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Unit 6 Learning Objectives - Key
Chapter 21
Red font items are potential short answer exam questions, other answers are still gathered here for students to
study and gain knowledge from for potential Multiple Choice questions.
Describe the failure of the North to gain its expected early victory in 1861.
At first, the North believed the Civil War would only last ninety days. To illustrate the North’s dominance
and unify the nation, Lincoln proposed to attack Bull Run in Manassas Junction, a small Confederate force. On July
21, 1861, 30,000 federal troops marched from Washington, D.C., to attack Confederate forces; all recruits were illtrained and ill-prepared. Civilian curiosity-seekers and picnickers also headed to Virginia with eagerness and
anticipation of the “evident victory.”At first, the Union seemed close to victory, but General Thomas “Stonewall”
Jackson counterattacked with unexpected military reinforcements. The attack sent the inexperienced Union troops
and observers in disorderly and panicked flight back to Washington. Although the South had defeated the Union, it
promoted the overconfident myth that the Rebels were invincible in battle, decreasing the Southern enlistments and
preparations. For the North, it eliminated the illusions of a short war, urging them to diligently prepare for battle.
Chapter 21:
Describe the significance of Antietam and the Northern turn to a "total war" against slavery.
The Battle of Antietam in 1862 was a pivotal point in the Civil War. It was “one of the bloodiest battles of
the war,” and concluded with significant losses for both sides, with total casualties exceeding 23,000. The
Confederacy’s loss destroyed hopes of foreign intervention because Britain was no longer reliant on Southern Cotton
(India now served as a source of cotton for Britain), which also contributed to the decline of the Confederacy’s
economy. In addition, Europe was hesitant to enter a war where victory was unclear. The Union victory also
undermined the mystique surrounding the seemingly invincible Southern generals, namely Robert E. Lee. The battle
of Antietam also prevented Lee from directly threatening Northern industrial and financial institutions.
Although the battle was a draw militarily, it served as a political victory for the North because it provided a
“springboard” for Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which exemplified the powers given to presidents during
times of crises. Using extreme finesse and diplomatic skill, Lincoln “abolished” slavery where the crises existed
(within the Confederacy) which embittered Southerners further and other pro-slavery advocates. This document
(Emancipation Proclamation) brought about a new vision and purpose of the war, it was now a moral crusade to end
slavery and a “total war” to destroy the South. What began as a struggle to preserve the Union had become a quest to
completely subjugate (vanquish) the South.
Chapter 21:
Describe the role that African Americans played during the war.
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation (1863), declared “forever free” the slaves in those confederate states that were
still in rebellion. This resulted in more freedom towards the blacks who then could serve in the Union. The slaves
significantly contributed to their own freedom as they ran away from their masters and labored behind the scenes for
Northern armies. They enlisted to assist the Northerners to fight, increasing the North’s manpower. By the end of the
war, 180,000 African Americans served in the Union army which accounted for about 10% of the total enlistments in
the Union forces. African Americans in the South was forced into labor battalion’s, building of fortification, and the
supplying of armies while in the North, they served as union spies, guides, and scouts, and provided shelter to the
escaped Northern prisoners of the war. In the end, their service offered the chance to prove manhood and strengthen
claim to full citizenship.
Chapter 21:
Describe the military significance of the battles of Gettysburg in the East and Vicksburg in the West.
Commander George G. Meade led Union forces to a shallow valley near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where
they encountered Robert E. Lee and his forces. The battle lasted three days in July of 1863, and consisted of 92,000
Union vs. 76,000 confederate soldiers.
The battle began after Confederates had taken control of Gettysburg, but the Union held positions on
Cemetery Ridge. General Lee believed he could knock Union forces off the ridge and continue an advance into
Northern territories, which would be a deeply troubling problem for Lincoln and the union, due to the effect it would
have on public opinion. Lee was deeply mistaken about the degree of northern firepower on Cemetery Ridge and his
forces suffered horrific casualties (28,000) as they marched across a wideopen field to a disgusting slaughter.
Severely beaten, Lee gave up his hope on invading the North, which had been designed to take pressure off Virginia
and possibly earn a victory that could end the war.
The Union defense at Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War; never again were the morally
crushed Confederate forces able to seriously threaten Northern territory. In addition, it provoked Jefferson Davis,
president of the Confederacy, to open peace delegations with the North.
In a similar fashion, the battle of Vicksburg weakened the Confederate efforts, especially since it was won
only a day after the battle of Gettysburg. Capturing Vicksburg reopened the Mississippi river, allowing Union border
states to regain trade routes down the Ohio-Mississippi River system. In addition, Union victory demonstrated
northern power, tipping diplomatic scales in favor of the North and shattered all hopes of foreign intervention.
Britain hence stopped the delivery of Laird rams (warships with heavy firepower and iron rams designed to destroy
Union ships). France took a similar precaution by stopping the sale of six naval vessels to the Richmond
government.
These nearly simultaneous victories seemingly destroyed all chances of Southern victory, and these
gruesome battles shattered Confederate spirits. Essentially, the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg foreshadowed
the inevitable end of the civil war.
Chapter 21
Describe the political struggle between Lincoln's "Union Party" and the antiwar Copperheads.
The election of 1864 saw a fierce political struggle between Lincoln's “Union party” and the Copperheads. The
Copperheads were Lincoln’s most vicious opponent (their name came from a poisonous snake) who had obstructed
the war by attacking the draft, emancipation, and Lincoln himself. They came from the Butternut Region- southern
Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Pressured by threats from the Copperheads, the Republican party joined with the War
Democrats to form the Union party. Running alongside Lincoln was Andrew Johnson, a loyal War Democrat, who
was placed on the ballot with Lincoln to attract War Democrats and the voters in the Border States. The Copperheads
criticized the two candidates and condemned Lincoln and Johnson as “ignorant, third-rate, backwoods politicians
born in log cabins.”
Nominated on behalf of the Democrats – including the Peace Democrats and Copperheads – was General McClellan.
As voting day drew closer, tides seemed to turn in Lincoln's favor. Several Northern victories gave Lincoln and his
supporters hope in winning the re-election. Once election time came, many Northern soldiers supported Lincoln.
One veteran even voted forty-nine times – once on behalf of himself and the rest for members of his company.
Lincoln dominated the electoral votes receiving 212 votes compared to McClellan's 21. However, the popular vote
was a closer race with Lincoln scoring 55 percent of the votes and McClellan scoring a nice 45 percent. With
Lincoln's re-election, the last light of hope for a Confederate victory quickly diminished. Lincoln’s invention of the
“Union Party” who joined Republicans with War Democrats allowed him to be victorious in his 1864 re-election as
the Republican Party temporarily ceased to exist.
Chapter 21:
Describe the end of the war and list its final consequences.
In 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant had General Robert E. Lee surrounded and had the entire area blockaded. Grant
asked Lee to surrender, and Lee, with his army down to only 30,000 troops, had little choice but to accept. The
Union troops had conquered the Confederate Capital of Richmond, Virginia. Grant and Lee met at the Appomattox
Court House to arrange a Confederate surrender. The terms were generated by Lincoln, and Grant’s soldiers were
sent home with their possessions. By the end of the Civil War, 620,000 men had been killed and at least that many
more had been wounded in a nation of about 25 million people.
The most significant consequences of the war were that the Union was preserved and the slaves were emancipated.
The Freedman’s Bureau helped both blacks and whites after the war by providing them with food and medical care.
The Civil War also brought political and economic changes to the North and South. The Civil War greatly increased
the federal government’s power and authority so that no state would threaten to secede ever again. In addition, the
North experienced a boom in their economy, while the South was ruined, both the farmland and what little industry
had existed prior to the war. The Civil War also brought about a technological revolution in warfare, like ironclad
ships, the rifle and grenades.
Describe the Emancipation Proclamation, its effects, and any legal problems associated with it:
The Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves only in the seceded Southern states, it did not free the slaves in the
Border States. Lincoln did not feel he had any legal authority to do this because the border states were not “in
rebellion” against the Union. That was Lincoln’s way in, he wanted to free the slaves for moral reasons all along, but
refused to violate the Constitution. So, he waited for this opportunity – one that would be justified legally and
supported politically (which the victory at Antietam provided) – so he used his emergency privileges as president to
declare the slaves “free” in states that were in crisis, or in other words, in rebellion.
One legal oddity about the proclamation is that it didn’t actually free anybody, the reason is that the South
considered itself a separate nation at that time and would simply reject anything a “foreign” president might dictate
to them. In order for the proclamation to go into effect, the North would have to win the war. Another odd legal
issue tied to the proclamation was that since Lincoln did not actually have the constitutional authority to free the
slaves when he did, a constitutional amendment would need to be passed after the war, which was accomplished, and
is called the 13th Amendment. If the emancipation proclamation had legally freed the slaves, there would've been no
need for the 13th Amendment.
There were two principle effects of the Emancipation Proclamation. One, if only symbolically, it gave the war its
moral cause, union soldiers now had another cause to sacrifice for. Two, knowing that slaves would eventually get
word of the Proclamation, it would stir them up to new heights, to take greater risks, possibly even to rebellion, or
take greater chances at escaping.