The Civil War, 1861-1865

Fort Sumter, SC

AdvantagesNorth South

Larger population Defensive war

Loyal Navy More troops/supplies – shorter distances

Strong economy, industry Difficult to blockade East coast

Controlled-banking capital Experienced military leaders

Logistical support Demand for cotton brings financial aid

Well-established central government

Mobilizing for WarBoth sides unpreparedConscription acts

April 1862: ConfederacyFinance

Union Federal spending up 15%

War bonds Paper money “greenbacks”

Legal Tender Act 1862 $150 million

National Banking Act 1863 Confederacy

Political leadership Union

Lincoln’s personality and leadership succeed Overcomes initial problems with respect and

Democrats Confederacy

Jefferson Davis strong leader, with enemies Lack of political unity States vs Davis

First Years of a Long War: 1861-1862 1st Battle of Bull Run

July 1861 Union troops attacked Confederate

troops in VA Union close to victory but Stonewall

Jackson saves the day for Confederates

Ends illusion of a short war Promoted rebel myth

Union Strategy Devised by Gen. Winfield Scott

Use U.S. navy to blockade coast Divide Confederacy into two using

Mississippi River Take Richmond

Peninsula Campaign George B. McClellan Wanted long period of training for

troops Invaded VA March 1862 Stopped by General Robert E. Lee Retreated back over Potomac

2nd Battle of Bull Run Lincoln replaces McClellan General Lee takes advantage Drew Union into a trap and attacked Union forced to withdraw

Antietam Lee invades Maryland (Union territory) Wanted official British recognition McClellan in charge again for Union Union intercepted Lee’s plans Bloodiest single day of combat in war Lee retreated, McClellan does not

pursue Claimed as a Union victory Emancipation Proclamation

Fredericksburg McClellan replaced with Gen. Burnside Recklessly attacked Lee in VA Dec 1862 Union suffered heavy losses

Big ChangesPresidential Powers

Revolutionized financeSecured borders by suspending habeas corpus in MD,

1861 Ex Parte Merryman 1861 Chief justice Roger Tanney declares Lincoln’s actions

unconstitutional Doesn’t stop Lincoln

“Modern” WarRailroadsTelegraphsMass-produced weaponsJoint army-navy tacticsIron-plated warshipsRifled guns, artilleryTrench warfare

War continuesMonitor vs. Merrimac

North needed to effectively blockade Southern ports

March 1862 Confederate ironclad ship

Merrimac could sink Union wooden ships easily

Union built Ironclad called Monitor

Five-hour duel, ended in draw Prevented Confederacy from

truly challenging Union blockade

Revolutionize future modern warfare

General Grant in the WestUnion’s campaign for

control of Mississippi under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant

Had stunning victories Early 1862

Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on Cumberland River

Took 14,000 Confed. prisoners Opened up Mississippi to Union

attackShiloh

Confederates surprise Grant Union holds ground Confederates forced to retreat

April 1862 David Farragut captures New

Orleans

Virginia (Merrimac) vs. Monitor

Foreign AffairsTrent Affair

1861Confederate diplomats on a

British ship the Trent Union stopped ship and

took diplomat prisonersBritain threatened warLincoln gave in to British

demandsConfederate Raiders

South purchased war ships from Britain Mainly commerce raiders

South tried to buy Laird Rams from British, but blocked by U.S. minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams

Failure of Cotton DiplomacyEuropean intervention a

lost causeEurope quickly found cotton

from other sourcesReasons Britain did not

recognize Confederacy Antietam Emancipation Proclamation

New Goal of the WarConfiscation Act 1861

Did not free slaves, put in armyEnemy property freed

2nd Confiscation Act 1862Now “free” blacksCould be soldiers

Emancipation ProclamationSept 1862, after Union victory at

AntietamEnacted January 1, 1863No practical impact, politicalEnacted by Lincoln, not congressChanges war

Union Triumphs 1863-1865Turning Point

Vicksburg Union controlled Mississippi by

Spring 1863 Confederates surrendered the

city after heavy bombardment Union controlled full length of

river, cut off west Gettysburg

Lee invaded MD and PA Wanted to capture a major

northern city July 1, 1863 surprised Union Bloodiest battle of the war Lee forced to retreat to VA

Grant in Command Lincoln finally had a General 1864 made Commander of

Union Approach to “outlast” Lee War of attrition

Foreshadowed Trench Warfare

Sherman’s March Chief instrument of Grant’s

strategy Led 100,000 men from

Chattanooga, Tennessee on campaign of deliberate destruction from Tenn, through Georgia and South Carolina

Took Atlanta September 1864 Broke the will of the

ConfederacyElection of 1864

Democrat challenger General George McClellan Platform:

Called for peaceful settlement of war

Lincoln Republican nominee VP: Andrew Johnson from

Tennessee Lincoln crushed electoral vote,

but popular vote much closer

End of the WarAppomattox

Confederate government tried to negotiate for peace

Lincoln would not acceptLee forced to surrender

April 9, 1865 at courthouse

Lincoln’s AssassinationUrged South to be treated

benevolently in 2nd inaugural address

April 14th, 1865 John Wilkes Booth shoots

Lincoln Loss of Lincoln’s leadership

mourned

Impact of WarPolitical Change

Electoral College Functioned throughout war New factions created

Republicans Radicals Moderates

Democrats Peace Copperheads

The Draft Both Union and Confederacy

forced to draft Substitutes allowed Draft riots

NYC July 1863 Irish attacked Blacks and

wealthy whitesCivil Liberties

Suspension of Habeas Corps Ex Parte Milligan 1866

Political dominance of the North With Union victory new

definition of the federal Union Nullification and Secession no

longer issues Supremacy of Federal

government over states solidified

Abolition gave new meaning to concept of democracy Advanced cause of democracy Inspired countries around the

world

Impact of the WarNorth

Economic Financing the War

Borrowed $2.6 billion through sale of government bonds

Raised tariffs Tariffs 1862, 1864

Instituted first income tax Issued $430 million in

paper currency called Greenbacks

National Banking System created in 1863

Modernizing the North Manufacturing increases

Social ChangesBlacks

Became Union soldiers 54th regiment 1/10th army

Freedman’s Bureau 1865 Equal pay, rights

Sea Island Experiment Reconstruction

Experiment Gideon’s Band

Education the key

13th Amendment 1865 Four million “freed”

WomenNursing field open to

womenTook on responsibilities

of menMedicine

United States Sanitary commission

Battlefront nursing corps Dorthea Dix Clara Barton

Geneva Convention

Miasm theory Better sanitation

Impact of the WarCivilian 620,000 dead

Economic Cost $15 billions in war

costs and property loss Southern economy ruined Greenbacks national

currency National banking

replaces state banksPolitical

States right’s argument disappear

Characteristics of US democracy and capitalism economy strengthened

Business Large-scale business

organization Railroad corporations

Northern industry prospered

Political Cartoon Practice

Primary Source Practice

Marching Through Georgia*(Henry Clay Work)

Bring the good old bugle boys, we'll sing another song.Sing it with a spirit that will start the world alongSing it as we used to sing it fifty thousand strong,While we were marching through Georgia.

cho: Hurrah! Hurrah! We bring the Jubilee!     Hurrah! Hurrah!  The flag that makes you free,     So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea,     While we were marching through Georgia!

How the darkeys shouted when they heard the joyful sound!How the turkeys gobbled that our commissary found!How the sweet potatoes even started from the groundWhile we were marching through Georgia.

Yes, and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears,When they saw the honored flag they had not seen for years!Hardly could they be restrained from breaking forth in cheers,While we were marching through Georgia.

"Sherman's dashing Yankee boys will never reach the coast!"So the saucy rebels said, and 'twas a handsome boast,Had they not forgot, alas, to reckon with the hostWhile we were marching through Georgia.

So we made a throroughfare for Freedom and her trainSixty miles in latitude, three hundred to the main;Treason fled before us for resistance was in vainWhile we were marching through Georgia.

Group QuestionsWhat was the immediate cause of the Civil War?Had there been a background of agitation for the

principles victorious during the Civil War?Were personalities involved on either side whose

strengths and weaknesses may have helped determine the outcome of the struggle?

Were any new and potent ideas stimulating the loyalty of a considerable number of people?

How did the economic groups line up on the issue?Were religious forces active?Did any new technological developments influence the

Civil War?Can the events be partially explained by weakened or

strengthened institutions?Was the physical environment itself a factor in the

situation?