Download The American Civil War 1860 – 1865

Unit 4: The Civil War and
Reconstruction (1850-1877)
The Union in Crisis and Civil War (1850 – 1865)
The Sectional Conflict Widens (1820-1860)
#1. Sectionalism = N vs. S; How
are they different?
• North had greater population
• Factory System vs. Plantations
• Free Immigrant labor in the
North vs. Slavery in South
• N Railroads vs. S Waterways
• $1.5 B North vs. $155 M South
GNP
• Balance of Power in Congress
favored the North. Why?
#2. The Missouri Compromise
• In 1820 Missouri wanted to
enter Union as a slave state.
• Problem = Balance of
Power in Congress b/c
representation is equal in
the US Senate
• Henry Clay (KY) –
proposed Maine enter as
free state to balance out
Missouri.
• 36°30’ N would be dividing
line between slave and free.
Manifest Destiny and the
Mexican-American War
1846 - 1848
#3. The Compromise of 1850
•
•
The Mexican War of 1846-1848
increased the size of the USA.
Henry Clay (KY) proposed:
1. CA be admitted as a free state
2. NM and UT territories would
vote on slavery
3. Slave trade abolished in
Washington, D.C.
4. Fugitive Slave Law of 1850
#4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
• Authored by
abolitionist, Harriet
Beecher Stowe
• Described the cruelties
of slavery
• Sold 300,000 copies in
1st year; only the Bible
sold more copies
during the era!
• Southerners were
outraged!
Bleeding Kansas! (1854 – 1856)
• #5. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
opened territories to slavery via
popular sovereignty
• Free-soilers vs.Border Ruffians
fought for control of territorial
government in Kansas.
• Abolitionist John Brown kills 5
pro slavers in KS (55 dead in all)
• Violence spreads to the Senate
floor as Senator Charles Sumner
is caned!
#6. Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Dred Scott
• Dred Scott, a Missouri slave, sued
his master’s widow for his freedom
in 1846.
• 1834-38 he lived in free state of
Illinois & thought he should be free
• The Court said 5-4 (1) Scott was a
slave and had no right to sue (2)
Missouri Compromise was
unconstitutional because
Congress couldn’t legally ban
Chief Justice
slavery in any U.S. territory (due Roger B. Taney
process/ property rights)
• Abolitionist Frederick Douglas
predicted this would actually
expedite slavery’s end?
#7. John Brown Returns!
• Oct. 1859 old John Brown
comes out of hiding
• Harpers Ferry, VA- attacks a
federal arsenal with the hope of
starting a slave rebellion;
federal troops retake it and
capture Brown.
• Sentenced to death by hanging
for treason & murder
• He became a martyr!
#8. The Election of 1860 leads to Secession
• 1854 – Republican
Party formed to stop
spread of slavery.
• Four candidates
running for office
• Democratic Party split
between N and S
#9. Lincoln wins electoral
vote with only 40% of
popular vote but
carries no Southern
state!
Secession!
#10. South Carolina leaves on Dec. 20,
1860. #11. Six others follow to CSA by
1861. Eventually 11 total in CSA.
Lincoln Takes Office
#12. March 4, 1861 – Republican
President Lincoln took a firm,
but kind & conciliatory tone
toward the South.
• He didn’t want to bother
slavery where it was, but he did
want to stop it from spreading
into the Western territories.
• He pledged to preserve the
Union - #1 Goal!
Southern War Strategy
#13. After Confederate forces
attacked & captured Fort
Sumter (April 12, 1861) 4 more
states joined the CSA.
• President Lincoln declared that
war would be necessary to
preserve the Union.
• The CSA Generals and
President Davis planned a
defensive war.
#14. CSA hoped Europe would
aid and had superior military
leadership.
Northern War Strategy
The Union developed a
strategy called the
Anaconda Plan. They
hoped to:
1. Blockade all Southern
Ports
2. Control the Mississippi
River and divide the
CSA in half
3. Capture and occupy the
Confederate capital of
Richmond, VA
Stalemate: From Bull Run to Antietam
• July 21, 1861 – “Stonewall”
Jackson rallies CSA at Bull
Run, VA
#17. General U.S. Grant wins
costly US victory at Shiloh, TN
on April 6-7, 1861. By 1864 he
proves he’s Lincoln’s best
general & takes command of all
Union forces.
#15. CSA General R.E. Lee,
America’s greatest general,
achieved a draw at Antietam,
MD Sept. 1862 after winning a
string of impressive victories
against the superior Union
army.
#16. At the end of 1862, a
stalemate exists in the East!
The Emancipation Proclamation
• Issued Fall 1862 and
effective Jan. 1, 1863
• Freed all slaves in
areas of the U.S. still
under CSA control
• Although it was
criticized by some, it
meant the war would
end slavery if Union
indeed won.
• Lincoln changed his
wartime strategy.
1863: The Turning Point
• July 1-3, 1863 – Lee leads
Army of N.VA North to PA
and the greatest battle of the
war begins.
#18. 23,000 Union and 28,000
CSA casualties at
Gettysburg, PA. Lee’s only
major mistake of the war.
Why did he do it?
• Lee would never invade
Union again!
• July 4, 1863 – Grant takes
Vicksburg on Mississippi
River.
#19. Sherman’s March to the
Sea and Total Warfare
• Sept. 2, 1864 – Gen. Sherman
captures Atlanta, GA
• Marches to Savannah, GA and
orders a 300 mile-long and 50
mile-wide swath of destruction
designed to end the CSA’s will
& ability to fight.
• Turns north through Carolinas
in Dec. 1864 to meet Grant &
end war
• Civilians and slaves suffer
immensely; it was controversial.
The Election of 1864
• Capture of Atlanta
and “Bayonet Voters”
aid Lincoln
• He was opposed by exGeneral George
McClellan – a peace
candidate
• Lincoln and Andrew
Johnson (VP and
Democrat) won
212/233 electoral votes
#20. Lee Surrenders to Grant! April 9, 1865
• Richmond, the CSA capital,
was in ruins, Sherman
wasted Georgia and the
Carolinas, & Lee’s army
was desperate & worn
down.
• President Davis and officials
fled from Grant & later
captured
• Lee was humble and Grant
was very generous at
Appomattox, VA
• 640,047 Union and 483,026
CSA casualties of war;
America’s bloodiest war in
history.
Lincoln is Assassinated!
• John Wilkes Booth, an
actor, plotted to
kidnap Lincoln and
others
• April 14, 1865 at
Ford’s Theatre he
shoots Lincoln
• Booth is later killed
near Port Royal, VA
• Four of ten coconspirators were
hanged