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Unit 5: The Outbreak of the Civil
War
By Neil Hammond
Millbrook High School
The Election of 1860: Democrats
• Democrats Split
– Douglas (popular
sovereignty)
– Breckenridge
(slavery anywhere)
• Did some Southern
radicals want
Lincoln to win?
The Election of 1860: Republicans
• At the heart of
Republican policy
was stopping the
expansion of
slavery, but they
had other policies:
– Homesteads
– Tariffs
– Transcontinental
railroad
The Election of 1860: Secession
• Upon Lincoln’s
election, seven
southern states
seceded from the
union
• These states seized
all federal property in
their boundaries.
Fort Sumter became
the spark that set off
the war.
The Collapse of Compromise
• Impending bloodshed spurred frantic attempts to
compromise. The most promising was the
Crittenden Compromise suggested by Henry
Crittenden of KY.
• Extending the 36 30 line
• States could enter or join the union as free or
slave states, but federal protection of slavery
would exist South of the line EVEN if a territory
voted to be a free one.
The Proposed Crittenden Compromise
The Two Constitutions
• The two constitutions were virtually
identical, but three major differences
existed:
– 1. Slavery was protected
– 2. tariffs were unconstitutional
– 3. The president was limited to one six year term
Lincoln’s Inaugural Address
• Stressed peace
• Union was PERPETUAL
• The USA intended to hold on to property in
the Southern states
The Election of 1860: Fort Sumter
• Fort Sumter in South Carolina was one of the few
military forts not taken by the Confederacy, but its
supplies would not last forever. Lincoln informed
Jefferson Davis that he intended to resupply the fort.
When the Confederacy attacked Lincoln declared a
state of rebellion and called for 75000 volunteers.
The Upper South Secedes
• After Fort Sumter
and Lincoln’s
response, four
more Confederate
states seceded.
Lincoln’s Inaugural Address
• The four states of
the Upper South
added a lot to the
Confederacy
• The Border States
became crucial.
• Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus and locked
up hundreds of potential Confederates
Advantages / Disadvantages
• Military Tradition
• Advantage = South
–
–
–
–
2/3 of military officers were from the South
More Southerners were comfortable with firearms
Many rode horses
Lots of Northerners who fought were immigrants,
who had little initial experience
Advantages / Disadvantages
• Navy
• Advantage = North
– Most ships stationed
in the North
– Most ship building
yards in the North
– The North had many
more merchant ships
Advantages / Disadvantages
• Population
• Advantage = North
– North 22 million
– South 9 million
• Slaves not used to fight
Advantages / Disadvantages
• Industry
• Advantage = North
– 90% of factories in
North
Advantages / Disadvantages
• Food production
• Advantage = North
– Both sides produced impressive amounts
of food, but the North found it easier to
disrupt the South’s transportation
– And the North had more acreage
Advantages / Disadvantages
• Finances
• Advantage = North
– North controlled national treasury
– Union could expect continued revenue from tariffs
– Many Northern banks held reserves of cash that they
used to purchase government bonds
– Concern about the North’s ability to win the war led to
people withdrawing their money from banks, who then
struggled to buy bonds
– To overcome this the Republicans passed the Legal
Tender Act of 1862. This act created a national
currency NOT tied to gold or silver. The dollars were
known as greenbacks because of their color.
Advantages / Disadvantages
• The South struggled
• Planters in debt
• Fewer banks, fewer reserves, fewer bonds
• Northern blockade strangled trade
• By the end of the war the Confederacy
implemented new taxation…it also printed
lots of money, which led to inflation.
Political Divisions in the North
• Republicans:
– Abolitionists wanted the war to be about slavery
– Lincoln and others fought to PRESERVE THE
UNION
• Democrats
– War Democrats – supported war but
opposed ending slavery
– Copperheads – opposed the war
Conscription Divides the North and South
• 1862 Militia Act, which provided for
conscription IF a state could not get enough
volunteers
• Democrats opposed this, and riots broke out
in several Midwest Democratic states
• Lincoln enforced the laws by suspending
Habeas Corpus, justifying his actions
because deserters from the military were
shot
Weaknesses of the Confederate Government
• States’ rights meant
that many
politicians opposed
any expansion of
central power
• Many politicians
opposed Southern
conscription when
it was introduced in
1862
• Like Lincoln, Davis
suspended Habeas
Corpus
Diplomacy
• USA – wanted European powers to stay
neutral
• Confederate States – wanted Great Britain
and France to intervene
• Britain and France wanted to see evidence
that the Confederacy could win the war
before they would commit to recognizing
the Confederacy
Diplomacy: The Trent Affair
• In 1862 two
Confederate
diplomats were on a
British Ship. A US
navy ship stopped
the ship and
arrested the
diplomats
• The British
threatened war and
the diplomats were
released
Technology
• 1. conoidal bullets
• 2. telegraph
• 3. balloons
• 4. ironclads
Technology And Tactics
• Napoleonic Tactics
– March in tight formations
– Fire lots of shots
– When close enough charge with bayonets
• Defenders used trenches and had more
accurate rifles
South’s Strategy
• Theory: fight a defensive war…like the
colonists in the Revolutionary War
• Reality: Southern honor often saw soldiers
take the offensive and charge…Robert E
Lee invaded the North twice, looking for a
BIG victory on Northern soil
Anaconda Plan
1.Blockade Confederacy
2.Control Mississippi
River