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Taking Sides in
the Civil War
General
Robert E. Lee
Pages 507-510
Hopes for Peace End
• When Confederate soldiers fired on Fort
Sumter, hopes for peace between the
North and South ended.
• Americans had to make hard decisions
about going to war.
• Many people thought the war would be
short and easy.
• For most, the side to support was clear.
Taking Sides - North
• Most Northerners
supported the
Union.
• They believed it
was wrong for the
South to leave the
Union.
• They were willing
to fight to save the
Union.
Taking Sides - South
• Most white Southerners
supported the
Confederacy.
• They were willing to go to
war for their
independence.
• Whether they owned
slaves or not, many felt
the North was trying to
change the South.
Border States
• People in the border states of Missouri,
Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware were
torn between the Union and the
Confederacy.
• Although they allowed slavery, they
remained part of the Union.
• When it came to the war, some fought for
the North and some for the South.
Which Side?
• In the mountains of eastern Tennessee
and northern Alabama, there was very little
slavery.
• Many people there sided with the North.
• In western Virginia, feelings for the Union
were so strong, that the people voted to
break away from Virginia and form a new
state.
• West Virginia joined the Union in 1863.
Families Divided
• When war finally came, four of Henry
Clay’s grandsons decided to join the
Confederacy. Three others fought for the
Union.
• Lincoln’s own family was divided. Mary
Todd, Lincoln’s wife, had four brothers who
fought for the South.
General Robert E. Lee
• Lee was a West Point
graduate who had served the
U.S. for 32 years.
• He fought in the war with
Mexico.
• President Lincoln asked Lee
to command the Union
forces.
• He declined because he said
he could not lead an army
against his home state of
Virginia.
North vs. South
North vs. South
North vs. South
North vs. South