Download Chapter 11-The Civil War (1861

Chapter 11-The Civil War (1861-1865)
The South Secedes
-South is angered that Lincoln won the election in 1860 and it was perceived that he
would abolish slavery.
-South Carolina (Dec 1860) is the first state to leave.
-Alabama, Montgomery (Feb 1861)- delegates from the secessionist states formed the
Confederate States of America and made a new constitution closely resembling that of
the Untied States except it protected and recognized slavery and called for states rights.
-Jefferson Davis elected president.
-Buchanan remained president of the US until Lincoln inauguration in March of 1961.
-7 slave states seceded to the new nation.
-8 slave states remained with the Union.
-Buchanan felt that his hands were tied and could not stop the South from leaving.
-States felt as though the federal govt was not allowed to tell them what to do.
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
*Dred Scott Decision- the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not and could
never be citizens. Thus, Dred Scott had no right even to file a lawsuit and remained
enslaved.
*April 1861: Ft. Sumter (SC)
-South fired on Ft. Sumter, SC- first engagement of the Civil War.
-News of the fall of Ft. Sumter to the South untied the North.
-The upper Southern states refused to fight against other southern states. April: Virginia
would secede (western counties were anti-slavery so the Union let them in as West
Virginia), May: Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed.
-There were 11 confederate states now.
-The four remaining slave states- Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri remained
in the union, but many of their citizens fought for the South.
Military Tactics of the North
*Anaconda Plan- a 3 part plan proposed by *General Winfield Scott.
1. Blockade the Southern ports so they could not import needed goods or export cotton.
2. Union armies would move down the Mississippi River to split the confederacy in two.
3. Union armies would capture the confederate capital at Richmond, VA.
-B/c the confederates’ goal was its own survival; its strategy was mostly defensive.
*July 1861: Bull Run (VA)
-First major battle outside of Richmond near a creek, it would be a victory for the South
led by *General Stonewall Jackson.
-Confederate moral soared.
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-Lincoln appointed *General George McClellan to lead the Union army in the west. They
would start the fight for the Mississippi.
Financing the War
-Republicans were the majority in the North.
-Passed taxes on everything they could- (i.e. stamps and income)
*Greenbacks- national currency for the union.
*Pacific RR Act of 1862- govt sold public land to businesses to build a RR from Nebraska
to California.
-Economic differences b/t North and South.
-Seceded states rights.
-“Cotton is King”- brought in much money for the South.
-Fanaticism- a group of people who overemphasized the differences b/t the N and S.
*Copperheads- people in the North who opposed the war and advocated peace.
*Radical Republicans- a republican group in Congress led by Charles Sumner; they
pressured Lincoln to end slavery.
*Conscription- drafts that forced certain members of the population to serve in the army.
Led to draft riots.
-90% of eligible Southern men served in the Confederate army.
Comparison of the North (Union) and the South (Confederate)
Advantages of the North
-They had more states on their side. (22-19)
-Had a population of 22 million - which meant more fighting power.
-Had 90% of the industries.
-Had more railroads, food production, and more money.
Advantages of the South
-They knew the land they were fighting on. The soldiers were highly motivated b/c they
were defending their homeland.
-They had the best Generals.
-They were allies of GB and France. GB remained neutral during the war, making the
south unhappy.
-“Cotton was King”
War on land
-The North was expected to win quickly.
-During the first 3 years of the war, most of the battles were fought in the South and the
South would win.
Generals
*Ulysses S. Grant (North)- West Point grad fought in the Mexican-American War.
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*Robert E. Lee (South)- from Virginia, was first asked to head the Union Army. He too
was a West Point grad who fought alongside General Grant in the Mexican-American
War.
*David G. Farragut (North)- lead his fleet down the Mississippi to capture New Orleans
and the rest of the major cities along the lower Mississippi.
*September 1862: Antietam (MD)
-The name of the creek were the bloodiest one day battle in American history occurred.
-26,0000 died, this was more than the war of 1812 and the war with Mexico combined.
-The battle was a standoff, which resulted in the South retreating into VA.
-Over ¼ of the confederate Army was lost here.
-GB and France decide not to back the South after this battle.
Proclaiming Emancipation
*Emancipation Proclamation- ordered by Lincoln Jan 1963. It was an executive order
freeing the slaves in all the regions behind the confederate lines.
-This did not immediately free any slaves, nor did it apply to any territory occupied by
Union troops or to the slave states that did not secede.
-This also allowed African Americans to join the Union Army, which played an important
role in the struggle to end slavery.
-White soldiers earned $16.50 a month were black soldiers only earned $10.00. By 1864
the pay would become equal.
*July 1863: Gettysburg (PA)
-Was a three-day battle that crippled the South so badly that it is considered to be the
major turning point of the war.
(FYI- In May, the South beat the North at Chancellorsville, VA. where General Stonewall
Jackson would be accidentally shot and then dies due to pneumonia.)
-The North controlled the high ground at Gettysburg, Cemetery Ridge allowing for a great
victory.
-North- 90,000 troops fighting - South- 75,000.
-30% of these troops would die there. 23,000 from the North and 28,000 for the South
were killed or wounded.
-This battle took the offensive edge away from the South.
*Gettysburg Address
-Nov. 1863- a speech at the dedication of a cemetery at Gettysburg made by Lincoln.
-The speech lasted a little over 2 minutes.
-Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new
nation…
-FYI- A score is equal to 20 years. (87 yrs)
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*April 1863: Vicksburg (Miss.)
-It was one of the two confederate holdouts that were preventing the North from
controlling the Mississippi River, which was important for transporting goods.
-Grant attacks the South.
-With food and morale running low, the South surrendered to Grant on July 4th. This was
one day after the North won at Gettysburg.
-5 days later, the other port city that the South controlled on the Mississippi fell.
-This battle would split the South in two.
Civil War Medicine
-The federal govt set up the Sanitary Commission after the fall of Ft. Sumter. Its task was
to improve the hygienic conditions of army camps and to recruit and train nurses. It was
very successful.
-Dorothea Dix- became the nation’s first superintendent of women nurses serving 3,000.
-Clara Barton- a union nurse who often cared for the sick and wounded at the front lines.
“Angel of the battlefield”
Naval War
-North Strategy- to blockade the Southern ports.
-South Strategy- *Ironclads- mental ships thought of by the South but used by both sides.
-March 1862: Merrimac (South) vs. Monitor (North) was a draw. It was the most important
naval war and brought about the end of wooden ships.
Other New Weapons
-Rifle- more accurate than the muskets and could be loaded quicker.
-Minieball- a soft lead bullet that was more destructive than earlier bullets.
-Primitive hand grenades and land mines were used as well.
Foreign Help
-Russia- favored the North. Czar Alexander II, sold the US, Alaska in 1867 for 7 million, it
didn’t become a state until 1946. (49th)
-GB- was an ally to the South but stayed neutral during the Civil War. England was able
to buy cotton from new sources in Egypt and India and began to depend on the North for
wheat and corn after Europe’s crops failed.
-Thus, cotton was no longer King for the South.
Dealing with Dissent
*Writ of Habeas corpus- Lincoln issued a court order that suspended the rights that
required authorities to bring a person held in jail before the court to determine why he/she
was jailed. This caused more than 13,000 confederate sympathizers to be jailed without a
trial.
-After this, any compromise with the South was no longer an option.
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-At first, President Davis denounced Lincoln’s suspension of civil liberties, but he later had
to take the same action in the South.
The Confederacy Wears Down
-After Gettysburg and Vicksburg the South lost much of its fighting power.
-The Confederacy’s economy was already low and so were basic goods such as food,
shoes, uniforms, guns, and ammunition.
-They also suffered from the loss of slave labor as the Union freed slaves while winning
victories.
-When this part is found in the reading, please get up quietly and sign the paper on my
desk for extra credit on the next test. This is a reading test. Please do not draw attention
to this.
-It was no longer able to attack and hoping to hold out long enough to settle on a ceasefire instead of surrendering.
-Confederate morale on the home front deteriorated.
-Inflation skyrocketed. In 1861 a family spent $6.65 on a months worth of food, by 1863 it
was up to $68. (Remember the Union blockades)
-Many soldiers deserted and in every state except SC there were soldiers who decided to
turn and fight for the North. (2,400 troops from Florida served in the Union Army)
-Discord in the Confederate govt and public opposition to the war was increasing.
Grant Appoints Sherman
-March 1864- Lincoln appointed Grant commander of all the Union Armies.
-Grant then appointed *William Sherman as commander of the military division of the
Mississippi.
-These two appointments would change the course of the war.
-Both men believed in *total war- they wanted to break the willpower of the South and
thought it was essential to fight not only the South’s armies and the govt, but its civilian
population who kept the war going by supplying and producing goods for the confederate
army.
-Grant’s overall strategy was to immobilize Lee’s army in VA while Sherman raided
Georgia.
-Grants army lost twice as many men as Lee’s army, but the North could afford it.
-In just 2 months, Grant lost 60,000 troops and Lee lost 32,000.
Sherman’s March (www.Shermansrevenge.com)
-After the South tried to surround Sherman’s army in Atlanta, GA- he decided to fight a
different kind of battle. He would abandon his supply line and march SE through GA,
creating a wide path of destruction along the way. His army would live of the land.
-In mid-November he burned most of Atlanta and set out toward the coast.
-As the army marched North through SC it would cause more damage there than it did in
GA. (burned everything!)
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Elections of 1864
-Lincoln v. George McClellan (who Lincoln had fired earlier)
-Radical Republicans formed a 3rd party and nominated John C. Fremont to run.
-Lincoln supporters dropped the republican name and renamed themselves the National
Union Party to attract democrats.
-Lincoln would win his 2nd term.
The Surrender at Appomattox
-As the Union armies approached Richmond from the North and the South, President
Davis and his govt abandoned their capital, setting everything on fire to keep the
Northerners from taking it.
-About 900 buildings were destroyed and hundreds more damaged.
-Lee and Grant met to arrange a confederate surrender on April 9, 1865 in a Virginia
village called *Appomattox Court House.
The War Changes the Nation
Political changes
-After the war the federal govt assumed supreme national authority and no state has ever
tried to leave again.
-New paper currency was issued for the nation.
Economic changes
-National Bank Act of 1863- set up a system of federally chartered banks, set
requirements for loans, and provided for banks to be inspected. This helped make
banking safer for investors.
-North economy was up; while the Southern economy was down- ending slavery took
away the South’s source of cheap labor.
-War wiped out 40% of the south’s livestock, destroyed much of the farm machinery and
RR and left thousands of acres of land uncultivated.
-Economic Gap b/t the North and the South widened drastically. Before the war the South
held 30% of the National wealth in 1870 it was only 12%.
*13th Amendment- was ratified in Jan 1865 to abolish slavery. “Neither slavery nor
involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime where of the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within the US.”
-Clara Barton helped found the American Red Cross in 1881.
The Assassination of Lincoln
- April 14, 1865- 5 days after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House.
-John Wilkes Booth- shot Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington.
-About 7 million people turned out to mourn the martyred leader; this was 1/3 of the union
population.
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