Download Course of Civil War

COURSE OF CIVIL WAR
Standard 3.2
STANDARD 3.2
Summarize the course of the Civil War
and its impact on democracy, including
the major turning points; the impact of
the Emancipation Proclamation; the
unequal treatment afforded to African
American military units; the geographic,
economic, and political factors in the
defeat of the Confederacy; and the
ultimate defeat of the idea of secession.
SECESSION PROBLEMS
Secession challenged democracy.
A minority of Americans determined to
leave the Union because they were
dissatisfied with the outcome of the
1860 election.
Southerners feared that the new
administration would force them to grant
freedom to their slaves.
WAR
President Lincoln pledged to preserve
the Union and democracy.
Confederates fired on federal troops
stationed at Fort Sumter in Charleston
harbor and the Civil War began.
CIVIL WAR
The course and outcome of the Civil War
depended upon the economic resources
of the North and the South
the geographic factors that influenced
strategy
the military and political leadership that
influenced public support
UNION
The Union had far greater
economic resources
industrial capacity
miles of railroad tracks
manpower
a navy
CONFEDERACY
The South depended on:
the power of King Cotton
their trading relationship with Great
Britain to provide the manufactured
goods and ships that they lacked
However the Union’s strategy to
blockade southern ports disrupted
this trade throughout the war
UNION STRATEGY
The North’s offensive strategy was
based on geography
included splitting the South at the
Mississippi River
taking the capital at Richmond
[Anaconda Plan]
CONFEDERACY STRATEGY
The South’s strategy was:
mainly to seek support from Great
Britain
defend their region until such aid was
obtained
 Or
the North tired of the war effort
COURSE OF CIVIL WAR
Confederate forces invaded the North
twice in an effort to gain foreign support
and hasten the end of the war
were repulsed at Antietam and defeated
at Gettysburg.
Initially the South enjoyed advantages in
both military leadership and geography
COURSE OF CIVIL WAR (CONT.)
They were able to effectively move their
men and materiel via railroads between
battle fronts in the east and the west
under the effective leadership of Robert
E. Lee.
Southerners were also more familiar
with their home terrain
LEADERSHIP ADVANTAGES
The North, however, had the advantage in
political leadership
Jefferson Davis was not able to get the states
of the Confederacy to effectively work
together to pursue the war effort
Abraham Lincoln was able to articulate the
purpose of the war as the preservation of the
Union and “government of the people, by the
people and for the people” and to retain
sufficient public support to continue the fight
despite initial military defeats
LINCOLN POLITICS
 Lincoln also demonstrated his political skills by his
handling of the issue of emancipation of the slaves
 Lincoln initially hesitated to free the slaves because
he feared this would undermine the unity of the
North by antagonizing the border states
 When emancipation was announced, it was promoted
as a ‘military measure’ against the Confederacy
 However, the Emancipation Proclamation was also a
diplomatic and political document
LINCOLN POLITICS (CONT.)
By making a goal of the war the liberation of
slaves, Lincoln made it impossible for the
British, whose population was strongly
opposed to slavery, to continue to support the
Southern war effort
By announcing his intention to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation in the fall and not
making it effective until the first of the year,
Lincoln gave the South a last chance to make
peace and keep their slaves
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION
the Emancipation Proclamation did not
immediately free the slaves
It did not attempt to free slaves in the regions
under Union control or in the border states
Only states in rebellion on January 1, 1863
were commanded to free their slaves and
Confederates were not likely to obey the
President of the United States
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION (CONT.)
However, as the slave population got wind of
proposed emancipation, they increasingly ran
to Union lines and freedom
Slaves were freed as their homeland was
captured by Union forces
Finally, freedom for all slaves was formally
legalized by the Thirteenth Amendment at the
end of the war
AFRICAN-AMERICANS JOIN THE FIGHT
The Emancipation Proclamation allowed
African Americans to enlist in the United
States army as a war measure
With the help of abolitionists, several African
American units were formed
most notably the 54th Massachusetts
regiment that led a gallant but futile attack on
Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor
EFFECTS
disproving myths about capability and
race
While African American soldiers served
with distinction, they served in
segregated units under the command of
white officers
They were poorly supplied and paid less
than white soldiers
CIVIL WAR KEY BATTLES
Fort Sumter
 The first shots of the Civil War were fired here.
Bull Run/Manassas
 First battle of the Civil War, showed everyone
involved that the war would not be short.
Antietam
 Repelled Lee’s attempt at a Northern invasion
 Gave Lincoln the ‘victory’ he needed to issue the
Emancipation Proclamation
CIVIL WAR KEY BATTLES
 Vicksburg
 Grant got Lincoln’s attention here (future head general job!)
 Effectively cut the South in half
 Gave the Union control of the Mississippi river
 Gettysburg
 Last major offensive by the South
 The Gettysburg Address was given by Lincoln after battle,
which gave a ‘slavery’ focus to the war effort.
 Atlanta
 Sherman’s capture of Atlanta helped Lincoln win reelection
 Signaled the ‘end of the road’ for the South militarily
FINISHING THE WAR
President Lincoln effectively exercised
his power as commander in chief and
eventually found the right general to win
the war
Lincoln was frustrated by his generals
until he named Ulysses S. Grant, who
had been successful at Vicksburg in
cutting the South in half at the
Mississippi River, as commander of
northern forces.
FINISHING THE WAR (CONT.)
Grant changed the strategy to ‘total war’
William Tecumseh Sherman’s ‘March to
the Sea’ and Grant’s unrelenting attacks
and siege at Petersburg strained the
dwindling economic resources and
manpower of the South and brought
surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
WAR’S OUTCOMES
The outcome of the Civil War had a profound
impact on the course of democracy
 preserving the Union while at the same time
liberating an enslaved minority
The idea of secession was based on the
principle that a majority in one region
(Southern slave owners) could deny rights to a
minority (slaves)
at the same time claim their minority rights
would be violated by the decision of the
national electorate
WAR’S OUTCOMES (CONT.)
While the Union defeated the Confederacy on
the battlefield and the federal courts ruled
secession to be null and void, the idea of
states’ right upon which secession was based
was never defeated
Indeed the argument of states’ rights emerged
in the civil rights era and the Confederacy
continues to be revered in some segments of
southern society