Causes of the U.S. Civil War (disputes over expansion of slavery after Mexican-American War, "Bleeding Kansas," Dred Scott decision), stalemate in East, Union victories in West, role of Emancipation Proclamation and African American soldiers, global impact of the Civil War (voting rights in Britain, French intervention in Mexico, global expansion of cotton production, esp. India), failures of Reconstruction, also covers Commodore Perry's expedition to Japan