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North and South At War
1861-1865
Things You Need To Know
 North
= United States, Union,
Federal – blue uniforms
 South = Confederate States,
Confederacy, Rebels – gray
uniforms
The United States - 1861
1a. Lincoln, Fort Sumter, and War
Aims
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1861 – The South has seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate
States of America
Abraham Lincoln is president; his view:
 Secession is illegal
 The Confederate States of America is not a legitimate country but U.S. states in rebellion
and thus cannot be negotiated with
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Lincoln felt that if the minority South were allowed to break up the
Union, it would shatter the purpose of the Constitution and destroy
the purpose of a free government.
Lincoln was adamant about not firing first; he didn’t want to be the
aggressor in a war against his own people
The South relieved Lincoln of this worry when they fired first
Fort Sumter – Fighting begins when Confederates fire upon a Federal fort
in Charleston, South Carolina in April 1861 containing Union soldiers who
refused to leave – this begins the military engagement
1b. Lincoln, Fort Sumter, and War
Aims
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The war has begun – Lincoln calls up volunteers to put down the “Southern
insurrection (rebellion)”
Soon after, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina secede – the
Confederacy now has 11 states officially though it will claim 13 (Missouri
and Kentucky)
Lincoln’s main concern was keeping the Union together, and he nearly lost
the slave holding border states of Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware,
Missouri, and West Virginia – He couldn’t risk them seceding too…
The border states were states that bordered the Union (North).
Lincoln allowed them to keep their slaves in if they didn’t secede
Lincoln stated that his war aim was to preserve the Union and not to
interfere with slavery. This appealed to the border states.
The United States - 1861
2. Balance of Forces
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Strengths of both sides
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North – more troops, bigger population, more RR, had 85%
of the nation’s industry, stable government, Abraham
Lincoln
South – better military leadership, and easier strategy –
they just had to defend their territory not invade
Union strategy had 3 parts
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 1) Blockade the southern coast – nothing goes in, nothing comes out
 2) Take control of the Mississippi River and divide the South
 3) Take the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia
3a. Foreign Involvement
How did Europe react to the war?
 1) Aristocracy – The rich in Europe sided with the South;
they had disdain for American democracy and sided with
Southern aristocracy
 2) Masses – Europe’s working class people pulled for the
North, the end of slavery, and the triumph of free popular
government
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3b. Foreign Involvement
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Though the Civil War was between Americans, diplomacy was
an important factor
The South wanted help from Britain and France
Lincoln needed to prevent that
Britain came close to getting involved twice:
1) The Trent Affair – where a Union ship stopped an English
ship and removed two Confederate diplomats in late 1861
2) Britain also was willing to build ships for the Confederacy;
notably the Alabama, which conducted raids against Union
ships until it was destroyed in 1864
4a. Lincoln and Liberties
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Abraham Lincoln (U.S.) vs. Jefferson Davis (C.S.A.)
The best way to compare the two is to compare steel and iron.
Both were strong but…
Lincoln was like steel, flexible but firm when needed and still unbreakable
Davis was like iron, strong but unwilling to bend
Lincoln knew what to work around and what not to compromise on
Because he saw the United States as in a state of rebellion, he used what
he called “emergency powers”, powers that were actually unconstitutional
1) Suspending habeas corpus – Lincoln suspended the right to not be
imprisoned w/o trial; throwing Northern supporters of the Confederacy
in jail and keeping them there indefinitely
2) Lincoln also had editors of anti-war newspapers arrested and
suspended their newspapers
Jefferson Davis
President of the Confederacy
President Abraham Lincoln
4b. Lincoln and Liberties
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Between the North and the South, the North had the most people to pull
from when it came to drafting soldiers
Draft laws weren’t the fairest
The war was a “rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight”
North – Rich young men could send substitutes for themselves off to
the war; exemption could be purchased for $300 ($5,700 today)
South – Slave owners of more than 20 slaves could claim exemption
from fighting the war.
5a. Economic Aspects of the War
The North was better able to pay for fighting the war.
 1) Taxes and tariffs – The North relied on raising taxes and
tariffs to increase revenue while the South could never
agree on a Confederate national tax or tariff
 2) Bonds and Borrowing – With a larger population and
economy, the North also benefitted from selling war bonds
and borrowing
 3) Printing Money – Both the Union and the Confederacy
suffered inflation from printing paper money; the Union
suffered a 80% inflation rate, but the South suffered a
9,000% inflation rate
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5b. Economic Aspects of the War
After the war, the North and the South came out economically
quite different:
 1) North – A massive growth of factories during wartime
led to a major economic boom.
 2) South – the Union blockade and destruction of Southern
property left the South in shambles.
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Union vs. Confederacy
5b. Economic Aspects of the War
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Women also played a part in the war
The “caring professions”
Clara Barton risked her life during the war to treat soldiers
She transformed the nursing profession