Period+9

Period 9 toc **THE 1860's** The 1860's was a time filled with conflict, disorder and confusion in both Europe and America. In America, Civil War broke out between the Confederacy of the South and the Northern States which led to many deaths and many cities like Pennsylvania and Chambersburg being destroyed. Other major events happened such as the Pony Express beginning, the Homestead Act, the Sand Creek Massacre, and the New York Draft Riots. But after the Civil War, the 13th Amendment passes, permanently outlawing slavery. This led to a rise of white supremacists and the creations of the Ku Klux Klan.

Music Video
media type="youtube" key="HwSVvRcTPIc" height="315" width="420"

Commercial
media type="custom" key="11591400"

THE HOMESTEAD ACT of 1862:
The homestead act, originated in the undeveloped western area of the united states, west of the mississppi and was an act that was signed into law by president Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862. It basically promised a large plot of public land (about 160 acre) to many citizens or heads of the family who had initially been living or residing in that particular land for about 5 + years.The targeted land was the undeveloped western side of the united states, west of the mississippi. Citizens could also obtain land after a 6 months residence of paying 1.25$ an acre. The homestead act opened up so many doors for citizens but for also the U.S.A as well by expanding it and generally increasing economic sales. The Homestead act is considered one of the greatest movements in American History.

Maximilian I of Mexico
Previously the Archduke of Austria, Maximilian was the first choice for the throne in the revival of the Mexican monarchy. Napoleon III planned the whole ordeal out and lied to Maximilian in order for him to accept the throne. Napoleon III "removed" Benito Juarez from the presidency in Mexico after Juarez could not repay his debts, allowing Maximilian to become Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. But the arrival of this monarchy did not go well in the thoughts of the U.S., who released the Monroe Doctrine, a document stating the European's position in the Americas. The U.S did not accept the idea that Maximilian was the ruler of Mexico, and surely did not approve it, though the U.S failed to do anything at first, due to its own problems in the Civil war. After recovering, the U.S took it into their own hands and backed up Benito Juarez, leader of the Mexican republic rebellions and previous president. Maximilian was left alone and abandoned by Napoleon, and unfortunately was executed at the hands of Juarez and his followers.



**U.S. Presidential Election of 1864**
On November 8, 1864, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected as president. The election was held during the Civil War and President Lincoln was running under the National Union ticket against George B. McClellan. When McClellan was running against Lincoln, he did not personally agree with what his party believed. Although all of the the votes were casted in states that had not attempted to secede from the Union, the election was held in the Union-occupied states. Since Lincoln was a Republican, people who were loyal to him joined with a number of War Democrats to form the National Union Party. Lincoln later won by 400,000 popular votes. Many states allowed their citizens that were soldiers to vote, which was the first time in history. Soldiers in the army gave Lincoln a big percentage of his votes. One reason why this election was so huge is because this was the first time since 1832 where a president won a re-election.

New York City Draft Riots of 1863
The New York City Draft Riots were a bloody war between the poor and the rich. The immigrants that came to America to find money, found instead poverty and homelessness. They saw the rich and elite living pleasurably and decided they wanted to change the status quo so that everyone could get a the same fair amount of money. With the Civil War happening during this time, the soldiers wanted to draft as many people as possible to regain their losses. The poor people of New York responded by attacking the drafters for getting in the way of their riots. Pretty soon the soldiers had to come to New York to regain order. Even though the riots soon died down, many lives were lost, but the rioters got what they wanted. The riots sparked responses that led to reforms throughout the city of New York. The rioters had gotten what they wanted after all.



**The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)**
The Ku Klux Klan rose to prominence after the Civil War as a reactionary measure by ex-Confederate soldiers and supporters. They terrorized innocent black public officials, political leaders, and families to strike fear in the hearts of the oppressed, as an attempt to crush any further racial revolution. Their gruesome acts of violence towards people of color ranged from the burning of the Holy Cross to the unjust public lynching of many civilians. Their main goal was to promote and maintain the notion of "white supremacy" by preventing or scaring the black population away from the voting polls in most southern states. For a short while, the Klan did in fact manage to keep the blacks and colored in the depths of society, but were betrayed by their inability to remain organized and disciplined. Their once massive following of several hundred thousand avid supporters dwindled, and they were gradually reduced to the irrelevant state that defines them today.



Sand Creek Massacre
The Sand Creek Massacre took place November 29, 1864. This attack was led by Colonel John Chivington, and consisted of 650 volunteer soldiers attacking a Native American Village. This village belonged to Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians. This attack is popular because of the brutality and tension between cultures both before and after the attack. John Chivington was very public about his dislike toward the Native American Community and even went as far as calling them "Red Devils". Chivington who was a highly regarded public figure and even a church pastor said the Native American population either had to be whipped out exterminate.Probably his most known quote was when he said " the only thing to do with a caught Indian is to kill them. A lot of tension fighting for land, resources caused the massacre, and all the massacre did was cause more problems. There was many retaliation attacks by the Native Americans using their guerilla tactics to set up ambushes.