GOVERNMENT Policies During the CIVIL WAR [APUSH Review Unit 5 Topic 9] Period 5: 1844-1877

Summary

In this engaging video from Heimler's History, the focus is on Abraham Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War and its profound impact on American ideals. The video delves into the strategic and moral dimensions of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which, while not freeing all enslaved people, effectively prevented European support for the Confederacy and encouraged many to join the Union. A pivotal moment is the Gettysburg Address, a speech that not only redefined the war's purpose but also articulated the struggle against slavery as a fulfillment of America's democratic principles. Delivered in just four minutes, the address's ten sentences have left a lasting legacy, emphasizing the importance of a government that serves the people and ensuring the nation's dedication to freedom and equality.

Takeaways

• 📜 The video discusses Unit 5 of the AP U.S. History curriculum focusing on Abraham Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War and its impact on American ideals.
• 🔍 Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation is characterized as a military tactic rather than a moral proclamation, as it freed some enslaved people but not all, particularly not in the border states.
• 🌐 The Emancipation Proclamation effectively prevented European diplomatic support for the South, which was crucial to the South's strategy for winning the war.
• ⚔️ The proclamation also provided an opportunity for many enslaved people to escape to Union camps and some even fought for the Union against their former enslavers.
• 📝 Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is highlighted as a pivotal moment that reframed the purpose of the Civil War as a fight to end slavery and fulfill America's founding democratic ideals.
• 🎤 The Gettysburg Address was delivered by Lincoln after the main speaker, Edward Everett, and despite being much shorter, it is the speech that is remembered and celebrated.
• ⏳ The significance of the Gettysburg Address is emphasized by its brevity and impact, taking only four minutes to deliver ten sentences that redefined the war's meaning.
• ❤️ Lincoln's speech is described as one of the most magnificent ever given, effectively capturing the struggle against slavery as a fulfillment of America's foundational ideals.
• 📚 The script encourages the audience to read and internalize the Gettysburg Address, emphasizing its importance and the reward of understanding its message.
• 🌟 The beauty and power of the Gettysburg Address is praised, and the video ends by highlighting its significance in American history and its role in shaping the nation's identity.
• 📈 The video aims to support students' understanding of the subject for their class and potentially improve their performance on exams.

Q & A

What was the main topic of discussion in the video?

The main topic of discussion was the impact of Abraham Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War on American ideals.

What was the purpose of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation?

The Emancipation Proclamation was a military tactic that freed enslaved people in the Confederacy and aimed to prevent European diplomatic support for the South.

Why was the Emancipation Proclamation considered more of a military tactic than a moral proclamation?

It was considered a military tactic because it did not free all enslaved people, particularly those in the border states, and its primary effect was to weaken the Confederacy's chances of international support.

What was the significance of the Gettysburg Address?

The Gettysburg Address was significant because it reframed the purpose of the Civil War as a fight to end slavery and portrayed the struggle as the fulfillment of America's founding democratic ideals.

Who was the main speaker at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery?

Edward Everett was the main speaker at the dedication, but it was Abraham Lincoln's speech that is most remembered and celebrated.

Why is the Gettysburg Address considered one of the most magnificent speeches in history?

The Gettysburg Address is considered magnificent because it was concise, powerful, and effectively redefined the meaning of the Civil War and the principles for which the nation stands.

What was the main idea Lincoln conveyed in the Gettysburg Address?

Lincoln conveyed the idea that the Civil War was a test of whether a nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to equality could endure, and he called for a renewed dedication to the principles for which the soldiers fought and died.

How long did it take Lincoln to deliver the Gettysburg Address?

Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address in approximately four minutes.

What was the context in which the Gettysburg Address was given?

The Gettysburg Address was given during the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, following the Battle of Gettysburg, which was a turning point in the Civil War.

What was the original purpose of the war before Lincoln's leadership helped redefine it?

The original purpose of the war was to preserve the Union, but Lincoln's leadership and the Emancipation Proclamation helped redefine it as a struggle for freedom and the end of slavery.

How did Lincoln's speeches, particularly the Gettysburg Address, impact the perception of the Civil War?

Lincoln's speeches, especially the Gettysburg Address, elevated the perception of the Civil War from a mere conflict to preserve the Union to a moral struggle for freedom and equality, aligning it with America's founding principles.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Introduction to Civil War Leadership

The video begins with a welcome back to Heimler’s History, focusing on Unit 5 of the AP U.S. History curriculum. It continues from the previous video's discussion on the Civil War, shifting the focus to the Union government's conduct during the war. The main question to be addressed is the impact of Abraham Lincoln's leadership on American ideals throughout the war. The video promises to be relatively short, as some content was already covered in the last video, particularly the Emancipation Proclamation, which is characterized more as a military tactic than a moral one. The Proclamation's limitations and strategic benefits are highlighted, including its role in preventing European support for the Confederacy and encouraging enslaved people to join the Union.

Keywords

💡Civil War

The Civil War refers to the conflict fought between 1861 and 1865 in the United States, primarily between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states (the Confederacy) that had seceded from the Union. In the video, it is the central event being discussed, with a focus on how Abraham Lincoln's leadership and actions shaped the course of the war and American ideals.

💡Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He is a key figure in the Civil War, and the video discusses his leadership and its impact on American ideals. His Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address are highlighted as pivotal moments in his presidency and the war.

💡Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, which declared that all enslaved people in Confederate states were to be set free. The video describes it as a military tactic that also had profound moral implications, as it changed the perception of the war and the goal of ending slavery.

💡European Diplomatic Support

This refers to the potential for European countries to officially recognize and support the Confederate States during the Civil War. The video explains that Lincoln's recasting of the war's purpose, particularly through the Emancipation Proclamation, effectively ended any chance of such support, especially from Britain, due to their history of abolition.

💡Gettysburg Address

Delivered by Lincoln on November 19, 1863, the Gettysburg Address was a speech that redefined the purpose of the Civil War as a struggle to preserve the principles of liberty and equality. The video emphasizes the speech's significance in reframing the war as a fight against slavery and as a fulfillment of America's founding democratic ideals.

💡Edward Everett

Edward Everett was a featured speaker at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery, where Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. Although Everett's speech was the main event and lasted two hours, it is Lincoln's shorter address that is remembered and celebrated, as highlighted in the video.

💡Slavery

Slavery was the legal institution of chattel property involving the ownership of persons, primarily in the Southern United States. In the video, slavery is discussed as a central issue of the Civil War, with Lincoln's actions and speeches contributing to its eventual abolition and the advancement of American ideals.

💡Border States

The border states were slave states that remained part of the Union during the Civil War. The video points out that the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to these states, illustrating the complexity of the legal and political landscape of the time.

💡Military Strategy

A military strategy refers to a long-term plan for achieving a large goal during a war. The video discusses how the Emancipation Proclamation was not just a moral statement but also a strategic move by Lincoln to weaken the Confederacy and prevent European support.

💡Founding Democratic Ideals

These are the principles upon which the United States was founded, including liberty, equality, and the idea that government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. The video emphasizes how Lincoln's speeches and actions during the Civil War were aimed at fulfilling these ideals, particularly in the context of ending slavery.

💡Recasting the Purpose

This phrase refers to the act of redefining or reinterpreting the goals and motivations behind a particular event or period. In the video, it is used to describe how Lincoln's leadership and speeches, especially the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, reshaped the understanding of the Civil War and its objectives.

💡Dedication of Gettysburg Cemetery

The dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery was a ceremony held to consecrate the grounds as a final resting place for those who died in the Battle of Gettysburg. The video highlights Lincoln's brief but impactful speech at this event, which served to reframe the war and its significance.

Highlights

Abraham Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War had a profound impact on American ideals.

The Emancipation Proclamation is discussed as more of a military tactic than a moral proclamation.

The Proclamation freed some enslaved people but not all, particularly not in the border states.

It served as a strategic move to prevent European diplomatic support for the South.

The Emancipation Proclamation motivated enslaved people to escape to Union camps and join the fight.

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is highlighted as a pivotal moment that reframed the purpose of the Civil War.

The Gettysburg Address was delivered on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery.

Edward Everett was the main speaker at the event, but it's Lincoln's speech that is remembered.

Lincoln's speech, despite being brief, powerfully redefined the war in terms of American democratic ideals.

The speech is a ten-sentence reframing that took only four minutes to deliver.

Lincoln emphasized that the nation was conceived in liberty and dedicated to equality.

The struggle against slavery was portrayed as the fulfillment of America's founding principles.

The speech calls for a dedication to the unfinished work of the nation's founders.

Lincoln resolved that the sacrifices of the fallen would not be in vain and aimed for a new birth of freedom.

The speech concluded with a commitment to a government of the people, by the people, for the people.

The video encourages students to fully engage with the Gettysburg Address for its historical and rhetorical significance.

The video provides a brief yet comprehensive review of key points from Unit 5 of the AP U.S. History curriculum.

The presenter, Heimler, encourages viewer engagement through likes and subscriptions for more educational content.

Transcripts

Hey there and welcome back to Heimler’s History.  In these last videos we’ve been going through  

Unit 5 of the AP U.S. History curriculum. In  the last video we talked about the fighting of  

the Civil War. In this video we’re going to talk  about how the Union government conducted itself  

during the war. So if you’re ready to get  them brain cows milked, let’s get to it.

So in this video we’re going to try to  answer the following question: How did  

Abraham Lincoln’s leadership during the Civil War  impact American ideals over the course of the war?

Now this’ll be a short-ish video, because I  covered about half of the content from this  

topic in the last video. Just by way of review, I  talked about Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation  

which in its text freed all enslaved people  in the Confederacy. I called this more of a  

military tactic than a moral proclamation because  while it’s true that the Emancipation Proclamation  

DID free SOME enslaved people, it didn’t  free all of them. The Proclamation patently  

did NOT end slavery in the border states, which  were slave states that remained in the Union,  

it only ended slavery in the COnfederate states,  where the authority of that proclamation was not  

recognized. However, as a military  strategy, it was a good one for two reasons.

First, it effectively cut off all hope of  European diplomatic support for the South,  

which was a huge part of their plan to win.  When Lincoln recast the purpose of the war in  

these terms, it made Britain especially kinda  twitchy about lending a hand to their cause on  

account of their abolition of slavery in 1833.  Second, the Emancipation Proclamation created  

the occasion for many enslaved people in the  South to escape their bondage into the safety  

of Union camps. Some of them even took up arms  for the Union against their former enslavers.

So that’s what the Emancipation Proclamation  did. But there was another speech Lincoln gave  

that even further recast the purpose  of the Civil War into a fight to end  

slavery, and that was the Gettysburg  Address delivered on November 19th,  

1863. In this address, which is one of the most  magnificent speeches that ever proceeded from  

the lips of a human being, Lincoln sought to  unify the nation and to portray the struggle  

against slavery as the fulfillment of  America’s founding democratic ideals.

And here’s what’s astonishing about this  speech. It was delivered at the dedication  

of the Gettysburg cemetery, and Lincoln wasn’t  even the main act. It was a guy named Edward  

Everett who was to give the main remarks, which  lasted something like two hours. And you might  

be wondering, who is Edward Everett and do I  need to know him for my test. And the answer  

is, NO! Nobody remembers that speech, despite  the fact that it was actually quite good. It  

was Abraham Lincoln who stood up after him to  dedicate the cemetery that reframed the entire  

course of the war in ten sentences  that took him four minutes to deliver.

And because I keep waxing romantic about how  magnificent this speech was, and because it is so  

short, we just need to read it right here. Listen  to how Lincoln reframes the meaning of the war and  

how he depicts the struggle against slavery  as the fulfillment of America’s foundational  

ideals. And hey, don’t skip this. Don’t do it.  Just let this in and you will be well rewarded:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers  brought forth on this continent, a new nation,  

conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the  proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing  whether that nation, or any nation so conceived  

and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on  a great battle-field of that war. We have come  

to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final  resting place for those who here gave their lives  

that that nation might live. It is altogether  fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we  can not consecrate—we can not hallow—this  

ground. The brave men, living and dead, who  struggled here, have consecrated it, far above  

our poor power to add or detract. The world will  little note, nor long remember what we say here,  

but it can never forget what they did here. It  is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated  

here to the unfinished work which they who  fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.  

It is rather for us to be here dedicated  to the great task remaining before us—that  

from these honored dead we take increased devotion  to that cause for which they gave the last  

full measure of devotion—that we here highly  resolve that these dead shall not have died in  

vain—that this nation, under God, shall have  a new birth of freedom—and that government  

of the people, by the people, for the  people, shall not perish from the earth.

Oh, that’s a beautiful speech.  And seeing as how it can only  

go downhill if I keep talking  about it, we’ll end it there.

your class and a five on your exam in May.  I’ve got more videos here to help you in  

Unit 5. And if you were helped by this  video and want me to keep making them,  

then that’s what the like button and the  subscribe button are for. Heimler out.