Election of 1864: The election of 1864 was a close shave for Lincoln.   He had not expected to win, having George McClellan running against him. It was, fortuitously, however, a close but certain victory for Lincoln.  It was only because of Key Military Victories that Lincoln was able to secure his second term. (470)

Grant and Vicksburg:  After realizing that an attack on the Mississippi would split the feds in two, Grant opted to go down to the dangerous terrain of the southern Mississippi.  After leaving base, Grant decided to live off the land, eventually coming down to siege Vicksburg, a confederate stronghold in Mississippi. (473)

Gettysburg, Gettysburg Address: In a last attempt to attack the North, Lee ordered an attack into northern territory.  This brought Southern forces to Gettysburg, one of the most deadly battles in any American War.   The battle lasted 3 days, and many died on both sides.   The Confederacy, however, suffered the major defeat, losing a great majority of their army in these 3 short days.  It was when the cemetery for this war was dedicated that Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address-- reaffirming that the war had a just cause, and that from it would come a new America. (476)

Grant and Chattanooga: The third great victory of the Civil War for the Union, Chattanooga was a great success.  Forced into the city by Confederate forces, Grant took command of the western theater briefly for this battle, and when he did the union finally saw a proper General.   The union army was so empowered that it did not stop even at the commander's commands, and kept charging towards the confederacy. (476)

Grant's Virginia Campaign: Grant's large Army of the Potomac sought to attack Lee's smaller army.  Each army, however, was afraid of the other-- one Massachusetts's man's diary even stated his belief he would soon die.   Grant's army ended up besieging Lee's in Virginia. (478)

William T. Sherman's Campaign: Sherman attempted another strong blow on the south through his campaign.  He went along devastating the south, stopping to attack Hood's confederate army along the way.  He captured Georgia, then proceeded to attack south Carolina, torching towns and fields along the way.  The confederate army now found itself sieged, and wished to end the war, but not in a farcical way as the war was headed. (481-482)

Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address: Epitomizing the change in Lincoln during the end of the Civil War, the Second Inaugural Address sought to bring peace at the end of a long conflict.  The distraught Lincoln appealed greatly to God and his purposes, claiming that God will end the war when an end is to be had.  The sermon-esque speech was given to a mixed crowd of southern deserters, northerners, and african americans.  It survives today as an outstanding piece of rhetoric. (483)
Appomattox: On april 9 1865, The war ended when Lee met Grant in Wilmer McLean's home at the Appomattox Court house.  Lee surrendered, and was allowed to keep horses and sidearms.  They formally surrendered three days later, in a somber display of respect. (484)

Chapter 18: Reconstruction: North and South

Freedman's bureau: The Freedman's Bureau was established in 1865 to help refugee slaves, freed by the Emancipation Proclaimation, gain work contracts, shelter, and other necessities.  The bureau failed quite miserably, though, because racial prejudices outstripped the Government's ability to help freed slaves. (492-493)

Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan V. the Wade-Davis bill:  If a state wished to enter the union, Lincoln proposed they required a 10% margin of their population in 1860 to pledge allegiance to the constitution and new laws, and they could receive a presidential pardon. Excluded from these were higher up officers in the confederacy and politics. This plan did not gain much support, and only got participation from a few states.  Even republicans said it wasn't radical enough. Lincoln only wanted to be friends, and to get those who left the union back in it, asap. (493)
John Wilkes Booth:  On april 14th, Lincoln was murdered in Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth, a confederate zealot and sympathizer.  Booth was pursued into a burning barn and shot.  His conspirators hung a few days later. (494)

Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction Plan: Johnson from the start championed slavery and white supremacy.  His plans to restore the union closely resembled Lincoln's. He placed restrictions on pardoning on the southern Elite, and forced all states to repeal the acts of secession, join the union, and ratify the thirteenth amendment. (496)

Thirteenth Amendments: The Thirteenth amendment was one that Johnson had forced all of the returning confederate states to sign.  This amendment effectively ended slavery in peacetime situations in every state in the US. (496)

Black Codes: The “black codes” were a set of laws created by returning southerners that just furthered the proof of their wish to preserve slavery.  These codes forced restrictions upon previously free blacks, preventing them from owning property in some states.  Furthermore, if blacks were not employed, they faced fines and were forced to work under white planters.  Thus, slavery was propagated through these southern laws. (497)

Joint committee on Reconstruction, Thaddeus Steven's “State Suicide,” and Charles Sumner's “Conquered Provinces”: The Joint Committee on Reconstruction was a congressional committee dedicated to the process of reconstructing the union.  One of the most influential members of these were Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner.  They both agreed that southern states needed a complete overhaul of culture.  Stevens argued that the southern states were now conquered provinces, and thus were required to submit to all authority.  Sumner added that they had effectively committed suicide and were now subject to the laws of state-creation that a territory was subjected to. (498)
Civil Rights act of 1866 and 14th Amendment: The Civil rights act was a radical republican act that sought to gain support from blacks in the realms of voting.  This act permitted all persons born in the united states to full citizenship.  The act passed through the president's desk and was vetoed, the veto was then challenged.  The Joint Committee then put forth the fourteenth amendment, which stated that all those born or naturalized in the united states had rights that could not be taken away from anybody.  Most of the south resisted this amendment, causing riots and murders. (499-500)

Johnson's “Swing around the Circle”: Amidst growing splits between congress and it's radical republicans and Johnson, the president went on a speaking tour of the midwest.  He met many radical republicans who attacked him.  The republicans kept control of the senate, allowing them to continue to override Johnson's Vetos. (500)

Reconstruction acts: Before the new change in congress, three laws were passed. The first, The Military Reconstruction Act, focused on the conditions by which the new southern government was to be formed.  The second, The Command of Army Act required that all orders from the president as Commander in chief had to go through the headquarters of the general of the army.  The Third, the Tenure of Office Act, stated that all firings made by the president had to go through the senate, protecting some of the radical repbulicans in Johnson's cabinet.  The Military Reconstruction act was reduced to a law that forced southern states to comply with black suffrage in the 14th amendment. (500-501)

Texas v. White (1866): Texas v. White was the supreme court case involving reconstruction under the Military Reconstruction Act.  Here, the court acknowledged congress' rights to re frame state government, endorsing the radical republican view. (501)

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (Summarize):  Johnson and the Radical Republican's relationship was growing tenser and tenser.  Soon, they began to find reasons to bring Johnson in for impeachment, but the first was on flimsy charges.  Johnson provided an occasion for the impeachment, however, when he broke the Tenure of Office Act.  The trial failed to remove Johnson, but crippled his wea presidency.  The failure to remove johnson provided damaging effects in every way.  (502-503)

Fifteenth Amendments:  Yet another amendment that was thrust upon the new states of the south.  This amendment, ratified in 1870, forbade the states the right to deny citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous conditions.  (504)

Sharecropping:  One of the few ways Blacks found an income in post-war reconstruction, sharecropping was the process of using white land on rent to labor and support themselves.  They would pay for rent, tools, seed, and fertilizer, and gave much of their crops to the landowner-- but it was better than wage laboring and far more desirable than slavery. (505)

Carpetbaggers and Scalawags:  Carpetbaggers and Scalawags were two terms to describe people in the top positions in state governments.  Carpetbaggers were people who came south for political opportunity.  Scalawags were white southerners,  both were reviled by Blacks-- Scalawags moreso.