrants from all over the world. On some days, more than 5,000 people were processed through. To process this many people, Ellis Island set up a maze of iron-fenced pens. People moved from pen to pen as immigrants were poked, probed, pushed, shoved, and intimidated in every way imaginable. Any immigrant who failed the medical exam was not allowed to come into the United States. This happened if someone was sick with a contagious disease. It also occurred if the person was a criminal. People who failed the tests usually were sent back to their homeland on the first available ship. Most immigrants passed and were given a landing card that allowed them to settle in this country. However, there were many heartrending scenes when family members were separated and torn away from their loved ones. It was not uncommon for young children to be sent back to their homeland alone. Once an immigrant passed the exams, they would ferry (take a small boat) to the mainland. The majority of Europeans either stayed in the port cities where they landed or traveled inland to other industrial areas. Only a few immigrants made their way to the Great Plains and took up farming. Some even traveled as far west as California. Ellis Island closes its doors in 1954. In all, over 15 million immigrants started their American lives by passing through the gates of Ellis Island.

Life in America for the Immigrants

Immigrants that remained in large cities took any work they could find and accepted any wage offered them. Wherever immigrants went, they were met with hatred and mistreatment by the American citizens. Many Americans feared that the influx of Europeans willing to work at low wages would put their own jobs in jeopardy. They were also suspicious of people whose language and culture were so different from their own. Life was hard for those immigrants who came to America. Most labored long hours in America’s factories, mills, and mines, while others worked at home or in small shops called “sweatshops.” The conditions under which they worked and lived can only be described as miserable. Even before finding a job, an immigrant’s first task upon arriving in America was finding a place to live. Men who had come alone usually shared a single room with thirteen or fourteen other people. 48

The majority of immigrant families moved themselves into “ghettos,” or sections of cities composed of people of the same nationality. They naturally felt more at ease around people with whom they shared a common language and similar customs. Ghettos quickly became slums, characterized by crime and disease. In one section of New York City, forty immigrant families were once packed into a run-down house that was built to hold five families. They were so poor that parents slept on floors, children slept in boxes, and babies slept in shawls attached to ceiling rafters. Things were even worse in mining towns. Not only were the houses in need of major repairs, but the towns themselves had health problems for all concerned. Children waded in streams polluted by sewage and played on top of huge piles of garbage. Children, at the age of nine, were sent to work in the mines. Young boys worked twelve to thirteen hours a day. These jobs were dangerous. Sometimes, youngsters would suffer bruises and cut fingers. But there were times when fingers were mangled or cut off. Some were even killed. A vast number of immigrants and their families worked in factories or home sweatshops, often sewing together pieces of garments. The workday began at daybreak and continued until late evening. If they worked quickly and never left their machines, sweaters might earn between two and five dollars a week. Children who worked threading needles and performing other simple tasks could add from 50 cents to $1.50 to the family’s weekly income. While immigrants and other workers struggled for a better life in the East, Asian immigrants on the West Coast were experiencing problems of a similar nature. In many ways, Asians were treated even worse. They were ridiculed, beaten, and murdered by prejudiced mobs. Why was such violence directed against these people? Primarily for the same reason that the immigrants on the East Coast were mistreated; they spoke a different language and followed a different religion. And their willingness to work for cheap wages caused other Americans to fear for their jobs. Over the next 50 years little changed. It wasn’t until the 1960’s when laws were passed. The Effect of Industry on American Life

In spite of the problems brought about by the growth of industry, the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were exciting ones. America was a nation on the move. Cities were growing rapidly, with skyscrapers and electric lights to dazzle all. Inventors outdid themselves, turning out everything from the ballpoint pen to the safety razor to the zipper. Automobiles enabled

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people to go places that were impossible to reach only a few years before. Modern conveniences like the telephone and the washing machine made life easier for all except the very poor. No one enjoyed as many devices and gadgets as did Americans. One big change that took place in cities involved transportation. Until the 1880’s, people depended on the horse to move about the city. Horses pulled wagons, carriages, and the first streetcars. Unfortunately, the poor beasts were ill-suited to work in the city and many died performing the tasks expected of them. Eventually a new means of travel, the electric trolley, put a stop to using horses in cities. Trolleys not only carried people from one part of a city to another, but they allowed people to travel to other cities as well. As much as these inventions changed transportation, it was the automobile that completely transformed travel in the United States. But, as strange as it may seem now, automobiles or also called “horseless carriage” were first viewed with suspicion and were even considered a danger. Everywhere the horseless carriage showed up, people laughed and pointed. Sometimes, a brash young man in a horse-drawn carriage challenged the driver of an automobile to a race. And often as not, the horse-drawn carriage won. Americans slowly accepted the idea of the automobile. In 1895, the entire state of New York had only four vehicles on record. Six years later, the number had risen to 14,000. Why the big change? A lot of it had to do with a man named Henry Ford who started the assembly line in 1898. In an assembly line, workers stay in one place. All day long, a moving belt, called a conveyor belt, brings their work to them. Each worker has one assignment. It might be to screw two pieces together, or it might be to tighten a connection. Then, the work moves on to the next worker, and then the next. Each worker does his or her small, exact part of the job, until all the workers together have created a finished product. Using the assembly line, Ford could turn out cars much faster than he could when each car was made individually. Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, but he made the first one that the average American could afford. Ford built a factory and began producing a car called the “Model T.” Ford’s workers could produce as many as 9,000 cars a day which allowed the Model T to be sold at a reasonable price. Americans could purchase a Model T for $345.00.

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Along with improvements in transportation came advances in communication. When Alexander Graham Bell perfected his telephone in 1876, little did he realize that 1.3 million of these devices would be in operation by 1900. Telephones soon found their way to rural areas as well as cities. Telephones linked the nation together. Thomas Edison is responsible for several big inventions. One of the “big things” Thomas invented is something you might have in your home. It was the phonograph, or record player. Another invention was the world’s first motion picture machine. However, the “big thing” for which he is best known today is the electric light bulb. Within the process of inventing the light bulb, Thomas Edison ran into a problem. There had to be electricity for the light bulb to work. To answer this need, Thomas began building electric power plants. Before the 1800’s ended, there were hundreds of Edison Power Plants making and sending electricity to thousands of people. No longer were nights lit only by candles and gaslights. Electric light bulbs had turned darkness into light. All Americans benefited in some way from the growth of industry.

Women get the right to Vote

When the 1900’s began, women in the United States had few legal rights. A woman couldn’t sue anyone. She couldn’t write a will. Her children, her property, and any money she made belonged to her husband. And, she couldn’t vote. That meant she couldn’t change the laws that limited her rights. The western states gave women the right to vote, earlier than the eastern states. Perhaps that was because it was still fresh in voters’ minds how pioneer women had worked beside the men to help settle the western half of the country. It also was fresh in the minds of western women. Men and women had been equal partners as they settled the Great Plains and the West. It took the work of both husband and wife to keep a family fed and clothed.

The Nineteenth Amendment

Many in the nation did not feel the same way about women voting as the people in the west. Women knew that the only way to assure their right to vote was to have an amendment

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added to the Constitution. An amendment is a way to change the Constitution. In fact, the Fifteenth Amendment had changed the Constitution to give the right to vote to African Americans, but only to the men. The people who supported women’s right of vote did everything they could to influence the thoughts of other American citizens. They marched. They gave speeches. They picketed the White House. They protested at the state capital. All their work paid off. The Nineteenth Amendment passed just in time to let women vote in the 1920 presidential election.

A TIME OF TROUBLES

Troubles visited the United States and its people during the first half of the 1900’s. In those 50 years, two wars claimed the lives of Americans and others around the world. Between the wars, the United States and other nations were plunged into a terrible economic depression. Through these difficulties, though, Americans faced the challenges and made this country a leading world power.

World War I – 1914 –1918

World War I was the first war that involved countries from all over the world. Although the war started in 1914, the United States did not enter it until 1917 because the United States declared that it would not take sides. When the war was over, the boundaries of several European countries had changed. Although it was described as a “war to end all wars,” World War I just set the stage for the next world war which will include many of the same nations. Like all wars, World War I (WWI) was caused by many factors. One major cause of the war was that many of the The Axis The Allies countries of Europe were very competitive. Some had large Austria-Hungary Great Britain world empires and their leaders wanted their empires to increase in size. So countries formed military alliances. An Germany Japan alliance is when two or more countries agree to support each Bulgaria France other if a war begins. Think of alliances as friends. The alliances made countries on both sides feel more powerful. The Ottoman Belgium With their allies, they felt safe from attack. Because Italy countries felt safe, they took actions that would anger other countries. These actions caused tension to build.

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Central Powers also known as The Axis Allies

Countries that remained neutral

A War of Airplanes and U-Boats

World War I was a war like no other war that had come before. It was so different because of technology. New weapons such as machine guns, tanks, and poison gas made this war far more deadly. In fact, almost 10 million people died before the “Great War” finally ended. World War I was the first war that involved countries from all over the world. When war broke out in Europe, the United States declared that it would remain neutral, or not take sides. Both sides tried to persuade Americans that the other side was wrong. World War I began in 1914 but the United States didn’t join until 1917.

Airplanes Become Weapons World War I was the first war fought on the land, in the sea, and in the air. The Wright brothers had flown their first airplane only eleven years before the war began. So, airplanes were still a very new invention. The first wartime airplanes were used to watch what the enemy was doing. If a pilot came upon an enemy plane, he leaned out of his seat and used his handgun to try to shoot his enemy out of the sky. Then, in 1915, the Germans figured out how to attach a machine gun to a plane. This was harder than it sounds because the machine gun’s firing had to be timed so the bullets didn’t hit the plane’s propellers as they spun around. Now, planes had become deadly weapons. Then, someone figured out how to tie bombs under a plane’s wings, and airplanes became deadlier still. 53

Balloons a Weapon?

The first time balloons were used in combat was back in the Civil War. Those balloons however, usually held only one passenger and were used to keep track of the movement of enemy troops. They also could only move in the direction of the wind. But by the beginning of World War I, technology had advanced the design of the hot air balloon. The balloons now had a cigar shaped frame of wood and carried a lightweight cabin on its bottom. In this cabin was the steering devices used to fly the balloon. Several small engines were placed around the balloon to give it power. The engines and steering mechanism allowed the pilot to go in any direction. When World War I broke out, Germany would fly the balloons over enemy lines to keep track of troop movement. They did this because they could fly higher and quieter than the few airplanes being flown. Later, the Germans put bombs onto the balloons that could be dropped on targets. However, the accuracy of the bombs released was not the best. Only about ten percent of the shells reached their intended target. The biggest success of the balloons was not the damage they did to property. Their biggest success was in how their presence affected the minds of their enemy. The citizens of England and France were never quite sure when an attack might take place. Because of this constant threat, countries were forced to keep part of their troops at home for homeland protection. That kept the armies from being as large as the commanders would have liked.

U-Boats Terrorize the Seas

It was in World War I that the Germans showed how deadly a submarine could be. In fact, their use of submarines, or U-boats as they called them, helped draw the United States into the war. Great Britain is an island off the coast of Europe. Much of what it needs is shipped across the oceans from other countries. During World War I, Germany tried to starve Great Britain into surrender. Germany sent its U-boats to the waters off England, and announced that they would sink any ship that tried to bring supplies to the British. However, the German U-boats did not target only supply ships but all kinds of ships. One of these was a passenger ship called the Lusitania (Lou si Tania) that was heading toward England from New York. This attack killed 1,198 people including 128 Americans. The people of the United States were enraged and would have entered the war at this time, but Germany agreed to stop torpedoing innocent ships. But two years later, 1917, 54

Germany changed its mind. They blasted several U.S. cargo ships out of the water. Shortly after, U.S. officially decided to enter World War I.

On the Home Front

Soon after the United States joined the war, the government asked its citizens to help out with the war effort. At home, on the farm, and in the factory, people were making changes in their lives to support the war. Some of the changes were made into laws by the government, but others were made voluntarily. These efforts to support the war from here in the United States became known as the home front. One large part of the war effort at home involved food. The government needed huge amounts of food to feed the millions of troops in the military. It asked citizens to give up eating certain foods on certain days so that there would be more food to send to the soldiers. Americans observed "wheat less" Mondays, "meatless" Tuesdays, and so on. Families were encouraged to eat all of their leftovers so that nothing would be wasted. They were also encouraged to grow vegetables in little gardens at their homes. The government encouraged farmers to increase the size of their crops too so that there would be more food to send overseas. Since many of the male farmers were already in the Army, farm women took on much of this work. Factory workers supported the war by producing rifles, bullets, artillery shells, and other materials. They also built ships for the rapidly growing U.S. Navy. As on the farms, many of these jobs were filled by women. Americans provided the army with the things that it needed to keep fighting. One year after the United States joined the war, Germany knew they could not win. They agreed to end the war by signing a treaty, but the penalties damaged its already weakened economy. It was the loss of their pride and economic hardship that many believe led Germans to elect Adolf Hitler, and the harshness of the treaty was a major cause for the beginning of World War II (which will occur approximately 20 years later).

Results of the Treaty 1. Germany was forced to give up territory and colonies to other countries 2. Germany was forbidden to have submarines and aircraft. 3. Germany had to pay $33 million in damages to other nations. (this debt was never paid)

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The Roaring Twenties

In every economy, there are good times and there are bad times. A good time is called a boom. A bad time is called a depression. After World War I, business in the United States continued to grow. The economy was strong. People had money because they could get credit (buy now and pay later). Many people played the stock market and invested in get-rich-quick schemes. Across the nation, people had more time to relax. Radio and the movies kept them entertained. Art, music, and literature thrived. The period was marked by high living and fun, and so it came to be called the Roaring Twenties. Life even got better, briefly, for some African Americans. It was a time when black artists and writers won recognition and earned good pay. The 1920’s was a boom time. But it did not last.

The Great Depression

In October of 1929 things turned for the worst. People, businesses, and banks with money invested in the stock market lost almost everything. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was devastating. Businesses went bankrupt, which meant they lost all their money and were unable to pay their debts. For businesses to stay open, they had to fire their workers. More than 12 million people, almost one out of every three American workers, lost their jobs. Many people who still had jobs were forced to work for much less pay. Some earned as little as ten cents an hour. Banks, too, were in deep trouble. Many people who had borrowed money from the banks now couldn’t pay back the money. In the next few years, thousands of banks were forced to close their doors. Many people lost their entire life savings in the course of a single day. The Stock Market Crash marked the starting point of the Great Depression, a time of hardship and sadness quite unlike the Roaring Twenties. Usually, depressions last for a year or two. But this one lasted approximately 10 years, and so the name Great Depression was given. During the Great Depression, thousands of families lost their homes because they couldn’t make their house payments. People who didn’t have jobs found there were no jobs to be 56

had. People starved. Unfortunately, there were no government programs to help people who were out of work. Many Americans became frustrated with President Herbert Hoover’s failure to end the depression. A cry went out for new leadership for these difficult times. The new elected President was Franklin Roosevelt, and he felt that the government had to start helping Americans who were hurt by the depression. Under President Roosevelt, the government passed a series of laws called the “New Deal” to help the people. The New Deal did not end unemployment in the country. Neither did it bring an end to the depression. However, the New Deal did help Americans believe in America again. It showed that the government has a responsibility to help its citizens when its citizens need help.

World War II – 1939 – 1945

World War II was the result The Allies The Axis of The Axis powers wanting to Great Britain Germany

conquer their neighboring nations. China Italy Japan wanted to create a “New France Japan World Order” in Asia. Italy wanted Soviet Union Soviet Union to rule much of Africa, and Germany (from 1941) (to 1941) United States wanted to rule all of Europe. Each (from 1941) invaded other countries and replaced their governments with their military. Britain, France, and the United States, tried very hard to avoid war. But, war ended up breaking out in Europe as Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, conquered one nation after another. The Nazis were the ruling German political party during Hitler’s time in power. Many U.S. citizens did not want to become involved in World War II. They felt it was a European matter. Others believed strongly that the United States should enter at once to help Britain and to defeat Hitler.

Attack at Pearl Harbor A Japanese plane takes off to The United States debated for two years about what to do. attack Pearl Harbor. And then early morning on December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack came in two different waves. The first wave of 183 Japanese planes dropped bombs and fired bullets at defenseless American ships in Pearl Harbor and at American planes at three nearby airfields. About an hour later, a second wave of 167 Japanese planes followed. American sailors fought back, struggling

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to get their planes off the ground and fire their guns at targets they couldn't quite see. A fleet of Japanese submarines was also part of the attack. These subs shot deadly torpedoes at the American fleet. The attack at Pearl Harbor was devastating. Americans were outraged. The next day, on December 8, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt stood before the United States Congress and stated, "Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." President Roosevelt addressed Congress and asked them for a declaration of war. The Senate gave their approval unanimously. The United States declared war on Japan and entered the war on the side of the Allies.

The Holocaust - Nazi Germany’s War against the European Jews

In 1935, several years before WWII started, the persecution of Jews living in Germany under Nazi control became even harder. Laws were passed that made it official that Jews were not wanted in Germany. One law declared that Jews were no longer German citizens. Only people with German ancestors, or "German blood," could be citizens. Another law was passed to protect “German Honor” and “German Blood.” This law made legal restrictions on the lives of Jewish people. It declared that a Jew could not marry a German. Jews could not hire Germans to work in their houses, and Jews could not even raise the German flag. These laws were the just the beginning of placing restrictions on the Jewish people. Since they were no longer considered citizens,

Jews could no longer vote or hold public office. They found it Yellow Star: The six- extremely difficult to go out in public. Many public facilities such as pointed Star of David was restaurants would no longer serve them. Often, Jews could not even the Jewish symbol that find medical help when they needed it. Jewish merchants found their the Nazis forced Jews to wear as a mark of shame shops boycotted or painted with a yellow star warning people not to and to make Jews easy to shop there. Many of them lost their jobs. Signs that read "Jews identify. The word Jude in the middle of the star forbidden" appeared everywhere. Then, in 1941, all Jewish people means “Jew” in German. living in Germany were forced to wear a yellow star on the outside of all their clothing as a means to humiliate them and to mark them out

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for segregation and discrimination. Later, the policy of Jews wearing the star made it easier to identify them for deportation to camps. Many people hoped that things would get better, but they didn't. Large Jewish communities were fenced off separating the Jews from other people. These communities were called “ghettos.” Jewish people were forced to live in the ghetto and were not permitted to leave. Almost all ghettos shared certain common features. They all consisted of dilapidated houses, horrible sanitary conditions, not enough food and what they had was of poor quality, and no medical supplies and facilities. These are just a few of the hardships endured by the Jews. Soon, Jewish people began to hear about neighbors who suddenly had disappeared, and they feared for their own family's safety. Sadly, many Jews in the ghetto died of starvation, disease and exhaustion. Many Jews tried hiding within or escaping from the ghettos to avoid being captured and sent away to death camps, but to no avail. During WWII, one of the worst and most tragic chapters was when the Nazis in Germany organized the murder of millions of Jews and other people. This dark period is known as the Holocaust. (A holocaust is a disaster that wipes out life.) The Holocaust was not a disagreement over land, nor was it a power struggle. It was a plan to exterminate all Jewish people simply because they were Jews. But why? Before World War II, Adolf Hitler dreamed of Germany being made up of only a pure Aryan race. Aryan meaning white skinned people of German descent. The Nazis aimed to ensure that all members of the state were of "Germanic" stock. In practice that usually meant proving that one's ancestry for three generations past was free of any mixing with "non-Aryans", for example Jews, Asians, or Africans. Adolf Hitler had a mental image of the “ideal German.” Germans were supposed to be tall, slim, physically fit, and free from any disability, deformity, abnormality or mental illness. Smoking, heavy drinking and drugs were also prohibited. It was essential that German men were fit for military service, and for German women to have the ability to have children. Because Hitler was determined to eliminate the Jews, the biggest threat, he thought, to his Aryan supremacy, he built many walled prisons, called concentration or extermination camps, in Germany and Poland. Some were work camps where prisoners made supplies for the German

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army. In Nazi concentration camps, prisoners lived in cramped quarters with no personal possessions, except for the clothes of their backs and the dish issued them for food, if food was provided at all. But most camps were death factories. It was at these camps that millions of people were killed. Not just Jews but anyone who opposed Hitler’s rule. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi followers killed over six million people, a full forty percent of the world’s Jewish population. Never before, had organized murder taken place on such a horrifying scale.

The War At Home

Fifteen million American men served in the military during World War II. These men had to be clothed and housed and fed. They had to be trained and armed. They had to be moved from one place to another, had to have medical attention, and had to have a thousand other needs met in order to be effective fights. All American citizens pitched in to help in the war effort.

Americans Support Their Troops

Some of the needs of the armed forces were met by U.S. businesses. Many businesses stopped making their regular products and began making products needed for war. For example, one canning company shifted from canning food to making ship parts. A pencil factory stopped making mechanical pencils and started making bombs instead. Car manufacturers went from making automobiles to making airplanes and tanks. The U.S. government also ordered some changes in production in the country. For example, few washing machines or refrigerators were made during the war years because the government needed the metal for war materials. Even the production of safety pins was cut in half. In fact, one hospital didn’t have enough safety pins to pin diapers on the newborn babies. (At this time, reusable cloth diapers were used.) Nurses taped babies into their diapers until the local Lions Club came to the rescue by collecting 6,000 safety pins for the hospital. Other metal products in short supply included hairpins, needles, zippers, and alarm clocks. The American people pitched in too. For example, the government needed all the metal it could get. After all, everything from rifles to hand grenades, to ships and planes, were made of metal. So the people of the United States held gigantic metal drives. During the drives, they collected 60

anything made of metal to give to the government. Pots, pans, padlocks, old bicycles, and empty toothpaste tubes are just a few examples of the metal goods people donated to the government. Even a country as large and as rich as the United States could hardly produce everything both its citizens and its military needed. So the government decided to ration some things. To ration something is to set a limit on the amount of that product that people can buy. Gasoline was one of the things the government decided to ration. The military used huge amounts of gasoline. Even a light tank took 54 gallons of gas to fill up. In one night of practice maneuvers, a division of tanks could use almost 100,000 gallons of gasoline! The government’s need for gasoline meant that gasoline had to be rationed. This was extremely difficult for car-loving Americans. People could buy only 3 gallons of gas a week! For some, that meant sharing a ride to work. Others found they could no drive around for pleasure. Some even found that their jobs were in danger.

Americans Face Rationing

Americans also faced the rationing of some foods. Ration books limited the amount of sugar, meat, coffee, cheese, and butter that people could purchase. Rationed foods had two prices. One was the price in dollars and cents. The other was the price in ration points. These points told how many ration stamps an item would cost.

Americans Plant Victory Gardens

With so much food going to feed the soldiers, Americans decided to help feed themselves. Millions of people who had never farmed before now planted gardens to supply their families with fresh vegetables. These gardens became known as Victory Gardens. They appeared in backyards, jail yards, and window boxes, anywhere there was a small plot of soil. In 1943 alone, over 20 million Victory gardens were growing everything from tomatoes to corn to lettuce to radishes. Those gardens yielded 8 million tons of food! That was enough food to supply one-third of all the fresh vegetables the country’s citizens needed that year.

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Enemies in Our Midst?

Californians and other people living on the west coast worried about an invasion by the Japanese. In fact, civilians had helped rescue American sailors from a ship that was sunk by the Japanese off the California Coast. Many began to look with suspicion at the 112,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans living in California. They worried that these Japanese Americans might be spies sending secret messages to Japanese soldiers. Or, they worried that, if Japan attacked the United States, the Japanese living here would join the enemy. Because of these fears, many Americans demanded that people of Japanese descent be moved away from the coast. In March 1942, the U.S. government forced people of Japanese descent living in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona out of those states and into government-built camps far from the coast. These camps were called relocation camps. However, the camps were surrounded by barbed wire and had armed guards. This made the camps more like prisons. The people who were moved to these camps lost their businesses, homes, and most possessions. Also, the camps were very primitive. The people often lived in army-like barracks that had no electric lights, running water, or private bathrooms. In fact, one camp had only one washroom for every 100 families. Although they were treated harshly, most Japanese Americans remained loyal to the United States. They still helped with the war effort, as they had before they were taken from their homes. For example, some made camouflage nets. Others created posters to encourage Americans to join the Armed Forces. Many young Japanese men begged to be allowed to join the U.S. Army. In 1943, the Army began to accept some young Japanese American men. In the end, over 1,000 served during WWII. And, they served with bravery and honor. However, it was not until the war’s end that all were free to leave.

Women at War

During WWII, not only did millions of American men serve their country, but also millions of American women. Some of these women served in the military. Others stopped working in the home and entered the work place.

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Because over 15 million American men Latch-Key Kids went to fight in the war, all the jobs they left behind needed new workers. Plus, there were During World War II, many women moved to where the work plenty of new jobs in shipyards, airplane was. Their children, who were factories, and gunpowder plants, because they used to mothers at home, now needed these supplies to win the war. found themselves alone after school. With so many millions of men away in the service, Some children were sent to American women went to work. They got jobs in government daycare centers. At that time, offices and businesses and factories. Many others went to though, there were few daycare work building war weapons. For example, before the war, only centers. So, many children were responsible for taking care of about 4,000 women worked in the aircraft industry. By the end themselves after school. These of the war, 360,000 women were putting together the nation’s children often wore their house planes. Two out of every five workers making ammunition were keys around their necks, so they could let themselves into their women. houses. Because of that, they As the war went on, a new picture of the American woman became known as “latch-key began to form. In that picture, the woman was wearing safety kids.” goggles and slacks, at that time, most women wore skirts. Altogether, over 6 million women entered the work force during WWII.

Women in the Military

All over the nation, women enlisted in the armed forces. They were not allowed to go into combat, but they took over jobs that freed men to fight the war. Women became car mechanics and truck drivers. They served as typists and clerks and decoders and cooks and in hundreds of other support positions. Some even became airplane pilots. By the end of the war, over 330,000 American women had served in the armed forces.

The End of World War II

On June 6, 1944, British, Canadian, and U.S. troops came by boat and landed on the beaches of Normandy, in France. This was called D-Day. These Allied soldiers advanced eastward, and the Soviets came from the west into Germany. On May 8, 1945 the Germans surrendered. In the Pacific in August 1945, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and another city in Japan. This ended the war in the Pacific. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945.

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World War II lasted for six years. It was fought on six continents and in all oceans. More than 50 million people lost their lives. Many countries faced hard economic times as a result. Millions of people in Europe and Asia lost their homes. The United Nations was formed. It ended in the total defeat of Germany and Japan and established the United States and the Soviet Union as world chief powers.

The United Nations

The United Nations was founded right after the war to maintain world peace and security. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin worked together to form this new organization. After World War II, members of Congress were convinced that international cooperation might prevent future wars. The United Nations has its headquarters in New York City.

American Civil Rights Movement

The United States in the 1950’s and 1960’s was a time when many Americans began to speak up for their civil rights. Civil rights are freedoms that protect individuals from the government and state power.

Linda Brown Goes To School

Segregation: Seven-year-old Linda Brown was an African American. She lived in a segregated world in the 1950’s. That meant that, in her Racial grouping; practice that different racial groups live in hometown of Topeka, Kansas, Linda had to go to a school for African separate areas, go to separate schools, use American children. The problem was her school separate social facilities, etc. was far from her home. To get there, Linda had to cross railroad tracks and ride a bus for a long time every morning “Separate but Equal” and afternoon. Separate but equal is a Linda’s father knew that there was an all-white school much closer phrase that was commonly used to describe systems of to the Brown’s home. So, he decided to sue Topeka Board of Education. segregation giving different He hoped to force the Board to let his daughter go to the all-white "colored only" facilities or services for blacks, with the school near her home. declaration that the quality The Topeka Board of Education would not change its mind. After of each group's public facilities were (supposedly) all, it was obeying the law. Over 50 years earlier, the Supreme Court had to remain equal. ruled that “separate but equal” schools were legal. Mr. Brown and many,

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many others, both black and white did not think that the Supreme Court decision was fair. He took his case before the court to ask the judges to think again about the issue of segregated schools.

Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

In 1952, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. First, the justices heard arguments from people who wanted segregated schools. They stated that individual “states have the right to separate the races in public school. It is a normal and not an abnormal procedure.” But then the people who were against segregated schools said that “the Negro child is made to go to an inferior school; he is branded in his own mind inferior. This sets up a road block to his mind which prevents his ever feeling he is equal.” After everyone had a chance to speak, the Supreme Court justices spent months and months thinking about the issue. Finally, on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court announced its decision. It said, “We conclude, unanimously, that in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently, by their nature, unequal.” In other words, Linda Brown should be allowed to attend an all-white school. In fact, according to the Supreme Court, there shouldn’t be any all-white or all-black schools. You might think that this ruling changed everything right away. Eventually, it did, but it took years for some people to follow what the Supreme Court said. In fact, it took the federal government to force some schools to let African Americans attend.

``To separate children solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone."

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About a year after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brown to end school segregation, a woman named Rosa Parks headed home after her long workday. She got on the bus that would take her home. She paid the fare. Then, she sat down in row 11, just behind the “white” section of the bus. The bus started to fill up. Pretty soon, all the “white” seats were filled. When the next white person, a man, got on, the bus driver told the African Americans, including Rosa, in row 11 that they had to move more towards the back of the bus. At the time, the city of Montgomery, Alabama, had a law that read on buses, whites would never have to sit with blacks, as to separate the white people from the Negroes. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. The driver stopped the bus and called the police. Rosa was arrested for breaking the law. She was found guilty and had to pay a $10.00 fine, plus $4 in court costs. After Rosa was arrested, other African Americans decided to boycott (refuse to) riding the buses. They walked, took cabs, or carpooled. But, they stayed off the buses. They decided to do this until the law changed.

The Montgomery bus boycott lasted over a year. It Rosa Parks is fingerprinted after didn’t end until the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that the refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery law went against the Constitution. bus for a white passenger.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Becomes a Leader

One of the leaders to come out of the Montgomery bus boycott was a man named Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, and became a Baptist minister He embraced the idea of change without violence. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a civil rights leader who fought for the rights of African Americans. King convinced many Americans to support the cause of civil rights in the United States and to stop segregation and racial discrimination.

Martin Goes to Washington

For the next twelve years, Martin Luther King, Jr. organized and took part in many nonviolent protests. One of the most famous protests took place in Washington D.C. in 1963. Martin wanted to make sure that a civil rights bill that President John F. Kennedy sent to congress would be approved.

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To help persuade congress, Martin and over 200,000 people, both black and white, gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial. They listened as Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke. In his famous speech, called “I Have a Dream,” Martin said he believed that one day the people in the United States would live according to the words in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” Martin continued to say that it was his hope that all people of this nation would be judged by their character and not by the color of their skin. He said that freedom for all people would allow us to one day join together and sing the words of the old spiritual song, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” Martin’s efforts eventually led to the Civil Rights Act that was passed by Congress in 1964, prohibiting segregation in public places and banning discrimination in education and employment. Martin became a symbol of nonviolent protest in the struggle for racial equality and justice.

Martin Dies for His Cause

Martin Luther King, Jr. knew that what he was doing was very dangerous. There were many Americans who didn’t want change. They didn’t believe in equality for all and wanted segregation to continue. Many people wanted Martin thrown in jail. There were even some who wanted him dead. On April 4, 1968, a shot rang out. Martin Luther King, Jr., who had been standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, had been shot. He was a courageous man who had spent thirteen years of his life dedicated to the belief of nonviolent protests. Violence and controversy followed. In outrage of the murder, many blacks took to the streets across the country in a massive wave of riots. There are still questions to who is guilty of his murder. Martin’s tombstone reads the same words that he quoted in his famous Washington speech. It says, “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.”

To the Present

The last half of the twentieth century was a time when the United States faced many new struggles and accomplishments. It was a time of wars, of tests inside the country and with

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other nations. The United States joined the Vietnam War in hope of stopping the spread of communism. John F. Kennedy was the fourth U.S. President to be assassinated. An American spaceship touched down on the moon’s surface, and Americans continued to fight for their civil rights. The Interstate Highways that connect the states were created and numbered, as well as the World Wide Web introduced. On September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack on American soil destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City and damaged the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. This triggered President George W. Bush to declare war on terrorism. The War in Iraq continued as Barack Obama, the first black president, was sworn into office in January of 2009.

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