Download A Nation Divided and Rebuilt - Barrington 220 School District

Chapter 16: The Civil War Begins
Section 1: War Erupts
Even though both sides wanted to
avoid a fight – they couldn’t

One of the things the
Confederacy did was
to take over
government places –
like post offices,
banks, forts,
newspapers, etc…
One of the forts the South hadn’t taken over was:
Fort Sumter – an island fort off South Carolina




Fort Sumter was still held
by the Union, but they
were running low on
supplies.
Abraham Lincoln decided
to send them the supplies
they needed.
On the way, the supply
ships were attacked.
The South then began to
attack the fort – and the
Civil War had begun
The 2 sides
sign up for

The North
Lincoln tried to get 75,000 men
to enlist in the militia (to put
down the uprising).
The Civil War is the reason we have
a Virginia and a West Virginia.
People west of the mountains
didn’t have slaves. People east of
the Appalachians did.



The South
More and more states decided to
break away.
Getting Virginia was big for the
South (a wealthy state with a lot
of people).
Convinced Robert E. Lee to
resign from the Union army and
he became the commanding
general of the South.
Northern Advantages










Had a lot more people 22 million to 9 million
(3.5 million slaves).
Had a lot more railroads.
Had most of the ships and the naval power.
Had most of the nation’s factories.
Fighting to uphold the constitution.
Had a strong political leader (Lincoln).
Had a stronger government.
Fighting to “preserve the Union.”
The North’s Plan: The Anaconda Plan – to
slowly squeeze the south (militarily and
economically).
Sometimes the Civil War is also called “a war
of attrition”
Southern Advantages






Fighting for a cause.
Didn’t need as many soldiers
to defend as they would have
needed to attack – fighting a
defensive war.
Knew their own land better.
Had better military leaders who knew more about war
strategy.
Could ride and shoot better (more northerners lived in
cities).
Used the American Revolution as an example that the
stronger side doesn’t always win (and as an example that it
was OK to go to war to break away from a country).
The South thought that could
maybe get some help from
France and/or Britain… who
they thought depended on
Southern cotton for their
textile mills.
 But they decided to stay out
of it.
 At first the South was going
to fight a defensive war, but
soon decided to take the
offensive
(go after the other side /attack)

One of the first battles:
The Battle of Bull Run (or… Manassas)




Close to Washington D.C.
Some people even came
to watch (sat up on a hill)
Some of the men not
fighting came by and did
“play by play” for the
people.
This battle made people
in Washington realize the
war was going to take a
long time
Manassas was so close to Washington D.C. that many people came
out from the city to watch the battle. They came on horseback or
in carriages, to watch the battle as if it were a play. The onlookers
included several senators and congressmen. When Union troops
began to retreat and Confederate artillery shells came closer, the
spectators suddenly realized that war was dangerous. They joined
the withdrawing soldiers, adding greatly to the general confusion as
the retreat became a rout.