Download A Hard Time For Decisions

Chapter 3 Lesson 4
A HARD TIME FOR DECISIONS

In 1860 Americans prepared to choose a new
President. They listened to speeches. They read
newspapers. They watched parades. They also
worried. Anger and bitterness were driving the
North and the South further apart than ever.
Could a new President hold the country together?
THE ELECTION OF 1860
Slavery in the west seemed to be
all that people talked about
 Stephen Douglas

 Ran
as a member of the
Democratic Party
 Argued that western settlers should
decide for themselves about slavery

John Breckinridge most
of the Democrats in the
South backed him
 From Kentucky
 Believed that the government
should allow slavery everywhere
in the West

Abraham LincolnRan as a member of the Republican Party
 Spoke out against the spread of slavery
 Promised not to stop the practice of slavery in the
South…but he hoped it would end there someday, too

Most southerners were worried that if Lincoln were
elected that they would be taken over. They felt
attacked.
 Some said their states would secede from the Union if
he was elected.

THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA
On November 6, 1860, Abraham
Lincoln won the Presidency.
 On December 20, 1860

 South
Carolina’s leaders declared
that “…the United States of
America is hereby dissolved.”
 6 other states soon followed
 Mississippi,
Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas
 Mississippi
Senator, Jefferson
Davis, became the President of the
Confederacy
A SHORT LIVED VICTORY
Lincoln wasn’t able to
celebrate being elected for
long.
 As the South was pulling
away, he had to decide
how to handle the
situation.

Some people said to let
them go.
 Some people said to give in
to slavery to save the Union.
 Some said to use the army
to end their revolt.

MARCH 4, 1861
This is the day that Lincoln took the oath of office.
 He said, “We are not enemies, but friends.”
 “We must not be enemies.”

Lincoln desperately did not want a war.
 On March 5th, Lincoln received a phone call from
Major Robert Anderson, the commander of Fort
Sumter.

FORT SUMTER

When the Southern states
seceded they began taking
over government property.
(post offices, forts, and
other federal property)

Fort Sumter


Located on an island off the
coast of Charleston, SC
They were running out of
supplies and if they did not
receive some soon then they
would have to surrender to
the Confederacy
MAINTAIN CONTROL

Lincoln wanted to keep
Fort Sumter under Union
control

He had only 3 choices:
 Send
supplies (they may
attack them)
 Send troops (they would
definitely attack them)
 Do nothing at all (that would
force them to surrender)
 He
chose to send supplies
by ship to the fort.

Now they will wait to see
how the Confederacy reacts
APRIL 12, 1861

Jefferson Davis had to
decide how to react.
His goal was to take over
the fort.
 Davis decided to take over
the fort before the supply
ships arrived.
 Confederate troops asked
them to surrender.
 Major Anderson refused.
 Confederate troops began
to fire on the fort.

 The
next day Major
Anderson and his men gave
up because they ran out of
ammunition.
RUH-ROH RAGGY!
Davis met his goal.
 Lincoln quickly called for Americans to join the army
to stop the rebellion.
 Fearing that the Northern armies would march into
the South, the states of Virginia, Arkansas,
Tennessee, and North Carolina joined the seven
already in the Confederacy.
 THE CIVIL WAR HAS NOW BEGUN!

REVIEW QUESTIONS
What
did seven Southern
states decide to do after
Lincoln was elected
President?
Seven
of the Southern
states decided to secede
from the Union after
Lincoln was elected
President.
Why
do you think Lincoln
chose to send supply
ships first?
He
wanted to prevent
fighting and thought
sending supplies was a
precautionary action.
Why
do you think
Davis chose to attack
the fort?
He
believed that is was the
most effective way of
achieving his goal.
What
did Davis decide to do
when Lincoln decide to do
when Lincoln said he would
send supplies to Fort
Sumter?
Davis
decided to attack
the fort before the
supplies arrived.
THE END