With the death of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson took over the presidency at a time when the government was trying to establish a reconstruction policy.  Lincoln and Congress had been debating different approaches to allowing the southern states full membership. Johnson, however, brought his own ideas to the argument. Everyone expected he would be hard on … Continue reading Class Notes →

One of the key differences between the north and south before the Civil War was religion. An easy way to see this is that the North believed they were saved by works. As such, northerners needed to spread their beliefs and wanted to perfect society to bring on the Second Coming. The south, however, believed … Continue reading Class Notes →

What confuses many today is that when the Republican Party was formed in 1854, it was the liberal party, while the Democrats were the conservatives. While today the parties have switched ideology, in both major parties there are divisions in the party as some are moderate, while others more radical in their liberalism or conservativism. … Continue reading Class Notes →