CIVI US S4

Civil war and reconstruction

OED defines history as the branch of knowledge that deals with past events, the formal record of study
of past events, esp. human affair
These events are fundamental to understand today's US
ppt on moodle

LIVING HISTORY ("the past is never dead. It's not even past")
death of Georges Floyd into black lives matter

truth and authenticity linked to pictures

photography recap
drawings made based on photos
important new median
(details on ppt)
invented by french (Niciphore Niepse) (Louis Daguerre who took the credit after death of Niepse)
daguerrotype (direct positives)
calotypes (paper negatives) by Talbot
Archer's glass negative with collodion photography
real evolution in the period studied
stereograph to imitate the eye with a stereoscope : 3D prints

affordability during the civil war

high price of photos in the confederacy because of the naval blockade of the union
most of the pictures are from the north (not many taken in the south)
one page on carte-de-visite (facebook of the 1860s)

war photography and photographer

long time to take a picture (no live action, had to stay still)
only professional and few amateurs
itinerant, makeshift studios

Main photographer :
- Matthew Brady & crew (never ever credited other people working with him)
- Alexander Gardner quit Brady & crew to start competition (famous album)

Fearful reproductions
before : painting, very heroic and modified to look cool and attractive
first photo to study : reality is shown, death, violence
TRUTH
titles and caption guides our reading of a photo
"Sharpshooter's last sleep" is the title and attenuates the violent death done by war
poetic because of the title
"home of a rebel sharpshooter" picture of a southerner. the same scene but the title makes us less
sympathetic toward him. "Home" suggests he lived here or that south is death
It is in fact the same corpse, manipulated like the truth
"faking it" : history of the first photoshops in history

new photo with skeletons to show how the south is cruel

conotation vs denotation (indirect vs direct)
ref to still-life paintings ? memento mori ? ("the ambassador") the skulls are looking at us

FONER CHAPTER 1 :
shock :
- portrait of Lincoln with a more nuanced pov
- Celia's story who killed her master because he made her pregnant. she then got judged differently and
sentenced to death after she gave birth (to get a new slave)

Was slavery ony limited to the south of the USA before 1860 :
no but in the north they were servant instead of labourers. Abolitionists in the north : not the majority
because they benefited heavily from southern slavery
confined to the south because of the plantations (cotton, corn,... which were cornerstone of the US
economy (the UK considered an alliance with the south))
clothing factories in the north needed it
bankers, insurance, companies etc
the north was complicit with the south
"The Half has never been told"
The south = a "slave society" (aristocracy of planters and no democracy) in the mind of people but not
really

Difference of slavery in the western hemisphere :

in Africa and Europe it was a transitory status and it was because of crimes or something like this
A film about a man who is treated as a slave because he is just black
slavery invented racism
"Isaac and Rosa, slave children from New Orleans" : a white girl is a slave
black ancestors = you are black : one-drop rule
It is seen as a genetic disease (miscegenetion : not good to mix genes (still written in the constitution
until 1967))
people became undermen
"show boat" movie : drinking blood from a black person makes you a black person

Bacon's rebellion 1675-1676

frontier of Virginia so can't give lands to indentured servant because of the conflict with natives
Nathaniel Bacon
alliance of European and black indentured servants + free and enslaved blacks to rebel
leading to the Virginia slave codes (1682 and 1705) : beginning of racism to justify slavery into these
codes

the "mudsill" theory

mudsill is enslaved black people
foundations is poor whites
house is rich whites
main institutions of slave culture :
Family and religion (but no religious services (except with master))
secret meetings in the forests (voodoo)
inspiring stories of the bible : The Exodus, David and Goliath
notion of familial structure within the slave society (uncle, auntie). Sticking together

Abraham Lincoln : Republican

against expansion to the west, soft abolitionnist at first (gradualist), in favor of colonisation (export slaves
elsewhere, fearing a rebellion)(that is why Liberia was created). Constantly met with african american
and constantly made his pov evolved (for universal suffrage at the end of his life)

(suite sur feuille probably)

Religion ?
text 11 about how the religion is justifying the racist ideology

why the secession now ?

election of Lincoln, representing the republican party

the underground railroads : a secret network to bring slaves to the North

many calling it "civil disobedience" such as John Brown that raided Harpers ferry

"states rights", really ?

The constitution says that we have to erase slavery or does it support it ? Used to justify the secession
(more notes on ppt on moodle)

January the 1st 1863 : Emancipation proclaimation

(not really effective because they did not heard much about it)

Teamwork Question :
probably north, a black that is dining with others (contraband ?)
contraband or an integrated soldier (emancipated) : integrated soldier if after 1863
free blacks were segregated in the army (other regiments)
contrabend triggered by Benjamin Butler (general in charge in Fort Monroe)(did not return fugitives
slaves and kept them/allowed them to stay at the fort) (they then become the propriety of the North
and it spread more and more in the North) (Fort Monroe became Fort freedom)

other picture :
- soldiers with a black cook (confederates)(slave family not recognised so slaves have only a first name)
(invented names like "Freeman") (inneficiency of the proclaimation)
- a sergeant and his slave who was bearing the material of his master (slaves could not be heroes)
- carte de visite, a slave who was owned by a confederate captain (patronising attitude to show off) (not
brave or whatever, compliant, soft, childish to say they are inferior)

March 1862 : passing of a law that says that it is forbidden to return fugitive slaves (legalising
contrabands)