Download slaves in the “rebelling” states (seceded Southern states)

CRISIS, CIVIL WAR, AND RECONSTRUCTION II
UNIT 7
CIVIL WAR: A NATION DIVIDED
For decades, sectionalism had split the nation into the free North and the slave South with both attempting to
impose their vision of America on the nation as a whole. The election of Lincoln was seen by many Southerners,
as the end to their position and way of life. Unable to address the problems facing the nation through compromise
the blood of the nation would be spilt in the bloodiest war in American history.
Civil War - a war between organized groups to take control of a nation or region
THE WAR BEGINS
As war seemed inevitable, Abraham Lincoln insisted that above all else the Union must be preserved, by force if
necessary. Lincoln also believed that session was illegal and those the newly formed Confederacy, led by
Jefferson Davis, was illegitimate and that the states were in a state or rebellion.
Battle of Ft. Sumter (1861) – President Lincoln refused to surrender the fort in South Carolina  one of two
forts left in the South still under Union control
- Lincoln attempted to send supplies (food) to the fort to maintain it offering the South an ultimatum:
 allow the ship to pass showing submitting to the Union  you still follow the Union
 or fire on the ship/fort thus taking responsibility in starting the war
- Confederates open fire to take the fort  marks the beginning to the Civil War
- after Fort Sumter, four other states joined the confederacy moving the capital of the Confederacy to
Richmond, VA (100 miles from the Union capital of Washington D.C.
Virginia (April 17), Arkansas (May 6), North Carolina (May 20) and Tennessee (June 8)
the other states will remain loyal to the Union hurting the Southern states economy
border state – made up of four states that had slaves and had not left the union after Ft. Sumter  Kentucky,
Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware
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PLANS AND ADVANTAGES
Anaconda Plan – Union three-part plan to win the war devised by Gen. Winfield Scott
1) blockade – Union naval blockade of the Southern States
2) divide – capture the Mississippi River (and Ohio River) thus dividing the South
3) invade – capturing the major cities and the capital of Richmond
War of Attrition – Confederate plan to draw out a long defensive war that would force the Union to spend its
resources until they tired of war
gain foreign recognition (military, financial, and other aid) to unbalance the Union advantage
Union Advantages: more people, more factories, more railroads, more food, more naval ships, and more money
- the Union forces outnumbered the Confederates in nearly all aspects that mattered with four times
as many people, and two-thirds of the nation’s railroads
- the Union held nearly all the nation’s industry and naval ships, and produced much of the nations
foods supply as southern fields produced cash crops
- to gain the massive Union force need to win the war, Lincoln called for the nation’s first draft with
Union forces around 2 million by the end of the war
draft dodging - in the North, people could legally avoid being drafted by hiring a substitute ($300)
Confederate Advantages: better generals, fighting for a cause, and defending their homes
- most of the war was fought in the South where the Confederates held local support and familiarity
with the terrain in defending their land in a defensive strategy
- when the southern states seceded they took nearly one-third of the military officers with them which
greatly helped found a formidable and well-trained army
Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus – Lincoln suspended this right during the Civil War to deal with
deserters, and northern Democrats who sympathized with the Confederate referred to as Copperheads
writ of habeas corpus – a person’s right not to be imprisoned without being charged with a crime or
given a trial
Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction II
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To finance the war, both sides created taxes, issued bonds ($400 millon), and printed greenbacks (paper money)
- Confederate money was essential worthless leaving Confederate prices to rise nearly 9,000% on
goods devastating the Southern economy (Northern prices only rose 80%)
The war was the first “modern war” due to new widespread use of such technologies as: rifles, bullets, ironclads
(stream-propelled metal warship), grenades, and photography
THE CIVIL WAR
The war was now underway, but without any major conflicts in the first few months. Both sides were eager for a
quick victory that might force the other side to give up the war and surrender.
First Battle of Bull Run (July 1861) – first major battle of the Civil War between nearly 30,000 Union and
Confederate soldiers (2,900 U cas.{McDowell}, 2,000 C cas. {Johnston}
- a see-sawing battle ended with a Confederate victory due to reinforcements late in the battle led by
Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson – one of the most effective Confederate generals of the Civil War and
considered Gen. Robert E. Lee’s right-hand man
- proved the war would not be short  Lincoln changes his service call of 75,000 men to 500,000 men
Battle of the Monitor v. Merrimack (Virginia) (Mar. 1862) – the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Merrimack
(renamed Virginia) attempts to end the Union blockade sinking two ships guarding the James River
- the next day, the Union ironclad, U.S.S. Monitor, arrives and the two ships clash in an unsuccessful
battle to destroy one another  however, the presence of the Monitor kept the Merrimack from break
the blockade
Peninsula Campaign (Mar.-July 1862) – first large-scale Union offensive that attempted to take the Confederate
capital in Richmond, Virginia
George B. McClellan – the over-cautious commander of the Army of the Potomac (main Union army) at
the beginning of the Civil War took nearly 4 months to travel 70 miles from Yorktown to Richmond
- when Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston is wounded, Gen. Robert E. Lee takes command of the
Army of Virginia (main Confederate army) and with his more aggressive tactics, inflicted heavy
casualties on McClellan’s army forcing him to retreat
- Lee would command the Army of Northern Virginia for the remainder of the war
Battle of Shiloh (Apr. 1862) – Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant defeats a Confederate army taking the railroad hub
of Corinth, MS gaining the Union control of western Tennessee and the Mississippi River as far south as
Memphis
the battle cost 23,000 lives, the most in the American history up to that point
Battle for New Orleans (Apr. 1862) – Union forces take the Confederacy’s largest city and trade port in
exporting cotton  Union forces would continue to take forts north of the Mississippi River
Battle of Antietam (Sept. 1862) – the bloodiest single-day battle in American history
(Casualties totaled more than 22,000 (more than the War of 1812 and Mexican-American War
combined)) (12,500 U cas. {McClellan}, 10,300 C cas. {Lee})
a Union victory, the South retreated the next day while McClellan did nothing to pursue
Lee’s defeat convinced the British to wait and see how the war ended after nearly recognizing the
Confederacy’s independence or at least mediating the conflict between the North and South
the first major victory for the Union in the East, gave Lincoln confidence to end slavery in the South
Emancipation Proclamation – issued by President Lincoln after the battle that emancipated (freed)
slaves in the “rebelling” states (seceded Southern states)
made the destruction of slavery a Northern war aim turning the focus of the war from a political
stand-point (states rights) to one of morality and liberation (slavery)  Confederates hope for
international help is crushed (most nations had outlawed slavery)
54th Massachusetts regiment - the first all African American Union regiment to fight in the war
As the first year of the war closed with no clear winner, both sides became more determined to a decisive victory
that would end this bloody war. However, the Union would employ such harsh tactics on the South in the last few
years of the war that they would leave scars on the nation that would last for generations.
Crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction II
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