Download Brinkley, Chapter 14 Notes 1

Brinkley, Chapter 14 Notes
The Secession Crisis
Brinkley
Almost as soon as Lincoln was elected,
militant leaders in the South demanded an
end to the Union.
Chapter 14
SC seceded first on December 20, 1860.
Buchanan insisted the states did not have
the right to secede but conceded the
federal gov't could do nothing about it.
The Civil War
In February 1861 the seceded states met in
Montgomery AL and created the
Confederate States of America.
Once formed, the Confederacy began to
seize federal property in their boundaries
except the fortified military installations of
Fort Sumter and Fort Pickens.
Confederate gun ships refused the
merchant ship to reach Fort Sumter.
Efforts for compromise began.
Buchanan refused to yield Fort Sumter when SC
demanded it and ordered an unarmed merchant ship to
Fort Sumter with troops and supplies.
The Crittenden Compromise
Proposed reestablishing the MO Compromise line and extending it West to the
Pacific. Slavery permitted South of the line and prohibited North.
Southerners in the Senate seemed to willing to
accept the plan. Republicans, however refused to
accept it because it allowed slavery to expand.
When Lincoln was inaugurated, there was no
compromise. In his inauguration speech, Lincoln
stated the actions of the South were insurrectionary
and did not acknowledge their secession.
When Lincoln took office in March, 6 other states seceded: MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, & TX.
Meanwhile, Fort Sumter was running out of
supplies. Lincoln sent no troops and fired no
shots to force the South to be the aggressors.
The Confederacy bombarded and attacked
Fort Sumter - beginning the Civil War.
Almost immediately, four more states
seceded: VA, AK, TN, and NC. The
remaining four slave states became
known as border states: MD, DE,
KY, and MO.
Europe and the Disunited States
At the beginning of the war, Europe supported the Confederacy:
The Commanders
North
John J. Crittenden of Kentucky led the compromise efforts.
South
General Winfield Scott
George
McClellan
Robert E. Lee
Stonewall Jackson
PGT Beauregard
Ulysses
S. Grant
George Meade
Sidney Johnston
Irvin
McDowell
Joseph Johnston
William Tecumseh Sherman
The Opening Clashes, 1861
First major battle: First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run)
1 - Dependence on cotton
2 - England and France wanted to weaken the US, an
increasingly powerful rival to them in world commerce
France would not pick sides until England did. England
was reluctant to support the Confederacy due to popular
support for the Union.
As England and France used up their
surplus of cotton they found a bigger desire
for the war to end. Some textile mills
remained oped through importing Egyptian
and Indian cotton, but over 500,000 textile
laborers were laid off. By the end of the
war, no European nation offered
diplomatic recognition to the Confederacy.
Locals brought picnic baskets and blankets to watch battle unfold in horror.
Very few Americans believed the war would last long.
Confederates Won confirming to Americans the war would not be over quickly.
End of 1861 - George B.
McClellan liberated the antisecessionist mountain people
from Virginia. Created loyal
government to the Union called
West Virginia.
1
Brinkley, Chapter 14 Notes
The Western Theater, 1862
New Orleans fell to the
Union in April 1862.
Important turning point in
the war. The mouth of the
MS River was closed to
Confederate trade and the
South's largest and most
important banking center
was in Union control.
The Eastern Theater, 1862
Peninsular Campaign, winter 1861-1862
Union troops tried to capture Richmond,
but an assault by Confederates through the
Shenandoah Valley forced Union troops to
retreat.
Battle of Fair Oaks (Seven Pines)
Battle of Shiloh
Confederate General Albert
Sidney Johnston (KIA)
Narrow Union Victory - Grant
controlled the Mississippi
River from the Ohio river to
the city of Memphis
Robert E. Lee replaced Joseph Johnston
and launched a new offensive called the
Battle of Seven Days to cut McClellan off
from his supply lines. McClellan managed
to fight his way out and set up a new base
on the James River. McClellan was only 25
miles away from Richmond.
Despite pressure from Lincoln to advance to Richmond, McClellan did not advance. Lincoln
replaced McClellan with John Pope. Pope, in a rash decision attacked Confederate troops but
was quickly defeated and retreated back to DC. Lincoln removed Pope from command and
reinstated McClellan.
The Eastern Theater, 1862
Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run)
August 28-30, 1862
Union lost at a crucial time. Lincoln losing support for the
war.
Battle of Antietam
September 17, 1862. Union Victory that could not have come soon enough.
Single Bloodiest 1 Day Battle in US History.
22,717 total deaths.
Significance: Union Victory = Northern
Support for the War.
On September 22, 1862 after the Union
victory at Antietam, Lincoln announced his
intention to use his war powers to issue an
executive order freeing all slaves in the
Confederacy.
The Politics of Emancipation
Republicans disagreed sharply on the issue of slavery.
"Radical Republicans" led by Thaddeus
Stevens and Charles Sumner wanted to
use the war to abolish slavery
immediately and completely.
Conservative Republicans
favored a more cautious policy in
order to placate the border states.
In 1861, Congress passed the Confiscation Act that declared all slaves used for
insurrectionary purposes would be considered free.
An 1862 law abolished slavery in DC and the western territories and provided
compensation for owners.
July 1862 - Second Confiscation Act freeing all slaves of owners who supported the
insurrection (but did not necessarily use the slaves for insurrection).
As the war progressed, many Northerners slowly accepted emancipation as a central
war aim if for nothing else to justify the enormous sacrifice in the struggle.
1863: Year of Decision
Emancipation Proclamation
May 1863: Battle of Chancellorsville, VA
January 1, 1863 Lincoln signed the
Emancipation Proclamation, which
declared forever free the slaves inside the
Confederacy. It did not apply to the border
states nor those parts of the Confederacy
under Union control (TN, Western VA, and
Southern LA).
The document clearly and irrevocably
established that the war was being fought not
only to preserve the Union but also to
eliminate slavery.
In areas indirectly affected by the proclamation, the antislavery impulse gained
strength. By the end of the war 2 border states (MD & MO) and 3 Confederate
states (TN, AK, LA) abolished slavery. In 1865 Congress approved and the states
ratified the 13th amendment.
Confederate victory but, Stonewall Jackson was fatally wounded.
May 18 - July 4, 1863:
Battle of Vicksburg
Union General Ulysses
Grant was driving on
Vicksburg on the
Mississippi River.
Vicksburg fell in 6 weeks.
The impact was huge.
1. Grant controlled all of
the Mississippi River; 2.
The Confederacy was
split in 2 with LA, AK
and TX cut off from the
rest of the South.
July 1-3, 1863: Battle of
Gettysburg
During the siege of
Vicksburg, Lee proposed
an invasion of Gettysburg,
PA which would divert
Union troops to the north.
He argued if he would win
a major victory on Union
soil, England and France
might aid the Confederacy.
Lee's forces surrendered and
some retreated. Lee lost
nearly 1/3 of his army.
Significance of Both Battles: Great turning points in the war for the Union.
2
Brinkley, Chapter 14 Notes
The Last Stage: 1864-1865
1864 Election
Beginning of 1864, Grant had become general in chief of all Union armies. Grant believed
in using the North's great advantage in troops and material resources to overwhelm the
South. He planned 2 great offensives for 1864.
In VA, the Union Army
advanced toward Richmond and
force Lee into decisive battles.
Union victories at Spotsylvania
Court House and Petersburg.
In GA, the Union Army,
under William T. Sherman
advanced to Atlanta and
destroyed the remaining
Confederate force.
Sherman's March to
the Sea
11/15 - 12/20, 1864
Wrapping it Up: 1865
Sherman's "march to the sea" ended
when Savannah surrendered
December 20, 1864.
Republican party leaders nominated
Lincoln for a second term and Andrew
Johnson of Tennessee, a War Democrat
who opposed his nation's decision to
secede, for vice-president.
The Democrats (North ONLY)
nominated former Union General
George B. McClellan and adopted a
platform denouncing the war and calling
for a truce.
Sherman faced less ferocious resistance. He drove the
Confederates to Atlanta. He wanted to break the will of the
southern people through a slash and burn campaign.
After Sherman burned Atlanta and it
fell, he drove the Confederates to the
Atlantic Ocean in the "March to the
Sea." Sherman's troops lived off the
land, destroyed supplies his army could
not use and ravaged the land.
By the 1864 election, the North was in political turmoil.
In April 1865, Grant's Army of the
Potomac finally captured a vital railroad
junction southwest of Petersburg.
Plagued by heavy casualties and massive desertions, Lee informed Davis he could no
longer defend Richmond. Within hours, Jefferson Davis and his cabinet fled the city.
With the last of his army, Lee
began moved west in the hope of
finding a way to move south and
meet Johnston in North Carolina.
But the Union pursued him and
blocked his escape route.
Lee recognized that further bloodshed was futile. He arranged to meet Grant at a
private home in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. He surrendered on
April 9th 1865. The war was over. Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia.
By the election in November though, several union military victories including the
capture of Atlanta ushered in a Republican victory.
African Americans and Women
About 186,000 emancipated blacks fought for the Union. Served in segregated regiments.
Most were assigned menial tasks behind the
lines: digging trenches and transporting water.
Black soldiers captured by Confederates were
sent back to their masters or executed.
Women took over positions vacated
by men as teachers, clerks, office
workers, mill and factory hands, and
nursing.
The United States Sanitary Commission, an organization of civilian volunteers led by
Dorothea Dix, mobilized female nurses to serve in field hospitals.
By the end of the war, women were
the dominant force in nursing.
Encountered considerable resistance
from male doctors. The Sanitary
Commission countered resistance by
presenting nursing in domestic
terms: profession that made use of
the same maternal, nurturing roles
women played as wives and mothers.
Some women saw the war as an
opportunity to win support for
suffrage. Elizabeth Cady Stanton
and Susan B. Anthony in 1863
founded the National Woman's
Loyal League. Worked for
abolition and suffrage.
Economic and Social Effects of the War
The war forced many women to question prevailing assumptions that females were not suited
for the public sphere. After the war, women outnumbered men in most Southern states.
Many unmarried or widowed women had no choice but to find employment.
The war cut off Southern planters and producers from Northern markets, and a Union
blockade of Confederate ports made the sale of cotton overseas difficult. Decimated the
South's economy.
Farms and industries that did not use slave labor lost its labor force to the army. The fighting
wreaked havoc on the Southern landscape, destroying farmland, towns, cities, and railroads.
As the war continued, the shortages, the inflation, and the carnage created increasing instability
in Southern society. Resistance to conscription, food impressment, and taxation increased
throughout the Confederacy, as did hoarding and black-market commerce.
The war was over, slavery was dead, and America faced the question of Reconstruction.
But, for freed Blacks, the fight for freedom had just begun.
3