The Civil War

Immediate Causes

• The Election of 1860– The Republicans nominated Abraham

Lincoln

– The Democrats were split based on platform.• What is a political platform?

– Northern Democrats – Popular Sovereignty rules

– Southern Democrats – Defend Slavery

Immediate Causes• The Election of 1860

–The Democrats fought for weeks.• They decide to run two candidates.

–North – Stephen Douglas–South John Breckenridge

• There is also a third party candidate.–Constitutional Union Party – Preserve the

Union»John Bell

Bell Breckenridge

Douglas Lincoln

VS.

Immediate Causes

• Election of 1860– Much like in 1856, The election really is

two races.• Douglas v. Lincoln in the North• Breckenridge v. Bell in the South

– Douglas and Bell split the middle states while Lincoln carried all of the North and Breckenridge all of the South.

Immediate Causes• The Election of 1860

–Because the North had a greater population Lincoln won the election.

–Lincoln promised not to abolish slavery but the South could not trust him.• Republican victory was viewed as a

threat to the Southern way of life.

Immediate Causes• Secession

–Prior to Lincoln’s election many states had warned about secession• Reason – States Rights

–They had voluntarily joined the Union and therefore could voluntarily leave

Immediate Causes• Secession

–December 20, 1860• South Carolina made good on the threat of secession

• Over the next six weeks Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had followed suit.

Immediate Causes• Secession

– Confederate States of America• All of the seceded states met in February of

1861.• Jefferson Davis was elected President• Drafted a constitution

– Based on US Constitution

» Upheld states’ rights

» Upheld slavery

• Viewed in the North as unconstitutional

Immediate Causes

• Firing on Fort Sumter

Immediate Causes

• Firing on Fort Sumter – April 12, 1861– When the Southern States Seceded they took

over many of the forts within their borders– Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina

was still a Union controlled fort.– Lincoln’s Dilemma

• Supply the Fort war is certain• Abandon the Fort and you give control of it to the

Confederacy.

Immediate Causes

• Fort Sumter– Lincoln’s Choice – Supply the Fort– Confederacy’s Reaction – Attack before

supplies arrive– The confederacy fired on the fort for 34 hours

the U.S. surrendered and the civil war had begun.

Choosing Sides• Border States – Slave states that bordered

states in which slavery was illegal– States on the North-South Border needed to

choose sides• Union – Delaware, Missouri, Maryland, Kentucky,

and West Virginia is created when some western counties of Virginia broke away and remained loyal to the Union.

– Union – 24 States Confederacy – 11 States

Strengths and Weaknesses• Union

– Population Advantage – About 16.5 million more people

– 85% of the Nations factories were within Northern borders

– 2X the railroad mileage– Also had almost all of the naval power and

shipyards– President Lincoln – Incredible Leader

Strengths and Weaknesses

• Confederacy– Able Generals – Robert E. Lee– Fighting a defensive war

• Make the Union come to the Confederacy.• Soldiers defending their homes have more will to

fight then invaders do.

Strategies• Union

– Anaconda Plan• Smother the Southern economy like a snake

squeezing its prey.• Blockade – prevent the transportation of goods or

people into or out of an area• Gain control of the Mississippi River and split the

Confederacy in two.• Problem – Take time to work

Changes in Technology• Rifles and Minie Balls

– Rifles – gun with a grooved barrel that causes the bullet to spin through the air

• More distance and accuracy

– Minie Balls – a bullet with a hollow base. It expanded upon firing to fit the grooves in the barrel.

• Shot further and were more accurate.

Changes in Technology

• Ironclads–Ships covered in iron.

• Confederate Merrimack (Virginia) and Union Monitor

–Fought for 4 hours to a draw off the coast of Virginia in 1862

Major Battles

• First Battle of Bull Run– July 21, 1861 – Plan

• Needed to capture Manassa, Virginia, a major railroad center near Washington D.C., in order to take Richmond

Major Battles

• Bull Run– Battle

• Bull Run is a creek near Manassas• Union assaulted a outnumbered confederate army• The confederates with stood the assault long

enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Major Battles

• Bull Run– Battle

• The confederates led a counter charge and as they approached the union lines let out a scream.

– Union troops panicked and broke ranks.

• Confederates got the victory.

Major Battles

• Bull Run– Results

• The Union was shocked.– Lincoln recalls the militia.– Calls for 500,000 real army troops to volunteer for 3

years.

Major Battles

• Bull Run– Interesting Facts

• Confederate General Thomas Jackson receives his famous nickname.

– Stonewall

» What do you think this shows about Jackson’s character.

Major Battles• Battle of Antietam

– By 1862 Lee had begun to invade the North• Maryland

– He drew up a plan for the Northern Invasion• He left it with another officer • The officer left it behind in camp• The Union took over the abandoned camp and

stumbled upon the plans• General George McClellan now knew Lee’s every

move

Major Battles• Antietam

– September 17, 1862• McClellan Attacked but moved slowly

– This was his greatest short coming

• The two sides fought all day and by nightfall no one had gained any ground.

– 25,000 dead or wounded– Bloodiest day in American history

• Lee lost most of his army and retreated to Virginia• McClellan did not follow and lost an opportunity to

finish of the Confederates

Major Battles

• Antietam– Results

• Lincoln was so fed up with McClellan’s inability that he fired him by November.

Major Battles

• Sherman’s March to the Sea– Grant was named Commander of the Union

forces in 1864– His Plan

• He would Pursue Lee in Virginia• General William Sherman would push through the

deep south to Atlanta and the Atlantic coast.

Major Battles

• Sherman’s March– Sherman swept from Tennessee to Atlanta in

September of 1864– Now moved on to the Atlantic– Destroyed an area of Georgia 60 miles wide

and 300 miles long

Major Battles

• Sherman’s March– Total War

• War against enemy troops and anyone/thing that supports the enemy.

– Tore up rail lines– Destroyed crops– Burned and looted

• December took Savannah, Georgia and everything in it.

Major Battles

• Sherman’s March– Results

• Turned Lincoln’s reelection bid around• People sensed victory

The Emancipation Proclamation• Issued January 1, 1863

– Intended to free slaves in the South• Actually freed very few

– Union troops had to enforce the order and some slaves lived in areas Union troops did not occupy.

– Very important symbolically» Gave the war a purpose – A War of Liberation

– Why did Lincoln only free southern slaves?» Constitution did not give him the power to abolish

slavery» His role as commander in chief did – He was able to

free southern slaves as an act of war.

African Americans and Women in the War

• African Americans– Following the Emancipation Proclamation

African Americans flooded into the Army.• By the end of the war 180,000 had joined the

Union army.

– They were formed in all black regiments.• Led by white officers

– Given the worst jobs– Paid Less

• Many regiments banded together and fought for no pay rather than receive less than the white soldier.

African Americans and Women in the War

• 54th Massachusetts Regiment– One of the first African American

Regiments organized in the North.• Fought for no pay.• Led an attack on Fort Wagner – South

Carolina– Fought with such bravery that they became a

household name and African American enlistment increased.

African Americans and Women in the War

• Women– Took on increased roles

• Plowed fields• Ran farms• Took over office and factory jobs• Served as Nurses and volunteer workers

for the Union Army– Wash clothes, gather supplies, cook

Clara Barton

• Organized a relief agency to aid in the war effort.– Led to the start of the

American Red Cross

Dorothea Dix

• Lead the nursing effort for the Union Army– By the end of the war

she had nearly 3,000 nurses serving in Union hospitals

Turning Points

• Battle Of Gettysburg – July 1, 1863– Lee and his army crossed into

Pennsylvania because they had heard the city had a supply of shoes.• They Ran into the Union Army under the

leadership of General George Meade– 90,000 Union troops– 75,000 Confederate Troops

Turning Points

• Gettysburg– The Battle

• Lasted three days• The air seemed full of bullets

– “The bullets were whizzing so thick that it looked like a man could hold out a hat and catch it full.”

– For 2 days they fought to a stalemate

Turning Points• Gettysburg

– The Battle• Lee’s mistake

– The turning point came on July 3rd

– Lee ordered General George Pickett to attack the middle of the Union Line

» 13,000 troops attacked under heavy gun fire and were torn to pieces

» Came to be Known as Pickett’s Charge– Lee retreated to Virginia and again the Union failed to

finish his army off.– Casualties

» Union – 23,000» Confederates – 28,000 (Over 1/3 of Lee’s Army)

Turning Points• Battle of Vicksburg

–July 4, 1863 in Mississippi

–Last major confederate stronghold along the Mississippi River.

–Began in May • Direct attempts to take the city had

failed.

Turning Points• Vicksburg

– The Plan• Surround the city and cut it off.

– Eventually the confederates ran out of food

» Out of desperation they ate mules, dogs, and rats.

– After nearly a month and a half they finally surrendered.

• The Union win gave them control of the Mississippi.

Surrender

• Grant continued to pursue Lee and hand him after defeat.–Lee realized that the situation was

hopeless and sent word to Grant that he was ready to surrender

Surrender• Appomattox Court House

– On April 9, 1865 Grant and Lee met to discuss surrender.

– Grant was very generous in the terms.• Fed hungry soldiers• Allowed them to return home peacefully• Took their private possessions and horses

with them.

Life During The War• Disagreements on Both Sides

– People in both the North and the South grew tired of the war.

• South – Riots– Soldiers left the army– Confederate states could not agree

• North– Copperheads

» Northern democrats who favored peace.– Protesters were arrested– Habeas Corpus was suspended

» Allowed citizen’s to be held without trial.

Life During the War• Conscription

– Draft Laws• Both Sides passed them• South

– 1862 – All able-bodied white males between the ages of 18 and 45.

– Exceptions» Planters who owned 20 or more slaves.» Wealthy men could hire substitutes ( going rate

$6,000)» “Rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight”

Life During the War• Conscription

– North• 1863 – All able bodied-men ages 18-35• Exceptions

– Those who hired substitutes– Those who volunteered

» $300 bounty – Cash payment for men who volunteered

Life During the War

• Economics–South

• Food Shortages

• Inflation–An increase in price and decrease in the

value of money

Life During the War• North

– Some inflation– Positives

• War production boosted the economy.• Enacted an income tax

– Tax on wages

• Printed a new paper currency– Greenbacks– Ensured that people had money to spend

Outcomes• There were bad feelings between the

North and the South– Lincoln aimed to heal these wounds

• The terms of surrender were a start.

• Nearly 620,000 soldiers died and another 535,000 were wounded.

• 3,000,000 men served – about 10% of the population

Outcomes

• There was also a strain on the economy.– Together the north and south spent more then

5x the amount that the government had spent in the previous 8 decades

– Years after the fighting was over the government was still paying interest on loans taken during the war.