Download Lecture S15 -- The Confederacy and the United States in 1861

The Confederacy and the United
States in 1861
John C. Calhoun
• Nationalist in 1810s
and 20s
• Champion of the
South 1830s-50s
• “Father of Southern
Nationalism” and
Secessionism
Rise of Secessionism
• 1832 Nullification Crisis
• 1850 Crisis
– Calhoun: Give South more Autonomy
– Nashville Convention – Discusses possible
solutions; many are pro-secession
• Fire-eaters (Every State for himself) vs.
Cooperationists (only leave Union together!)
• Radicals build networks in 1850s.
The Confederate States of
America
The New Confederacy
• 7 State Confederacy:
– Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina,
Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana and Florida
– 4,969,141 total people
• 2,312,352 slaves
• 2,646,789 free.
Confederate Constitutional Convention—
Montgomery, Alabama, February-March
1861
• 50 delegates—49 owned slaves, 21 owned 20
or more.
• The Radicals are sidelined.
• February 18, 1861—Jefferson Davis is
chosen as interim President for a one year
term
Confederate Constitutional Convention—
Montgomery, Alabama, February-March
1861
• Opposed to party politics
• Convention dominated by wealthy aristocrats
and the Confederate Constitution protects
their interests
– Central goal of new Constitution: PROTECT
SLAVERY
The Confederate Constitution:
Intro
• CC = modified version of US Constitution
• No Right of Secession Included!
The Confederate Constitution:
Slavery
• You may take your slaves anywhere in
Confederacy without losing them
• Strong Fugitive Slave Law
• Congress can't confiscate slaves
• Slavery exists in all territories
The Confederate Constitution:
States Rights
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States can impeach federals
States can tax ships
No suing states
No spending federal money on industry
and other internal improvements
• All laws must have a single subject
The Confederate Constitution:
The Presidency
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1 6 year term
President had a line-item veto
Cabinet members could sit in Congress
President could fire them at will
Otherwise, he could only fire for 'cause'
• Jefferson Davis,
President of the
Confederacy
• Born in Kentucky
Jefferson Davis, Confederate
President
• West Point (1824-8)
• US Army (1828-35)
– Fort Building
– Black Hawk's War (1832)
– Leaves to marry Sarah Knox Taylor, but she
dies
• Mississippi Planter and Politician (183546)
Jefferson Davis, Confederate
President
• Mexican War service—Mississippi Rifles
(1846-8)
– Battle of Buena Vista
• Southern Nationalist (1848-60)
– Secretary of War (1853-7)
– Senator from Mississippi (1857-61)
Jefferson Davis as leader
• A fierce, honest, honorable advocate for his
beliefs
• Stiff, stubborn, inflexible, poor at
compromise
• Very loyal
• TOO LOYAL
• But probably the best choice (the alternatives
were worse)
Upper vs. Lower South
• 9,103,332 total residents (3,521,110 slaves
and 5,582,222 free (almost all White)
– Lower South: 4,969,141 total people
(2,312,352 slaves and 2,646,789 free.), lots of
cotton land
– Upper South: 4,144,191 total people
(1,208,758 slaves and 2,935,433 free men),
almost all the industry
– 1 million men between 14 and 45 (military age)
Confederate Resources: Intro
• North vs. South:
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Wealth: 25%
Farmland: 25%
Railroad Mileage: 29%
Factory Production: 9%
Population: 29%
Northern Soldiers: 2.1 million (50% avail)
Southern Soldiers: 900,000 (90% avail)
Other Confederate Resources
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Cotton
Military Experience
State and Federal Armories
Slaves
State and Federal Regulation of
Economic Production
• Confederate government controlled key
resources—Iron, salt, copper, railroads
• Food Production was a problem; masters
tended keep growing cotton
• Slave Labor could not be forced by
central government; many slaves
effectively wasted
Civil Liberties and States’ Rights
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Suspension of Habeas Corpus
The Draft (20% of soldiers)
Confederate/State relations
State Self-Defense
North Carolina and Georgia had
obstructionist leaders—Vance and Brown
Summation
• Built for Peace; Doomed to War
• Erosion of Ideals
• Built on Slavery
Basic Military Structure
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ARMY- composed of several corps,
commanded by a general
–
CORPS- composed of three divisions,
commanded by a general
•
DIVISION- composed of three to four
brigades, commanded by a general
–
BRIGADE- composed of four to six
regiments, commanded by a general
»
»
REGIMENT- composed of ten
companies, commanded by a colonel
COMPANY- 100 officers and men,
commanded by a captain.
Winfield Scott's Anaconda
Strategy
The Blockade
Union Military Strategy
• The Virginia Front
– Protect Washington
– Attack Richmond
• Lack of Strategic Direction--The West
– Every Commander on his own
• Simultaneous Onslaught – Grant's Strategy
– Coordinate multiple attacks at key points to
overwhelm Confederate resources
The Union Army
• Command Issues
• Political Officers vs. West Pointers
• Volunteer Army
– Ground Down By War
– The Draft
• $300 substitutes angered many
• Bounty Jumping!
– Democratic Spirit
Confederate Strategy: Foreign
Intervention
• Hope that Europe needs cotton would =
Europe comes to our aid!
• Europeans did allow Confederates to build
ships
• Why no intervention?
– British public hates slavery
– French busy invading Mexico
– Both wary of war with Union
Conf. Strategy: OffensiveDefensive War
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Interior Lines
Communications Problems
States’ Demands
Loss of Manpower
The Confederate Army
• Regulars
– Volunteers
– Draftees
– Superior Cavalry
– Restocking of Units
– West Pointers vs. Amateur Officers
• Bushwhackers and Irregulars
Napoleonic Tactics
• Limits of the Musket
– Massed Fire
– Short-Range
• Line and Column
• Converging Column
• Cavalry Shock
The Ascendency of Defense
• Rifles and Repeating Rifles
– Faster Rates of Fire
– Longer Killing Range
– Defense now stronger
– But Cavalry also stronger
• Excessive Offense
Naval Innovations
• Stephen Mallory
and Confederate
Innovation
• The Ironclad
• Steam-Driven
Vessels
• Commerce
Raiding
• Riverine Warfare
The War Begins: 1861
• Both sides expect easy victory
• Short-Term Volunteers
– Armies volunteer for only 3 months!
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
• Irwin McDowell (35,000) vs. Pierre Beauregard
(20,000)
• McDowell strikes first
• Reinforcements from Johnson win the battle
• Union forces crushed
• But Confederates too messed up to follow up
• Union: 2,896 Casualties (460 dead, 1124 wounded,
1312 captured/missing)
• Confederate: 1,982 (387 dead, 1582 wounded, 13
missing)
In for the long haul
• Bull Run shows no easy victory to be
expected
• Winfield Scott resigns; George McClellan is
now General-in-Chief
Battle for the Border States
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Kentucky: Attempted Neutrality Fails
Missouri: Descent into Chaos
Maryland: Pro-Union Triumph
Delaware: Not a Contender
West Virginia: Seceding From Secession
East Tennessee: Failure of Unionism