The Civil War

1. The Civil War 1861 – 1865

2. Introduction • By the end of 1860, the lines that bound the Union together had snapped • Second party system collapsed • Federal govt. no longer remote presence • Need to resolve status of territories made it necessary for Washington to deal directly w/issue

3. The Secession Crisis • Militant leaders of the South began to demand an end to the Union • W/in weeks of Lincoln’s election, process of secession had begun

4. The Withdrawal of the South • SC seceded 1st • By March 1861 – MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, & TX • New nation formed – Confederate States of America

5. The Withdrawal of the South, cont. • Seceding sts. immediately seized the fed. property – forts, arsenals, govt. offices – w/in their boundaries

7. The Failure of Compromise • Senator John J. Crittenden of KY & the Crittenden Compromise • Constitutional amendments to guarantee permanent existence of slavery in slave sts.

8. The Failure of Compromise, cont. • Heart of the plan was a proposal to extend MO Compromise line westward • Southerners seemed willing to accept plan • Republicans rejected it

9. The Failure of Compromise, cont. • In Lincoln’s inaugural, insisted that since the Union was older than the Constitution, no st. could leave it

10. The Failure of Compromise, cont. • Fort Sumter • General P. G. T. Beauregard vs. General Anderson • April 12 – 13, 1861 • War had begun • VA, AR, TN, & NC secede (coercion) • Remaining slave sts. – MD, DE, KY, & MO – stayed in Union under heavy political & even military pressure

11. The Opposing Sides • All the imp. material advantages for waging war lay w/the North • Population, industrial system, transportation system, railroads • Southerners hoped English and/or French would intervene on their behalf

12. Opposing Armies of the Civil War

13. Comparative Population and Economic Resources of the Union and the Confederacy, 1861

14. The Mobilization of the North • Republican Party had almost unchallenged supremacy • Enacted an aggressive nationalistic program to promote economic development

15. The Mobilization of the North, cont. • Homestead Act (1862) – purchase 160 acres of public land for a small fee after living on it for 5 yrs. • Morrill Act (1862) – public ed. & land-grant institutions • High tariff

16. The Mobilization of the North, cont. • Completion of a transcontinental railroad – Union Pacific Co. & Central Pacific • National Bank Acts of 1863 – 1864 created a uniform system of bank notes

17. The Mobilization of the North, cont. • Financing the war • Levying taxes • Issuing paper currency • Borrowing • Income tax levied for 1st time • Printing of “greenbacks”

18. Raising the Union Armies • Over 2 million men served in the Union military forces • Congress passed a national draft law (1863) • A man could avoid service by hiring someone to go in his place or paying the govt. a fee of $300 • Opposition was widespread • Draft riots in NYC in July 1863, over 100 killed

19. Wartime Politics • Lincoln sent troops into battle w/out asking Congress for declaration of war • Increased size of army w/out receiving legislative authority to do so • Unilaterally proclaimed a naval blockade of the South

20. Wartime Politics, cont. • Widespread popular opposition to the war • Peace Democrats (Copperheads)

21. Wartime Politics, cont. • Lincoln used great measures to suppress dissenters • Military arrests of civilian dissenters • Suspended the right of habeas corpus

22. Wartime Politics, cont. • Pres. election of 1864 • Reps. nominate Lincoln & Andrew Johnson • Dems. nominate George B. McClellan

23. The Politics of Emancipation • Radical Republicans - Thaddeus Stevens (PA), Sumner (MA), Benjamin Wade (OH) • Conservatives

24. The Politics of Emancipation, cont. • Confiscation Act of 1861 • Abolition of slavery in DC & western territories (1862) • 2nd Confiscation Act

25. The Politics of Emancipation, cont. • Battle of Antietam • Emancipation Proclamation (Jan. 1, 1863) – declared forever free slaves inside Confederacy • ~ 180,000 African men serve in the Union forces

26. The Politics of Emancipation, cont. • 13th Amendment (1865) abolished slavery

27. The War and Economic Development • Sped economic development of the North • Difficult experience for many Am. workers • Substantial increase in union membership & creation of national unions

28. Women, Nursing, and the War • Took over positions vacated by men – teachers, salesclerks, office workers, & mill & factory workers • Nursing • U.S. Sanitary Commission org. by Dorothea Dix • Field hospitals

30. Women, Nursing, and the War, cont. • Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, & others saw the war as an opportunity to win support for their own goals • National Women’s Loyal League in 1863

31. The Mobilization of the South • Govt. moved to Richmond, VA • Similar political systems, methods used for financing war, conscripting troops, way troops fought

32. Confederate Government • Confederate Constitution • Acknowledged sovereignty of indiv. states • Sanctioned slavery • Jefferson Davis – President • Alexander H. Stephens – VP • Some white southerners & most African Ams. opposed secession

33. Money and Manpower • At 1st tried not to tax but to requisition funds from sts. • Paid for war through paper money, but there was no uniform system • Disastrous inflation

34. Money and Manpower, cont. • Conscription Act (1862) • Slave men & women recruited for cooking, laundry, manual labor • Authorized conscription of 300,000 slaves (1864)

35. States’ Rights Versus Centralization • States’ rights had become the most important ideology among many Southerners

36. Economic and Social Effects of the War • Devastating effect on the South’s economy • Shortages, inflation, & suffering • Decimation of male population

37. Strategy and Diplomacy • Militarily, initiative was w/the North • Lincoln wanted destruction of Confederate armies & not occupation of southern territory • Winfield Scott, George B. McClellan, Ulysses S. Grant • Robert E. Lee

38. The Role of Sea Power • Union had advantage in naval power • Blockade southern coast • Merrimac/Virginia (Confederate) vs. Monitor (Union)

39. Europe and the Disunited States • “King Cotton diplomacy” • No European nation offered diplomatic recognition to the Confederacy or intervened in the war

40. Campaigns and Battles • First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) June 1861 was a severe blow to Union morale (Scott vs. Jackson) • Western Theater (1862) • Surrender of New Orleans (April 25, 1862) first major Union victory

41. The War in the East, 1861 - 1862

42. The War in the West, 1861 - 1862

43. Campaigns and Battles, cont. • Battle of Shiloh (TN) April 6 – 7, 1862 • Union forces took control of the MS River as far south as Memphis • Conflict remained in the East

44. The Virginia Front, 1862 • Battle at Antietam (MD) September 17, 1862 • Bloodiest engagement of the war • McClellan squandered an opportunity to destroy much of the Confederate army

45. 1863: Year of Decision • Vicksburg (MS) Union controlled entire length of MS River • Gettysburg (PA) July 1 – 3, 1863; Cemetery Ridge; Pickett’s Charge • Confederate retreat

46. The War in the East, 1863

47. Gettysburg, 1863

48. Last Stage, 1864 - 1865 • Grant planned to advance toward Richmond & advance east toward Atlanta • Sherman’s “March to the Sea” • Petersburg (VA) April 1865 – vital railroad junction • Lincoln entered Richmond • April 9, 1865 – Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox

49. Assassination • April 14, 1865 – John Wilkes Booth assassinates Lincoln at Ford’s Theater • No vast confederate conspiracy is ever proven • April 18 – Johnston surrenders to Union