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11. The Civil War, 1860 – 1865
35. Secession - Election of 1860
The decades between 1840 and 1860 marked an exciting yet tumultuous time for
America. Slavery, westward expansion, transcontinental transportation, and evolving
political parties united some groups and divided others. Ideals closely held by
Northerners often clashed with those maintained by Southerners. Many disgruntled
Southerners grew weary of what they believed were attempts by Northerners to disrupt
their principles and limit their freedom. As the presidential election of 1860 neared, the
United States faced a murky future with several southern states threatening to disband the
union.
In the spring of 1860, Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina, to select their
presidential candidate. The leading nominee, Stephen Douglas, hailed from the northern
state of Illinois. Leary of having a Northerner represent them, southern delegates
demanded that Douglas promise not to limit slavery. Some even called for him to
publicly declare support for the “peculiar institution.” Senator George Pugh of Ohio
refused to force Douglas to accept those demands and moved to have the proposals voted
down. Without a promise to protect their rights as slave-owners, many delegates from the
Deep South walked out and the convention ended without the nomination of a candidate.
Two months later the Democrats met again, this time in Baltimore, to name their
nominee. However, delegates from the north and south remained at odds and failed to
agree on a candidate. The two groups then separated and each elected its own
candidate—the Northerners nominated Douglas and the Southerners selected John C.
Breckinridge, Buchanan's vice-president from Kentucky. The slavery issue continued to
divide the two groups. Northern Democrats followed Douglas's Freeport Doctrine, which
accepted the decision of the Supreme Court. Party members from the south, meanwhile,
refused to allow Congress or any territorial government to prevent citizens from settling
in any territory with their "slave property."
Troubles continued for the Democrats as they splintered into a third party—the
Constitutional Union Party. The group consisted primarily of former Whigs from the
Upper South who did not share the same convictions as their southern brothers, and
northern Whigs who had not defected to the Republican Party. The party nominated John
Bell from Tennessee as their presidential candidate.
The constant bickering among the Democrats fed the growing confidence of the
Republicans. In Chicago, party members drafted a platform they considered favorable to
all classes in the northern and western states. They proposed a homestead law providing
free land for settlers, and introduced a high tariff to assist manufacturers. They also
recommended using federal aid to build a railroad to the Pacific, and refused to place
restrictions on immigration. Regarding the issue of slavery, the Republicans boldly
stated: "The normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom."
No form of legislature, they professed, could make slavery legal in any territory.
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The Republicans agreed on a common platform, but like the Democrats, they had
difficulty selecting a candidate. Senator William Seward arrived at the Chicago
convention as the leading contender for the nomination. However, his strong opinions
against slavery and public condemnation of Southerners worried many party members
who feared he would be unable to carry some of the crucial states. As reservations grew
about Seward's ability to lead the Republican Party to a presidential victory, many
members turned their attention to Abraham Lincoln. The moderate politician displayed
strong debating skills when he challenged Douglas for the Illinois senatorial seat, and his
honest, humble persona attracted many supporters tired of the current political rhetoric. It
also worked to Lincoln's advantage that the convention was held in Chicago, his adopted
home state. Less than two years after losing his bid for the Senate, Lincoln became the
Republican nominee for president in a landslide vote.
With four candidates running for president, the election of 1860 surprisingly featured two
seemingly separate campaigns. Breckinridge and Bell battled for the southern vote while
Lincoln and Douglas fought for northern superiority. In fact, Lincoln did not even appear
on the ballot in most southern states. Following tradition for politicians running for office
during the nineteenth century, Lincoln remained in Springfield, Illinois, and did not make
a public statement during the months leading to the election. Douglas, conversely,
traveled throughout the states to campaign for himself. However, by mid October, the
well-traveled senator realized that a Lincoln win was inevitable and decided to abandon
his campaign. He then focused his energy on trying to convince Southerners to drop their
threats of secession.
When the results of the most sectional election in history were tallied, Lincoln collected
1.8 million votes, far less than the combined total of his three opponents. But the Illinois
Republican swept the heavily populated northern and western states to accumulate the
most electoral votes. Although Lincoln generated only 40 percent of the popular vote, he
became the sixteenth president of the United States. While Northerners celebrated their
victory, Southerners prepared plans to dissolve the Union.
Hoping to stop the South from following through on its secession threats, Senator Henry
Crittenden from Kentucky proposed amending the Constitution. The document, called the
Crittenden Compromise, prohibited slavery north of 36° 30’ parallel and protected
slavery in all territories south of the line. It held that states entering the Union after the
amendment to the Constitution, whether they were north or south of 36° 30’, could
decide to prohibit or protect slavery on their own accord. But essentially, slavery was
permissible in all southern territories, as long as they remained territories.
Although many believed that the Crittenden Compromise would have appeased the
slavery supporters, Lincoln rejected the proposal. He contended that he was elected on a
platform that opposed the extension of slavery, and it was his duty to maintain that
pledge.
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35. Secession - Southern Secession
When Americans voted Lincoln president, James Buchanan officially became a lameduck leader. Southerners worried that Lincoln’s victory, which received no support from
the South, would lead to political and economic dominance by the North. Slavery, they
feared, would be restricted and possibly outlawed. Southerners believed that by claiming
their independence they could develop their own banking system and establish trade
directly with Europe. No longer would the southern agrarian states be dependent upon the
northern industrialists.
As southern leaders carried out their secession plans, Buchanan sat idle, unwilling to use
force and unable to persuade the delegates in the Deep South to abandon their efforts to
dissolve the Union. Many of his closest advisors and cabinet members were from the
south and, one by one, left their posts in the nation's capital to support the Southern
cause.
The first step toward secession took place in South Carolina when the state legislature
called a special convention and unanimously voted to secede from the Union. In late
December, Southerners began taking control of federal buildings in the area, but
Buchanan refused to desert Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. When the time came to resupply the garrison, Buchanan realized that sending a U.S. Navy ship to the harbor would
aggravate South Carolinians, and instead ordered a civilian ship to deliver supplies.
However, soldiers stationed outside the harbor fired on the vessel and forced it to
evacuate the waterway without landing its goods. By the end of January, 1861,
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana joined South Carolina in
secession. One month later, Texas left the Union too. Lincoln, unable to take office until
March, watched helplessly as Southerners slowly dismantled the United States.
In February, the leaders of the seceding states met in Montgomery, Alabama, to establish
the Confederate States of America. They selected Jefferson Davis as the president of the
new southern nation. The former member of the U.S. Senate from Mississippi attended
West Point and offered the fledgling government a wealth of military and administrative
experience.
On March 4, 1861, a small crowd gathered in heavily guarded Washington, D.C. to watch
Abraham Lincoln recite the presidential oath. During his inaugural address, the fifty-twoyear-old politician called for all Americans to consider the heritage they share. “We are
not enemies, but friends,” he asserted. “We must not be enemies. Though passion may
have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” The new president emphasized
his intentions to do what was necessary to win the confidence and trust of the people of
the south. He explained that he would not interfere with the institution of slavery in the
states where it existed. With a calm yet strong voice, he firmly reminded Americans that
secession was illegal. As he concluded his speech, Lincoln spoke directly to the
secessionists, “In ‘your' hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in 'mine', is
the momentous issue of civil war.”
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Back at Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson informed Lincoln and his administration
that the fort was running dangerously low on provisions, estimating that only four to six
weeks of supplies were left. Anderson believed that Lincoln would acknowledge the
seriousness of the situation and order the men to evacuate the fort. Lincoln, however,
remained silent for nearly a month before sending unarmed boats to Charleston Harbor to
deliver the goods. Armed reinforcements stood by in case the Confederates opened fire.
Neither Lincoln nor Davis wanted to order the first strike. Lincoln hoped to end the
confrontation without military force. Davis, who had spent many years in the service of
his country, was hesitant to fire, unprovoked, on the Stars and Stripes. But gaining
control of Fort Sumter was the key to Southern war strategy and Davis ordered the
soldiers vacate the fort immediately. He moved quickly before the supply boats reached
the fort. When Anderson refused to leave, Confederate forces lobbed the first artillery
shells onto the fort. After several hours and a barrage of thousands of artillery rounds,
Anderson reluctantly surrendered.
When news of the incident reached President Lincoln, he called for the border southern
states still in the Union to participate in suppressing the rebellion. He planned to send
military forces from each state to South Carolina to take back the fort. Although many
states had wavered on remaining in the Union or joining the new Confederacy, Lincoln's
demand to enter war against South Carolina pushed Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,
and Arkansas to secede, and the Confederate States of America expanded to eleven
states.
35. Secession - Mobilization
The artillery shells fired by Confederate soldiers on Fort Sumter, which was still federal
property and controlled by U.S. military forces, marked the start of the Civil War.
Lincoln shifted his attention from finding a peaceful end to the North-South conflict, to
mobilizing military forces to defend the United States from the Confederates, whom he
now considered enemy aggressors. On April 15, 1861, three days after the barrage of
shells rained down on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen to
defend the nation’s honor.
Southern leaders considered Lincoln’s call for troops the same as a declaration of war
against the Confederacy. As states formally seceded from the Union, more and more U.S.
soldiers defected to join the Confederate army. Nearly one-third of United States officers
on active duty resigned their posts, including Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston, the
highest ranking officer to defect, and Colonel Robert E. Lee, who tendered his
resignation just two days after being offered the command of all Union forces. In a letter
to Union General in Chief Winfield Scott, Lee regretfully ended his association with the
United States military.
“Since my interview with you…I have felt that I ought no longer to retain my
commission in the Army. I therefore tender my resignation, which I request you will
recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle it
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has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted the best years of
my life, and all the ability I possessed.”
At the start of the war, eager volunteers for the North and South raced to join the battle.
Many believed the war would last only three to four months. As the fighting continued,
however, and volunteer pools dried up, it became clear to both sides that something had
to be done to lure more men to enlist. Bonuses were paid to those who signed up, but that
still did not generate the necessary manpower. After nearly a year of fighting, the
Confederacy established the first military draft in American history. Several months later,
the Union introduced its own draft.
But not everyone heard the call of duty. Days after the Confederate Congress passed the
act, the law was amended to exclude a variety of professionals, including government
officials, postal workers, academics, and pharmacists. Wealthy and prominent individuals
on both sides also avoided military service by paying for substitutes. One of the more
famous people to take advantage of this option was Grover Cleveland, future president of
the United States, who paid between $150 and $300 to have an immigrant assume his
military role. Draft protesters, primarily those less prosperous or out of work, detested the
exemptions and complained that the poor man was fighting the rich man’s war. Riots
broke out throughout the north, many free blacks and wealthy white men were harassed
or attacked.
The number of lives lost increased rapidly as Civil War battles became more intense and
violent. At the start of the war, many soldiers hesitated when firing because they might
know the enemy personally. It was not uncommon for the war to separate friends and
even families. Ben Hardin Helm, brother-in-law of the First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln,
refused a major’s commission in the Union to fight for the Confederacy. Many families,
especially from border states, had some siblings enlist in the Union military and others
join the Confederate army.
Union or Confederate support was not always decided by a geographical line dividing the
north and south. More than 300,000 soldiers from slave states declared their loyalty to the
Union, while many Northerners marched south to defend the new Confederacy.
Thousands of soldiers, once classmates at West Point, often encountered each other again
on the battlefield as enemies.
The need for manpower prompted Lincoln to tap a large northern resource—the black
population. Although white Northerners generally backed the war against slavery, they
did not necessarily favor giving blacks equal rights. Many people feared that once blacks
were freed, they would migrate to the north to challenge whites for jobs and enter the
world once enjoyed only by white citizens. Even the president believed that while slaves
should be set free, blacks should not be entitled to the same privileges as whites. He
worried that by freeing the slaves, he would destroy any chance of reuniting the United
States, which was his ultimate goal.
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“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it
by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving
others alone, I would also do that.” – Abraham Lincoln, 1862
A growing number of citizens in the north and many Republicans in Congress pressed for
emancipation to deprive the South of its labor force. In 1862, Congress passed the
Confiscation Act, which allowed the federal government to seize land from traitorous
Southerners and free their slaves.
Lincoln eventually penned the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in areas in
rebellion against the Unites States. Border states, and select federally operated locations
throughout the south, were exempt to avoid losing their support during the war. Lincoln
originally wanted to conduct a gradual emancipation with compensation for slaveholders.
But he realized that something had to be done soon, and freeing the slaves would possibly
win support from European countries. After the battle at Antietam, a victory that shifted
the momentum of the war in the North's favor, the president publicly announced the
Emancipation Proclamation, which he ordered effective January 1, 1863. Rather than free
individual slaves, the Proclamation chipped away at the institution. Every Union victory
on the battlefields loosened the South's stranglehold on slavery. As word of the
Proclamation spread throughout the southern states, slaves raced in droves toward Union
lines and freedom.
Many slaves who escaped to the north joined the military. Before the Emancipation
Proclamation, black volunteers, free or slave, were rejected by the military. By the end of
the war, nearly 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had served the Union, with more than
80 percent coming from southern states. Although black soldiers in the Civil War
typically performed menial tasks and earned less pay than their white counterparts, their
contributions to the Union's victory were crucial and honorable.
36. The Civil War - Military Strategy
When the Civil War began, there were fewer than 20,000 soldiers in the national army,
and thousands of those troops soon moved south to fight for the Confederacy. The
secession of Virginia also prompted a large exodus of some of the military’s most
experienced officers. President Lincoln quickly called for northern states to send
volunteers, totaling 75,000, to join the Union army. The Confederacy did not have an
established army or navy and also turned to militia groups from the southern states to
supply soldiers.
As leaders for both sides mobilized their troops, strategic plans began to take shape. It
became obvious that politics would play a major role in military tactics. Southerners
sought their independence and prepared for a defensive battle while Northerners
developed offensive campaigns to preserve the Union. Lincoln believed that the time to
negotiate had passed and Northerners would have to physically overpower the
Confederates to win control of the southern states.
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The Union’s attention focused directly on Richmond, Virginia, the new capital of the
Confederacy. During the spring of 1861, the Confederate government voted to move its
capital from Montgomery, Alabama to the larger city in Virginia where railroad
transportation was more readily available. The move also underscored the Confederacy’s
dedication to defend the Upper South. The new location placed the Northern and
Southern capitals within 100 miles of each other. As events unfolded, the area became
one of the war’s most active theaters of operation.
When Lincoln announced the call for troops, he requested that the men sign three-month
service agreements. Neither side figured the war would last that long. Southerners hoped
that Northerners would tire of the war and give in to the Confederacy’s demands.
However, Southerners misjudged the Union’s commitment to reunite the nation, and
Northerners failed to realize the difficulty of subduing the Confederate army.
When Southerners attacked Fort Sumter, many northern politicians rallied around
Lincoln. Democrat Stephen Douglas, whom Lincoln defeated for the presidency, offered
the Republican leader his support. "There can be no neutrals in this war," said Douglas,
"only patriots or traitors."
After a few failed attempts by Northerners to advance into enemy territory in Virginia,
Lincoln gathered his advisors to discuss their options. The president then decided to
initiate a blockade on all southern ports and gain control of the Mississippi River.
Referred to as the Anaconda Plan, Lincoln intended to cut off all routes to the south,
essentially placing a stranglehold on imports and exports. If the Union could stop
weapons, food, and clothing from entering the southern states, and prevent cotton and
tobacco sales, Lincoln rationalized that he could starve the Southerners into surrendering.
The fighting was not always limited to the battlefield. In Congress, Republicans and
Democrats clashed over legislation to support the war, and not everyone agreed on how
to finance the campaign. A group of Democrats, called the "Copperheads," opposed any
effort to support the fighting. Some say they got their name from the copper pennies they
wore around their necks; others claim their enemies named them after the poisonous
snake. The group planned to get enough followers elected to win control of Congress and
force peace negotiations. Although they were not considered disloyal to the Union, they
did not generate much support from Northerners who had friends and family members in
the military.
Many Southerners theorized that European nations would support their independence.
They believed that England would like to see the United States split to eliminate the
threat to their economic and territorial ambitions. However, a wholesale endorsement
never materialized because the majority of Britons detested slavery. England and France
did declare themselves neutral and allowed merchants from the two countries to trade
with both Southern and Northern forces. The Confederacy, however, never received
exclusive support from foreign nations.
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The high-level military strategies for the North and South continued to be attack and
defend. Union soldiers attempted to advance on southern soil to capture Confederate
land, while Southerners entrenched themselves in key locations to defend their territory.
36. The Civil War - The Battles
With the beginning of the war still fresh in their minds, and expectations that fighting
would be intense but short, Union troops were eager for action. Cries of “On to
Richmond” echoed across the hills surrounding Washington as the troops advanced on
Confederate forces near Bull Run, approximately 30 miles southwest of the northern
capital. President Lincoln believed an attack on a smaller Confederate unit would boost
morale and clear a path to Richmond, where he hoped to capture the Confederate capital.
A quick end to the war would save the Union and avoid severe damage to the economy.
The inexperienced Union troops, however, encountered determined Confederate soldiers
who refused to give up their ground. On July 21, 1861, a Virginia brigade led by Thomas
J. Jackson blocked the Yankee advance like a stone wall. Jackson became a southern war
hero and the nickname “Stonewall” Jackson stuck. The counterattack by the Southerners
effectively pushed back the Union troops. Many Yankee soldiers even dropped their guns
and supplies in their hasty retreat.
The impressive win at Bull Run greatly boosted the Confederates soldiers’ confidence—
and egos. Southerners bragged about their victory and believed they had proven their
military superiority. A feeling of pride swept through the south and many thought the war
was over. Southern enlistment numbers dropped sharply, and plans to advance through
northern territory to capture Washington were slow to materialize. Although the victory
over the Union army at Bull Run was a mighty success, it would later be discovered that
it actually harmed the cause of the Confederacy.
The humbling defeat at Bull Run required the Union army to regroup. The Yankees made
plans for a longer and more difficult struggle. Congress authorized the enlistment of
500,000 troops. This time, however, they were signed to three year agreements to make
sure there was enough manpower to survive an extended war.
In late 1861, Lincoln appointed General George McClellan to lead a major Union force
called the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln believed that McClellan, a well-liked and
passionate leader, would be able to drill the Union troops into battle-ready shape.
McClellan worked on raising the morale of his troops and preparing them for war. But
the red-haired general was overly cautious and believed that the Confederate army
heavily outnumbered him. He expanded the training for the Yankee troops for several
more months. The Union army’s inactivity worried Lincoln. The Commander-in-Chief
wanted to engage the enemy and move ahead with his plans to capture Richmond and
divide the Confederacy by marching through Georgia and the Carolinas.
Lincoln finally ordered McClellan to advance. The general formulated a plan to bypass
the difficult terrain of Virginia and use a water route to approach Richmond. The capital
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city rested on the western portion of a narrow peninsula formed by the James and York
Rivers. The Peninsula Campaign called for McClellan and about 100,000 troops to
slowly work their way up the James River toward Richmond. In the spring of 1862, as the
Union soldiers moved along the eastern coastline toward the peninsula, fighting in the
area moved to the water. The USS Monitor and the Confederate Merrimack participated
in history’s first fight between armored ships. The powerful ironclads battled to a
standstill when the Merrimack began taking on water and returned to Norfolk.
The Union’s naval technology and perseverance secured the waterway for the North and
helped the Yankees capture Yorktown. McClellan proceeded up the river where he was
scheduled to meet up with reinforcements before attacking the capital. Lincoln, however,
diverted the reinforcements to attack Stonewall Jackson’s regiment that was raising
havoc in the Shenandoah Valley and threatening the security of Washington, D.C.
With the unexpected change in plans, McClellan’s group stalled near Richmond. The
delay gave Robert E. Lee time to launch an attack on the Union troops. The Seven Days’
battles took place between June 26 and July 2, 1862 and eventually forced McClellan
back to the coast. More than 10,000 Union soldiers died and nearly 20,000 Southerners
lost their lives in the week-long fighting. Once again, the Confederacy pinned an
embarrassing loss on the North and forced Union leaders to re-evaluate their plans.
Lincoln grew tired of McClellan’s leisurely pace and intense focus on capturing
Richmond without demolishing the army protecting it. The president realized that to win
the war, enemy forces had to be dismantled. McClellan’s vision of war as a chess game
featuring more strategy than fighting, did not appeal to Lincoln or Congress.
Consequently, the president relieved the general of his authority and placed him under
General Henry Halleck.
Many historians believe that if McClellan had not surrendered his position outside
Richmond and had captured the city when he had the chance, the war might have ended,
the Union might have been saved, and slavery might have remained as it was before
fighting began. Up to that point, Northerners were still fighting to save the Union, not to
eliminate slavery. However, by losing another battle to the South, the war was prolonged.
Lincoln, who was determined to make the Confederacy pay for the damage it had caused
to the Union, focused more attention on freeing the slaves and began work on the
Emancipation Proclamation.
Now in charge of Union troops in Virginia, General Halleck decided to pull back his
forces. Robert E. Lee took advantage of the Yankee regrouping to quickly advance his
men north. The group overpowered General John Pope’s regiment and forced them to
retreat from Bull Run, the same site where 13 months earlier Union forces suffered their
first Civil War defeat.
Reeling from the incompetence of his military leaders, Lincoln again turned to McClellan
to get the Union army back on track. As Lee boldly moved his Confederate forces
northward, McClellan gained information from captured Confederate communications
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that provided details of Lee’s position. In the fall of 1862, McClellan revised his strategy
and eventually cornered Lee and approximately 40,000 Confederate troops between the
Potomac and Antietam Creek. McClellan maneuvered his men to end the battle and
capture Lee. He still had reserves available and Union troops arrived by the hour to lend
their support. But darkness fell and McClellan held his positions. When morning broke,
Lee anticipated an aggressive attack from the Northerners but none ever came. An entire
day passed and McClellan still refused to order his men to advance on the trapped
Southerners. As night fell, the Confederate soldiers scampered across the Potomac and
back into Virginia.
McClellan had successfully prevented the Confederates from carrying out their mission,
but again the general failed to claim a victory on the battlefield. And, even worse, he
allowed Lee to escape to rebuild his army for another day. Lincoln angrily dismissed
McClellan from his command for a second and final time. Although he was furious that
the Union army did not destroy the Confederate regiments, Lincoln played up the fact
that the Southerners were forced to retreat. He took the opportunity to announce to the
public the Emancipation Proclamation.
Southern forces continued to tally victories. But during a battle at Chancellorsville,
Virginia, in 1863, the Confederate army suffered a severe blow—Stonewall Jackson was
mistakenly shot by his own men when he returned from a reconnaissance mission. The
loss of Jackson’s exceptional leadership and battlefield experience forced the Confederate
army to re-evaluate its strategy.
After Antietam, Lincoln appointed a series of generals to lead the Army of the Potomac,
and each commander was just as successful in failure as his predecessor. In late June,
1863, General George Meade was handed the reins of the army. He and Lee were friends
and served together during the Mexican War. When Lee heard of Meade’s promotion, he
knew he was up against a formidable opponent. Meade took command of nearly 100,000
men at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where the soldiers were battling 76,000 Confederate
troops. For three days, between July 1 and July 3, momentum shifted from the South to
the North and back to the South.
On July 3, when Union guns went silent and Confederate soldiers thought they had the
upper hand, Southern General George Pickett led a charge against Union lines. However,
as the Confederates marched closer and closer, Union forces sprang back to life and
annihilated the advancing divisions. The Union suffered more than 23,000 casualties, the
South 28,000. The Battle of Gettysburg became the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.
Later that year on a cold autumn day, President Lincoln visited the site where so many
men lost their lives. He was scheduled to dedicate the cemetery and offer a short speech.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was quickly branded as “ludicrous” and “silly” by critics,
but it would become one of the most famous speeches ever spoken.
In battles taking place in the west, Lincoln finally found a general he could rely on.
General Ulysses S. Grant was a hard drinking West Point graduate who was commonly
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stationed at remote frontier posts. Grant’s first success in the Civil War happened in
February, 1862, when he led the capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donaldson on the
Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers.
After northern forces seized New Orleans, Grant led his army to attack Vicksburg,
Mississippi. The Confederacy used an area between Vicksburg and Port Hudson,
Louisiana to transport cattle and other supplies from the west to southern cities. After
intense fighting, Grant seized Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. Less than a week later, he dealt
the Confederates a significant blow with the capture of Port Hudson. Grant’s victories
coupled with the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg shifted the tide of momentum in the
Union’s favor. The change of events forced England and France to cancel major contracts
to supply weapons and ships to the South.
By the summer of 1864, the North had General Lee on the ropes several times but they
could never deliver the knockout punch. As Union forces continued to chase Lee and his
company throughout the Upper South, General William Tecumseh Sherman marched his
troops through Georgia to the sea. In his wake he left Confederate cities and towns in
ruins so Southerners would not have anything left to use against the Union troops.
Sherman told Grant that if a regiment of Northern soldiers could march through the
south, Confederates would realize that the Union could do whatever it wanted. Sherman’s
march marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. The South’s resistance
began to weaken as Confederate soldiers grew weary of being outnumbered. On
December 22, 1864, Sherman captured Savannah, Georgia, and in February overpowered
southern troops in Columbia, South Carolina.
Southern forces continued to deteriorate as Union troops conquered more Confederate
cities. Then, on April 3, 1865, Grant ordered more than 100,000 troops to surrounded Lee
and his 30,000 men outside Richmond. The decorated Confederate leader realized the end
was near and resistance was futile. On April 9, 1865, Lee and Grant met at Appomattox
Court House to agree to the terms of surrender. Per Lincoln’s orders, the Union’s only
requirement was to have the Confederate soldiers lay down their arms.
After fours years of fighting and 600,000 soldiers killed—totaling nearly as many lives
lost than all American wars combined—the Civil War finally ended. One out of every
four Confederate soldiers died or suffered debilitating injuries while one in ten Union
troops lost their lives. The year following the surrender, Mississippi allocated one-fifth of
its budget to buy artificial limbs for its veterans. The South, which lost one-fourth of its
white male population between the ages of 20 and 40, vowed to rebuild its land and
remember its heroes.
36. The Civil War - The Economy During the Civil War
The Civil War affected northern and southern economies differently. When the war
began, the north, with its large factories and well-established companies, generated a
great deal of the country’s business. After the first volleys of battle, the north experienced
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a slight depression due to the uncertainty of the war and the loss of southern business
associations. However, after the initial shock passed, the northern economy flourished.
The federal government moved quickly to plan for its financial future. Congress
increased excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol, tariffs were created to protect
manufactures from foreign competition, and an income tax was introduced for the first
time in the history of the nation.
Congress also passed a series of measures that were long desired by the north but
consistently killed by southern opposition. In 1862, the Homestead Act provided 160
acres to settlers who agreed to farm the land for five years. Also passed was the Morrill
Land Grant Act which offered states land, approximately 30,000 acres for each
Congressman, to support agricultural colleges.
In 1863, the National Banking Act was authorized by Congress to stimulate the sale of
government bonds and to establish a uniform currency. Banks that joined the National
Banking System could issue reliable paper money and buy government bonds. The
system functioned until 1913 when it was replaced by the Federal Reserve System.
As Northerners prospered, Southerners experienced an abundance of financial
difficulties. The blockades ordered by Lincoln cut off money generated from the import
and export goods. Since the South relied heavily on revenue from the sale of cotton and
tobacco, the backbone of their financial system collapsed. In many instances, Southerners
were forced to recycle goods because they had no way to receive new products. For
example, as the condition of railroad tracks declined, Southerners were forced to pull
rails from one line to repair another. Metal items, like the weights from windows, were
melted down to create bullets for the troops.
The harsh times did not deter citizens from trying to improve the conditions. When
hundreds of thousands of men were called to duty, women in the north and south stepped
up to take their places in the farms and factories. Many women also trained as nurses to
tend to the growing number of injured soldiers.
The huge armies created a massive demand for clothing, shoes, and blankets. Companies
raced to keep up with production orders and turned to machines to lend support. Since
most of the manufacturing industry was located in the north, and tight blockades choked
Southern trade, Yankee businessmen grew wealthy while Confederate farmers grew
hungry. With each passing day, the war slowly squeezed the life from the once proud
southern states.
37. Abolition of Slavery - Lincoln and Civil Liberties
President Abraham Lincoln was a minority president, having been elected in 1860 with
only 40 percent of the popular vote. He inherited a country divided by secession and at
the brink of war, and an opposing foe in Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Lincoln
had many challenges to overcome to make his mark in history.
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Lincoln had never accepted the legality of secession, and during his inauguration he
vowed to preserve the Union and uphold the Constitution. However, his initial acts as
President reflected his belief that, at least temporarily, one vow must be broken to uphold
the other. Lincoln believed that bending the Constitution was necessary to preserve the
Union—and even the Constitution itself.
The Constitution states in Article I, Section VIII, paragraph 12 that only Congress can
increase the size of the Federal Army, but with a declaration Lincoln did just that. Several
of the nation’s military institutions were located in the south, giving them a significant
military advantage with better trained and organized forces. Lincoln felt his only chance
would be to overwhelm the forces of the south by outnumbering them. Unfortunately,
Congress was not in session, so Lincoln took it upon himself to enlarge the army by
75,000 men. Congress later approved the measure in a display of solidarity, but a few
feathers had been ruffled over the expropriation of power.
Lincoln also revoked some civil liberties during his tenure without the prior approval of
Congress. The writ of habeas corpus was, and is, one of the basic tenets of American’s
civil liberties. It allows the examination of the circumstances of a person’s arrest and
imprisonment to determine if that individual should be detained. The purpose of habeas
corpus is to prevent unjust or illegal imprisonment.
Lincoln negated the writ for the purpose of summarily arresting anti-Unionists. This act
was in open defiance of the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney’s ruling in
the 1861 case of Ex Parte Merryman, which stated that the suspension of habeas corpus
was unconstitutional without an act of Congress.
In addition, Lincoln violated other constitutional liberties during his Presidency. These
violations include the suspension of several newspapers and the arrest of their editors on
grounds that they were obstructing the war effort. He also instituted supervised voting in
the border states, making voters march between two lines of armed troops. Many voters
were intimidated by this process, especially since it was the norm to provide ballots on
paper colored to identify a voter’s party affiliation, but Lincoln believed these actions
were necessary for the good of the Union.
37. Abolition of Slavery - Emancipation Proclamation
Although President Lincoln had a reputation for being an abolitionist, his political record
indicated this label was not completely accurate. Lincoln focused his political stance
regarding slavery on the prevention of its spread into the territories. After becoming
president he initially resisted laws by the federal government called the Confiscation Acts
that pushed the Union toward abolition. The first of these acts, the Confiscation Act of
1861, approved on August 6, 1861, granted freedom for all slaves who had served in the
Confederate military. It also allowed for Union seizure of all rebel property. This act was
only enforced in areas where the Union Army had a presence.
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President Lincoln resisted this act because he feared the effect it would have on the
political climate. He worried this act might influence the border states—so critical to the
Northern cause—toward secession to protect their slavery system. In an attempt to curb
the emancipation, he ordered Union commanders to refuse escaped and liberated slaves
admittance to their military units.
However, Congress pushed forward toward emancipation with a second Confiscation Act
on July 17, 1862. This act was more direct, declaring freedom for the slaves of civilian
and military Confederate officials. Although a vital step toward complete emancipation,
this act also was only enforced in areas with a Union military presence.
Lincoln continued to refrain from offering full-fledged support of abolition, believing that
the political climate was not ready to support it. The abolitionists grew impatient, but
Lincoln believed that such a revolutionary change should only follow a significant
victory on the battlefield. His opportunity came following the battle of Antietam.
Antietam Creek, Maryland, was the site of a showdown between the Confederate General
Robert E. Lee and the Union General George McClellan on September 17, 1862. It
proved to be the bloodiest single day of fighting of the entire Civil War. The battle had no
clear winner, but the Union demonstrated surprising strength, giving Lincoln the positive
political climate he sought for his proclamation.
The preliminary proclamation came on September 23, 1862, immediately following
Antietam. In this address, Lincoln outlined the terms of freedom for slaves in states that
were still in rebellion. It also indicated that Lincoln’s final Emancipation Proclamation
would be issued January 1, 1863. Despite its title, the Emancipation Proclamation did not
immediately free any slaves since it could not be enforced in those states it targeted.
Although the Proclamation foreshadowed the end of slavery, those expecting an
immediate effect were sorely disappointed.
Lincoln’s purpose for the Proclamation was not the immediate freedom of all slaves.
Rather, he hoped the declaration would weaken the moral cause of the South, while
strengthening the Union’s moral cause. He felt that with the Proclamation the Civil War
now had a “higher purpose,” which Lincoln sought to leverage for the Union.
Reaction to the Proclamation was varied. Some questioned the constitutionality of the
decree, while others ignored it completely. Border states were not affected by the
Proclamation but they continued to watch Lincoln’s actions with a wary eye.
Northerners—particularly those in the northwest—took a harsher view, believing that
Lincoln had again acted with too-heavy a hand, while abolitionists approved of the
measure and sought stricter enforcement. Meanwhile, Southerners continued to fear an
insurrection by their slaves.
Since most slaves were illiterate, news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached them
largely by word of mouth. About 800,000 slaves should have been freed by the
declaration, but none gained immediate freedom. Slave owners did not voluntarily free
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their slaves, but many blacks took advantage of the declaration to leave their owners and
join the Union Army to support those who had upheld their freedom.
Nearly 200,000 black soldiers played an important role in the Civil War, with 16
eventually earning Medals of Honor, the nation’s highest honor for valor. However, they
faced great challenges throughout the war, even from the people who were employing
them to fight. Black Union soldiers received a net monthly pay of $7, while their white
counterparts received almost double that amount.
Black soldiers also faced the threat of torture and death if they were captured by the
Confederacy. President Lincoln declared that the Union would retaliate if black Union
Prisoners of War were tortured by their Confederate captors, but this declaration was
largely ignored. In light of these threats, it is noteworthy that former slaves accepted the
risks of military service over slavery and the risks of trying to integrate into civilian
society.
These former slaves filled a void created by increasing desertions of Union soldiers. The
deserters were unhappy with the shift in the purpose of the war. Many men felt that the
only true purpose should be the fight for unity of the North and the South, and they were
unhappy that the cause had shifted to include abolitionism.
The Emancipation Proclamation also had a profound effect on the congressional election
of 1862. Northerners spoke with their votes, letting the administration know that they
were not happy with the current political tide. Although it was not a presidential election
year, Congressional elections saw several changes from the previous election.
Republicans faired poorly in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and even Republican
President Lincoln’s home state of Illinois, although the Democrats still did not have the
numbers to take control of Congress.
Another important political effect of the Proclamation was the changing sentiment in
Europe. During the Battle of Antietam, the British and French governments had been on
the verge of rushing in to provide mediation, but that urgency cooled with General Lee’s
retreat across the Potomac. When the Emancipation Proclamation was declared,
European working classes sympathized with the measure and the Union won its favor.
With this action, Europe no longer felt intervention was necessary.
37. Abolition of Slavery - Thirteenth Amendment
The effect of the Emancipation Proclamation on slaves was more emotional than
physical. Many slaves were free in theory but had been convinced to remain working for
their former owners out of loyalty or a lack of alternatives. Many simply did not believe
that the Emancipation Proclamation guaranteed their freedom, and those who did
understand the Proclamation realized that it did not guarantee their safety if they left their
masters.
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Those doubts would finally be laid to rest after the war’s conclusion with the Thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution. With these words, “Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly
convicted, shall exist within the U.S. or any place subject to their jurisdiction,” Congress
completely and finally abolished slavery. The Amendment was approved in December of
1865 with a two-thirds vote in Congress, and went in effect fully when three-fourths of
the states ratified it.
Although Lincoln’s proclamation had put abolition in motion, he was not able to see it
through to completion. Attending Ford’s Theater in Washington on Good Friday, April
14, 1865, less than a week after General Lee’s surrender, he was shot in the head by John
Wilkes Booth, a radical pro-Southern actor.
Lincoln’s assassination actually served to improve his reputation as a powerful historical
figure. Despite his numerous positive attributes, Lincoln, a product of the most divisive
period in U.S. history, made many political enemies and garnered limited popular
support. However, his sudden and dramatic death blurred the edges of his shortcomings
from the memories of his detractors and promoted him to legendary status. He is
remembered for his vision of a nation where all people “are created equal,” as he stated in
his Gettysburg Address delivered during the Civil War near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on
November 19, 1863.
Lincoln’s Vice President, Andrew Johnson, was never quite comfortable filling Lincoln’s
shoes. Nonetheless, Johnson attempted to follow Lincoln’s plan for abolition and urged
the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment. Undoubtedly, both men had a hand in
ending slavery but ultimately, victory on the battlefield was the true emancipator.
38. Ramifications of the Civil War - Election of 1864
The presidential election of 1864 transpired at a time when the country was divided, both
geographically and politically, by war. The outcome of the election would ultimately be
decided by swiftly changing political tides.
The majority of Republicans backed the current president, Abraham Lincoln; but Lincoln
had a significant number of detractors even within his own party. They accused Lincoln
of being too eager to compromise, lacking conviction, and of offering up ill-timed jokes,
putting Lincoln’s renomination at first in doubt.
However, his Republican supporters had a plan. Dissention within the Democratic Party,
due in part to the recent death of their leader, Stephen A. Douglas, divided the northern
Democrats into three factions: War Democrats, Peace Democrats, and Copperheads. War
Democrats put patriotism above party loyalty and supported Lincoln, and the Republicans
sought an alliance with them. A partnership with the War Democrats brought a temporary
end to the Republican Party, as the new alliance named themselves the Union Party.
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Lincoln won the nomination of the Union Party, and selected Andrew Johnson as the
Vice Presidential candidate on his ticket. Johnson, a War Democrat and slave owner from
Tennessee, had never attended school but taught himself to read. Apprenticed to a tailor
at the age of ten, he became active in politics as a teenager and stood out as a powerful
orator. Johnson rose through the political ranks to become a congressman, governor of
Tennessee, and a United States senator. He campaigned for the rights of impoverished
white planters, but refused to secede from the Union with his home state. Lincoln
believed that choosing Johnson as his Vice-Presidential running mate would give him the
widespread appeal necessary to achieve re-election.
The Peace Democrats were party loyalists, and they withheld their support of Lincoln but
did not take any radical action against him. The Copperheads, however, openly
demonstrated their disdain for the Lincoln administration with physical and political
attacks against Lincoln, the draft, and emancipation.
The Copperheads, aptly named after the snake that strikes without warning, were led by a
notorious man named Clement L. Vallandingham. Venomously outspoken against the
war, he was eventually brought before a military tribunal on the charge of making
treasonable utterances. Convicted in 1863, he served a prison term and was banished
from the Union.
However, Vallandingham did not quietly go away. He eventually resurfaced in Canada,
and ran for the governorship of his home state of Ohio from foreign soil. He was not
victorious in that election but did garner a significant number of votes. He eventually
made his way back to Ohio, but was never prosecuted for violating his exile.
After the War Democrats joined forces with the Republicans, the Copperheads and the
Peace Democrats comprised what was left of the Democratic Party. They nominated
General George B. McClellan as their candidate for president in 1864. Known
affectionately as “Little Mac” by his soldiers, McClellan was a stern perfectionist who
demanded precision from his troops. However, his methodical practices had earned him
the nickname “Tardy George” from his critics, including President Lincoln, who in 1862
had grown weary of McClellan’s reluctance to move forward on the battlefield. Lincoln
finally issued a direct order for McClellan to approach and fight at the Peninsula
Campaign, where the Seven Days Battles occurred. Although McClellan was defeated at
the Peninsula, he had managed to garner enough popular support to earn the Democratic
nomination for President in 1864.
Throughout the presidential campaign the country was at war, and the campaign itself
was no different. The Union Party hurled insults at the Democrats and the Democrats
responded in kind. Lincoln began to grow despondent, believing that he had lost the
campaign even before the first vote was cast. But the face of the war was constantly
changing, and the political tide rolled back in Lincoln’s favor.
The catalyst for this change was a series of Northern victories in Mobile, Alabama;
Atlanta, Georgia; and the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. With these victories, Lincoln
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had the faith of the people, particularly the soldiers. Leaving nothing to chance, many
Northern soldiers were furloughed during the election to improve Lincoln’s vote count.
Other Northern soldiers were allowed to vote multiple times to log the votes of their
counterparts who were still on the battlefields. When the results were tallied, Lincoln
carried the popular vote by only about 400,000 votes out of four million cast, but he
garnered 212 Electoral College votes to McClellan’s 21.
38. Ramifications of the Civil War - Effects of the War on the South
Lincoln interpreted his re-election as a validation of his war policy—battling against the
South for unity and emancipation. He charged General Ulysses S. Grant with the
responsibility of surging forward toward Richmond, the Confederate capitol. Grant’s
troops were finally successful in April of 1865, 1865, when Confederate General Robert
E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse.
While the North savored the victory, the South took account of the costs of the war. The
physical destruction in the South was profound. Major cities, such as Richmond,
Charleston, and Atlanta had been burned to the ground, and many smaller towns had
suffered the same fate. The physical destruction extended to individual homes, including
many impressive mansions that were reduced to shambles.
The bountiful cotton fields were badly scarred, as well. Entire crops had been burned by
Northern soldiers, and those that had escaped intentional destruction had fallen into an
unproductive disarray of weeds.
Livestock on the southern plantations had suffered a similar fate. When Northern soldiers
invaded the south, many livestock were killed or left to fend for themselves after their
shelters and food sources were burned.
Southerners who returned to what was left of their homes not only had to endure this
overwhelming physical destruction, but also the economic effects of the war. The
Southerners had to abandon their wartime currency and return to Union currency, which
had undergone wartime changes itself. Banks and businesses in the south had been shut
down during the war. Planters had no source of capital with which to rebuild their homes
or their livelihoods. Crops could not be restored without seed, and no seed was available
for purchase.
It is estimated that Southern planters had lost over $2 million in human chattel when their
slaves were emancipated. Any crops that might be salvaged lay idle because planters had
lost their labor source. Southerners who had once lived the high life were now povertystricken, struggling to get by. It would be ten years before the South’s agricultural output
would return to pre-Civil War numbers, and even then the most productive region would
be the burgeoning southwest.
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38. Ramifications of the Civil War - Reconstruction Begins
While Southerners were mourning the loss of their financially lucrative labor source,
more than four million former slaves were trying to find their way as freedmen. The
majority of the emancipated blacks were illiterate, with limited skills and financial
resources.
The one factor that connected most former slaves was a thirst for religion. Many masters
had allowed their slaves to worship beside them, but with the Emancipation Proclamation
former slaves began developing their own churches. Between 1850 and 1870, the black
Baptist Church had grown by 350,000 members, and the African Methodist Episcopal
Church quadrupled its membership. Many blacks were driven toward literacy largely out
of their desire to read the Bible.
In response to the desire for literacy, black schools were established—some with black
teachers and others with white teachers, primarily female missionaries from the American
Missionary Association. It was not uncommon to see grandmothers attend school
alongside their grandchildren. However, there were not enough teachers to meet the
demands, and eventually the federal government stepped in to help.
At President Lincoln’s encouragement, along with pressure from influential Northern
abolitionists, Congress developed the Freedmen’s Bureau on March 8, 1865. This early
social welfare program was dedicated to educating, training, and providing financial and
moral support for former slaves. One strong supporter of the Bureau was Union general
Oliver O. Howard, the eventual founder and president of Howard University in
Washington, D.C.
With Howard’s support, over 200,000 blacks learned to read through the programs
offered by the Freedmen’s Bureau. Unfortunately, the system became corrupt and it was
never able to achieve its potential. The catch-phrase of the day was “40 acres and a
mule,” as that was what was promised to the emancipated slaves, with the plan to settle
them on land confiscated from the Confederates. However, corrupt officials usually kept
the land for themselves and manipulated many former slaves into signing labor contracts
that essentially placed them back in a slave-like environment.
White Southerners campaigned against the Freedmen’s Bureau. Many felt that although
they had lost the right to own slaves, they still possessed racial superiority. The
Freedmen’s Bureau threatened that presumption. When President Lincoln was
assassinated in April of 1865, and Andrew Johnson stepped into office, the Freedman’s
Bureau lost an ally in the White House. Johnson, a Southerner, had been raised with the
same racial biases as those who opposed the Freedmen’s Bureau, and he allowed the
program to expire in 1872.
Despite its flaws, the Freedmen’s Bureau had helped a majority of former slaves achieve
some degree of success. Freed slaves began to develop a political unity and refused to be
discouraged. Their primary political vehicle was the northern-based Union League, which
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educated freedmen on civil responsibility and campaigned for Republican leaders who
supported the freedmen’s cause.
Blacks themselves also began to assume political roles. Sixteen black men served in the
Senate and the House of Representatives between 1868 and 1876, and numerous others
took on roles in state and local government. This was much to the dismay of their former
masters, who scorned the white allies of these black political leaders.
The whites who allied themselves with blacks became known as either “scalawags” or
“carpetbaggers.” Scalawags were Southerners who opposed secession and were accused
of harming the South by helping the blacks and stealing from their state treasuries.
Carpetbaggers were Northerners who were accused of putting all their worldly
belongings into a carpetbag suitcase and coming to the south at war’s end to gain
personal profit and power. The name-calling on occasion erupted into violence,
suggesting that Southerners believed that they were superior not only to blacks, but to
black-friendly whites, as well. This disharmony was typical of the early stages of
Reconstruction.
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