Download Civil War Course

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February 4, 1861—Confederate States of America was born
Fort Sumter was one of few Union footholds in the South
Lincoln’s dilemma:
order attack on the fort
evacuate the fort
“food for hungry men”
Jefferson Davis’ dilemma:
do nothing
order attack on the fort**
Confederates attacked and the fort fell out of the Union control
RESULT: United the North; Virginia and other upper Southern
states seceded
*1863: West Virginia was created
Both sides expected a short, glorious war, but got a blood bath
that lasted until 1865. Both sides were passionate and
thought it was right.
Davis
Lincoln
 Not well liked
 Limited Mandate – won
 Extensive military
only 40% vote
experience
 Highly skilled lawyer
West Point Grad
and politician
Fought in
 Had an established
Mexican/American War
government
 Created government
 Delegator
from scratch
 Preserve the Union at
 Experienced
all cost
Representative and
Senator
 Secretary of War
 Writ
of habeas corpus
Latin for “you have the body”
Gave judges the power to
command the presence of a person
before court.
Both accused & accuser must appear
before court
It required government to explain WHY a
person was being detained.
 Congress
was not in session;
Lincoln acted on his own
authority to suspend habeas
corpus during the Civil War,
arguing Article I, Section 9 of
the Constitution
The Privilege of the Writ
of Habeas Corpus shall
not be suspended,
unless when in Cases of
Rebellion or Invasion
the public Safety may
require it.
Was Lincoln right or wrong to suspend Habeas
Corpus? Have we seen other presidents suspend
certain rights through times of war?
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Military Strengths
Fighting on home turf
Closer to supplies
Fight harder because
they were protecting
their homes / way of
life
Experienced Military
Leaders and Soldiers
7 of 8 Military
colleges in the South
High Morale
(beginning)
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Weaknesses
Economics
Not enough railroads  Grow their own
– transporting
food
soldiers / supplies
 Extremely
Lower population
resourceful
Little Manufacturing
 End – built
No Navy
armories,
No rifleworks
foundries,
Gunpowder Imported
mills
Susceptible to
 Less Money
blockade
Jefferson Davis
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Military Strengths
21 Million People –
larger army
Established Navy
5 to 2 advantage
of men who could
fight
Superior
Leadership Lincoln
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Weaknesses
Invade, conquer,
and occupy the
South
Few experienced
military leaders
Fight to maintain
Union
Unfamiliar
Territory
Thought war
would be done
quickly
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Economics
More factories
Manufactured more
weapons
Miles of railroads
Over 90%
manufactured goods
from the North
More Money
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Lincoln appointed him
General-in-Chief in
March 1864.
Grant directed
Sherman to drive
through the South
He pinned down Gen.
Robert E. Lee's Army of
Northern Virginia.
Known as a “Butcher”
Grant
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Leader of the Army of
Northern Virginia
Offered command of
Union forces
Opposed secession
Believed in the
Constitution and Union
Could not go to war
against his own state
Urged others to accept
defeat at the end of the
war
Lee
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/american-civil-warhistory/videos/grant-or-lee
Discussion
Which side had the better
advantages?
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Lincoln’s declaration that freed enslaved people
in the rebelling territory, but not slaves in the
Union or Border States
Did Lincoln have that authority?
CONFISCATION ACT: Union army could
confiscate slaves as they invaded South on the
basis they were “contraband” of war
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Many Northerners felt it went too far; opposed fighting an
“abolition war”
Desertions increased from Border States
Republicans lost mid-term elections
Abolitionists thought Lincoln did not go far enough; though
some pleased
South accused Lincoln of trying to stir up a slave
insurrection
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Union military strategy to
strangle the South by
blockading its coasts
Control the Mississippi to
cut of Confederacy in half
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Capture key cities in the
South: Richmond, Atlanta,
Charleston
South – King Cotton Plan
The Confederacy adopted a defensive
strategy and attempted to secure alliances
with more powerful countries such as
Britain and France. To do that, the South
needed to show it could win the war. As a
result, the Confederate army attacked
Union territory to draw Union troops away
from the South and to impress potential
allies. As the war continued, the Southern
strategy became one of evading the Union
army, prolonging the war, and inflicting
casualties to demoralize the North.
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Trent Affair: CSA sent delegates to Great Britain for
recognition of the CSA. Union stopped ship & delegates
held prisoner who were later released but never gained
recognition
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Raiders: CSA was purchasing old ships from GB, Union
stopped future sales by threatening war with GB
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“King Cotton”: GB found other sources for its demand of
cotton (Egypt, India)
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Failure of clear CSA
victory at Antietam
Emancipation
Proclamation made
ending slavery the
main objective for
the Union. This
appealed to British
working class.
'Over the Way', 1861. At the time the American Civil War began, Britain imported the bulk of its cotton from the United
States. President Lincoln's blockade of the Southern ports caused Britain to suffer a 'cotton famine' which caused
great distress to the workers in the mill towns of Lancashire. By early 1862, some quarter of a million workers in
Lancashire were out of work and fresh sources of cotton, mainly from India, were sought. Here we see Presidents
Lincoln and Davis fightin in their shop doorway and John Bull impatiently tells them that he will go over the road to the
Indian supplier instead. From Punch, or the London Charivari, November 16, 1861.
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What factors led to the South’s loss of the
Civil War?
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After the E.P., hundreds
of thousands of southern
slaves walked away from
slavery to seek protection
from approaching Union
armies.
200K African Americans
fought in segregated
regiments in the Union
army and navy
◦ Ex: Massachusetts 54th
Regiment (Glory)
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Effects of blockade, Sherman,
spread hunger in much of the
South
Grant continued to outflank
Lee’s army until they collapsed
@ Petersburg followed by
Richmond (April 1865)
Confederate army surrounded
near Appomattox Court House
in VA
April 9, 1865Lee surrendered
to Grant
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April 14, 1865 John
Wilkes Booth shot
Lincoln @ the Ford’s
Theater
◦ Conspirator attacked
Sec. of State Seward
The assassination
royally screwed over the
South for
Reconstruction. More
on that later.