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Reconstruction: Abraham Lincoln’S Cabinet 1865

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Reconstruction: Abraham Lincoln’S Cabinet 1865 WMHSMUN XXXIV Reconstruction: Abraham Lincoln’s Cabinet 1865 Background Guide “Unprecedented committees. Unparalleled debate. Unmatched fun.” Letter From the Director Dear Delegates, Hello! I am Noah Lansing, and I am looking forward to meeting you all this fall at WMHSMUN XXXIV. I have always found research and discussions about the American Civil War fascinating, and I am excited to talk about it with you all. I am a freshman from Connecticut. I am going to be majoring in government and economics, but I also enjoy learning about history and international relations. I have been doing Model UN since I was a freshman in high school, and I joined William and Mary’s International Relations Club this year. Directing a committee has always been a goal of mine, and it is a great honor to be here. Outside of Model UN I like reading, especially about history, government, or political economy. As a member of President Lincoln’s cabinet, you all have a daunting task to help rebuild this great nation. This Civil War has led to untold destruction in this country, and it will be no easy task to rebuild. All members of the cabinet have government or military experience that will prove to be invaluable. This committee takes place on March 9, 1865. Congress has just begun its 39th session, and the Republican Party is in control. At the beginning of the conference, the delegates would be reminded of the events that lead to the Civil War, so that full context is given for a fruitful debate. Delegates are tasked with ending the war and for economic reconstruction of the south. For ending the war, the remaining Confederate generals and political leaders must surrender. The cabinet must plan troop movements and create terms of surrender to complete this goal. For economic reconstruction, the cabinet will debate the best way to economically reconstruct the South. The cabinet must have a plan to rebuild the Southern infrastructure, and secure economic rights of the newly freed African Americans to be safe. Delegates to the Cabinet should put the policy beliefs of their respective official before their characteristics but having a personal agenda may be an integral part of your delegate’s character. The nation is at a crossroads. What happens here will determine the fate of the nation for decades to come. If you have any questions, feel free to email me. Good luck! Noah Lansing [email protected] Background Guide - Reconstruction Introduction Ever since the inception of the United States, slavery was a contentious issue. For example, Thomas Jefferson took out a provision of the Declaration of Independence that condemned the British for bringing slavery into the United States.1 It may seem counterintuitive that a nation founded on the ideas of freedom and democracy legitimized an institution that took both of those rights away from four million people. A provision in the Constitution banned the importation of enslaved people in the year 1808.2 When the Constitution was passed, the Founding Fathers believed that the institution would gradually die out.3 However, the Founding Fathers did not anticipate the invention of the cotton gin, which made the productivity of cotton production much greater.4 With more efficient farming, King Cotton became the South’s dominant economic backbone. Adding states to the Union proved to be difficult. In 1820, Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state. However, adding Missouri would have upset the balance of free and slave states. To settle the conflict, Senator Henry Clay introduced the Missouri Compromise.5 Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state, but Maine would also be added as a free state. Additionally, slavery was prohibited in states north of the 36° 30´ latitude line. It was thought that this compromise would finally resolve the issue. However, it only delayed more conflict. California’s entry into the Union sparked more tension in 1850. By this time, more and more settlers were already moving out West. When gold was discovered in Sutter’s Mill in California, the state swelled in population. With California applied for statehood as a free state, the balance of power between the North and South was once again threatened. Congress was forced to compromise.6 The Compromise of 1850 attempted to mitigate the conflict. The North gained California as a free state and ended the slave trade in Washington. The South got a Figurative Slave Law that demanded that all escaped enslaved people be returned to the South. This agreement only made matters worse for the United States. In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas proposed a bill that would decide if Kansas and Nebraska would become free or slave states through the process of popular sovereignty, in which the people living in the state would vote on if their state would be a free or slave state.7 This led to a wave of migrants coming into the state to sway the election, which lead to violence between pro- and anti-slavery forces. In 1857, the American situation became even more tense. The Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sanford proved to be the final nail in the coffin that guaranteed the Civil War.8 Dred Scott was an enslaved person that moved to Illinois. As per the Missouri Compromise, this would have made Dred Scott a free man. However, when Scott came back to Missouri, the state said that he was still an enslaved person. When Scott sued for his freedom in 1857, the Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was still an enslaved person, and so were all free 2 Background Guide - Reconstruction African Americans in the United States. The Court further stated that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, ending years of compromise. The Election of 1860 was going to be a disaster, regardless of who won. The political tension of the country was astronomical. Abraham Lincoln, a barely known lawyer and former Congressman from Illinois, ran under the Republican ticket. He ran on the promise of ending the expansion of slavery, but not ending the practice where it already existed. To the South, this was too great of a threat. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina voted to secede from the Union.9 By February of 1861, seven states seceded from the Union.10 With the seceding states came the problem of federal forts. One such fort was Fort Sumter, who refused to surrender to the newly formed Confederate States of America. On April 12, 1861, South Carolina opened fire on the fort. Any hope of peaceful reunification ended that day. After the bombardment, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee all announced that they will join the Confederacy as well. At the start of the war, it looked like the Confederacy might be successful in gaining independence.11 At the First and Second Battles of Bull Run, Union forces were defeated by smaller Confederate forces. General McClellan was unable to capture Richmond and quickly end the war. The Battle of Antietam was the first major victory for the Union. This battle prevented the South from entering into the North through Maryland. By 1863, the Union got its act together. General Grant won the Battle of Shiloh, and then defeated the Confederates at Vicksburg. Lee was defeated at the crucial Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. After this battle, the Confederate armies would be playing a defensive war. General Sherman’s March to the Sea crippled the South’s infrastructure and decimated Atlanta. It is now March 9, 1865. The Union is on the verge of victory over the Confederates. Lee’s Army of Virginia is all but decimated. Johnston’s army is in complete disarray. Savanah is in Union hands, and Richmond is on the verge of falling as well. The South’s secession attempt is over. To guarantee that the Union is victorious, the remaining Confederate generals need to surrender. Yet again, it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when, the generals surrender. As such, it is vital that the cabinet makes general terms for surrender. When the South surrenders, the true work has just begun. Much of the South is in compete disarray. Slavery, the backbone of the Confederate economy, is gone through the Emancipation Proclamation. As such, it is imperative that the South is rebuilt to prevent the conditions that lead to the civil war from reemerging. 3 Background Guide - Reconstruction Presidential Cabinet The Presidential cabinet is a group of advisors that help the President make executive decisions. All presidents thus far have had a cabinet to guide them in making country-changing decisions. There are three major groups of the Cabinet- the Inner Cabinet, Military Command, and Political Ambassadors. The Inner Cabinet all have major secretariate positions. This includes the Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of War, Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Postmaster General, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Interior. Military command includes all military officers in the cabinet, such as the General of the Army and the Admiral of the Navy. Political advisors make up everyone else. This mainly includes members of Congress, but also includes members of the Supreme Court, governors, and other citizen leaders. There may be crossover between all these groups as well. Politics of 1865 Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are both dominated by the Republican Party. In the House, there are 132 Republicans, 40 Democrats, and 11 Independents/3rd parties. In the Senate, there are 37 Republicans, 9 Democrats, and 2 Independents/3rd parties.12 The major faction of the Republican party is the Radical Republicans, who are demanding that radical action is taken against the South for seceding.
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