Secession & the Outbreak of the Civil War

1. Secession & the Outbreak of the Civil War

2. Secession in the South • Lincoln’s election led to secession by 7 states in the Deep South but that did not necessarily mean “civil war” • Two things had to happen first: • One last failed attempt to reconcile the North & South • The North had to use its military to protect the Union The failed Crittenden Compromise in 1860 Fort Sumter, South Carolina

3. The Upper South did not view Lincoln’s election as a death sentence & did not secede immediately Some Northerners thought the U.S. would be better off if the South was allowed to peacefully secede SC seceded on Dec 20,1860 The entire Deep South seceded by Feb 1861 “Lame duck” Buchanan took no action to stop the South from seceding

4. The Decision to Secede

5. What is the “United States”? • The Southern decision to secede was based on old arguments: • The USA was a “compact between states,” not a national gov’t “above the states” • Therefore, states could leave the Union freely & peacefully • States’ rights must be protected as a guarantee of liberty Individuals have the right to own property (slaves) & have the right to have their property returned (Fugitive Slave Law) Southerners had threatened secession during a Congressional debate over slavery in 1790, the Missouri Crisis of 1820, the Nullification Crisis of 1832, & the crisis over California in 1850

6. Secession & the Formation of the Confederate States of America The CSA constitution resembled the U.S., but with 4 key changes: (1) it protected states’ rights, (2) guaranteed slavery, (3) referenced God, & (4) prohibited protective tariffs On Feb 4, 1861, the Confederate States of America were formed Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis was elected CSA president

7. The Deep South Secedes • Moderate Republicans proposed the Crittenden Compromise to lure the South back into the Union: • offered to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific • promised a Constitutional amendment to protect slavery • Both Lincoln & Davis rejected the compromise leaving the North with 2 choices… Lincoln rejected it because he was committed to free soil The South rejected it because they had created a new nation • Allow for peaceful separation…OR… • fight to preserve the Union

8. Fort Sumter, South Carolina In April 1861, a skirmish at Fort Sumter, SC led to the 1st shots fired of the Civil War

9. Effects of Fort Sumter The attack rallied & unified the North for war Civil War was not technically between slave states & free states (the “border states” of MO, KY, DE, MD did not secede) Many pro-slavery border states (Arkansas, TN, NC, & VA) viewed Fort Sumter as an act of aggression by the North & joined the CSA

10. Adjusting to Total War

11. Northern Advantages • At the outbreak of the Civil War, the North had lots of advantages: • Larger population for troops • Greater industrial capacity • Huge edge in RR transportation • Problem for the North: • Had to invade the South to win • Difficult to maintain enthusiasm & support for war over time

12. Resources of the Union and the Confederacy, 1861

13. Southern Advantages • Although outnumbered & less industrial, South had advantages: • President Davis knew that they did not have to “win” the war; the South only had to drag out the fight & make the North quit • Had the best military leaders • England & France appeared morewillingtosupporttheSouth “King Cotton” diplomacy Robert E“Stonewall”J.E.B. LeeJackson Stuart

14. Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan Southern strategy was an “offensive defense”: drag out the war & strategically attack the North to destroy Northern morale Take the CSA capital at Richmond Take control of the Mississippi River George McClellan was in charge of Army of the Potomac Ulysses Grant in the West Blockade the Southern coast Divide the West from South

15. Davis was less effective: concerned mainly with military duties neglected the economy obstructed by state governors who resisted conscription Lincoln expanded his powers: declared martial law imprisoned “subversives” briefly closed down a few newspapers Political Leadership During the Civil War

16. The Diplomatic Struggle • From 1861 to 1862, the South used “cotton diplomacy” to get England & France to aid them: • Napoleon III favored the South but wanted England to do so 1st • England offered “belligerent” status to the CSA; but otherwise chose a hands-off policy • By 1863, “King Cotton” diplomacy failed because Egyptian & Indian cotton filled the European demand

17. Fighting the Civil War

18. The Civil War From 1861-1863, the South consistently beat the North due to poor Union leadership & the Southern defensive strategy 1st battle was Bull Run (Manassas, VA) on July 21, 1861; “On to Richmond” campaign was repulsed by “Stonewall” Jackson The U.S. & CSA forces fought to a draw at Antietam in Sept 1862—the single bloodiest day of the Civil War

19. Fighting “Total War” Women took gov’t jobs as bookkeepers, clerks & secretaries; A number of women also served as spies (Rose Greenhow, CSA) Cone-shaped bullets & grooved barrel rifles • The Civil War was the world’s 1st “total war” in which the entire economy was devoted to winning: • North & South drafted soldiers • North & South employed female workerstomeetsupplydemands • New weapons, old tactics, & sheer numbers of troops in battle led to massive casualties Massive frontal assaults and massed formations with as many as 100,000 soldiers Repeating rifles & the Gatling gun Shrapnel, booby traps, & land mines Women’s most prominent role were as nurses on the battlefield: distributing medical supplies, organizing hospitals, & offering comfort to wounded or dying soldiers

20. Battle of the Ironclads (1862): CSS Virginia vs. USS Monitor Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia was built using the remains of the USS Merrimack USSMonitor was a revolutionary design: rotating turret & low profile

21. Casualties of the Civil War

23. Confederate Prison Camp in Andersonville, GA Union Prison Camp at Andersonville, GA Built to hold 10,000 prisoners; but held more than 32,000 Union POWs

24. Mobilizing the Home Fronts The draft was unpopular among Southern governors & Northern, antiwar “Copperheads” • Both the North & South faced problems supporting the war: • Both sides began running out of troops; in 1862, the North & South began conscription (draft) • Funding the war was difficult; both sides printed paper money (greenbacks) to accommodate spending needs; led to runaway inflation (9,000% in the South)

25. The Coming of Emancipation • At the beginning of the war, the North was fighting to preserve the Union, not to abolish slavery • By mid-1862, many Northerners called for immediate emancipation • Congress refused a gradual plan • Many thought immediate freedom for slaves would lure England & France into alliance • Southern victories pressured the North to “strike back”

26. "My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that." —Abraham Lincoln, 1862

27. The Emancipation Proclamation • Union “success” at Antietam led Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863: • Lincoln freed all slaves in Confederate territories • This did not free a single slave but it gave the North a new reason fight the Civil War • Inspired slaves to flee North • Pushed for the 13th Amendment Read the text of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation Passed after the Civil War ended on Jan 31, 1865

28. Emancipation in 1863 The border states could keep their slaves (until 13th amendment passed in 1865)

29. The Tide Turns in 1863 New York City Draft Riot • By early 1863, the North & South both faced morale problems: • South—economic & diplomatic collapse, runaway slaves, & many yeomen refused to fight • North—consistent losses against Lee, draft riots in NYC, anti-war “Copperheads” played on war failures & racial anxieties

30. Fight to the Finish • But by 1863, the war began to turn in favor of the North: • Northern supremacy in industry & manpower began to take its toll on the exhausted South • The North began enlisting blacks into the Union army; 200,000 fought as soldiers & many others served as labor in the Northern war effort

31. The Civil War Grant began a siege on Richmond and… Due to Grant’s success in the west, Lincoln made Grant supreme commander of Union army in 1864; Grant devised a strategy to invade the South on all fronts In July 1863, General Grant took Vicksburg & gained control of the Mississippi River Lee led an attack into the North, but lost at Gettysburg; North’s 1st real victory in the east William Sherman began his “march to the sea” (Atlanta to Savannah) & destroyed everything of military value

32. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. Gettysburg Address The world will little note or long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. —that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. For the brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion— Four score and seven years ago our forefathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

33. Election of 1864 • Meanwhile, Lincoln faced a tough re-election in 1864 against General George McClellan: • War failures were a key issue • Radical Republicans considered dropping Lincoln from the ticket • But, when Atlanta fell during Sherman’s “March to the Sea,” Lincoln regained support and was overwhelmingly reelected In his 2nd inaugural address, Lincoln promised a Reconstruction Plan for the Union with “malice towards none & charity for all”

34. Union Gains in the Civil War by 1865 In April 1865, Grant faced off with Lee outside Richmond; Lee was cut off from the South

35. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, ending the fighting of Civil War

36. The Death of Lincoln • Northern celebration was short lived; On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot by pro-Southerner John Wilkes Booth

37. Effects of the War

38. Effects of the War • Social changes: • 618,000 troops were dead • Women in both the North & South were forced to take on more non-domestic roles • 13th Amendment ended slavery • Nativism decreased as many immigrants fought in Civil War

39. Effects of the War Ended the Southern argument over nullification & states’ rights • Political changes: • The Civil War established that the national gov’t is supreme over the states • With no Southern opposition, Republicans passed new laws: Homestead Act (1862),Morrill Act (1862),a protective tariff,land grants to RR companies, & a national banking system

40. Conclusions • The turning point of the war: 1863 • The Civil War began as a conflict “to preserve the Union,” but by 1863 it became a war for human liberty (Emancipation Proclamation was issued) • The South dominated the early campaigns of the war due, but by 1863 (Gettysburg) the weight ofNorthernindustry&population wore down the South