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AP U.S. HISTORY: The Civil War
Politics and Economics During the Civil War
I. Lincoln’s early presidency
A. Inaugural
1. Vowed to preserve the Union; to “hold, occupy, and possess” Federal property in the South
a. “Physically speaking, we cannot separate”
b. He was careful not to offend border slave states with hawkish rhetoric
c. Republicans & Democratic unionists supported the speech
d. Lower South saw it as a war message
B. Cabinet
1. William H. Seward, one of America’s best secretaries of state
2. Salmon P. Chase, treasury sec. -- A leading abolitionist; had presidential hopes
-- Eventually appointed by Lincoln as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court
3. Edwin M. Stanton: “War Democrat” later appointed as secretary of war.
4. Cabinet often at odds with each other or with Lincoln
C. Lincoln an able and savvy leader
1. Perceptive at interpreting public opinion and acting accordingly
2. Charitable toward South and patience with feuding cabinet members
3. Walked a fine line between racists and abolitionists when running for president
II. Attack on Fort Sumter
A. Located at mouth of Charleston Harbor, Ft. Sumter was one of two last remaining federal forts in the South.
1. The day after inauguration, Lincoln notified by Major Robert Anderson that supplies to the fort would soon run out
and he would be forced to surrender.
2. Lincoln faced with choices that were all bad
a. No supplies would mean surrender; would ruin his credibility to “hold, possess, and occupy” federal forts
b. Sending reinforcements would surely provoke the South into Civil War with the North seen as the aggressor.
-- Moreover, Union detachments not available on such short notice.
c. Solution: Lincoln notified South Carolinians of an expedition to send supplies to the fort, not to reinforce it
with men or weapons
-- If a war were to begin, Lincoln would let the South fire the first shot.
3. April 9, 1861 -- A ship carrying supplies for Fort Sumter sailed from New York.
-- Seen by S.C. as an act of aggression; “reinforcement”
B. April 12: Fort Sumter bombarded by more than 70 Confederate cannon
1. Anderson’s garrison held for 34 hours until he surrendered at 2:30 P.M. the next day.
2. Anderson’s men allowed to return North.
3. No loss of life during bombardment; fort heavily damaged
C. Lincoln called for volunteers, inresponse
1. Before the attack , many northerners felt that the South had the right to secede and should not be forced to stay.
2. Attack on Sumter provoked the North to fight for their honor & the Union.
-- Lincoln’s strategy paid off; South seen as the aggressors – North as the victim
3. April 15, Lincoln issued call to the states for 75,000 militiamen; 90 day service
4. April 19, Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of Southern seaports
-- Initially ineffective; but eventually strangled the South.
5. May 3, Lincoln issued a call for 3-year volunteers; militia not sufficient
6. Until April 25, Washington D.C. was virtually under siege and
a Confederate attack on the capital was expected.
D. 4 more states secede from the Union: VA, AK, TN, NC
1. Northern calls for troops aroused South; viewed Lincoln as waging war.
2. Richmond replaced Montgomery as the Confederate capital.
III. The Border Slave States (MO, KY, MD, later WV)
A. Remained in the Union since the North did not start the war
1. Crucial to Union cause; sent 300,000 soldiers to the Union Army
a. “Mountain white” population in South sent 50,000 soldiers to the North.
b. Lincoln: Hoped to have God on his side but he had to “have Kentucky.”
2. West Virginia left Virginia in mid-1861 to join the Union; large “mountain white” population
3. War began with slaveholders on both sides; not free-soil vs. slavery
-- Brothers and family members often split and fought on opposite sides
B. Contained over 50% of the South’s white population; fewest number of slaves
C. Lincoln used force at times to maintain control of border states
1. Declared martial law in Maryland in certain areas and sent troops since some Marylanders threatened to cut off
Washington, D.C. from the North.
2. Troops also sent to W. Virginia and Missouri where a mini-Civil War raged.
D. Politically, Lincoln had to keep border states in mind when making public statements
1. Declared the primary purpose of the war was to preserve the Union at all costs.
2. Declared the North was not fighting to free the slaves.
a. Emancipation edict would have driven the border states to the South.
b. Lincoln heavily criticized by abolitionists who saw him as a sell-out.
-- Lincoln in Aug. 22, 1862 to Horace Greeley: “My paramount object is to save the Union, and is not either
to save or destroy slavery... If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could
save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I
would also do that.”
IV. Confederate Assets
A. Advantage of a defensive war strategy: only needed a stalemate, not outright victory; fewer troops could defend a larger
invading Northern army.
-- North had to invade, conquer, occupy and reintegrate the South into the Union.
B. Until emancipation proclamations of 1862 & 1863, many felt South had superior moral cause, slavery notwithstanding.
-- Fought for self-determination, its culture, its homeland & freedoms (for whites)
C. Had superb military officers
1. Robert E. Lee: one of greatest military leaders in U.S. history
a. Ironically, opposed to slavery and spoke against secession in Jan. 1861
b. Lincoln had offered Lee command of the Union armies but Lee decided to protect his native VA after she seceded
2. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson
-- Lee’s chief lieutenant and premier cavalry officer.
3. Top Union generals in the east were inept during first 3 years of the war until replaced by the more able generals
from the west
D. Southern men made strong cavalry and infantrymen
-- Accustomed to hard life and management of horses and guns
V. Confederate chances for victory
A. Lack of significant industrial capacity a crucial disadvantage
-- South primarily agricultural
B. As the war dragged on, severe shortages of shoes, uniforms, and blankets adversely impacted Rebel soldiers.
C. Railroads were cut or destroyed by the Union Army.
D. Confederates might have won if:
1. border states seceded
2. upper Mississippi Valley states turned against the Union
3. Northern public opinion demanded a peace treaty (e.g. the “Copperheads”)
4. England & France broke the Union blockade and recognized the Confederacy.
E. South didn't get much-needed foreign intervention
VI. Northern Advantages
A. Population of 22 million (including border states); 800,000 immigrants between 1861-63
1. South only had 9 million people including 3.5 million slaves
2. Union Army’s numerical advantages over Lee were 3 to 2 or even 3 to 1
3. 20% of Union Army foreign-born.
B. Union had 3/4 of the nation’s wealth
-- Overwhelming superiority in manufacturing, shipping, and banking.
C. North had 3/4 of nation’s railroads and could easily repair and replace rails
D. Union controlled the sea through its blockade of Southern ports.
E. Ideal of Union aroused North against South; “Union Forever”
1. Significant in keeping border states & upper Mississippi states from seceding.
2. Cry for Union gave North strong moral issue until emancipation of slaves was added to it later.
F. Much better logistical planning in the army and weaponry
VII. The Confederacy
A. Drafted a constitution that was in many ways identical to that of the Union.
-- Fatal flaw: Confederacy was created by secession, it could not deny future secession if a southern slave state sought
to go its own way.
B. Jefferson Davis’ idea of a strong central gov’t was bitterly opposed by states’ righters
-- Some states didn’t want their troops to fight outside their borders.
C. Davis often at odds with his Congress: in danger of being impeached at one point.
D. Davis lacked Lincoln’s political savvy.
VIII. European Diplomacy during the War
A. Aristocracies of England, France, Austria-Hungary, etc. (except Russia) supported the Confederate cause.
1. Democracy hated by aristocracies; the Union was a symbol of democracy
a. Democracy was a threat to the old order (e.g. Revolutions of 1848 throughout Europe)
b. British gov’t sympathized with aristocratic society of the South
2. Europeans sold weapons, warships and supplies to the Confederates.
3. At times, considered direct intervention on behalf of South, especially Britain.
4. British industrial & commercial centers wanted an independent Confederacy
a. Wanted safe cotton supply without Union’s blockade or interference
b. British shippers & manufacturers could bypass Union tariffs.
B. Why did King Cotton fail the South?
1. In 1861, British had oversupply of cotton.
2. By the time British badly needed cotton again, Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation giving the North
the moral cause
3. Working people in England, and to some degree France, supported the North and hated slavery; influenced their
governments.
4. As Union armies captured the South, the North shipped huge supplies of cotton to England.
5. Booming war industries in England that supplied North and South alleviated British unemployment.
6. Huge amounts of northern grain shipped to Britain who had suffered through bad harvests
C. British diplomacy
1. Britain maintained a policy of neutrality (with a few notable exceptions).
2. Trent Affair (1861)
a. Union warship north of Cuba stopped a British ship en route to England and apprehended 2 Confederate
diplomats (James Mason & John Slidell)
-- U.S. captain erred; should have brought ship to port for proper judgment.
b. Northerners, who were desperate for a victory, celebrated
i. Had not yet won any important military victories.
ii. If the two envoys had reached England, the Union blockade may have been broken if Confederates could
get British & French assistance.
iii. Saw it as poetic justice; British had impressed U.S. sailors before the War of 1812.
c. In response, Britain prepared for war against the U.S.; sent troops to Canada.
d. Lincoln decided reluctantly to release Mason & Slidell
-- Did not want to fight a second war
3. Britain as an unofficial naval base for the Confederacy until 1863
a. Confederate commerce-raiders were being built in Britain.
b. Over 250 Union ships captured by the Rebels
c. C.S.S. Alabama --most famous of Confederate commerce-raiders
i. North had to divert naval strength to eventually destroy it & others.
ii. Manned by British sailors led by Confederate officers under the Confederate flag.
iii. Union angrily protested British aid to Confederates
d. Charles Francis Adams, American minister in London
i. Responsible for preventing official British recognition of the Confederacy and cultivating favorable AngloAmerican relations.
ii. Repeatedly billed the British for damages caused by the Alabama
e. However, Union war effort not crippled by Confederate commerce-raiders
f. Britain eventually apologized for its role in Alabama.
4. Issue of Laird rams in 1863
a. Two Confederate warships with iron rams and large-caliber guns being built in Britain.; more dangerous than
Alabama
i. South could then break Union's blockade and fire upon northern cities.
ii. In retaliation, U.S. would probably have invaded Canada resulting in full-scale war with Britain.
b. Minister Adams warned if rams were released to the Rebels it would mean war.
c. Britain relented and purchased both ships for their Royal Navy.
D. French diplomacy
1. French leader, Napoleon III, treated Union with contempt
2. 1863, Napoleon III sent troops to conquer Mexico
a. Appointed Austrian Archduke Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico.
b. Violated Monroe Doctrine
3. During Civil War, U.S. cautious toward France
-- Did not want to fight a world war.
4. After Civil War, sec. of state Seward prepared to send U.S. forces to Mexico to drive out the French
a. Napoleon III abandoned Maximilian in 1867 and Mexico once again independent
b. Bolstered the prestige of the Monroe Doctrine
IX. Raising Armies: North and South
A. Northern troops
1. Initially northern armies comprised of volunteers with each state given a quota based on population. Comprised 90%
of Union army.
2. 1863, Congress passed first-ever federal conscription law in U.S. history.
a. Purpose: To make up for fewer numbers of volunteers.
b. Policy unfair as wealthier youth could hire substitutes for $300.
3. Draft most hated in Democratic strongholds of North
-- New York Draft Riot in 1863 sparked by Irish-Americans (against blacks) that resulted in nearly 500 lives lost and
many buildings burned.
4. Large bounties for enlistment also offered by federal, state, & local authorities
5. About 200,000 deserters of all classes in North; South similar
B. South initially relied on volunteers
1. Smaller population meant numbers troops smaller
2. Confederacy forced to conscript men between ages of 17 & 50 as early as April, 1862; a year earlier than the Union.
3. Rich men could hire substitutes or purchase exemption.
4. Mountain whites refused to enlist
C. African-American soldiers in the North.
1. About 180,000 blacks served in the Union armies; about 10% of total Union enlistments; 38,000 died
-- Most came from slave states but many came from free-soil North as well.
2. Black volunteers initially rejected.
a. Initial war aim not to end slavery (but preserve the Union
b. Many whites overcome by racism and fear in arming blacks
3. 1862, need for soldiers and emancipation opened door to black volunteers
4. Lincoln later claimed the Union’s victory was largely due to impact of the black regiments.
D. Confederacy did not enlist slaves until a month before the war ended.
1. Thousands forced into labor battalions, building fortifications, supplying armies, and other war-connected activities.
2. Slaves kept the southern farms going while the southern white men fought.
3. Ironically, slaves didn’t revolt back home (despite learning of emancipation proclamation).
4. Many abandoned plantations when Union armies arrived.
E. Indian Territory: most of Five Civilized Tribes sided with the Confederacy including Cherokees (who owned slaves),
Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles
X. Financial aspect to the Civil War
A. Raising money in the North
1. First income tax in nation’s history; relatively small but still raised millions
-- Paid for 2/3 of the war’s cost
2. Excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol substantially increased by Congress.
3. Morrill Tariff Act of 1861 -- Raised low Tariff of 1857 about 10%
a. About the level of the Walker Tariff of 1846
b. Tariff rates later raised significantly due to demands of revenue and protection during war.
c. Protective tariff came to be associated with Republicans for next 70 years.
4. Greenbacks
a. About $450 million issued at face value to replace gold.
b. Supported by gold; value determined by nation’s credit
c. Though fluctuating during the war, they held value well after Union victory
5. Sale of bonds through U.S. Treasury: marketed through private banking house of Jay Cooke & Co. which earned
enormous monies from commissions.
6. National Banking System authorized by Congress in 1863
a. Designed to establish standard bank-note currency.
-- At the time, North flooded with depreciated “rag money” issued by unreliable bankers.
b. Sold gov’t bonds.
c. Banks that joined the Na’l Banking System could buy bonds % issue sound paper money backed by the system.
d. The first national bank since Jackson killed the BUS
-- Lasted 50 years until the Federal Reserve System (1913)
B. Southern finances
1. Customs duties cut-off to Union blockade
2. Gov’t issued large amounts of bonds sold at home & abroad = $400 million.
3. Significant raise in taxes and 10% tax on farm products.
a. Most states’ rights Southerners hated heavy direct taxation bythe central gov’t
b. Direct taxation accounted for only 1% of gov’t revenues.
4. Biggest source of revenue: printed large amounts of paper money
a. “Runaway inflation” as treasury cranked out more than $1billion
b. Inflation of currency coupled with tax on farm produce, worked until the end of the war for the Confederacy.
C. War-time prosperity in the North
1. Civil War produced first millionaire class in U.S. history.
a. New factories protected by the new tariff emerged.
b. Beginning of the “Gilded Age” dominated by “Robber Barons”
c. Much dishonesty in supplying goods for gov’t (e.g. poor quality uniforms)
2. New labor-saving machinery spurred expansion while best laborers fought war
a. Sewing machine
b. Mechanical reapers numbered 250,000 by 1865
3. Petroleum industry born in Pennsylvania in 1859
4. Westward movement
a. Homestead Act of 1862
i. Provided free land to pioneers heading to unsettled lands out west.
ii. Many pioneers headed west to escape the draft.
iii. By 1865, 20,000 settlers had moved west.
b. Gold seekers (NV, CA) -- would later constitute a formidable mining frontier with the completion of the
transcontinental railroad.
c. Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862
i. Each state received 30,000 acres of public lands for each senator and congressman in Congress.
ii. Profits from sale of lands financed agricultural and mechanical colleges in each state.
iii. Southern states who rejoined the Union enjoyed the same terms
d. Pacific Railway Act (1863) -- established a transcontinental railroad to be built connecting northern states and
territories to California.
5. Only Northern industry to suffer was overseas shipping due to Confederate commerce-raiders.
D. Demise of the Cotton Kingdom
1. Blockade and destruction by Union armies ruined southern economy.
a. Transportation collapsed.
b. Severe shortage of metals & other materials for military purposes
2. South eclipsed by new 2nd Industrial Revolution of the North.
XI. Lincoln and civil liberties
A. As a war-time President Lincoln bent the Constitution and suspended certain civil liberties
1. Motive: Saving the Union required circumventing some areas of Constitution.
2. Congress generally accepted or approved Lincoln’s acts.
3. Suspension of liberties not total but more than any other period of U.S. history.
4. Lincoln believed civil liberties would be restored once the Union was preserved.
B. Blockade proclaimed when Congress not in session shortly after Fort Sumter.
-- Action later upheld by Supreme Court.
C. Increased size of federal army and navy (without Congressional Approval)
1. Constitution states only Congress could do this
2. Later approved by Congress who actually increased appropriations and the size of the army.
D. Extended volunteer enlistment to three years (without Congressional approval)
E. Had his sec. of treasury advance $2 million to three private citizens for military purposes (w/o Congressional approval)
F. Suspended writ of habeas corpus so that anti-Unionists could be arrested.
1. Ex Parte Merriman, 1861:Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that habeas corpus could only be set aside by Congress
a. 864 people held without trial during first nine months of the war
b. Lincoln ignored Taney’s report and took no action.
c. Significance: During crisis of wartime, the President could bend the law for the welfare of the country, including
suspending the Court’s authority.
2. In 1863, Congress approved Lincoln’s action
3. After 1862, arrests increased: spies, smugglers, blockade-runners and foreigners.
G. Arranged for Union Army to oversee voting in Border States
-- Voters holding colored ballot indicating party preference had to walk between two lines of armed troops. Intimidation?
H. Federal officials also suspended certain newspapers and the arrest of their editors for obstructing the Union war cause.
I. Signed a bill outlawing slavery in all the national territories even though it conflicted with the Dred Scott decision
J. Generally, civil liberties and constitutional rights were respected during war.
-- Few political opponents were arrested.
K. Jefferson Davis, unlike Lincoln, unable to exercise arbitrary power
-- South seemed more willing to lose war than surrendering state or local rights.
Major Themes to Know:
1. Lincoln’s administration and the Republican Party created one of the most successful economic programs in
American history (after the South seceded):
 Pacific Railway Act (1863)created the transcontinental railroad by 1869
 Homestead Act (1862) opened millions of acres of land for free to pioneers
 Morrill Tariff (1861) raised tariffs—a trend that continued until the 20th century and became a dominant issue in
politics during much of the post-Civil War era.
 National Banking Act (1862) created a new national bank that would last until 1913
 Morrill Land Grant Act (1862) resulted in agricultural and mechanical colleges in the west
 First federal income tax in U.S. history (although ended after the war)
Be able to discuss how these laws paved the way for economic expansion after the Civil War (during the Gilded Age)
2. Suspension of civil liberties during the Civil War. Be able to argue whether or not Lincoln was justified in bending the
Constitution to achieve his war objectives.
MEMORY AID: SUCCESS OF REPUBLICAN AGENDA DURING CIVIL WAR
A
P
H istory
M akes
Me
Nauseous
Aboliton of slavery (13th Amendment)
Pacific Railway Act
Homestead Act
Morrill Tariff
Morrill Land Grant Act
National Banking Act
The Civil War: 1861-1865
I. Union War Strategy
A. Initial attempts to win the war in Virginia failed miserably (Bull Run, Peninsula Campaign, Vicksburg, Chancellorsville)
B. Later, the war developed into four phases: strategy geared more toward attrition
1. Strangle the South by blockading its coasts – Anaconda Plan
2. Control the Mississippi River to cut the Confederacy in half.
3. Devastate the South by cutting a swath through GA and then sending troops North through the Carolinas.
4. Capture Richmond by annihilating the remaining Confederate armies.
II. Civil War begins, 1861
A. Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) -- July 21, 1861 (30 southwest of Washington, D.C.)
1. First major land battle of the Civil War
2. By summer 1861, Northern public pressure demanded a quick decisive victory
3. During battle, Union forces near victory but reinforcements from the Shenandoah Valley led by "Stonewall" Jackson
surprised fatigued Union forces.
4. By mid-afternoon, Union forces in full retreat back towards Washington, D.C.
5. Casualties: Union lost 2,896 men; Confederates lost 1,982
6. Psychological impact:
a. North realized it was in for a long and bloody war.
b. South grew complacent; many deserters--felt war was over.
-- Southern enlistments fell off sharply and preparations for a long war relaxed.
B. General George B. McClellan and the Army of the Potomac
1. Lincoln gave McClellan command of the Army of the Potomac in late 1861.
2. Fatal flaw: Overcautious; frequently believed he was outnumbered when in fact he always possessed numerical
advantages; Lincoln became exasperated
III. The Union blockade -- "Anaconda Plan"
A. Initially ineffective; 3,500 miles of coastline too much for undeveloped Union navy.
B. Concentrated on principal ports and inlets where bulk materials were loaded
-- Eventually effective against blockade-runners
C. Respected by England; Britain did not want a future war with North
D. Battle of the Ironclads (Hampton Roads, VA, March 1862)
1. Merrimack (C.S.S. Virginia) -- former U.S. warship plated on sides with old railroad rails; (not really seaworthy); first
of the ironclads
a. Destroyed two wooden ships of Union Navy in Chesapeake Bay, VA
b. Threatened entire Union fleet blockading Southern ports.
2. Monitor -- Union counterpart to Merrimack built in 100 days
a. 4 hour battle with neither side winning; Monitor withdrew after Captain wounded; both sides claimed victory.
b. Virginia never again a serious threat and eventually blown up at Norfolk by Confederates when ship in danger of
falling into Union hands
IV. The War in the Eastern Theater: 1862
A. The Peninsula Campaign (April 5-June 16, 1862)
1. McClellan abandoned a direct frontal assault by land for a flanking approach to Richmond by moving up the peninsula
between James & York Rivers.
-- After a month's fighting, McClellan pushed within a few miles of Richmond.
2. Seven Day’s Battles (June 25-July 1, 1862)
a. Robert E. Lee took command of Confederate army.
b. After an unsuccessful battle, McClellan withdrew and later retreated
c. Robert E. Lee’s first victory over the Union.
3. Peninsula campaign abandoned by Lincoln
-- McClellan removed as commander; replaced by Gen. John Pope.
4. Losses: Confederates 20,141; Union 15,849
B. Second Battle of Bull Run (14 July to 30 August)
1. General Pope put in charge of Union army near Washington.
2. Combined forces of Lee, Jackson, & Longstreet forced Yankees to retreat again.
-- Some blamed McClellan for not coming quickly to Pope’s aid.
3. Casualties: Union 16,054; Confederates 9,197
4. Lincoln once again gave McClellan command of the Army of the Potomac; Pope removed
C. Antietam (September 17, 1862) -- perhaps most important battle of the war.
1. Lee invaded Maryland hoping to take it from the Union and encourage foreign intervention on behalf of the South.
2. Sept. 17 -- Battle of Antietam -- bloodiest day of the war.
a. Ended in a stalemate; Lee withdrew having failed his objective.
b. McClellan should have won with his numerical edge.
c. Removed from command for 2nd time and replaced by Gen. Ambrose Burnside
d. Casualties: Union 12,401 of 80,000; Confederates 10,700 of 40,000 (over 25%)
3. Considered one of most decisive battles in world history.
a. South never again so near victory
b. Foreign powers decided not to intervene in support of the South whose military capacity was now questioned in the
face of a unexpectedly powerful Northern army.
c. Lincoln got the "victory" he needed to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862.
-- Prior, he had not issued the proclamation because the war was going poorly and issuing the document without a
victory would have made it impotent.
V. The Emancipation Proclamation
A. In 1862, Congress had passed the Confiscation Act:
1. Union Army could confiscate slaves as they invaded the South on the basis that they were “contraband" of war
2. Slaves that escaped would not be returned to their owners.
B. The Emancipation Proclamation became effective Jan. 1, 1863
1. Civil War now became more of a moral crusade: a "higher purpose"
-- Moral cause of the South conversely weakened
2. Lincoln’s immediate goal not so much to free slaves as to strengthen the moral cause of the Union @ home & abroad
3. Didn’t go as far as Confiscation Acts for freeing enemy-owned slaves
4. Constitutionally, the proclamation was somewhat questionable.
-- Became constitutional with the 13th Amendment in 1865
C. All slaves in areas in rebellion declared now and forever free.
-- Justification lay with removing valuable slave labor from the Southern war cause.
D. Slaves in Border States not included nor those in specific areas of conquered South.
-- About 800,000 slaves in all
E. In effect, did little immediately to change the plight of the slaves.
F. Reaction to Emancipation Proclamation
1. Many Northerners, especially from Border States and Ohio Valley felt Lincoln went too far; opposed to fighting an
"abolition war"
a. Desertions increased sharply especially from Border States
b. Republicans suffered losses in mid-term 1862 elections.
-- Lost in NY, PA, OH & Lincoln's IL; still controlled of Congress
2. Many abolitionists complained Lincoln did not go far enough.
3. Moderates and some abolitionists pleased including Greeley and Douglass.
4. South accused Lincoln of trying to stir up a slave insurrection.
5. European working classes sympathized with the proclamation.
-- As a result, diplomatic condition of Union regarding Europe improved.
VI. The War in the West: Battle for control of the Mississippi River
A. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant became Lincoln’s most able general
B. Grant captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in northern TN in Feb. 1862
1. Significance: KY more secure while gateway opened to rest of TN and GA.
2. Boosted northern morale in the face of humiliating losses in Virginia.
C. Shiloh (April 6 & 7, 1862)
1. Federals moved down through western TN to take the Confederacy’s only east-west railroad linking lower South to
cities on the Confederacy’s east coast
2. Grant victorious but casualties were shocking: 23,746 killed, wounded, or missing
3. Brought shocking realization to both sides that war would not end quickly
D. New Orleans taken by Union in spring of 1862; led by Adm. David G. Farragut
VII. War in the East: Lee’s last victories and the Battle of Gettysburg
A. Lee defeated General Burnside at Fredericksburg, VA, on Dec. 13, 1862
1. Burnside launched foolish frontal assault on Rebels dug in behind a stone wall.
2. More than 10,000 Federals killed or wounded in "Burnside’s slaughter pen"
3. Burnside removed from command and replaced by "Fighting Joe" Hooker.
B. Chancellorsville (May 2-4, 1863)
1. Lee’s smaller force split Hooker’s army in two.
-- "Stonewall" Jackson made daring move around Union’s flank
2. Union defeated again by a smaller force only half its size
-- Hooker shortly after removed and replaced by General George Meade
3. Significance: Stonewall Jackson killed accidentally by own man
-- Lee: "I have lost my right arm."
4. Casualties: Confederates lost 13,000 men (22% of Lee’s army)
C. Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863)
1. Lee decided to invade the North again, this time through PA in hopes of strengthening peace movement in North and
getting direct foreign support.
2. Bloodiest battle of the Civil War: 53,000 casualties.
3. Day 1 -- July 1 – Confederates took Gettysburg but Union took high ground overlooking the town.
4. Day 2 -- July 2
a. Major engagements occurred on Union right and left; Lee hoped to flank Feds
b. Little Round Top held on extreme left; prevented flank from caving in.
5. Day 3 -- July 3
a. Lee ordered Gen. George Pickett’s division to attack the Union center at Cemetery Ridge; division annihilated
-- "High tide of the Confederacy": Rebels never again so close to victory
b. Lee retreated while taking full responsibility for the Confederate defeat.
6. Meade neglected to pursue Lee and finish off his army
-- Lincoln after Meade’s report that Lee had been repelled: "My God, is that all"
7. Significance: South doomed after Gettysburg and Vicksburg; would never again invade the North and would remain in
the defensive until the war’s end.
8. Gettysburg Address (November, 1863)
a. Lincoln philosophically established the Declaration of Independence as document of founding law
b. Equality became supreme commitment of the federal government
c. Established idea of nation over union
-- The United States is a free country; NOT the United States are a free country.
d. Most Americans today accept Lincoln’s concept of America
e. Attracted relatively little attention at the time but became one of most important speeches in world history.
-- Union victory proved men capable of governing themselves in free society
VIII. The End of the War in the West
A. Vicksburg campaign lasted seven months
1. Vicksburg last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River.
2. July 4, Confederate army surrendered to Grant; 29,500 men.
3. Significance: Split the Confederacy in two; Union controlled the Mississippi
-- Boosted Union morale along with Union victory at Gettysburg a day before.
B. Sherman marches through Georgia
1. William Tecumseh Sherman
-- Pushed his way through northern Georgia and captured Atlanta in Sept. 1864.
2. "March to the Sea": After taking Atlanta, cut a 60-mile-wide swath through heart of Georgia before arriving at
Savannah on the sea in December, 1864.
a. Determined to inflict the horrors of war on the South to break its will.
-- "War is hell"
b. Aimed to destroy supplies destined for the Confederate army and weaken morale of the Rebels at the front by
waging war on their homes.
c. Pioneer of "total war."
-- Despite brutality, probably shortened the war thus saving lives.
3. Turned northward into South Carolina where destruction worse than Georgia
a. Burned capital city of Columbia
b. Sherman’s army reached deep into North Carolina by war’s end.
IX. The Copperheads
A. Democratic faction that preached either defeatism with disloyal talk or a "peace at any price" philosophy.
1. Many seized by Union without warrant and held without a trial.
2. Appealed to midwestern farmers whose trade routes were disrupted by war
B. Condemned Lincoln for fighting an unjust war.
C. Clement L. Vallandigham
1. Ex-congressman from OH who demanded end to the war, condemned conscription & suspension of habeus corpus
2. Convicted by military in 1863 for treason and sentenced to 2 years in prison.
3. Lincoln banished him to the Confederacy for fear that his imprisonment would make him a martyr to antiwar agitators.
4. Before end of war, returned to OH where despite continued defiance, he was not arrested again per Lincoln’s orders
-- Demonstrated Lincoln's moderation toward political opponents.
X. Politics and Election of 1864
A. Congressional Committee on the conduct of the War
1. Formed by anti-Lincoln Republicans secretly led by Salmon P. Chase
2. Many distrusted his ability and wanted to keep him check.
B. Abolitionists (such as Phillips and Greeley) demanded total emancipation.
C. Northern Democrats deeply divided as they lacked a leader.
1. War Democrats supported Lincoln (e.g., Stanton)
2. Peace Democrats numbering 10s of 1000s did not support Lincoln
-- Many favored Union through a negotiated peace, not war.
3. Copperheads most radical.
a. Some wished the Confederacy victorious; hated Lincoln
b. Strong in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois which contained many Southerners.
-- Governors struggled to keep states cooperating with federal gov’t.
D. Presidential Candidates
1. Union party -- Coalition of the Republican party and War Democrats
a. Republican party temporarily out of existence.
b. Republicans feared defeat from anti-Lincoln, anti-Republican sentiment
c. Lincoln nominated w/o serious dissent despite early push for Chase
d. Andrew Johnson was Lincoln's runningmate; loyal War Democrat from Tennessee who had been a small
slaveowner when war began.
-- Put on ticket to attract War Democrats and Border States
e. Slogan: "Don’t swap horses in the middle of the river."
2. Democratic Party nominated George McClellan
a. Copperheads forced a platform denouncing the war as a failure.
b. McClellan repudiated this portion of the platform
E. Course of the war affected the election.
1. During primaries and during much of the fall, the Union forces were stuck
a. Lincoln believed he would not be reelected.
b. Some anti-Lincoln Republicans sought to remove Lincoln in favor of another candidate.
2. Northern victories changed boosted Lincoln politically.
a. Admiral Farragut captured Mobile, Alabama; "Damn the torpedoes! Go ahead!”
b. General Sherman took Atlanta
c. General Phillip Sheridan destroyed the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
3. Northern soldiers sent home to vote for Lincoln; others voted at the front.
F. Result
1. Lincoln defeated McClellan 212 to 21; Lincoln only lost KY, DE, and NJ.
-- McClellan received a surprising 45% of popular vote
2. One of most crushing defeats for the South.
a. Lincoln’s election assured continued policy of "total war"
b. Last real hope for a Confederate victory.
c. Confederate desertions increased sharply
G. Second Inaugural speech
-- "With malice toward none, with charity for all"
XI. End of the War in the East: Grant’s Virginia Campaign
A. Grant promoted to lead all Union armies after Lincoln’s dismay with Meade after Gettysburg
1. Meade still remained head of the Army of the Potomac
2. Grant’s strategy: attack Rebel armies simultaneously thus not allowing them to assist one another; destroy
Confederate Army.
3. Campaign would result in 50,000 Union casualties
B. Wilderness (May & June, 1864) Beginning of Grant's campaign.
C. Spotsylvania Courthouse: 24,000 casualties
D. Cold Harbor (June 3, 1864)
1. Grant ordered frontal assault at a huge cost.
2. 7,000 Federals killed in a half-hour; Confederates less than 1,500.
3. Public opinion in North appalled at the losses; Critics: "Grant the Butcher"
4. Grant determined to continue the grind; Lincoln supported him
E. Siege of Petersburg (June-Oct. 1864)
1. Contained all railroads that served Lee’s army & Richmond from the south.
2. Lee rushed in time to defend Petersburg; Grant lay siege to the city for 9 months.
3. Along with Richmond, fell on April 2, 1865
F. Siege of Richmond (July-Oct. 1865)
1. Grant hoped to divert Confederate forces from Petersburg
2. Lee sacrificed several detachments in rear guard to evacuate both Richmond & Petersburg successfully.
G. Early 1865, Confederates tried to negotiate peace between the "two countries."
-- Lincoln not willing to accept anything short of unconditional surrender.
H. Lee’s surrender
1. Confederate army surrounded near Appomattox Court House in VA.
2. April 9, 1865 -- Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia.
a. War in Virginia officially over.
b. Remaining Confederate armies surrendered within a few weeks
3. Terms of surrender were generous
a. The 30,000 captured Confederates were paroled and allowed to go home so long as they vowed never to take up
arms against the Union again.
b. Confederates allowed to keep their own horses for spring plowing.
-- Officers could keep their sidearms
4. Grant: "The war is over; the rebels are our countrymen again."
XII. Lincoln assassinated on night of April 14, 1865 (Good Friday)
A. Only five days after Lee’s surrender, Lincoln assassinated at Ford’s theater by John Wilkes Booth
B. Lincoln died at height of his popularity, thus becoming a martyr.
C. South cheered initially, but eventually saw it as a disaster for them.
1. Lincoln’s reconstruction policies moderate compared to the later Congressional Reconstruction.
2. Assassination increased bitterness in the North against the South esp. w/ rumors that Jefferson Davis plotted it
XIII. Prisoner of War Camps
A. North treated prisoners better than the South; more resources
B. Southern prisons could not provide for POWs since Confederate soldiers often lacked basic necessities.
-- Andersonville the most notorious POW camp; more than 13,000 died there
XIV. Results and costs of the Civil War
A. 620,000 soldiers dead (2% of population!); over 1 million total casualties
B. Slavery abolished
C. Total cost of war: $15 billion (about $1.5 trillion in today’s dollars)
-- Does not include pensions and interest on the national debt.
D. Nullification and secession died with the Confederacy
E. Ideal of Union and nation triumphant
-- Dangers of two nations and balance of power politics averted
F. War economy laid the foundation for the 2nd Industrial Revolution after the war.
G. Monroe Doctrine became more effective; U.S. had demonstrated military power
-- U.S. would now look to the hemisphere and beyond to expand its influence.
Essay Questions for Review:
1. Was the Union’s victory in the Civil War inevitable? Why or why not?
2. To what extent was American politics impacted by events of the Civil War between 1861 and 1865?