The Civil War 1861-1865: Events, Advantages & Strategies

1. The Civil War (1861-1865)

2. Part 1: The Civil War Starts

3. A. What event started the Civil War? • April 1861: the southern attack on the federal (Union) fort at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina

5. B. When did the Upper South secede? • When they realized Lincoln would use force • Upper South: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas • Confederate capital moves to Richmond, Virginia • Western Virginia remains loyal to the Union • West Virginia becomes a state in 1863

6. Part 2: Advantages and Disadvantages of the North & the South

9. A. Advantages for the North • Military • 22 million from which to draw from (5.5 million in the South) • 800,000 immigrants from which to draw from • 180,000 free slaves who served during the war

10. A. Advantages for the North • Economic • Controlled most of the banking in the United States • Controlled 85% of the factories • Controlled 70% of the railroads • Controlled 65% of the farmlands • Political • Well established central government • Experienced political leaders with popular support

11. B. Advantages for the South • Military • Only had to fight a defensive war (North had to conquer) • Short distances to move supplies • Difficult coastline to blockade • Great military leaders and troop morale (Lee and Jackson)

12. B. Advantages for the South • Economic • “King Cotton” diplomacy • Political • Desire for independence provided strong motivation to fight

13. Part 3: Military Strategy

16. A. Union Strategy • Blockade southern ports to prevent supplies from reaching the South • Divide the Confederacy in two by taking control of the Mississippi River • Raise an army of 500,000 to take Richmond • Later…war of attrition (Grant) • wear the South down with constant pressure and casualties

17. B. Confederate Strategy • Gain foreign recognition and aid • “King Cotton” diplomacy • Utilize advantage in military leadership • Prevent the Union from conquering the South

18. Check Point

19. Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter when it was learned that Lincoln had ordered the fort reinforced with federal troops Lincoln had ordered supplies sent to the fort the fort’s commander was planning to evacuate his troops secretly from the fort Lincoln had call for 75,000 militia troops to form a voluntary Union army southern support for secession was weakening

20. When Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, people in South Carolina waited to see how other southern states would act were very upset because they would have to secede from the Union vowed to give their loyalty to Stephen Douglas rejoiced because it gave them an excuse to secede accepted the democratic process and vowed to support Lincoln

21. The Border states offered all of the following advantages EXCEPT a large population a good supply of horses and mules valuable manufacturing capacity shipbuilding facilities large navigable rivers

22. Lincoln’s declaration that the North sought to preserve the Union with or without slavery came as a disappointment to most Northerners and demoralized the Union revealed the influence of the Border states on his policies caused some seceded states to rejoin the Union contradicted the campaign promises of the Republican party cost him support in the Butternut region of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois

23. To achieve its independence, the Confederacy had to invade the Union win a decisive military victory on its own soil fight the invading Union army to a draw attract more talented military commanders capture Washington, DC

24. As the Civil War began, the South seemed to have the advantage of greater ability to wage offensive warfare more talented military leaders superior industrial capabilities superior transportation facilities a more united public opinion

25. The South believed that the British would come to its aid because the people in Britain would demand such action British Canada was strongly hostile to the Union Britain still had slavery in its empire the government had refused to allow Uncle Tom’s Cabin to be sold in the empire Britain was dependent on Southern cotton

26. Part 4: Foreign Affairs and Diplomacy

27. A. “King Cotton” Diplomacy • The South’s idea that because cotton was so important to the British and French, it (the South) could gain official recognition from those countries and receive direct aid for the Southern war effort

28. B. Did the British side with the South? • Britain came extremely close to siding with the South • Trent Affair of 1861 • Confederate diplomats traveling on the British steamer the Trent were seized by the Union Navy, removed from the Trent and taken as POWs • British threatened war on the Union unless diplomats were released • President Lincoln releases them • Diplomats failed to gain British recognition of the Confederacy

29. C. Why did “King Cotton” diplomacy fail? • Because the British could get cotton from Egypt and India to offset shortages of Southern cotton • Because Lee lost a major battle at Antietam • Because the Emancipation Proclamation appealed to the British masses (who hated slavery)

30. Part 5: Emancipation and African-Americans

31. A. Why was Lincoln hesitant to end slavery? • He wanted to keep support of the border states • He had always said slavery in the South was protected by the Constitution • He knew that many Northerners were racist • He fared if he acted too fast he’d lose the re-election of 1864 and emancipation would be overturned

32. B. Early Northern policy about slavery • Considered contraband (enemy property that could be “seized”) • Confiscation Act of 1861 • Confiscation Act of 1862

33. C. What was the Emancipation Proclamation? • Lincoln’s declaration that freed all slaves in those states that were in rebellion (encouraged border states to free slaves and compensate slave owners)

34. D. Why did Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation ? • Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation for military reasons (war wasn’t going well for the North during 1862-1863)

35. E. What were the consequences of the Proclamation? • Committed the government to abolish slavery • Enlarged the purpose of the war (not only to save the Union now it was to end slavery) • Motivated slaves to revolt • Motivated blacks to join the Northern Army

36. F. Did the Proclamation actually motivate slaves and free blacks to fight? • YES • 25% of slaves in the South fled behind advancing Northern army lines • Placed increased burden on Southern society • 200,000 African-Americans served in the Union Army • Segregated into all black units • Most famous: Massachusetts 54th Regiment

38. G. What fully emancipated EVERY slave in the US? • Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution • Some phrases in the Constitution legitimize slavery • To free ALL slaves (in the South and in border states), Constitution had to be amended (changed) • Thirteenth Amendment passed in December 1865

39. Part 6: The Effects of the Civil War on Civilian Life

40. A. Political Changes • Restriction of civil liberties • President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus (could be arrested without being informed of charges; held without trial)

41. A. Political Changes • Implementation of the draft • Conscription Act of 1863 (North): all men 20-45 eligible for draft; could avoid if you found a sub or paid $300 • New York City Draft Riots of 1863: poor, mostly Irish-Americans; attacked blacks and rich whites; 117 killed • New definitions of “union” and “democracy” • Union: supremacy of federal government over states FINALLY accepted as fact • Democracy: US truly seen as leader in democracy in the world with emancipation of slaves

44. B. Economic Changes • Economic Hardships • North sold bonds, raised tariffs, implemented excise taxes, instituted first income tax, printed Greenbacks (no gold to back it) that caused inflation

45. B. Economic Changes • Accelerated industrial growth of the North • Concentrated wealth in the hands of new millionaires who would finance industrialization after the war • Made manufacturers more efficient (mass production) • New laws promoted growth • Morrill Tariff Act • Homestead Act • Morrill Land Grant • Pacific Railway Act

47. C. Social Changes • Women • Filled vacuum left by men on plantations and in factories • Opened field of nursing to women • Momentum given to suffrage movement because of important role women played in the war • African-Americans • 13th Amendment: officially abolished slavery • Created tension between freed slaves and poor whites

48. Check Point

49. When it was issued in 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation declared free only those slaves in the Border states slave states that remained loyal to the Union United States territories states still in rebellion against the United States areas controlled by the Union army

50. In 1861, the North went to war with the South primarily to liberate the slaves prevent European powers from meddling in American affairs preserve the Union avenge political defeats and insults inflicted by the South forestall a Southern invasion of the North