Civil War

• Civil war was between


  Southern and Northern States of USA
• Civil Wars main issue

  abolishment of slavery
• Southern States relied on


  Slavery as plantations were based on them
• After the civil war families


  such as the DuBois went into decline
• New Orleans


  emerged as a diverse melting pot due to the influx of immigrants
• Why influx of immigrants in New Orleans

  spurred by the emerging industrial economy creating the working class
• What remained after the abolishment of slavery to south? what happened to southern states?

  the idea of 'the south', southern states were alienated and had extreme racism (segregation and cheap labour) and poverty.
• After civil war it was a time of... resulting...

  transition, resulting in tension from old money and modernity
• Blanche + transition

  Stuck in the past, unable to progess with society
• Idea of 'American Dream'


  through a combination of hard work, perseverance and individualism anything can be achieved
• Stanley and American Dream


  welcoming immigrants to become all American
• Promise of American Dream and Blanche


  at odds with southern belle fantasy
• What did the aftermath of WW2 and Great Depression create?


  a sense of heroism
• A spotlight was put on working class men so


  they became bearers of American work spirit
• The issue of slavery

  was seen as evil in the north, but in the south was regarded as essential for tobacco and cotton industy
• Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860 and wanted to keep the union from breaking up
• Lincoln promised southern states that slavery would continue to be legal where it already existed.
• At first, northern states only wanted to keep slavery from spreading, however gradually wanted it abolishing totally
• the north and south were also divided due to the demand of a tax on imported goods from the American manufacturing industry which was based largely in the north.
• southern states saw this demand for tax as an infringement on their rights, and they threatened to secede from the union
• slave-owning states began to feel under threat by the unrest among slaves, so gradually 7 states broke from the union and formed the Confederate States of America
• These 7 states were, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas
• Southern attacked Fort Summer in South Carolina which was held by Northern Union states, after which Lincoln denounced the Confederate states as rebels.
• in reaction to this, 4 more states broke away, including, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee
• War ended in confederate surrender in April 1865 - slavery was abolished a few years later
• much of southern states lay in ruins, which Lincoln hoped to 'bind up the souths wounds'
• Lincoln was assassinated a few days after the surrender by John Wilkes Booth, an actor with deep hatred for the union
• The treatment of the south was very harsh and it took a long time to recover with slavery being abolished.
• the southerners defeat was exploited by northerners moving in